Blue Eye Samurai - How to Properly Write an Overpowered Character (for the most part)
Are you an aspiring screen writer? Would you like to create a girlboss all your own to show off to your friends? Would you prefer to avoid the angry 4chan mob that is sick of emotionless planks of wood cosplaying as heroines? Well, follow these 4 tips and your success is all but certain. That's a KZheadr's Guarantee.
I forgot to mention in the video how Mizu being stabbed and impaled several times and then simply shrugging it off and barely letting it bother her (even though her first stab wound causes her serious issues) reduced some of the tension in the fight scenes, since she appears to basically be invincible.
Otherwise, I have no other real criticisms not contained in the video. Mizu from Blue Eye Samurai is overpowered as ****, to be sure, but she is simultaneously an incredibly fascinating character with significant depth to her arc. The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride displays this brilliantly.
Also, her fight scenes are quite fun to watch, and that counts for soemthing.
I believe the Hollywood girl-boss trope is a symptom of a much larger problem; our culture is obsessed with power, and treats it as a solution to every problem. Economic power through capitalism, military power through imperialism, cultural power through cults. These writers either lack life experience to imagine a world not defined by power; or are spreading propaganda about the inevitability of power (especially with marvel, and their connection to the military). When these writers try to write female characters that are supposed to be looked up to; the only thing they can comprehend, is that they must be strong enough to nullify any preconceptions of weakness. That side of our culture will not accept weakness and vulnerability as a virtue.
Damn, this is a great take. Hadn't thought of that, but so true when you think about it. It makes me think of how I've heard several people criticize the new Avatar the Last Airbender show, saying it kind of lost it's soul versus the original, and one of the interesting points made was that the beloved original has a much more pacifist message. The core values of the story are unity, friendship, peace. Meanwhile the new show, although being very pretty and having cool action scenes, sends a message of "I need to be physically strong so I can wipe out the bad guys". Not exactly a great message if we want to move forwards together as human beings.
Oh damn, that's actually pretty interesting, and it kinda explains why this girl boss trope became so heavily politicized, the obsession of power plus the idea of ''divide'' ergo of man vs woman, would not sit right with many folks
This is brilliantly said.
@@master_samwise Awesome! this is the first time I have been pinned on a video, Thank you!
Mizu having a photographic memory to memorize techniques is actually really clever. Her primary source of shame is her eyes, yet it's those eyes that allowed her to become so strong.
OOOOOOOOOH!!!
DAAMMNN
BROOO
I think what really sets Mizu apart from modern action heroines is the fact that, while insanely skilled, she repeatedly suffers serious injuries from almost every engagement. Try as she might, she isn’t untouchable.
She’s like the protagonist version of when Austin Powers fights that one assassin “WHY! WON’T! YOU! DIE!?”
I agree, but I'd like those wounds to have more weight. When she gets stabbed fighting the four fangs, it takes her a couple days to recover, but then after that she mostly just shrugs everything off, at least in the heat of the moment. Like when she gets stabbed fighting the thousand claws. She gets hurt but then kicks ass anyway as if it never happened. It's just a little less consistent than I would prefer.
@@master_samwise adrennnnnalinnnnne
@@master_samwiseWhile I see your point it actually didn’t feel like that to me at all. It felt like her getting stabbed there sets a precedent for her mortality and every other time she gets hurt on a similar it feels as though it serves to make her feats right after more impressive and highlight her determination especially.
Yeah, sure. Especially those spiketraps that should've crippled her, but barely even stopped her from fighting further.
The way I saw it, the 2nd Fowler fight is not actually "over." When Fowler "gives up" but tells her of finding the other westerners in London. It's a pause in their larger conflict. He's playing a delaying tactic. He's also gaining her as an "ally" to escape Japan after his plans of conquest go sideways.
Oh for sure. My problem with that is that I didn't buy Mizu letting him live. He told her the names and location of her other two targets. She should have killed him and moved on, based on her whole character arc thus far. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get why she didn't murder Fowler on the spot. The reason to let him live paled in comparison to an entire season spent hunting him.
@@master_samwise What you are missing is that having the names and location doesn't mean she'll find them in a foreign country. They might speak english in the show, but Mizu doesn't. Letting Fowler live is the only way she can have access to her real target.
@@arenkaithat is a very good point.
Off the top of my head, just spit balling here. How many people in Japan at this time period know where London is or how to get there? Most likely only Fowler and a few of his associates. I think this also speaks to Fowler's greatest strengths, his ability to strategies and his ability to multiply others around him. By telling Mizu her last two targets are not in Japan . He's basically telling her in a few words, without me you're totally screwed. Japan at this point in history is completely isolationist. There were only four known white men in Japan in recent history. No one is(openly) trading with outsiders. Thanks to Fowler, killing the Shogun. There will be stricter restrictions. Mizu's skills are fighting, acrobatics , horseback riding,a little knowledge of first aid ,sword smithing and hiding the fact that she's a woman. She's a wandering swordsman, I assume she doesn't know much about the world outside of Japan. If she killed Fowler, she would have to find someone in Japan who would both know where London is and be willing to take her there. Which the vast majority of people would not. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know English. And I don't think many people in London would understand Japanese. So there will be an almost unsurmountable language barrier. It's not completely impossible for her to get her revenge, but it's an extremely slim chance , and it's way simpler and much easier just to keep Fowler around and kill him later .
Also in her pursuit for revenge, she lit the capital on fire. She needs to get out of dodge almost as much as Fowler does.
I also like that Mizu also uses skills she as a woman has over men. We don’t see her being stronger than a healthy adult male (when she also had a life of neglect and lack of food etc). We see her use her speed that being lighter (especially when the weight it taken off) and seeing her use how limber she is. I’m all for men and women being equals but in different ways. I’ll never be as strong as a man by my nature, but fights can be won in different ways. I like they use that and being an all male society in fighting they are not used to what she can do.
you have lower center of gravity. its a huge advantage if someone can teach you to use it
"We don’t see her being stronger than a healthy adult male" She carries Taigen on her back up a vertical fortress wall. To be clear, I don't mind, it's about showing how determined she is, more than her strength; and, it's a legend, after all.
