are you transphobic or just ignorant? no one is mad that mizu is being called a girl in interviews because they are sexist. They have just watched the show and seen that the writers are clearly implying Mizu’s gender isn’t something as simple as a mulan situation, and are disappointed to see them turn around and deny any non-cishet reading of the show.
There are already a number of very strong and well written female characters in the show, such as Akemi!! And for the record, I do not ship akemi with mizu or any of that nonsense, it has clearly been shown teh few times mizu did feel attraction it was towards men.
Lmao like clockwork. I made that post because I thought people would become immediately and increasingly stupid about this so let's pour cold water on it. The minute ppl have an attachment to a character they start being ridiculous and I've seen people feel bad for saying she's a woman. Why? Because someone thinks differently?
You're essentially saying 'you have Mulan' is there a quota lol ? Mulan is a kids movie, this isn't. Might as well bring up Steven Universe next. You bring up Akemi like ' here you go' Akemi is cool but again, is there a quota? The creators made that behind the scenes before most people were even aware of the show & some are acting like they said what they said to personally spite them. Disappointment is fine but come on! Ppl are being extra.
Some need to relearn appropriate reactions. Have your theories, headcannons and memes but others aren't obligated to go along with that. The creators are mixed race with a mixed daughter with blue eyes and wondered how the world will react to her and took it from there.
How is someone " denying " something they never wrote about their own creation in the first place? Do you understand how insane that sounds ? No one is or can stop you from reading her differently, many are without being annoying.
" there are already a number of well written strong female characters in the show" again! IS THERE A QUOTA?? Lool please I'm just waiting for more cool fanart and find some people's behaviour silly.
Desist!!! And relax!
We can all hold hands and sing kumbaya! Have you tried having fun?
@pumpumdemsugah I’m so sorry that you’re getting backlash, but thank you for speaking up about this issue. As a biracial woman myself, it’s incredibly frustrating how white people (including queer ones) are not listening to women/people of color whenever we call them out for this problematic behavior. I’m trying my best to be patient and calm, but people like that Anon don’t make it easy.
To anyone who tells us “you have Mulan” — let me just remind you that Mulan is a Disney film for kids made by white people. Meanwhile, Blue Eye Samurai is an adult animated series that was primarily created by two Asian North American women (one is biracial and the other is bicultural). They are not the same things and they are not telling the same story, but even if they were … that would still mean that there are only TWO stories like that.
White folks are so used to seeing people who look like them on screen all the time, that they never really stop to consider what it’s like for us visible ethnic minorities to never feel seen/heard in the media that we consume. The only discrimination that white queers know is due to their gender/sexuality. I know you’re desperate for representation, but guess what … so are we. Biracial/POCs deserve representation too, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The writers of Blue Eye Samurai can’t deny something that wasn’t even there in the first place. This show was never marketed as Queer Representation. Are there queer elements in it? Yes, but that does not make it a queer story. This show is about a biracial Japanese woman in 1600s, Edo Japan, who is not traditionally feminine and who has complicated feelings about sex due to the belief that she was conceived through sexual violence. This story is deeply personal for the women of color who created it and for the women of color who finally get to see themselves represented in it. Do you have to be a biracial or bicultural woman of color in order to enjoy this show? Absolutely not, but just remember this … you are an outsider looking in. This show is not about you and it was not created for you.
It is NOT transphobic to call out white queers who decenter racism and sexism from the storyline of Blue Eye Samurai. It is NOT transphobic to explain why it’s extremely problematic to view this show from a modern western lense. We are NOT transphobic for simply telling you folks to shut up and listen to us ethnic minorities for ONCE. Anyone who continues to argue about Mizu’s gender identity or sexual orientation has clearly missed the point of the story. Anyone who continues telling women of color (including Blue Eye Samurai’s own creators) that we’re wrong for referring to Mizu as she/her is being racist and misogynistic. Period.
@blue-eye-samurai sorry to bring this back but I really liked your comments
It's so crazy to me how much was put into the setting of the show and how much race is a core theme only for people to act like headcannons are a civil rights issue and you must behave deferential and congratulatory towards any shit someone projects or thinks about a character . I'm not doing that lol
God forbid we contend with what's happening in the show and talk about racism, misogyny and all really well animated violence
There's a lot of white people that talk about identity a lot so do not think they can be racist and sexist when they're acting like this because they've become used to accusing people of random shit when everyone doesn't tell them they're so smart and so cool for every thought they have
And the person that tagged ' media can be a window not a mirror ' thank you !
It's ridiculous to expect anyone to treat something that's not happening in the show as just as important as what actually happened. It's like what ? What do you mean " just as valid" ?
If Mizu has gay sex in London, fantastic but that's not why I watched the show nor do I think it makes sense for that to happen or need the creators to make some vague statement about her sexuality so I feel " seen ". It's like...who cares? Get a grip
Most of the time it's completely irrelevant if you feel seen or validated because that's not the point of the show
@pumpumdemsugah awww don’t be sorry, I’m always happy to discuss these things. And I like the comments you added here as well.
“It’s so crazy to me how much was put into the setting of the show and how much race is a core theme only for people to act like headcanons are a civil rights issue and you must behave differential and congratulatory towards any shit someone projects or thinks about a character. I’m not doing that lol” — THIS! 💯
“God forbid we contend with what’s happening in the show and talk about racism, misogyny and all really well animated violence” — Agreed!
It’s very frustrating how so many people here in the tags (mainly white queers) are more interested in speculating about Mizu’s gender identity or sexual orientation than they are in having (or even listening to) discussions about the show’s main central themes: racism and misogyny. Rarely do we ever get shows with canon material that is so complex, well written and well researched as Blue Eye Samurai is. Women of color (including cishet ones) are rarely ever the main character of any story, much less one that doesn’t fetishize us and that doesn’t overlook issues of racism + patriarchy.
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time that I (a biracial + multicultural cishet woman who’s not traditionally feminine) felt this seen and heard with a fictional character like I do with Mizu. I’m so used to feeling invisible in the media I consume that it actually came as a shock when I first saw all eight episodes. I haven’t even had much time to entertain myself with my own personal headcanons about any of the show’s characters because I’m still processing a lot from the canon material.
That’s why it’s so disappointing to see white people (including queer ones) making everything about themselves yet again by being so loud about how their “headcanons are just as valid as canon”. Like no, y’all need to sit down and shut up for once.
People happily headcanon Mulan as nonbinary or trans all the time, but nobody ever shies away from saying that character is still canonically a woman. I’ve never seen anyone lash out at somebody for simply saying that Mulan is a strong woman character from Chinese folklore. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, certain people are treating Mizu very differently even though both of these characters are in very similar situations.
Like damn, I genuinely can’t understand why they’re being this entitled and self-righteous about a story that isn’t about them at all. They need to stop demanding that everyone accept their own personal interpretations as irrefutable facts. They need to stop throwing around baseless accusations at anyone who doesn’t agree with them. They need to understand the differences between what is their own personal headcanon (especially as an outsider looking in) and what is the actual canon text of the material they are consuming.
