In Blue Eye Samurai, our hero Mizu (Maya Erskine) is on a journey of revenge — as well as one of self-discovery. Set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan when the country’s borders are closed to the outside world, Mizu is deemed a “creature of shame” because she’s born mixed-race. To hide her blue eyes, she wears amber-tinted sunglasses and disguises herself as a man.
The new series is full of rich history and a 2D/3D hybrid animation style that adds to the story’s metaphor of blending, but it’s also the series’ unique use of music that deepens the layers of each character’s journey. From intimate moments to epic sword fights, creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green worked with composer Amie Doherty on nailing down the music direction that would drive the momentum of the show’s biggest and smallest moments.
“We wanted to create a musical synergy between the Eastern and Western elements to create a layered, epic musical landscape worthy of our characters. Amie immediately understood our show’s themes and emotions and communicated them so spectacularly in her music,” Noizumi tells Tudum.
Mizu feels stuck between her Eastern and Western identities, and Doherty was tasked with playing around with the score to explore the protagonist’s inner turmoil.
Doherty spent two and a half years collaborating with the creative team and countless musicians on composing a score fit for Blue Eye Samurai. “I had the opportunity to record some authentic Japanese instruments for the score — namely Shakuhachi, Shamisen, Taiko, and Hichiriki — as well as our stellar orchestra in Budapest,” she told Netflix in a statement. As the first female composer to score a DreamWorks animated feature film, Spirit Untamed, as well as an orchestrator and conductor on Lady Gaga's Grammy-nominated album Chromatica, Doherty described Blue Eye Samurai as “one of the best collaborations of my career.”
It isn’t just Doherty’s sweeping orchestral score that distinguishes the animated series’ music direction. Green and Noizumi worked with music supervisor Gabe Hilfer to commission a Japanese-language cover of Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” for Episode 6, when Mizu is fighting for survival inside Abijah Fowler’s (Kenneth Branagh) sadistic castle. Although the blaring electric guitar and striking bell sounds are a stark contrast to the rest of the series’ score, the song, performed by Emi Meyer, is a perfect match for the clashing swords and flames that Mizu encounters.
Blue Eye Samurai’s music is as much about the show’s characters as it is about the people who made it. Noizumi and Green came up with the idea for the series after the birth of their daughter — who has blue eyes. Noizumi also saw herself in Erskine when watching the actor in the series PEN15. “In PEN15, I really fell in love with [Maya] and related so much to her feelings about growing up mixed-race Japanese in Southern California, which was [also] my experience,” Noizumi added. “Sometimes I would watch her and knew that she felt my pain. She far exceeded our expectations as Mizu, and we hadn’t really seen her do anything this dramatic, but she really went above and beyond.”
Can’t get enough of the score? You can stream the complete Blue Eye Samurai soundtrack with music by Doherty here and see the full track list below:
Blue Eye Samurai is now streaming on Netflix.