@@Hohum37 Purposely missed the point. That's not an example of being stronger than a healthy adult male, just a feat of equal strength that I'm fairly certain is more difficult for a woman than a man. Mizu would lose in a contest of pure strength, which is why she doesn't typically overpower her opponents the way a man in her position would.
Akemi's entire character is a good example of this too. She demonstrates on multiple occasions that not being able to fight does not make one powerless. Once she embraces her advantages of manipulation and status, she becomes an incredibly interesting character.
@@zacharychristy8928I was thinking the same. Akemi used her feminity to get information or to manipulate others for her survival.
Despite being over powered, we still see her struggle and we are never sure how things will turn out. There are real stakes.
Not only that, we've seen her pass out, get knocked out, struggle, limp around, use items to balance with and take breathers. Mizu has been shown to lose, take the loss and stride on. Its so refreshing to actually see a character take time to recollect their thoughts and refocus in their encounters while the overexertion sets in on the body.
Yeah… but her abilities are so far detached from reality that I honestly don’t root for her
@@MaticTheProtoelaborate
@@chris.48 the fact that no matter your skill, taking on 3 opponents at a time is already deadly af and trying that with 30+ should be suicidal
I agree with the fact that we see her struggle a lot but I disagree with the real stakes part cos she keeps surviving these impossible odds. One was that she literally dodged a bullet being shot at her point blank but . Ig we can say it's all just fictional but the fights and settings of the story has a realistic approach. After the end of the season I can 100% conclude she has some sort of superpower or its just plot armour.
I'm not sure how right this is, but I think the reason the final fight with Fowler is so uncreative is to highlight Fowler's personality. Like he says at some point in the show that the japanese have mastered the best ways to make swords, while his people (back in Britain) keep creating the best ways to kill people. In the same way that the appearance of fire arms in japan completely nullifies the mastery of all the swordsmen in the castle once the coup begins, how the bullet obliterates the art of swordsmanship in war, so does Fowler obliterate his final confrontation. So of course their duel isn't a masterpiece of swordsmanship and martial arts, Fowler isn't an artist. He even tells his business partner how sick he is of learning every beautiful art that japanese culture has to offer. Fowler obliterates art. Yes he mastered swordsmanship during his time in Japan, but he probably hates it and is as sick of it as he is of painting.
Yeah, that's how I see it, Fowler is a POS with no sense of honor or integrity, he fights dirty & runs because he is a coward, and drags Mizu down w him because he exploits her need for revenge(I think it's revenge anyway).
Honestly I think you couldn't be more right. The final 'duel' is the brutish, bloody brawl of two pragmatists, one of whom is satisfied only by the destruction of the soul. Fowler even says outright that he has "no need for souls" in the chapel scene. He is flesh, huge and rude and ugly and shameless, and all the sick cunning of the oppressor's bootheel. And I think he wins that fight-by corrupting Mizu away from the ones they love, by surviving, by escaping to the British isles. He runs away even though he has Mizu and Taigen knocked down because he knows they won't stay down for long and he doesn't really give a shit about them anyways. Because he doesn't give a shit about anything outside himself. Abijah Fowler is, above all, a man who came to understand the systems of oppression that ruined his life and decided to *become* those systems. He is the man who was forced to eat his own sister's liver and decided to dedicate his life to doing the same to others. An artistic, beautiful duel would miss the point of that.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that fight. This makes me see that last episode in new light and I like it even more now!
Mizu belives herself to be heartless but it's not true. She saves Taigen from Folwer. She didn't have to but she does it. She defends the brothel against at mafia guys because she got them into trouble and she wants to fix it. She could have ran. After all it's not like one samurai can win against an army or anything.
@@adriangeorge9197 Youre implying that a character cant have nuance. She is dead set, and she kills kids to achieve her goal. But we see that there is still a small spark of hope for her character. She let ringo come with her, she saved the brothel, she saved taigen, she smiles when she prays for the swordmaster. She has a heart, she often just surpresses her feelings to do what she needs to achieve her goal. Its nuance, not a plothole.
@@adriangeorge9197 But it is nuance? She doesnt have a single character defining characteristic, she still has troubles walking down that path. She sometimes goes in her own way to achieving her goal. Her defending the brothel shows that she is a good person deep down. But in the bloodrush of battle, all that gets thrown out. She kills a CHILD. Its not excused either, its just so that nobody notices it or is alive to tell. The viewer knows, and she does as well. We judge her for that, and she does too. She thinks shes lost all love in her life, thats why she gives in. She gave up being good when killing that kid. Im genuinely baffled how one thinks the show gives her a free pass on killing kids? And she saves taigen from that big tower, risking her own life twice, barely making it out. And after her defeat, she realized her mistakes, and tries to be good. She apologizes to ringo and accepts that she cant do it all alone. She comes to save akimo (or however that princess is called). Its a character arc. She started a lone wolf, cocky, arrogant and barely human. But there was a sliver of hope for her. She didnt kill taigen, she took ringo in, she tried to defend the brothel. But in battle emotions just piled up and she saw herself again as an onryo, killing a kid because she thinks shes done trying to be good. She lets that princess be arrested and leaves ringo. In the tower she realizes her wrongdoings and tries to save taigen while jumping down. She knows she needs friends to achieve her goal and genuinely wants to do good as well. Thats why she saves the princess and places ringo to help her.
@@adriangeorge9197 I was as well expecting that to happen to her in the end, but I dont see a problem with a redemption arc? And the show never excused her actions, it clearly showed how despicable she was when killing the kid for example. Just because there havent been repercussions, doesnt mean the actions are excused.
@@adriangeorge9197 No, I never started reading mangas, I also never watched anime. But I heard good things about berzerk and dont care about being spoiled.
