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Gi-hun’s number being 456, out of the 456 players total, representing ALL of the players - him being the voice of the people, fighting for EVERYONE like he did on his strike -

Versus In-ho and Il-nam being 001. Representing only themselves. Ultimately choosing only themselves. Alone.

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This screenshot is so fucking funny to me

the concern on gi-hun's face in particular is taking me OUT 😭

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Going to get off the mountain, from a high place, down to "look at the fun", to do something she'd enjoy, to seek out pleasure for once, is what saved her life.

By the end of the season, I interpreted Akemi and Taigen's relationship as over. It appeared to have been doomed when Akemi married to a man she actually liked, but if I had any doupt, it was cemented by them growing incompatible to each other.

(Notice how Akemi is on one side of the shot, with intense orange fire in the background, while Taigen is on the other side, with the blue sky and the calm forest in the background. Everything from the colors to the atmosphere signifies incompatibility).

Taigen used to value greatness, the show makes references to this all the time.

But something changed. Isolating his lines from the previous scene:

He chose happiness over greatness - the thing he valued, but ultimately had no value if it means he's not happy. Just like Mizu's quest for revenge. It is undoubtedly unhealthy for her and for those around her. She must choose happiness over it, she must dodge the sword.

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Whoever you ship Mizu with, it is ultimately gay as fuck.

Mizu and Akemi? That's just two angry wlw's haunted by the image of one another who have been pushed into different but mirroring paths that will one day intertwine, and their anger and regret will balloon into a terrifying clash. Violent? Yes. Passionate? Extremely. Sexual Tension? Nuclear-level.

Mizu and Taigen? Mizu didn't really mind the other acts of sex in Madame Kaji's brothel until she got to the dudes fuckin, and her immediate thought was how close Taigen and his lips were during their tumble in their duel. It's very clear Mizu sees her relationship with Taigen as homoerotic, and has shown some interest in it. That's just trans masc x bottom bi, baby.

Mizu, Taigen and Akemi?

So. Fucking. G A Y.

There ain't no cis-het reading of Blue Eye Samurai, bucko. This shit's the purest crystal queer in the market. It ain't cloudy. It ain't distilled.

This show is raw, uncut Mizumphetamine. Mizu is the chemicals injected into the water that's making the freaking fags frogs gay.

Mizu's the baddest bitch around. Be in awe of this undying fuck's energy. She is 2023's top bitch magnet. She doesn't get bitches. She pins them down, strikes the fear of her in them, and wields a fucking sword made to slaughter the heavens.

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Worst Most unhinged throuple in Edo period Japan.

Or, alternatively: hey what if they were all great and happy and satisfied. AND had two hands.

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it's thanksgivin' season | My tiktok | OG Audio

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Some Blue Eyed Samurai + text posts and stuff

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i think if they had a group chat this would be their dynamic

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Mizu endured discrimination all her life, lives with a deep hatred towards her father who brought her into existence and is on a serious level 100 quest to seek revenge and kill him. Pretty serious business.

Akemi lives in a house where she is constantly compared to a pig and is seen as a thing to be sold by her own father for alliance and she runs away only to land in a brothel. Also pretty serious business.

Taigen on the other hand is on a whole other wavelength and living out a one sided homoerotic plot where “only he gets to kill mizu”. Why you ask? “Honor”. Bro’s every problem is self created. He’s so stupid (fondly), I love him.

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the thing about mizu blue eye samurai is that she's a fag. He's a dyke. She's a cishet woman who sees two men kissing and immediately thinks of that guy who saved her life because he wanted to kill her. He's a trans man who's the perfect embodiment of the "quickly unsheathes and sheathes my sword, now you have top surgery" meme. If you asked them for their pronouns they would say "fight/me." He's just a lil guy who's girlbossing at a very high level.

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uhhh thinkin about how mizu and taigen's relationship was described as "this meeting of the minds, this meeting of the swords, that they could not share with anybody else" in one of the netflix articles about the show

and i'm going crazy because YEAH they're both equally invested about swords and fighting in a way that nobody else in their lives are. and that's just. so important considering we're talking about mizu, who sees her sword as her own soul.

and it's not JUST mizu who's obsessed with fighting. taigen is too. cuz like after their duel at the shindo dojo, as taigen is examining his bald spot in the mirror where mizu cut off his hair, he literally interrupts his own turmoil over losing his honour, just to express his awe, openly admiring mizu's skill DESPITE the fact that mizu just beat his ass and stripped his honour and status from him

then in the next episode, mizu says a very similar line when she examines the cut flower that fowler had pinned to heiji shindo's robe.

this was also such a sudden thing to notice in the middle of their conversation (my interpretation of this is that it hints to fowler's own skills with a blade, and gives mizu information about her enemy being a formidable opponent), but the fact that mizu had such a keen eye and managed to hone in on such a tiny detail from like a foot or two away is interesting because it shows us just how attentive mizu is, especially when it comes to blades and anything to do with them

to mizu (when she's not spiralling and agonising over her own self-hatred and the way the world treats her), swords are not a mere tool for revenge, but an art form which she is fascinated by and loves and admires. we see this from time to time, during rare moments of respite, like when she admires the duel in the beginning of ep4

mizu also takes to heart all the teachings from her years training, while taigen is interestingly less strict about them, basically disregarding some of those teachings as mere pedantry, or even if he doesn't actually really think so, he at least tells mizu as much in his attempt to comfort her after her sword breaks

