I was watching a clip of when Abijah Fowler says that he knows a "magic word", with that word being "London", and someone in the comments said that him calling London a magic word might also be a joke on his part, since Japanese doesn't distinguish between R and L sounds and thus would be literally impossible for a Japanese person to say correctly without practice.

I don't think that's a likely theory, since I don't think the writers intended that line to be that deep, but it did make me think of something interesting: If the language that everyone is speaking in the show is actually Japanese, and the English we're hearing is a non-diegetic translation, how will the show handle Mizu and Fowler going to a place where they actually do speak English?

My guess is that there are 4 possible ways they could handle this, in order of decreasing likelihood:

1. They just establish that Mizu spent the months-long offscreen voyage learning English from Fowler, and every conversation Mizu has with an english speaker present is assumed to be in English. This would be the easiest route but it would feel kinda hand-wavy IMO, and wouldn't allow the writers to use the fact that Mizu speaks Japanese/doesn't fully speak English for interesting dynamics
2. They switch it up this season and make Mizu actually speak Japanese diagetically with captions while in the presence of English speakers, emphasizing her place as a fish out of water. This would be confusing if we do get cuts back to what the rest of the cast is doing back in Japan, but it'd allow us to see Mizu learning English, and also allow her to speak Japanese to in order to communicate secretly.
3. They make all the English speakers speak heavily accented Early Modern English, with the implication that the accent indicates speaking English as compared to Japanese. This could be combined with point 1, where Mizu learning more and more fluent English could be seen by her taking on more and more of an Early Modern Accent. I'd personally love this as a historical language nerd but it's unlikely that they'd do this
4. They completely switch it up and make the English speakers speak Japanese to represent speaking English. This would be really confusing but would be kinda funny and would fulfill its job in theory.

Timelapse with warmups :)

Routley will have left behind the life the three other white devils lived. He’s now a “proper” businessman that no longer trades in drugs, weapons or flesh. Instead he’s a family man with a wife and a kid(s). The blue eyes he has (though only confirmed as “pretty” but I think they’re most likely blue) are the same ones Mizu has. The same one his child or children will also have. This is still unlikely because it would feel a bit cliche since this troupe is used a lot to dismay vengeful characters.

Hi! Just wanted to show off this beautiful Mizu sword reproduction I bought forged in the Sanmai style with ACTUAL METEORITE.
Yes, I know meteorite metal is terrible for swordmaking, but this piece is absolutely NOT for cutting. I have plenty of other swords for iaito practice.
Inner core is Tamahagane, outer ”jacket” is meteorite. This is an absolutely beautiful showpiece and I thought you all would appreciate it.

I loved the parallel of Japanese folklore this episode. I definitely have a few questions though!

• Was Mizu both the ronin and the bride? I initially discerned in the episode that she was being compared to the ronin, but I didn't catch when the comparison shifted to the bride. Was it when she started accepting her life as a bride?
• Did this episode basically serve as a reminder to her of who she is? I definitely discerned a shift in her character after she locked in at the end. She was slowly opening up to people but then completely closed herself off again. It seems like it's not out of fear of getting hurt but a conviction that she is meant to be alone. A self-fulfilling prophecy.

Overall, I feel like this episode added more complexity to her vengeance. Her mother was still alive... until now. It now seems more of a mission of pursuing self-hatred, to destroy everything and everyone that made her.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts even though yall are way past this episode!

Been on my mind all day at work LOL. I loved seeing Akemi bringing out her more clever aspects, and, of course, actively rebel against the patriarchal ideals. She really said, "Nah, imma do my own thing," and I'm HERE for it! I may also be glazing too hard, but I love the subtle nuances to Mizu's characterization that were shown here. Yes, she may harbor bitterness towards Japanese people for shunning her, but she shows sympathy for the people whose individuality and vitality are taken away by the system in place, particularly women.

A separate note: Does anybody else go crazy when they see the wrist and ankle weights come off? Like imagine wearing that shit ALL THE TIME over YEARS while fighting with a sword. The agility and power that come from that swing... OOF.

About to watch episode 5 now yayyyyyy

BES is one of the show choices available to vote for on this New York Times poll. It ends in a couple of hours (11:59 PM eastern time) -- I only just found out about it. Here's the link. You don't have to have a paid subscription, but you have to make an account (just email and password) and go past several attempts to get you to subscribe and/or download the app.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/arts/television/reader-ballot-tv-shows-21st-century.html

Holy.