I began watching the series alone until I finished episode 5 and thought "Oh, my wife needs to watch this with me".
if she starts asking about naginatas, run.
@@sbj2k1what’s that 💀
@@chris.48 it's a spear that mizu's husband had
@@paxonite-7bd5 alright thanks mate
@@chris.48 A type of spear with a fairly long, curved blade at the end, that's also effective at slashing, not just stabbing.
It's possible the goons want to avoid hitting each other so they try to assess an opening to attack. When I play the Sifu game, it's somewhat easy to get enemies to hit each other because I dodge an attack while someone else gets hurt. Alternatively enemies can be thrown at each other, taking 1 or people out of the fight temporarily because they tried to group up. Wolverine said it best that everyone else has to avoid hitting their teammates but he can hit anyone he wants when outnumbered.
It's also a trope known as "Conservation of Ninjitsu", iirc. Meaning: the more enemies at ounce, the less powerful they are individually. It's present in basically every martial arts movie, really every action film ever made. And _Blue Eye Samurai_ very much wears it's inspirations on its sleeve.
A lot of truth to this. I remember reading about a green beret or some instructor in that world, and he said he'd rather face 10 men than 2.
I remember seeing videos of kenpo practitioners who basically say the same thing. As long as you aren't completely surrounded, your enemy can only attack with 1-2 people at a time.
@@zacharychristy8928 Exactly. It's not nonsense to attack sparingly simultaneously. It's practical to avoid hitting your teammates. We're talking about weapons like swords and spears in Mizu's fights that can easily harm or kill someone even if it's unintentional team injuries.
There's an even simpler explanation. They're just fucking scared. Sure, ten spearmen can surround one guy with a big fuckoff sword, and if all ten just rush right in, point forward, the swordsman will 100% die as a kebab. But at least one of those spearmen is ALSO going to die, and none of them wants to be the one to take the fall.
The trust me, I'm a KZheadr line killed me lol
So *youre* the guy she killed at the end 😅
😂😂
I think the reason Fowler acts the way he does in the final fight is simple: fear. He's lost everything that has given him an advantage up until now, and without it, he's lost and afraid. Because of this, he starts making irrational decisions and just tries to run and survive. It shows just how much of a demon Mizu is, and how no one, not even Fowler, is immune to fear.
Also, imho, Fowler is depicted as that "shameful westerner" who has no honor and just wants to survive and fulfill his desires. If kicking and fistfight is more effective, then I think it's really in his character to do so. And Mizu, again, adapted.
“The worst thing you can be is predictable. If you’re predictable, you’re not nearly creative enough” I understand what you mean, but I also think this is an oversimplification and a bad general take away without exploring it more deeply. Yes being unpredictable can be a great show of creativity, however being predictable can also be an amazing display of narrative consistency and implementation of cause and effect. I think a better way of paraphrasing the point would be “the best subversions are finding unorthodox solutions within the established rules of the story”
there are scenes in a show where I predict what will happen next that makes me say "ugh" when I'm right and then there are scenes that I will predict and feel excited for being right about it. I feel like there is anticipation and there is predictability. The two differences.
@@user-ym1zs8sd2y I personally wouldn't use the word predictability. both of these were predictable as evidenced by the fact that both outcomes were predicted. predictable isn't good or bad. it just is or isn't. the way many people use predictable is as a synonym for boring or overused. a clearer distinction would be anticipation or dread, opposite emotions that can both be invoked by predictability.
Not to 'um, akshully' ~ because I do rather agree that Mizu is presented as extra powerful in her abilities and there are times it feels like a stretch that she didn't die ~ One thing that I remember learning about specificually being trained as a fighter in this era of Japan is that a lot of the training is actually about learning to hold back and show restraint. Basically, to wait - because in this era simply getting a cut could be fatal, so going through the actual process of a sword fight was something that warriors would train UP to their entire lives for - it was supposed to be a big deal to finally do it 'for real'. Which isn't to say they didn't have fights, but the number of swordfights a single, average fighter that was say paid to protect a gambling house or den would be minimal in their average lifetime. Clearly that's not exactly the world that we're portrayed with in Mizu's case, swordfights are presented as somewhat more commonplace, but the idea that lesser trained fighters that haven't reached renouned samurai status with many battles under their belt might sort of hang back and 'wait their turn' because they're honestly hoping someone else takes her down first is actually somewhat reasonable and would fall in line with attitudes and teachings of the times (in that, it was just seen as wise to not engage in needless fights and put yourself at risk like that, which is true.)
I think what makes Mizu work is two factors. One is there's always a nice push and pull with her powers and capabilities. Like her initial fight with Taigen she's challenged only for the reveal to be that she is still holding back so it excalates and she practically shows off. It means that scenes aren't always the most predictible and allows her to showcase her skills, experience etc against other opponents. The other side is how it's used to characterise her. One key aspect constantly brought up is how Mizu's pursuit of power is a one-way path to destruction, how her quest for vengeance has transformed her into a monster who will inevitably get herself killed since she doesn't look after herself. It's a nice thematic element that almost acts like a 'cost' for her power. She's strong and skilled but what she's doing isn't necessarily good for herself or others, she only really stumbles into taking moral actions sometimes for convenience, because she wants something. And in the end she doesn't even really get what she wants. I think this latter thing is what these other protagonists tend to lack, a bit of character that comes from the power, ways they change or things they represent. It allows the power set to be more than spectacle, there's a purpose behind them being as good as they are be it good or bad. The inverse of this would be like Superman and how he's used to represent the very best of mankind.
Ooo, framing her self-destruction as a "cost" is a really good point. It does sort of function like that.
Thank you! I think many people miss the point that her revenge quest is not good for her or others. It is a character flaw. Not the message of the show.
I was confused on the ronin and bride episode, couldn't tell which one she was suppose to be, I never realised she was both
Would have loved to see Fowler bust out a fucking Zweihander and make some comment about white people knowing how to wield a blade too, would have been very in character for him Also definitely need a parallel video for Akemi, because I thought she was one of the bright spots of the last episode, as well as the invasion of the castle, it felt very heavy.