but that doesn't mean he doesn't care for the more formal aspects of his training at all. because in ep3 when he says this

this line about mount sumeru is not talking about the literal mountain in front of them, but is a recitation of a line from the lotus sutra, which is among the mahayana sutras that they learned as part of their spiritual training, as zen buddhism forms a lot of the basis for samurai doctrines and philosophy. the sutra given more emphasis in the show is the heart sutra that mizu writes on her body in ep7 during her rite of rebirth

so taigen saying this line, as i see it, is a way to bond with mizu, or at least make conversation over their shared knowledge, as we see him await a reaction as soon as he says this. but mizu gives him none, and he looks disappointed/annoyed/frustrated or what have you as he watches her walk off without a word

also we see a little more of their shared knowledge of swordsmanship in the last episode when it's clear that mizu has been training ringo in sword fighting techniques

and later taigen recognises it instantly

they're both nerds about swords and fighting!!! they both respect each other's skills!!!

GOD i really hope in future episodes they get to bond some more over their shared passion and common training and just samurai camaraderie in general!!! mizu clearly loves the artistry of sword fighting so much, she deserves to have a confidant who shares that with her, someone she can talk openly about these things to!!!

because like remember when mikio was telling her about the naginata, she looked soooo uwu in love!!! admiring her husband as he showed off the weapon and told her the benefits of using it!!! believing at the time that she'd found a match who she could openly share her love of martial arts with!! she was having so much fun sparring him too. everyone says fighting is part of her love language and YES it IS!!!

except the difference is that mikio—due to, among other things, their large age difference and subsequent gap in life experience—believes he is mizu's teacher, rather than her equal. this is the role he's readily taken throughout their marriage, from teaching her how to throw a knife to cut down fruit (not like she needed that particular lesson), to teaching her equestrian skills.

meanwhile taigen and mizu were both kids growing up poor in the same backwater fishing village, which means that they are and always have been PEERS. and this becomes even more pronounced once taigen is stripped of his giant ego and unlearns his prejudice, allowing them both to fully respect each other and view each other as equals

which is again why it frustrates taigen when mizu admits later in this scene that she basically doesn't care about saving the shogun. like he gets mad because it upends his initial belief in their shared goals and aligned values, believing them both to be samurai of equal standing and honour.

ALSO i'd like to add, that though mizu is the better swordsman as we see her win all their brawls and matches, she doesn't surpass him by that much, and mizu knows this.

these words coming from mizu is such a huge compliment all things considered, acknowledging that he was strong enough to deserve fighting her, because shortly before this mizu was just about to say "no one has given me much of a challenge" only for taigen to enter the scene and, well, challenge her.

now combine this with her saying that chiaki's broken blade suits him well, giving to him HER sword which SHE made AND won, as a surety, promising him a duel that he "deserves". it's proof that even though she finds taigen an annoying brat and oftentimes an obstacle to her mission for revenge, she DOES respect him and does value his skills.

IN CONCLUSION nobody else is on their level, nobody else shares their love of swordsmanship and that is such an important factor to their bond and the way they relate to each other. i rest my case your honour

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My favorite thing about this scene, besides the objective fact its cool and sexy when rivals with a promise that only the other is allowed to kill them accidently turning each other on while wresting, is how Taigen specifically reacts.

(Note: To be clear Mizu is referred to as female by the co creators/writers a mixed raced couple who based Mizu on there daughter so She/her is how I will refer to her, no disrespect to others with there own AU/headcanons for her gender)

Anyway, reminder, as this point Taigen still things Mizu is a boy, and his reaction is to be bashfully embarrassed, but not to deny it or try to defend his straightness.

Which means 1 of 3 things.

1. Taigen is Bi and already knows it, so he's more embarrassed by the circumstances then the act.

2. Taigen just realized he is Bi in that moment and had the calmest reaction to that revelation ever.

3. Taigen is Straight, but so secure in his Heterosexuality, that rolling around with someone he thinks is a man and the friction causing a hard on is just a matter of fact thing that happened and he's man enough to just admit it no fuss no muss.

All 3 options are a mix of both funny and really sweet, we stan a self secure fated Rival/Love Interest

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I just noticed another Mikio/Taigen parallel.

The end of this relationship is Mizu throwing a knife at Mikio (what he thought he was teaching them), which kills him.

Awaiting the tea party with Heidi Shindo, Mizu and Taigen sort of start to bond. Mizu throws a chopstick back at him, reminiscent of Mikio’s death.

But Taigen catches it.

I feel like this symbolises the two men’s very different reactions to Mizu’s true nature and fighting ability. Mikio is caught off guard by it, Taigen is able to match it. It’s why Mikio leaves Mizu, and it’s why Taigen follows Mizu. It leads Mikio to cast Mizu aside, it leads Taigen to respect Mizu. Mikio calls Mizu a monster for it, Taigen admits Mizu is better than him.

It’s such a small thing, but it feels like Mizu goes “this is me”, and it’s Mikio’s downfall, but Taigen *catches* it.

Could also be nothing, but my brain went brr.

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They've come a long way. Taigen did terrible things, but he repented and he has all this Zuko vibes. And Mizu, poor Mizu, having experienced so much unbearable and betrayal from a loved one to whom she opened her soul and heart. Revealed herself. But I absolutely loved how Mizu is having fun, relaxed and content for the first time in a long time. AND EXCUSE ME BUT HOW DOES TAIGEN LOOK AT MIZU??? WE LOST HIM LMAO

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