Episode 6 of the Blue Eye Samurai shares a lot of similarities with Dante’s Inferno and I believe creators made them absolutely on purpose!
First of all, Fowler’s Castle has 9 levels – the same as circles in Dante’s Hell.
Second, Mizu entering the metaphorical “Hell” makes a lot of sense in this particular point of the story.
In previous episode Mizu rejected her bonds with Akemi and Ringo – she refused to defend Akemi from the soldiers and she didn’t try to keep Ringo at her side when he was disappointed in her. She also killed the very same terrified boy from the Thousand Claw Army she had spared half the episode ago - while doing so she rejected her conscience, sense of honor and reluctance to kill innocent beings.
At the beginning of episode 6 Mizu is pure vengeance, no strings attached, nothing holding her back. At least that’s what she thinks.
She’s about to enter Fowler’s Fortress and it will be like entering Hell - in terms of physical challenges she will have to face there (which are the creepiest and most bloody in the whole season) but also because she will be forced to acknowledge her “sins”.
But Mizu needs to do this, she needs to reach the “lowest level”, so she can have her big character development in episode 7.
She starts her journey by going below the ground, which makes sense if the creators really wished to create the metaphor of Hell.
Here’s the full list of stages Mizu needs to pass in order to complete her mission. It’s funny that Shindo calls them “levels” not “floors” - it makes me think of a computer game (when you look at absurdity of some of them, it makes sense – and I love it!)
I – Corridor of dead bastards
II – Water Trap and the Bell
VII – „Tea Party” Okiyama
VIII – Room Full of Soldiers (this one Mizu passes while climbing the wall)
Now let’s compare these to Dante’s Inferno and its Circles (Levels).
In Dante’s Inferno it’s the place for the blameless souls. And it is also truth for the place Mizu visits, because that’s where she sees the skeletons, which are later revealed to be Fowler’s bastards.
Circles 2, 3, 4, 5 are LUST, GLUTTONY, GREED and ANGER
Now, I don’t think Mizu’s visits all of them in this exact order, but there are certain resemblances. Kitchens might represent Gluttony, monkeys with drug flowers might symbolize Fowler and Heiji Shindo’s Greed, while they traded illegal substances in Japan. There is also Anger when Mizu fights the group of soldiers all on her own.
I didn’t notice anything connected to the Lust – but the Second Circle of Hell that is supposed to be Lust is also the place where one’s soul is being judged. It makes me think about the moment when water crashed Mizu. It can also be symbolic, because “Mizu” in Japanese literally means “Water”. So in the second stage of Hell, where soul is supposed to be judged Mizu is being crashed by… herself. It makes a lot of sense because in the next episode Master Eiji tells her she has lost control and he is absolutely right.
Circles 6, 7, 8 are HERESY, VIOLENCE and FRAUD
What’s important is that these are circles of so called Deeper Hell, also known as The City of Dis. While the previous levels of Hell challenged Mizu mainly physically, this one will test her mind through hallucinations she keeps experiencing.
I believe Heresy would be related to the Prison where Taigen is being held (if you watched the previous episodes closely, you’d notice there is a chapel with Jesus close to this place).
Violence is pretty obvious, it’s about fighting Okiyama.
Fraud may be a reference to Mizu avoiding fight with the soldiers on the eight level by climbing the wall of the castle.
Circle 9 and its FOUR TRAITORS.
Really, this is genius. Last level holds not only Fowler but four people in total, the same as in Dante’s Inferno. And all of them are traitors.
Betrayer of Country and Betrayer of Kin – two Shogun Advisors who betray their own people by scheming with the white man.
Betrayer of Guest – that would be Heiji Shindo, since he plans to betray Fowler with Lord Chiba. And of course Betrayer of Benefactor – obviously Fowler who doesn’t tell Shindo the truth about the place where he’s storing the guns.
You think that will be all in terms of symbolism in this episode? Well, there are also Mizu’s sins. And I don’t mean just hallucinations about the deeds she’s not proud of, but also sins she commits while being inside Fowler’s castle. All of them are about her becoming more and more irrational, determined to fulfill her mission at all cost. Stubbornly going forward, while another person would stop and come back with better strategy. Interesting thing is that each “sin” is committed on a different level.
Sin 1 - Continuing after losing equipment (water trap).
Sin 2 - Continuing after being discovered (guard ringing the bell).
Sin 3 - Continuing after being injured (metal poles trap).
Sin 4 - Continuing after losing her weapon and being ridiculously outnumbered (spiked holes trap).
Sin 5 - Continuing after being drugged (monkey trap).
Sin 6 - Continuing after finding Taigen (this one is really serious - given his state she should just take him and escape)
Sin 7 - Continuing after almost losing Taigen (when they almost fall off the castle).
Yup, there are seven of them (the same number of seven deadly sins in Christianity) and they prove how much Mizu lost herself in her quest for vengeance. She only “atones” for it at the very end of the episode when she chooses to save Taigen instead of trying to kill Fowler.