I. Love. This show. And I cannot stand the overpowered strong independent female trope of today. My summary for why she works as a character is “she earned it.” She earned her power and skills, she earned her talents and abilities. And when the show sorta drops the ball in maintaining all of the principles, I have less of a genuine problem with it because the show worked hard earlier to earn a little reprieve and unrealistic flair. Like when the guards kinda stand around, or when she is pinned underneath 100 guys and none of them get her… they are few and far between moments of being ridiculous, with dozens of amazing moments before and after. It’s a mere spot on a canvas you can overlook rather than a splash dumped all over the canvas, especially when compared to most modern shows and movies.
I think something a lot of people don't take into account is numbers plus weapons plus space doesn't equate to a good rush on one person. Yeah all the warriors guarding Fowler could have rushed in at once but there would be crowding a friendly fire. Prime example is the Fleet battle of Cape Ecnomus from the first Punic wars saw a numerical advantage to the Carthaginians, but were too crowded and couldn't move efficiently. So I understand the whole "oh everyone wait there turn to fight the one person is dumb", it doesn't always work practically
By the time you get to the later episodes the whole story has been so damn good that they were able to get away with a lot more... She reached super human levels but it didn't take away anything because you were already balls deep in the story
What in the show suggested that Fowler was anything more than a competent swordsman at best? So far as I can remember, he is never set up to be anything more than that; his power lies in wit, technology, moveny, and connections.
Mizu notices a flower cut by Fowler and says that only a master could have made such a cut. Also Fowler says that he has had so much free time that he has mastered many arts, which probably includes swordsmanship, if he wasn’t already a master before being in Japan.
Yeah Mizu says it out loud.
In episode three, Fowler is told that the Four Fangs failed to kill Mizu. In a tantrum, he takes a sword and slices a table in half, but he also slices a flower from a flower on the table in that same swing. He takes the flower and pins it to Shindo's robe before telling Shindo to go take care of Mizu. Later on, Mizu notices the flower and says "only a master swordsman could have made that cut." Why that cut was so special is beyond me though.
@@johnleonard9102 i think the cut was special because it was on a flower stem. Something flimsy, fibrous and thin. Yet it was a straight cut and at a rather shallow angle no less. cutting through much more of the stem that was strictly necesary, but still cutting straight
I think you really hit the nail on the head here on what sets Mizu apart as one of the best female action stars in recent fiction. It’s not just that she’s not a Mary Sue, that she is badass but not immortal - sure that’s important to making us invested in her struggle, but it’s not what makes her such a brilliant character. What makes her a brilliant character is how her power and mastery as a warrior is both deeply ingrained into who she is as a person and what makes it impossible for her to find connection with others. It’s her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, which is a really tricky needle to thread but I think this show pulls it off flawlessly. Frankly even some of the less impactful fight scenes don’t bother me that much, because it all serves her characterization so well. I also agree that ‘The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride’ is the best episode of the whole series so far. I was on the edge of my seat during pretty much every episode, but I was literally slack jawed by the end of that episode by how well written and executed it was. One of the best episodes in animation I’ve ever seen.
Such an interesting and largely well done show.
I think it's important to understand that Mizu is also meant to represent two themes within the story: 1.) Difference 2.) Revenge And to also understand how these themes incorporate into her fights. I'll start with difference. Blue-eyed Samurai makes their audience aware of the fear and loathing it's society has against anything that doesn't conform with the established normality. Mizu's biracial appearance has most people immediately assume she is dangerous and evil demon - an onryō. This perception of society thematically adds to her abilities and skills; because those around her believe she is capable of supernatural power, then the story supports that. It's why I believe her first fight with Fowler is incredible - he does not have the same mindset as the Japanese society. To him, Mizu is just another man who can bleed and die. (I think there's also another cool point to add that those who don't see Mizu as all powerful tend to be her allies because they are aware of her limits and lack of mystical abilities but that's a whole other rant). The second theme is revenge. Revenge is rarely ever portrayed as a heroic and just theme - unlike vengeance -and again the story makes it very clear that revenge comes with a hefty cost. It is brutal and consuming and destructive, and because it is embedded so deeply into Mizu's character, she also adopts these descriptions. She is the theme itself within the story, and thus her power is emphasised within her fights. I agree that it is sometimes frustrating to see fights where clearly the character can be beaten in someway if the baddies just rub their two braincells together but I also think it's super cool when characters are op because they represent themes and narratives within the story.
I also think of All Might as an amazingly written Overpowered Character. An analysis from you would be amazing. You seem to be insanely knowledgeable. Wish you well on your videos.
There's a scene I like in the first Man of Steel movie, it's one of the first scenes where "Clark" is on a boat. Clark makes a mistake and is almost crushed by a metal cage falling over him, but one of the sailors rushes to save him, pushing him out of the way. The guy screams at Clark to be careful and to keep his eyes open, but doesn't make a big deal out of it. The thing is, Clark knows that the guy could have died, but he didn't even hesitate when trying to save him. To Clark/Superman, saving others from impossible things means the world to them, but to him everything is easy, with almost no risk. Brushing his teeth, walking a dog or going inside a volcano are all about the same to him. I think one of the reasons Superman tries his best to save everyone is exactly because he wants to compensate for the fact that, to him, he's not risking his life at all, it's all the humans around him who are the real heroes in his eyes, putting their lives on the line every day. As someone who wishes to be accepted as a "human", he must believe that using his powers to save others is the least he can do.
Just a very strong analysis of a series I very much enjoyed while talking eloquently to the issues of storytelling I've had difficulty describing for a while now. Thank you, absolutely wonderful and informative watch!
