10 best anime to watch if you like Blue Eye Samurai

Blue Eye Samurai has garnered critical acclaim for its relatable themes of identity, revenge, and overcoming discrimination in historical Edo-period Japan. With compelling characters, stunning visuals, and intense action, it's no wonder why fans have been clamoring for more anime like Blue Eye Samurai.

While no series can truly replicate the magic of the blue-eyed samurai Mizu's journey, several anime capture a similar spirit and style. Whether you’re looking for feudal Japan settings with anachronistic twists, morally complex characters, thoughtful martial arts sequences, or explorations of prejudice, several acclaimed shows are bound to appeal.

Here are 10 series anime fans will love if they enjoy the vivid animation and vicarious lessons of personal growth in Blue Eye Samurai.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's opinion and is not ranked in any particular order.

10 best anime for fans of Blue Eye Samurai

1) Demon Slayer

Bursting onto the anime scene in 2019, Demon Slayer shares Blue Eye Samurai's dedication to representing traditional Japanese culture and history through animation.

The story follows kind-hearted teenager Tanjiro Kamado. While the teen's family is slaughtered, his sister Nezuko is turned into a demon by sinister supernatural foes. Tanjiro joins the Demon Slaying Corps, using ancestral "breath" techniques to fight demons and seek a cure for his sister, Nezuko.

With its tender moments and terrifying demons evoking as many tears and gasps as Blue Eye Samurai's action set pieces, Demon Slayer is a sweeping odyssey sure to please fans of Mizu’s tale.

2) Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin (Image via Studio Gallop, Studio Deen)

Set shortly after the transition from the Edo period to the Meiji era, the series explores the tensions between honoring tradition and adjusting to widespread societal shifts. The series uses insightful characters with mysterious pasts to enhance the storyline.

Titular protagonist Kenshin Himura is an eccentric wanderer hiding his identity as a former assassin, seeking nonviolent atonement for those his blade killed. Like Mizu, Kenshin faces external and internal conflicts, balancing his current peaceful existence with the expectations of his former life and reconciling his past actions with his present moral code.

With its poignant emphasis on character growth and redemption, Rurouni Kenshin is an anime akin to Blue Eye Samurai in its meaningful reflections on identity formed through historical struggle.

3) Afro Samurai

For viewers who connected with Mizu’s thrilling pursuit of vengeance where she alone could survive, Afro Samurai offers another stylish, music-backed glimpse of samurai bloodshed animated for mature audiences.

The miniseries is set in a dystopian yet feudal futuristic world and follows the stoic Afro. It shows Afro slashing through endless assassins to exact revenge on a long quest fueled by childhood trauma.

With inventive updating of classic weaponry and an atmospheric blend of traditional Japanese and hip-hop soundtracks, Afro Samurai modernizes samurai action with the same panache Blue Eye Samurai brings to animating vanishing Edo traditions.

4) Sword of the Stranger

Historical action aficionados who appreciated Blue Eye Samurai’s devotion to accurate artistic designs and choreography in its feudal fight scenes may enjoy this series. Like the former, Sword of the Stranger also has similarly realistic animation on display, which fans are set to enjoy.

Young Kotaro crosses paths with mysterious ronin Nanashi, who is being pursued by Ming assassins in Sengoku-era Japan. That is when Nanashi finds his vow to avoid sword fighting tested by his need to protect Kotaro’s special yet secret bond.

Blending wuxia fighter storytelling conventions with jidai geki samurai cinema ambiance, it delivers exquisitely crafted feudal skirmishes while exploring evergreen questions about lived purpose and caring for others.

5) Samurai Champloo

Blending history-inspired settings with anachronistic reimaginings through an evocative hip-hop atmosphere, Samurai Champloo resembles Blue Eye Samurai’s fusion of traditional and modern visual and audio aesthetics.

This acclaimed series was created by the director of the global smash Cowboy Bebop tracks laidback vagabonds Mugen and Jin. They are accompanied by the sassy Fuu across Japan to find “the samurai who smells of sunflowers.

Though following a mostly comedic episodic structure, Samurai Champloo interweaves melancholy backstories and weighty social commentary between its characters’ misadventures. These include anachronistic elements like graffiti artists or baseball.

