I love how her outfit doesn't change. She just sews up the damaged parts. In a way it shows the journey and struggle she endured to get the skills she has.

Fowler guessing her identity because her "bones break like a woman's" is some seriously dark and brilliant character development.

I can’t wait for season 2 but at the same time, I don’t want them to rush it. I want the same level of care that went into season one. It’s phenomenal. Truly peak artistic expression and storytelling.

The most surprising but rewarding part of Mizu's backstop was finding out that she wasn't just "too strong" to be a housewife but that she was a housewife for a time and she was happy. She could probably have lived out her life in that setting but it was her husband or possibly her "mother" who made that life impossible. I loved that the story left it up to the audience to interpret whether her husband betrayed her because he felt immasculated by being beaten by her in a sparring match or her "mother" who wanted her reward to buy more opium.

Critical drinker's recommendations are ten times better than those provided by the mainstream critics. Edit: Guys this was a general statement, not directly just tied to one show!

The whole series is incredible, but episode 5 'The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride', where Mizu's backstory is remembered as a Japanese puppet play, as an inter-cut flashback whilst she fights off a horde of assassins, is, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece.

Honestly, when I saw this mini-series my biggest revelation was "damn, I didn't think entertainment media had it in them anymore."

The animation is well done because they used a ton of live action reference. They acted out the fight scenes and animated off the reference footage. One of the producers wore period piece clothing for the animators and showed them how Japanese people walk, run and generally move within their cultured norms, and how that is influenced by the clothing they wear. There's a great behind the scenes vid here on yt.

It’s really crazy how recommends from “professional movie critics” never bring me the same excitement to watch something unlike The Critical Drinker.

I'm so happy you found the time to watch this and I'm even happier you enjoyed it.

Fun fact: Mizu means water in Japanese, hence the color or her eyes and the color of her sword's blade.

The note about how Mizu can be "outsmarted and makes mistakes at critical moments" is so well put. I was so worried early on she'd be another OP power trip protagonist, but right away they show that her past traumas manifest into her weaknesses that really help drive her character home. I honestly haven't seen character development (not just Mizu) this well done in a while!

You need to make more of these. Forget the garbage coming out of Hollywood and find the good stuff. You generally have good taste in film and so I’m interested to see your recommendations.

With recommendations for both Godzilla Minus One and Blue Eyed Samurai, it warms my dead heart to see the Drinker end an otherwise abysmal year on such a positive note. 🍻

This show went so much harder than I ever expected it would when randomly throwing on the first episode, loved it

Ringo was legit my favorite character. I love how he’s so sincere and humble, just looking for an opportunity to help others and be of service. Really exemplifies that whole “the meek shall inherit heaven” vibe

I was turned off becuase of the 3D animations, but man, never been so happy to be wrong. This animations art-style is gorgeous. Glad the Drinker covered this. Easily one of the brightest silver-linings that came out this year.

I cannot fathom how happy I am that you of all youtubers are talking about how amazing this show is. It deserves all the praise it's getting and more

Episode 5 is a masterpiece in parallel storytelling.  I was floored.

I had the same experience of wanting to pause the show sometimes just to admire how gorgeous the visual design was.