I would say that the way the character gets power must be not just be unique or interesting, but also earned. That's the most important point. That can either be through training as in Blue Eye Samurai, or it can be at some great personal cost to the character. What it cannot be is just hand-waved or given for free. That, by definition makes the character non-relatable and/or boring. This one point is the biggest tripping point for most modern female leads. They are suddenly better than everyone else, and they did not earn it. They try to cover for that by making the sense of "responsibility" be the cost or "no one acknowledges how great I am", which are both completely stupid and unrelatable. Also I agree on your points about the final fight in the series. I greatly enjoyed the series, but I also found Mizu's sudden amplification in ability to be unrealistic and annoying, but it wasn't a fatal flaw. I wish they'd have found a more creative way for her to take on the IronClaws instead of just raw fighting strength. Same with the Samurais a the season finale, but I could at least somewhat justify that in the sense that she had a whole season to prepare and also didn't care to survive per-say. One last thing I think that really helped this show was that her power did not come at the expense of the side characters and we see lots of other powerful individuals and we see our protagonist saved by others pretty regularly (you briefly touch on this).
This was a really good video. I get the feeling I would disagree with a lot of your takes, however you're also really good at media analysis and I appreciated this video a lot.
I just wanted to say I always appreciate seeing people who can compliment and see the good in people they may disagree with on a number of things. Good for you.
This series has quite homages and similarities to ( 1973 ) Lady Snowblood movie snd Samurai Champloo anime which I think anyone who has watched these two can understand and see the similarities in Blue eye samurai and how these have big influence in the show and one thing I have also noticed is that Mizu have some similarities with a certain female character from Demon Slayer anime is Shinobu Kocho. Both female characters want revenge for what happened in their life, their portrayal of female rage is very well done and both are very well written characters but the difference is the Shinobu constantly smiles because of her sisters wishes but if Shinobu didn't do that her personality would have literally been like Mizu.
Also, I love your videos, MS, keep it up!
I binged the show just to be able to watch this vid. Worth
Absolutely loved this show, can't wait for the next season!!!
Always love Mizu so much indeed this series is just never lose amazing points whether old video or recent like this one
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'm actually writing something (a book though, not a movie) that features a strong protagonist and Blue Eye Samurai may give me some thoughts for how better to flesh him out. I got most of the principles you were talking about down, 4 in particular, but it never hurts to have a better understanding of things. I struggle with principle 3 especially, since although I actually do practice HEMA I'm not very creative combatively; victory to me is a mixture of superior skill and good luck (which can and will turn against you at some point). I may have to break that mindset going forward.
Congrats on 100k!
I didn't hear about this show! I have a kind of OP character I wanted to write, but I didn't feel I had the experience yet so I'm writing a different story right now. Thanks for making this!
i love how you broke this down, well balanced, logical, yet fair and understanding to the genre themselves, when creativity meets logic and empathy
I never heard of this series before now. The only reason I got here was because I'm writing a personal project, and searching through KZhead for tips and ideas. However, these little pointers has been very helpful and insightful. Plus I have something to look for later to watch!
Really good video! 🤩
I love your videos... its how I've been seeing these shows
The theory behind not everyone attaching at the same time is you can hurt your own people more than person you’re trying to hurt. Friendly fire is not turned off lol sometimes you can get in the way more than being efficient. That’s why the 1v1 me bro lol😅
I'm willing to excuse Mizu effortlessly defeating goons because it plays into a power fantasy that is fun to watch. As you pointed out, when facing a serious opponent like the four fangs, the combat is more realistic in terms of power balance. This allows the audience to feel hyped when the character is a badass without making stakes too low. The final battle was just bad though.
Agreed. I think there are a lot of fantasy stories where random goons are easily defeated to show just how awesome the heroes are. Avatar, lord of the rings, Star Wars, and really most superhero stories come to mind. You need fights against more intimidating opponents, but it’s fun to watch (and still makes enough sense based on what we know of the skill of the hero) the hero cut through a lot of goons in creative ways.
I also like how her name which means water shows she is more than power as well. Water adapts to whatever container it is put in, she learns from every situation and knows what she can or cannot do. She reminds me very much of Balsa from Moribito.
12:01 - while I do agree basically, that her agression is self-destructive, I think the key point is how her agression is framed as opposed to male aggression. This series goes out of its way to show that every single male character gets away with incredible violence of every possible colour, no one bats an eye. But take a woman with the same attributes and she it's perceived as problematic, public enemy number one so to speak. If you look at their fight between Mizu and Mikio closely, it is literally the ONLY fight in which Mizu is NOT ACTUALLY AGGRESSIVE, but playful. She's careful and only gradually showing off her skills. What she does, however, is hurt her husband's ego, and see how quick he is to condemn her. It's not that Mizu is not in control in this fight - it's the opposite! She feels comfortable enough around her husband to banter, to sparr. The smile in her eyes says "See? You never saw it coming from me, right?" And THAT'S why he condemns her. Just imagine the same scene with two men sparring. If you have difficulty picturing Mikio calling a fellow man a monster, you already get my point. And I think that is the point of this entire episode! An angry woman can never just be an angry woman. They reframe her as something dangerous, an actual monster, an Onryo. Because no matter which culture we look at, women are never allowed to be angry. In western culture they call it hysteria, and here we have the onryo. Bot serve to dehumanize the female experience. And yes, i hear you saying "But hardly anyone knows that Mizu is a woman" - true. But not in this particular scene. And beyond that, Mizu is perceived as the "other", which places her in almost the same category as women. Neither are allowed to make mistakes, neither are allowed their human nature.
Nice video Sam.