6) Dororo

Dororo (Image via MAPPA, Tezuka Productions)

Readers moved by the loving representation of Japanese culture infused in Blue Eye Samurai’s atmospheres and emotional arcs should stream the startling 2019 reboot Dororo next.

Expanding on Osamu Tezuka’s iconic manga, it follows young thief Dororo and mysterious warrior Hyakkimaru traversing war-ravaged Feudal Japan as Hyakkimaru battles demons to regain his missing body parts from a pact made by his power-hungry father.

With its melancholic meditations on disability, gender, and class divides shown in Blue Eye Samurai’s themes, Dororo offers an impactful anime lens into the complex burdens of Japan’s past.

7) Basilisk

Those intrigued by Blue Eye Samurai's themes of forbidden romance, will enjoy historical fiction anime Basilisk.

Set during Tokugawa Shogunate reign over feudal Japan, two rival ninja clans with superhuman abilities are pitted against each other in a violent battle royale. The battle will determine which clan will become the Shogun’s covert agents for the next 1000 years.

However, the ensuing bloodshed is complicated by the forbidden love between star-crossed couple Gennosuke and Oboro. They are the heirs of the warring clans, struggling to end the fighting despite their families’ mutual hatred.

Like Mizu’s own defiance of social ostracization due to her heritage, Basilisk depicts profound battles waged both by blade and by heart. This is what makes it a great pick for viewers enthralled by Blue Eye Samurai’s fusion of affection and action.

8) Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Image via Production I.G)

This production has fantastical magic supplements and historical settings rather than overt anachronisms in Blue Eye Samurai. It has elements like shamanism and folklore which only emphasize its sense of transporting place and cultural accuracy about Edo-era Japan.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit centers wholly around this brand of supernatural world-building. It renders a fictional world inspired by various East Asian cultures, depicted through the perspective of a wandering female bodyguard, Balsa. She is hired to protect a prince possessed by a water spirit.

Blending real-world cultural depth with mystical action and character drama between Balsa, her spear-wielding mentor, and a young charge akin to Blue Eye Samurai’s fusion. It reminds viewers of heritage and creativity as Moribito casts an artistically impressive spell.

9) Ninja Scroll

Fans hooked by Blue Eye Samurai's fierce ninja rival Rina and the show's creative reimagining of Japan's Edo period would surely be intrigued by cinematic anime classic Ninja Scroll.

Set during a fictional feudal era, this R-rated feature pits stoic swordsman Jubei against the Eight Devils of Kimon. The latter is a cabal of demonic ninjas with fantastical powers and a sinister plot threatening all of Japan. Like Blue Eye Samurai, Jubei must ally with other skilled outcasts, from the mysterious Kagero to cunning thief Tsubute, to topple the cruel overlords who endanger the land he holds dear.

Complete with spellbinding martial arts, political intrigue, and characters fighting against persecution from totalitarian regimes, Ninja Scroll blends history and fantasy into an influential anime tailor-made for Blue Eye Samurai admirers.

10) Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke (Image via Studio Ghibli)

Set during Japan’s Muromachi period but structured as an allegorical fairy tale, Princess Mononoke envelopes viewers in lush, hand-drawn tableaus of gods, monsters, and magic. While they inhabit village life and nature, they are also angrily disrupted by technological intrusions from restrictive societal norms.

Central hero Ashitaka’s journey mediating between capricious forest spirits and authoritarian colonialists intent on taming the wilderness mirrors Mizu’s own stand for self-acceptance between tradition and discrimination.

Both anime ultimately convey that understanding differing outlooks instead of punishing nonconformers plants seeds of social change.

Conclusion

The resplendent anime realm holds countless series expanding insightfully on identity discovery and the societal struggles surrounding prejudice that give Blue Eye Samurai such drive and emotional resonance for viewers.

Whether desiring more feudal fight scenes, explorations of Japan’s eras through animation, or fantasy tales weaving history’s conflicts into allegories about modern discrimination, fans moved by Mizu’s journey have plenty of acclaimed and inventive series to start streaming.