Sydney Chandler Has Seen This Animated Show How Many Times?! | Sorry Not Sorry
Animation has been telling some of the best stories for years. But despite multiple successes, it still isn't always treated with the respect it deserves. Fortunately, there are people like Sydney Chandler who will stick up for the genre, no matter what. Speaking to JustWatch, the actress named a 2023 Netflix animated series as her favorite thing to re-watch.
WATCH: Sydney Chandler Has Seen This Animated Show How Many Times?!
"Mine would be... It is a show... But Blue Eye Samurai, which is an animated piece," Chandler revealed while promoting the 2026 sci-fi road comedy Anima. She then explained exactly why she thinks the series deserves more recognition than it has received. "I think if it was live action it would have just won everything. But animation is put down for some reason."
"I thought it was incredible," Chandler continued. "I've watched it, I think three times now. And I will defend that with my last dying breath." Her enthusiasm for the series is valid since Blue Eye Samurai is a meticulously crafted revenge story with complex characters, awesome action sequences, and some of the strongest writing in recent television.
Blue Eye Samurai is set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan. The series tells the story of Mizu (Maya Erskine), a master of the sword who disguises herself as a man to hunt down four men who are in the country illegally. The twist is that one of them is her biological father. But Mizu isn't just presented as an action hero. Although she's fiercely capable, the show gives equal attention to her emotional scars.
Animation Isn't Taken Less Seriously Because It's Worse Than Live-Action
However, Chandler's biggest point wasn't really about Blue Eye Samurai. It was about animation in general. For all the critical acclaim animated films receive, they've rarely been invited into cinema's biggest awards conversations. In nearly 100 years of the Academy Awards, only three animated films have ever been nominated in the Best Picture category.
That list includes Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010). But none of them went on to win. Instead, the Academy decided to introduce a Best Animated Feature category in 2001. While it was an important step in terms of recognition, it is also a serious disservice to the genre because it removes any chance an animated film has of winning Best Picture.
Additionally, animation is still viewed as something primarily made for children, despite decades of evidence suggesting otherwise. Just as live action can tell romances, thrillers, historical epics, intimate character dramas, and stories made for kids, animation can do exactly the same. The only real difference is the tools used to bring those stories to life.
That's why Chandler's love for Blue Eye Samurai feels so relatable. She's not saying that animation deserves special treatment. Like a lot of us, she just feels that audiences, critics, and awards panels should judge the story first and the medium second. And going by animation's shaky relationship with major awards, it's difficult to say she's wrong.
Why To Watch 'Blue Eye Samurai' (And What To Watch After)
Blue Eye Samurai is as emotionally layered as it is brutally violent. Every sword fight carries emotional relevance because every battle reveals something new about the people involved. It never overexplains its themes and never treats animation as a limitation. Instead, it uses the medium to create moments that would be incredibly difficult to achieve in live action without sacrificing some of the artistry.
Whether you're drawn in by the action, the characters, or the animation, it's easy to understand why Chandler has watched the series three times already. If Blue Eye Samurai leaves you wanting another story about a strong female warrior, 2007's Claymore is a must. The series is set in a medieval world plagued by shape-shifting monsters known as Yoma.
The story follows Clare (Houko Kuwashima), a young warrior who belongs to an all-female order tasked with hunting the creatures, while pursuing her own personal quest for revenge. Like Mizu, Clare is driven by purpose as much as pain, and both women inhabit worlds where survival often comes at the expense of compassion.
As a result, they are forced to make impossible choices while discovering what they're really fighting for. Although Claymore is more dark fantasy than historical fiction, its emotional DNA is very similar to Blue Eye Samurai. It also proves that some of the most compelling heroes on television don't need live actors to leave a lasting impression.