Something I noticed in my third rewatch (this show is just...SO GOOD) that elevated the writing even more: Because she learned ONLY from sight, never from practice (two very different things in martial/weapon arts learning), her guard is terrible. She has excellent blows, her form is perfect, but she gets injured the same way every time: Her left side is weak. At first, I thought this was just to give her a weakness...and then I learned how much the animators learned from the fight choreographer. When you learn how to spar, you learn your patterns first (usually against a pells or in front of a mirror), and then how to use those patterns for defense. Then offense. The patterns teach you when and how to balance the two. Through that process, you also REALLY learn your weak points- either your guard too much (afraid of pain), you leave yourself open (overconfidence/overstretching), or even if you have a dead side (a lot of right handed people see their left hand/side as a dead weight. I, as a leftie, have had to learn how to be ambidextrous-- but it can happen to anyone). Mizu, having never fought against someone during her foundation years, never learned her weaknesses. She never learned to strengthen her left side, and she never had an opponent to teach you how BADLY YOU NEED TO GUARD CORRECTLY. She would never have anyone to teach her how to strengthen both sides, regardless of what hand she fights with. So. She repeatedly gets KO'd in her left shoulder. Or her left arm. And so this show is in my Top 5 forever, because whether intentionally or otherwise, they revealed her greatest weakness through her injuries: Being alone does not work forever.
Congrats on 100k
1. Reasonably interesting origin for the character's power 0:49 2. The character's power cannot be absolute 2:04 3. Displays of power by the character must be creative (includes design of fight + character's own ability to innovate) 4:13 4. Don't make the character's power the entire point of their character 9:08
Another good example of overpowered characters is in the book series Arcane Ascension. In Sufficiently Advanced Magic, the character Keras Salerian is shown to be incredibly fast and powerful and fights basically a god in one of his first appearances, but the amount of restraint and character Andrew Rowe put into him is incredible. He even wrote a prequal to establish rule number 1 in your video. The full series isn't out yet and a lot of mature topics are in the books so I personally don't recommend for under 18
Thanks bro hope you achieve all your dreams 🎉
There's a reason I grew up loving Mulan. She was a character I was able to relate with and look up to. And not becauee she was some perfect op charcater, it was becauee she never gave up, she was brave, she was at a disadvantage, but she worked extra hard to succeed. I was not naturally gifted in many ways, so always watching characters just being perfect at everything was t boring and in some ways disheartening. Jet Lee was a small guy and he didn't rely on his strength to fight, he relied on his speed, precision and skill; you have to.know your weaknesses and your disadvantages, and try to overcome them in other ways.
Mulan is truly awesome!
Damn early for this one here
I loved her, she's awesome
9:28 I was cared that my overpowered characters weren't good, but this made me happy because I do the very opposite: I make my characters learn that, even if they're mighty warriors, powerful witches or outright gods, a part of them is still human, and they can't just fix every problem without losing that part of themselves that makes them actual people.
Bro that castle infiltration sequence was like a video game. My mom doesn't even play video games but she said it too which shows smthng i think
I probably watched a different series. In the one I watched, I only felt some tension in the first episodes. Then I learned from experience and did not feel any tension anymore. Mizu "struggles" almost to exhaustion, get all kinds of injuries, but continues on that 1 last hitpoint quite successfully. There isn't really tension, it's simply waiting for another dazzling display of "creativity" against another horde of clueless goons. Still more fun to watch than some of the content you mentioned. But not really subverting those expectations (which are: main characters are op, they win, just go with it).
You pointed me to this show and I loved it. What are your top 10 shows?
The most well written "OP" character of recent years is Frieren from anime Frieren: beyond journey's end, though there are a lot of videos on that topic already.
Just a quick note about fighting multiple armed adversaries. When 2 or more people attack somebody they cannot really do so in the same time. One person is simply too small of a target. Long reached weapons - like swords - are especially bad. For a regular grown up person armed with a regular katana a 10 degree movement at the shoulder joint translates to about 20 cm / 8" movement at the tip of the blade. The more you move, the better the chances you'll strike at your team mates. Attacking one by one and looking to defeat a very skilled opponent by tiring and wounding them is the thing to do. For myself I would direct my hit squad to throw heavy objects all at once and when said very skilled opponent is blocked and hurt they can be captured. But this doesn't make for good stories, does it? 😁
So, just a thing that I wanted to mention because I kind of love Japanese culture even though I never watched Blue Eye Samurai: the attacking one by one thing kind of was something real in Japanese samurai conduct. Notice that I say SAMURAI CONDUCT. In skirmishes outside of open battle of army against army, samurai were actually trained and instructed to attack onf by one, even when having overwhelming force because ganging on someone could and would be seen as dishonorable.
Signing down under every word. Pretty much, my impressions of the series exactly
I think the best way to show a character’s will and strength is to, like john wick, have them feel their wounds. John wick’s whole 4 movies are happening over a week. He is increasingly rough in each movie. Mizu sustains huge amounts of injury throughout the series because they happen across 3 weeks or so. She does not wait to heal, and blazes on, burning herself as she does. She gets hurt reeeeaallly bad often, and she gets weaker and weaker as the show goes on, because she cannot keep going and sustaining such damage.
They did my man Mikio dirty shown to be humble, gentlemanly, accepting of and around Mizu, only to fucking turn 180 at the end of the episode.
Ringo sighs… “I’ll get my needles…”
The title alone explained why I love Well written overpowered mcs. The point of the story isn’t how strong can the main character get, but how much internal growth can happen so that the mc knows what to do with that power
Being insanely skilled is a perfectly valid reason to enjoy a character, you just gotta make the journey towards it intriguing. Or make their journey focus on what they’ll do with this power or how to live with this power or how to let it go. So many different ways to do it. So for me, I disagree strongly with point 4. I can see where people come from when they constantly talk about how strong female lead’s need to be focused on stuff beyond power, but that’s mainly brought about cause there’s been many bad movies that try to focus on power and get it wrong. Culturally at the moment not many people get this, cause everyone’s focused on the fact that “Ooooo, it’s a woman!” Most of my favourite stories I’ve read are female leads who are overpowered and only focus on power. It’s amazing when done well.
Mizu is better than everyone because she isn’t a goon and she isn’t trying to get away when escaping is clearly impossible. She has fully accepted that she can and will die. Every time. It’s shown visually. It’s her greatest strength.
