Blue Eye Samurai is the latest sleeper hit from Netflix, and it’s trending thanks to the stunning animation and compelling story. The success of the first eight episodes has ensured that Mizu’s bloody path of revenge will extend into a second season. Viewers who love animation, historically-set shows, and the samurai genre are sharpening their blades in anticipation.
It’s obvious that Mizu will be returning, being the main character, along with her prisoner Abijah Fowler. But the cliffhanger ending of the last episode, which includes a possible change of setting, makes it unclear who will be joining them. Parallel storylines are also possible for those popular characters that stay behind in Japan, and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen to Mizu and Abijah on the long voyage to London.
7 Ringo
Continues His Training With Swordfather
Ringo was the comic relief of season one, but he also had his more serious moments. He was inspired to follow Mizu as her student and servant when they first met at his father’s noodle house, and he was one of the few characters who knew that she was a woman in disguise.
After their falling out, Ringo left Mizu and returned to the swordmaker, but that doesn’t mean he can’t return in the next season. Other storylines may continue in the original setting, perhaps with Ringo and, hopefully, the wise and gentle Swordfather. Mizu is going to have a difficult journey without the aid of Ringo’s soba and sewing kit.
6 Lady Akemi
The Princess Who Wants To Be Great
Given Akemi’s standing as the wife of the Shogun’s brother, her role is going to be even more important in the second season, even though she’s staying in Japan. At first, she was determined to marry the person she was in love with as opposed to submitting to an arranged marriage. But after spending some time with her in-laws, she changed her mind.
Akemi’s actions not only express her ambitions, but also reflect Seki’s last wish: that his best vision of Japan was with her as its leader. She returns not only to a grateful husband, but also a vulnerable father, whose former lordship is now under her control, at least in practice if not in name.
5 Tokunobu Daichi
He Lives Because Akemi Allows It
The tables turned on this powerful lord when his ambitions got the better of him. Not content to ally with the Shogun through his daughter’s marriage, Daichi also joined the foreigner-led coup to overthrow the Shogun. He might have been the only conspirator other than Fowler to survive the attack.
Daichi killed anyone who even heard a whisper of the planned attack on the palace in Edo, including a young woman who had just been hired as one of his daughter’s retainers. He also tried to lock Akemi up, but she was rescued by Seki, and her father was trapped instead. The last audiences heard of Daichi, his daughter was saying something cryptic about his long recovery under her close personal supervision.
4 Madame Kaji
Now A Retainer In The Royal Palace
3 
Assuming she survived the fire (and there’s no indication that she didn’t), Madame Kaji should continue her role as secret keeper and truth-sayer in the next season. Mizu reached her in time to warn her about the coup, which means she and the other girls would have been able to reach safety in plenty of time.
Madame Kaji has the street smarts to be a formidable businesswoman, so it would be interesting to see her put these abilities to work in the royal household. She’ll have plenty to do when it comes to rebuilding Edo and working as a royal assistant as opposed to a madam, although given the demands of the upper classes, the skills from her former job might be useful.
2 Takayoshi
So Much More Potential
Itoh Takayoshi is introduced as the Shogun’s younger son, and rumor has it that he’s a cold and cruel person. After the death of his father at the close of the last episode, his status had changed, not only socially, but also in viewers’ perceptions. His character development is both dramatic and interesting, and his actions in politics will likely involve his wife, Akemi.
A lot of the unkind things that made Takayoshi look bad were a result of his mother’s influence, or the habit of obeying his tutors or advisors without question. Akemi not only discovers this truth, but also his stutter, which is the real reason behind his reluctance to speak to her. She eventually forms a bond with him that might be stronger than the one she had with Taigan.
1 Taigan
He Could Be A Great Man
Speaking of characters that have the best and most detailed arcs, Taigan might be one of the most interesting. Audiences know enough about his past to understand his humble beginnings and how that makes him defensive about his social standing.
Mizu advises Akemi to go back to Taigan, but one of the last scenes in the show makes it clear that Akemi didn’t take Mizu’s advice, and has returned to her new husband instead. This leaves Taigan’s fate unknown, but he’s been set up as Mizu’s love interest, which means that he’ll probably return.
Leave a Reply