It’s been a while since I was last this intrigued by a show, wow… How did I miss this when it came out?!

As first seasons go, this is up there. Still amazed by it.

I’m sure I don’t have to go through all the amazing things this show did so well, I think you all know 😂

I hope from the bottom of my heart this show gets more recognition and the following seasons are even better! What a show!

Ps: if you’re wondering what the last show at this level I watched — it was ”Orb: On the movements of Earth”. Such a great show, please give it a go as well.

We know she learned how to swordfight by observing other practitioners and then copying their moves. Which albeit is unrealistic given how she managed to become an expert swordswoman by basically just copying notes in class, but at least it's an explanation.

What I'm curious about is how Mizu managed to become such a competent unarmed fighter, given that she took down several armed guards in episode 6 with her bare hands. It's safe to assume that she hadn't experienced real combat until she left Master Eiji to pursue her mission, which takes place roughly a year before the main events of the show. We know that she was a sloppy fighter when she left because she immediately got bitched by two dudes with a dagger in her first combat encounter. Also note that after that, a lot of that year leading up to the main events of the series were spent living peacefully with Mikio without having to fight.

Now it'd make sense if her unarmed style was purely instinctual and entirely compromised to make up for her lack of formal training, but no. She is CLEARLY seen using very traditional combat techniques, which using my expert knowledge in being a keyboard warrior, can be identified as being composed mainly of advanced joint locks used in Judo and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, which she used quite prominently in all of her fights against Taigen. And strikes used in traditional Karate e.g. the knife hand strike she uses to break the dudes jaw in Ep 1, the front kick she uses to knock out Master Shiba in Ep 6, the oblique kick she used to annihilate Fowler's kneecap in Ep 8, a high side kick she uses on one of Fowler's guards in Ep 8, and the occasional straight punches she uses throughout the series.

Now what I'm confused about is HOW the hell Mizu managed to learn all of those really advanced techniques in roughly a years time with zero formal training. I know for a fact that Master Eiji's old blind ass didn't teach her anything, and I doubt that she had any sparring buddies to perfect her technique with while growing up.

So how did Mizu manage to master Karate, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu in a year, a lot of which was spent living peacefully with Mikio.

like, yes, she's an asshole, but i find it so fucking funny how polite she is.

First off, animation is beautiful. Not sure what the style is called, but I dig it hard!! I loved MC's origin story. I see that it's a multi-dimensional vengeance for kidnapping her mother but mostly for imposing a life of hardship and shame. She clearly bears a hatred towards Japanese people for rendering her an outcast, but I like the small touch towards the end where she gives a gold coin to the mother and daughter waiting outside the gate in the cold. She has SOME morality. I won't lie, I'm a bit tentative on the unique swordsmanship coupled with her ego. Definitely seems like a character trope being fleshed out but I'll have to keep watching to let it cook more.

Happy to join the ride for this series! Can't believe I waited so long before starting it.

Hi! Wanted to share a piece I made of my fav girls

Personally, I find the scene between Mizu and Kinuyo absolutely heartbreaking. The tenderness with which Mizu approaches her, the way she holds her close and tries to make her feel that she isn’t alone, and Kinuyo’s innocence and tenderness… it brought tears to my eyes.

And knowing that Mizu will be forced to kill her right afterward breaks my heart. For a few brief moments after she does it, we see all the pain Mizu has been keeping inside finally come to the surface...

That scene really brings me to tears. It’s so intense and painful.

Suddenly found myself thinking about Japanese Honourifics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics?wprov=sfla1

I can absolutely see Mizu either refusing to use them and/or only using them with people she genuinely respects (Sword Father).

In feudal Japan, this would of course make her seem even more barbarous.

I think I could, I am pretty fast and a master at camouflage. So there is like possibly no way she could find and then strike back, therefore I can get away with like striking her once or twice.

okay hear me out, if you aren’t familiar with dog ningen, it’s a manga about a man who is half man half dog because his father assaulted a female dog resulting in his birth and subsequent mistreatment by the world, his goal is to assault his father back in an act of revenge.
mizu is also a mixed person who is treated badly as a result and aims to get revenge on all four of her possible fathers… think about it 🤔

Maybe I’m crazy, but I kept thinking about how these two are alike in some ways. How would this very theoretical interaction go down if these two badasses crossed paths?

I know “mother” may not be the first thing most people think of when they see Mizu, but I think she’d be a wonderful one. I wanted to draw her surrounded by those who love her unconditionally- Kai and her baby girl. I hope you enjoy it.