I always say that a good model for an overpowered character is Achilles! He's one of the og's
I hate that guy
I also find the "wahmen strong" trope really irritating (it feels like producers digging for brownie points but that's beside the point.) So it really surprised me when I watched Alita: Battle Angel and genuinely respected the character and her unmatched combat skills. Like the samurai, she does come up with creative ways to win and gets help from others beside herself. She also has losing conditions that are not her dying: She has fragile people that she cares about that she is trying to keep safe. It was only with the help of an adversary-turned-good that she came up with a clever way to save her love interest and get her rival, who was trying to kill the love interest, to back down. (In case you haven't seen it or forgot, there's a bounty out for her boyfriend, so she basically fakes his death and takes credit for it, so she is protected by enforcement because you cannot steal someone's kill)
I haven't seen that, but have heard it's good. Will have to check it out some day.
Indeed it is, @@master_samwise! Iirc, it's directed by Robert Rodriguez and written and produced by James Cameron among others (a rather explosive combination if I do say so myself)!
Fragile isn’t the way to put it. And beyond that, the movie covers VERY little compared to what the source material has, so reading it is highly recommended. Another thing with Alita is she’s not overpowered in all aspects, and like all well written characters has quirks and flaws. She and Mizu come off as mentally fortified, but have a clear limit and are not nearly as stoic as you initially believe (at least for the latter).
Very interesting analysis. However, I was surprised that you didn't mention the somewhat magical realism aspect. In my view, the reason they make Mizu so absurdly overpowered is because it is getting to the heart of this sense that she really is a onryo, a revenge demon, on some level. I felt that when Heiji Shindo explained it, it all fell into place for me. She's /supposed/ to be almost irritatingly overpowered. It shows you that her power is almost otherworldly. She /must/ get her revenge and there is nothing and no one who can stop her, not because she is just that powerful, but because there is destructive force behind her. Because of the world she grew up in, she believed herself to be an onryo and thus became one.
I read Ep 5 a bit differently that I think ties in more to the overall theme. I think what happened was that she had hid her abilities to protect herself as she attempted a domestic life and when her husband seemed to fall in love with her she felt that she could maybe show him her true self. And there's even some lines where he tells her not to hold back. But when she does let loose she's obviously far superior, but I don't get the sense that she has unchecked aggression after all she's perfectly able to not actually harm him. But he liked her when he thought she was a simple domestic woman, but seeing that she's actually even far more capable than him he loses all interest and seems to be disgusted with her. Which tells her that she can't be loved because this is largely not a world that will have her so that's what pushes her over the edge to be onrio (however that's spelled).
For point 2, I would say, to clarify, that one doesn’t want to make their character’s power able to solve every problem IN THE PLOT. It’s not about the actual level of power, but whether or not the power is used to lazily solve every problem. One Punch Man, for instance, gives Saitama a ludicrous power that can let him win any fight, but he is still a compelling character, because the story isn’t about him just winning fights, and he can’t use his ludicrous power to solve every one of his problems in the story.
Absolutely! I think that is what he means by the power can’t be the point. It can’t be the characters entire personality, arc or motivation. Just like in one punch man.
I absolutely love this hypercompetent but hyper unlucky badass mf. Fantastic show and fantastic main character.
My take on the 2nd fight with Fowler, was that it was representing the half of her that is like him. You were looking for a samurai fight, but in putting down the sword and beating on him brutishly, her anger brought her down to his level, and the second season will probably only show more parallels between the two. It makes more sense for him to be the last one she kills and in that fight it is more likely that she will remember who she is and defeat him with the blade. I agree that they could have gotten through that last episode in a cleaner, less plot armor style, but I think that it would have been a disservice for her to kill him, when he will continuously be a representation of the poison within her, until the very end.
Percy Jackson is another great example. He is an absolutely over powered character. But that's not what makes him what he is. His loyalty, his battlewits, his humour, his flaws, his connection with people, his hatred for the gods are things that make him the character he is. And I absolutely love it.
YES i loved this show, i hope the second season is even better. She's not a hero but maybe she will be
I love a well-written OP character!! I think like you said, most people miss the mark when writing these characters because they confuse being “over powered” with “omnipotent”. OP characters not only can but should routinely get their ass handed to them. It should never feel like a given that they’re going to survive an encounter, or at least not survive it intact. Mizu works so well because after each encounter and battle nothing about her remains intact. Whether it’s her broken ass body riddled with injuries, broken self-worth, broken moral compass, or broken heart, every single encounter leaves Mizu scarred to some degree. As the titular character, the audience knows she’s gonna make it to the end of the show…. But at what cost?
I’ve been writing a fantasy book for a while and my main character is getting his ass kicked at the start adapting overtime to represent the journey almost dying in his first battle, gaining a concussion and having a tooth shattered by a sling. I enjoy a good struggle during the heroes journey they shouldn’t just be all powerful because they just are there has to be a build up to it
another way to write overpowered characters is to give them all this strength, and then have the challenges they face effectively stop them from unleashing it on the world. for example, in legend of korra (surprisingly), yeah korra could use force to stop the equalist movement, but it would be a bad look for her and for all benders in republic city. aang could have just killed ozai, but it would mean justifying ozai's worldview that might makes right. in one punch man, saitama's struggles aren't in fighting villains (he's called one punch man for a reason) - his struggles are more personal
I loved the art, animation, and choreography of Blue Eye Samurai, but not enough for me to come back for a second season. It's an amazingly well made show that still does a lot of same crap but it gets by because the people making it are actual artists. There was nothing about the last episode that I liked, and it does have that obsession and shallow understanding of power that plagues so many modern stories.
I think even in the fights where she is winning in a very over the top way because she is 'just better'. Even in those fights, for me personally the fights were creative enough and the action cool enough. It get's a rule of cool pass. Like at a certain point, that level of camp where the hero just destroys like 50 people on one epic sword fight is part of the fun. It fit's the tone and calls back to lots of older very well respected fighting and martial arts movies. Is the choreography 100 percent perfect - no. But it's a hell of a lot better than almost everything coming out of live action movies now days.
