Blue Eyed Samurai + Text Posts And Stuff

Just finished Blue Eye Samurai and I'm so in love with Mizu—and the mesmerizing animation, and the beautifully choreographed fights that look so real and polished, and Mizu, baby, your eyes??? And the incredibly well-written storytelling, and the flawless character construction that is Mizu, how can she be so perfect???

Uncommon Questions for OCs and their creators:

Send me a # (questions for OCs) or a letter (questions for creators) and I’ll answer

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

How easy is it to earn their trust?

How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

What animal do they fear most?

How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

What makes their stomach turn?

Are they easily embarrassed?

What embarrasses them?

What is their favorite number?

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Why do they get up in the morning? 

How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)? 

How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)? 

 Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom? 

 What are their thoughts on marriage? 

 What is their preferred mode of transportation? 

 What causes them to feel dread? 

 Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth? 

 Do they usually live up to their own ideals? 

 Who do they most regret meeting? 

 Who are they the most glad to have met? 

 Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke? 

 Could they be considered lazy? 

 How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt? 

 How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive? 

Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap? 

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)? 

What memory do they revisit the most often? 

How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people? 

How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

How do they feel about children? 

How badly do they want to reach their end goal? 

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS

A) Why are you excited about this character? B) What inspired you to create them? C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story? D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look? E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you? F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)? G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most? H) What trait do you admire most? I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe? J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

Mizu smiling compilation

It's already 2025 but I'm still stuck thinking about Mizu. Specifically thinking about how Mizu does not smile very much throughout the series.

Most (like I'd say 90%) of adult Mizu's smiles are actually not from present day but from her Episode 5 flashback, which is of course unsurprising. This is during a time when she was comfortable being herself and letting her hair down. She was vulnerable, in love, and happy.

In present day though, most of her smiles are smirks she makes while showboating. She is arrogant, sarcastic, biting, intimidating.

"Do I duel the mystic Tengu themselves?"

"Maybe I've been following you. The famous Hachi with the famous gun."

"Your [Akemi] father probably lined up a nice, young replacement lord to marry."

"I see why he [Taigen] likes you [Akemi]. You're just like Taigen when we were children. A fucking brat."

But underneath her bitterness and bravado, Mizu has a soft heart. We see this side of Mizu most often when she's alone.

Like when she smiles proudly at her own achievements the same way she used to as a child.

She smiles while fondly sending a prayer for Master Eiji, whom she has given the affectionate nickname/title of Swordfather.

"Please protect Swordfather from time and harm."

She smiles at the sound of the drums during the Hadaka Matsuri. She secretly yearns for fun, and genuinely wanted to go to the festival.

"Huh. The drums. Maybe I'll just go look at the fun."

It's not only while alone that she smiles however.

She also smiles when Akemi compliments her eyes, taken aback for a moment and seemingly impressed by Akemi's ability to flatter her.

"Huh. I see."

Then right after, we get this dialogue:

MIZU: Your madam explained how it is some essential part of the soul that draws men to brothels, when it's only naked flattery. Do men usually fall for this? AKEMI: The ones I've known, yes.

And then Mizu smiles again:

There are a few ways you can interpret this. Maybe she's just smirking like "lmao those dudes are suckers," or maybe she herself feels flattered because Akemi could be alluding to how Mizu is not like other men, or maybe she's remembering that Taigen is one of the men Akemi has known, who, consequently, is one of those suckers to always fall for Akemi's flattery.

Oh, and speaking of Taigen. Funnily enough, Taigen is the leading cause of present-day Mizu's smiles.

First is when they first meet again in episode 1.

"You're from Kohama Village. […] You've climbed some heights... to be the prize of a miserable lot."

This is, of course, not a genuine smile, but one of those cocky smirks mentioned earlier that she often makes. But while we're here, I just find it notable to point out because, despite the fact that he was her childhood bully, she is not afraid of seeing him again. Instead her first reaction upon realising who she's facing is to insult him to his face while smirking at him! I just find this interesting because it really sheds light on how she views Taigen in the present day. She doesn't see herself as his helpless victim. She's proud to show off that she, too, has made it out of Kohama, and that, in fact, she's better than him.

