Blue Eye Samurai creator wanted to tell a different type of mixed-race story

polygon.com:

Blue Eye Samurai’s Mizu, the mixed-race swordmaster at the center of the show, wants to kill the four white men who were in Japan at the time of her birth.

The story takes place in 17th-century Edo Japan, a time of isolationism for the country, which meant no foreigners. Because of that, Mizu’s white features — particularly her striking blue eyes — alienate her. She hides her eyes behind yellow-tinted glasses and does her best to pass as fully Japanese, lest she be called a half-breed or a demon. It’s a compelling character motivation, and also a neat subversion of how we typically see biracial characters portrayed: namely, Mizu is a biracial character grappling with her identity in a setting that’s not primarily white or European.

Even though there are more multiracial characters on screen than ever before, they’re still overwhelmingly portrayed through a white lens. Often, the characters will be half-white and struggle to connect to their white family in predominantly white settings. This is especially true when it comes to biracial characters in historical movies and TV shows (or even fantasy settings inspired by history). Both 2013’s Belle and 2023’s Chevalier focused on the true stories of half-Black, half-white individuals proving themselves to their white peers — admirable and inspiring stories, but we rarely see how the opposite situation might play out. If biracial characters are depicted at all, it is usually in a majority-white-populated setting, be it Europe, North America, or some Euro-inspired fantasy world.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Blue Eye Samurai.]

That’s where Blue Eye Samurai subverts expectations. Unlike in what we typically see, Mizu disguises her white features. It’s her Japanese