The Wandering Inn handles powerful characters really well. There are two characters in particular (Relc and Saliss) who are extremely physically powerful, but they both have arcs where even though they could easily kill any one antagonist that shares a scene with them, it wouldn’t solve their problems. They’re challenged not by a single character, but society as a whole It’s very well done
I think my favorite part is that they get to exercise their ability, and it is necessary in their solution to their problems, but the solution isn’t just “kill the right guy”. It requires a fundamental shift in their own sense of self. They become a more fully realized person in solving it, and even learn how to better direct their strength - and sometimes that means not actually using it and instead simply standing between a threat and someone who needs help
You really should do a video about Lt. Winters of 'Band of Brothers'.
Mizu can be firgiven in her shennaniganry because she *EARNS* the rule of cool.
I think one of the most important factors that makes Mizu works is the fact that, regardless of how exceptionaly skilled she is, it does not detract from her opponents skills (the important ones at least). Every time she duels, her superiority gives her the win, but it does not make her opponents look like incompetent bums. A lot of times when OP characters are introduced they make others around them look like rookies, thus the threat of an powerful opponent becomes trivial. In her case, for all her ability and skill, if she makes a mistake she might not just lose, but die, making the stakes of the fight matter a lot more.
The thing with Mizu is that the show loosely implies some supernatural quality about her. The puppet show episode shows her that way, drawing parallels between her and supernatural entities
The genre isn't called "fantasy". It's called Chanbara, and is the Japanese genre of samurai films which depicts them as a mythical era. It's conventions are conventions of the genre itself which includes the hero battling multiple opponents where these often stand around allowing the hero to fight a series of duels. If you don't know about the ethos of the samurai class, you won't understand why this happens. The duel is more or less sacred in samurai myth. Adding more opponents ups the stakes as it communicates the hero is outmatched and stands alone - which another key element where the samurai hero being alone in standing for honour and truth in a society ruled by corruption and injustice. This captures the tension inside Japanese culture which is very group and obedience oriented while still lauding individuals or small groups willing to take a stand against authority even to the detriment of themselves. Thus, being surrounded by a sea of enemies represents this element of social solitude and exposure, while still showing that the struggle is an individual one, fought inside the heart and mind of each person. Having the enemies of the samurai hero act "realistically" would be to miss the entire point of one of the corner stones of this genre. The Rônin samurai represents social and political dissent or isolation and while it is lauded, it is also destructive and subversive. In this fashion, Chanbara heroes are not engaged in a good vs evil fight in the way Western fantasy heroes are, but rather involved in a complex negotiation woth the societal values and structures of Japanese culture at large. (Apart from this, great video!)
This show was so much better than i thought it would be, amazing protagonist and an incredible villain… that chapple scene where he literally negotiates with Jesus Christ was epic
Just a quick comment to partially justify your point about some minions standing around while Mizu fights the rest: In sword fighting, it is super dangerous for *everyone* if you have too many people cramped together when blades are swinging around. If you see ten people fighting one guy, it’s perfectly reasonable to not jump in and become guy #11. You’d be just as much a danger to your allies as to your opponent. Actually, you’d be more of a danger to your allies, because there’s a 10/11 chance that you’d hit a teammate, while only a 1/11 chance you’d hit your opponent. Gradually, as your opponent thins out the numbers, you can jump in to replenish the allies you lost, but for everyone to rush in all at once is not typically what is recommended.
"Trust me. I'm a KZheadr." Loved it.
Personally I think they could’ve had Fowlder use his fists in some capacity since he hits like a small freight train and make him less proficient with katanas and give him a longsword or something like someone else said Also my one problem with Mizu’s sword not splitting the musket shit was that it was the one time it would’ve actually been kinda realistic for a katana to do You could even keep the subversion by having her succeed in splitting it, only for it to still hit her because it hasn’t spread far enough apart yet, and if you still want her sword to break, just have Fowler step on it or something Just some of my thoughts
You mentioned if every episode was as good as episode 5, it would've broken into your all time favorite top ten. That's a video, maybe even a video series. I'm curious ti know your all time top ten favorite shows Mr. Samwise. Very curious.
Can the next one be about anakin's fall to the dark side
am I the only one who was enjoying a lot blue eyed samurai (even thinking it could be on par with Arcane after having watched only the first episode) and then got completely disappointed on how the creators starting giving her more and more plot armor until nothing made sense?
Yeah, felt kind of let down by the last episode as well. A lot of convenience that realllly stretches suspension of disbelief. Fowler not finishing off Mizu and Taigen, then not finishing Mizu off again. Even if you spin it as him realizing his coup has failed and he needs a ticket to London, that's just an insane gamble to take. And then Mizu not killing Fowler. I'm all too happy to hear more of the voice actor in season 2, but I felt like she would have killed him and tried to find the other men on her own. And then a whole crowd of soldiers couldn't push open the gates against a woman and an old man, come on. I think they really needed a way for a gun to poke through and kill Seki while also not having a whole group of gunmen there to gun down Akemi, but it feels so contrived.
Peaches!
When it comes to the traps to stop someone, it is not really realistic to use boulders or lava, after all, not just does it have to be build but also maybe maintained in a way. Building a huge path of just hidden blades is therefore also not really logical, because most people can't even jump the first path. Having the second drop after the first, feels also more like a sinister cruel pleasure Fowler has, the moment you think you got over it, before it opens up to death. But even if Mizu avoided lava and boulders, at that point the show truly earned that kind of flex.
The final battle could’ve been perfect. Especially the part when Mizu had the gun and Fowler had the sword. Fowler we learn is very adept with a sword, and Mizu has never held a gun before. This power dynamic could’ve gone crazy, but they only use it for like a scene.
Mizu has never held a naginata before (as she states it clearly in EP5 before the duel with her husband) , but somehow she is so good with it far too good for a person who has actually trained with naginata
10:19 what's your all time top 10 list?
I agree with so much of this. I loved this show until the last episode, where so much just fell flat. Great video!