She smiles at him again later, just before they start their proper duel in the snow. She unsheathes her sword (which is the first time for both Taigen and the audience), and Taigen is shocked as he says this:

"You have a sword made by Master Eiji."

And then we have this:

Another smirk, playful and confident. Because joke's on him; little does he know that Master Eiji is her adoptive father, and not only that, the sword was in fact made by her own hand, and not Eiji's. Taigen is ever the fool and she finds it amusing.

The next time she smiles at him it's actually a genuine smile. It's in Episode 3, right after they work together to fend off the archers. Both of them are giddy and sheepish and awkward as they compliment each other's skills. Mizu smiles and looks at him with the same sort of hesitant admiration he gives her:

"Your timing… You're deeply skilled. The broken blade fits well in your hand."

The next time she smiles because of him doesn't involve him directly. Instead it's during the conversation with Akemi we talked about earlier. Right before she drinks from the cup Akemi gives her, she decides to bring up Taigen. We know this is because Mizu already recognised Akemi as Taigen's fiance and wants to mess with her. So she purposely alludes to him, boasting about how she'd defeated him in battle and smiling as she remembers fighting him. This is again one of those showboaty smiles, directed at Akemi, whom she is trying to deceive, but it ends up tying back to Taigen. She's smiling because he's an idiot, practically laughing at him.

But we do see her smile genuinely because of Taigen again. Later in Episode 6, Mizu finds Taigen in the dungeon of Fowler's fortress and her first reaction upon realising it's him is to gasp, before getting a hallucination of Mikio and Mama which unnerves her. It's when Taigen says her name that she snaps back to reality. This is when she smiles, glad to see an ally and a familiar face during such a painful time.

TAIGEN: [weakly] Mizu? MIZU: [relieved] Taigen.

The next episode is the penultimate episode of the season, and it finds Mizu at her lowest point. In a typical three-act dramatic structure, Episode 7 is essentially the "All is Lost" and "Dark Night of the Soul" portion. Mizu lost her sword, she failed to defeat Fowler at his fortress, and all attempts at reforging her sword has failed. Yet, it's during this time that Taigen begins to treat her as more than a reluctant ally, but also as a friend. It's here when he makes her smile the most.

First is when he reluctantly compliments her fighting skills.

"You're good. Maybe... even better than me. And no one is better than me."

She chuckles and seems genuinely amused.

This isn't just a cocky smirk but also a heartfelt smile. She recognises he's trying to cheer her up in his own way, backhanded as it might be.

And then he challenges her to spar, only to pretend right after that that he doesn't have the energy for it. She drops her hammer while smiling. The thought of a friendly spar already made her happy.

Then, of course, right after that, he charges at her and they have their playful little wrestling bout. And Mizu is laughing the entire time! Despite being at such a low point, this is still the happiest we see present-day Mizu.

We then see her smile because of Taigen again in Episode 8, but it's not while talking to Taigen, but about him. She is talking to Akemi, and her last words aren't even about Akemi or Mizu herself, but about Taigen. She smiles while thinking of him, talking of him almost fondly:

"Stubborn enough, [Taigen] will find you. He believes he loves you very much. He's not a good man. He could be a great one."

And that's it! I couldn't compile every single screenshot of her smiling because of the Tumblr photo limit, but this is roughly most of them. My wishlist for future seasons is for more Mizu smiles because my poor babygirl deserves to be happy.

I want a mango and peace

Curly turned into a marketable plushy! oh noes

CURLY NO DONT DRINK THAT!!!!

Blue Eye Samurai | Mizu & Taigen | an exchange of lessons

art by

jukin

@avtoccorrect

Poor Taigen. He’s so wrong

british mizu ‼️

she’s handsome and pretty…

im not good at clothes so this was something new :D