One of the main producers and directors of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated animated series, Blue-Eyed Samuraigave an update on when viewers could see the release of the second season of the series on the streaming service.
The adult animated series tells the story of Mizu, a mixed-race woman in Edo-era Japan who trains to become a samurai in order to track down and kill the four white men who could have been her father.
The series was first renewed in December 2023, but there is no further information yet on an exact release date or window for season 2.
However, season 1 of the series has now been nominated for “Outstanding Animated Program” and “Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series.”
Blue Eye Samurai Season 2 Gets Release Window Update
In an exclusive interview with Russ Milheim of The Direct Blue-Eyed Samurai Executive producer and director Michael Green provided an update on the release date of the second season of the Emmy-nominated show.
When asked when fans can expect the second season of the series, Noizumi announced that it will be “2026.” For fans who have been eagerly awaiting new episodes, this is rather discouraging news, as they will now have to wait at least 26 months between the premiere of the first and second seasons.
Green revealed that “(You have) written more than half” of the season so far:
“We’re more than halfway through writing and starting production on the first two. When we’re done with another interview, we’ll be looking at some early storyboards for the first episode, and it’s not the first round that’s come in.”
Right now, the team is reveling in its Emmy nominations for Season 1.
Green admitted that she “felt lucky enough to even make it,” and Wu explained that the experience was “Incredible.”
Jane Wu (Supervising Director) also spoke to The Direct, where she shared how overwhelmed she was that “100%” the show worked in contrast to the “80%” she projected in her head:
“It’s such a unique show. In my head I said, I think 80% of this should work, and the fact that it actually worked 100% was, yeah, I’m pleasantly surprised.”
Green stepped in to ensure that the “Sound design:”
“And then all the elements came together. Everyone talks about the animation, and they should, because it’s incredible, something that’s never been done before and was really hard to do. But then also our music, our sound design, which is also Emmy nominated for a damn good reason, created the show when we finally got to see it for ourselves in reality.”
The filmmaker went on to share how the sound design helped complete the project, noting that when listening to it, it felt like “even done more than they had planned:”
“Like sitting in a mixing stage and realizing it was both an experience and a story. And people said it transported them to a world where they could actually sit in. It was really flattering (to hear that). (It) felt like we had done even more than we set out to do.”
A special feature Blue-Eyed Samurai is the way in which nudity is handled and never shied away from, whether it is casual or sexual in nature.
Amber Noizumi (Executive Producer/Writer), who also participated in the discussion, pointed out that in Japanese culture “They were not ashamed of their nakedness:”
“When Michael and I started writing all the episodes, we talked about Japanese culture at the time. If you look at the art of the time, people weren’t ashamed of bodies or sex, they didn’t have this puritanical Judeo-Christian worldview, and they weren’t ashamed of nudity.”
“While they didn’t shy away from it, they made sure everything was “story-driven” and “no unnecessary nudity in our show. Everything will be story-driven. There was nothing unnecessary. All the sex is in service of the character or storylines, and any nudity is just part of the world, not just to shock people. Maybe some people were shocked.”
When talking about what they really wanted to make sure came across when telling a story set in Edo, Japan, Green confirmed that all intentions “Just start with the sign.”
However, one of the main questions they ultimately wanted to investigate was complicated: “What happens when a country successfully homogenizes its population and then says that it is not allowed to be a foreigner here?”:
“I mean, it starts with the figure. Here is someone who feels like they don’t belong there, and it’s a very restrictive world. What happens when a country successfully homogenizes its population and says you can’t be considered a foreigner here? Obviously, these are issues that are unfortunately still relevant today. And what if you live in a world where women aren’t allowed to control their own bodies? Unfortunately, that’s a little too topical today.”
The director made sure that they did not “I have decided to talk about it,” but dealing with these issues became quite natural as I followed a character “which had a goal that was in direct contradiction to the conditions of its time:”
“It’s not that we set out to philosophize about it, but we had a character who had a goal that was in direct conflict with the conditions of her time and who had to build a new life, a new reality, who was so determined that she was willing to do what she needed to do to achieve what she needed to achieve. We were lucky to have that idea and realize that we could tell some really great stories with it.”
“The Edo Period” which took place from 1603 to 1868, “is fascinating for so many reasons,” Green stated:
“But the Edo period is fascinating for so many reasons. The art is beautiful and the wardrobe is beautiful. It’s cinematic but it’s also seen as a golden age and yet there are a lot of dark underbelly things that just make for a good story.”
Noizumi admitted that she hopes her show will inspire other shows to “Experiment more in the area of animation:”
“We really tried to create a story that was based on personal experiences and telling a person’s story, using authentic culture and artistry and not being afraid of close-ups, letting the story flow and really following that narrative and making it very adult. We hope that more shows, I don’t mean more shows like ours, but that it opens up the possibilities for different shows to try new things and experiment more in the area of animation. And there are obviously some shows that are doing that.”
At the end of the day we work on Blue-Eyed Samurai has further enhanced the already enormous talent of all those who shaped it.
Wu pointed out that one of the most important things she’s learned is “being able to pace yourself”: “I think for me it’s about how long an animation takes and just having to pace it so that it’s sustainable and I have to take care of myself because it’s such a long process because, you know, in live-action you just give it your all because, you know, in six months or a year you’re done, but this is a three-year process so you really have to pace yourself. That’s what I’m learning.”
Noizumi, on the other hand, emphasized how important it is for most people “Choir” of voices, all of which play a role in creating the final product that the audience sees at the end of the day.
“I would say maybe it’s about listening to all the many, many, many voices that this choir brings to the creation of the show, and how we all have to listen to each other to create this unified piece. And, you know, figuring out how we all listen to each other to create it.”
Blue-Eyed Samurai is now streaming on Netflix.
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