I have to admit, I committed a cardinal sin in the world of art – I judged a book by its cover. When I first saw Blue Eye Samurai pop up on Netflix, I groaned. My first thought? Oh no, not another cheesy Western anime. I was ready to dismiss it, but fate had other plans. A fellow teacher insisted I give it a shot, and boy, am I glad I did.

Initially, my skepticism prevailed. The opening scene seemed cliché – an over-the-top ‘bad guy’ reacts in a unnaturally sadistic fashion to a stranger and gets his comeuppance. It felt like a tired scenario that would appeal to a younger audience; not one for those looking for more nuanced entertainment. And not knowing that we weren’t supposed to realize that the protagonist was a woman, I thought, “Here we go again, yet another heroine grafted into traditionally a man’s role simply to jump on the band wagon.” Little did I know, my assumptions were about to be shattered. As the episode unfolded, I found myself captivated by the mesmerizing animation, the explosion of colors, and the intriguing characters. I ended the first episode at a complete 180 from my initial eye roll, absolutely loving the show and characters. I’ve never had such a reversal of opinion about a movie or TV show. And Blue Eye Samurai continues to get better with each episode.