Hideo Kojima Crowns His Top Anime of 2023

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Hideo Kojima might be best known as a legendary creator in the world of video games, but the artist has never been shy when it comes to his love of all things anime. Taking to social media on a regular basis to share his thoughts on recent pop culture, Kojima has fallen in love with a big new anime series that recently landed. Of the many options that arrived in the medium this year, one Netflix series has garnered more than the attention of Hideo Kojima.

Kojima chose Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai as his favorite anime of the year, with the eight-episode season following a warrior seeking bloody revenge, “Just finished watching all 8 episodes of BLUE EYE SAMURAI! Well, everything is wonderful! Everything is all beautiful! Without a doubt, the best anime of the year! It is a visual work that transcends the common sense of animation!The new generation of CG-based animation reached a turning point with “Spider-Man: Spider-Verse (2018)” and reached maturity with “Arcane (2021)”, but this tv series has reached the next level!”Is the avenging demon a demon or a samurai? Is it really a monster?” 

Blue Eye Kojima

Hideo then expanded on his pick, discussing how the simplicity of the anime’s story worked to make it his best anime of 2023, “The theme and message are simple. The story is set in 17th century Edo (Tokyo), but it is also applicable to today’s world.The characters are also well-designed! At first, I wasn’t sure about Ringo, Taigen, and Akemi, I’m like “let alone the main character, Mizu!”. But as their backgrounds are told, I felt more and more sympathy for them and found them attractive. Highly recommended! If you don’t watch it, you’re missing out.” 

The official description of Blue Eye Samurai reads as such if you want a more in-depth look at the upcoming Netflix series, “Our story is a larger-than-life action-adventure that takes place 400 years ago, yet Blue Eye Samurai’s themes are of the moment and the inspiration is deeply personal. We are grateful for Netflix’s passion for this story and for their bold vision for sophisticated animated drama.” 

Do you agree with Kojima’s pick for the best anime of 2023? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Blue Eye Samurai.  

Via Hideo Kojima