Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Meteor Garden I was good but Meteor Garden II though as much as I liked it, I didn't like it as much.   Here's what I like about it: Dao Ming Feng as the evil witch is given an extended part.  She's so important a villain to be given so less a role!   Dao Ming Si's character development.  At least in the end, he becomes more mature. More emphasis on Dao Ming Si-Hua Tze Lei love triangle is given. Here are the weaker sides of the drama: Less confrontation between Shan Cai and Dao Ming Feng.  Shan Cai's weaker side is revealed, then again even every tough weed has a weakness. Yesha.  Yeesh.  I really didn't like her character even if I didn't want her to die or anything.  I just felt like she was getting in the way without knowing it. :P Also Ximen's father.  He reminds me of some of my character flaws.  Well the show got me to a certain point! Ge Wei Ru should have acted as Ximen's mom.  I think she looks...

This is one my favorite soap opera themes, a classic and it involves Liu Xue Hua as the abused daughter-in-law (in the remake she IS the monster-in-law with Ady An playing her previous role).  I just want to watch both versions and see how she transitioned from abused daughter-in-law to the super duper evil monster-in-law. Here's the opening to Yun Niang where Liu Xue Hua is the cruel mother-in-law.

There was the TV drama series called "Hua Mulan" which starred Anita Yuen and earlier, Marianne Chan.  My late paternal grandmother watched the one by Anita Yuen as Hua Mulan.  I think Mulan's story is best covered not by a one shot movie but a SERIES knowing she had a long battle before she fought for her true love Shang.

I pretty thought of it that while I watched Meteor Garden II, I really thought of it that Ge Wei Ru should have played as Xi Men's mom, not the mistress of his Xi Men's dad for this reason and give the role of the mistress to a MUCH YOUNGER WOMAN than she is.  She looks too regal, too classy to be a low class mistress.  Not that I have something against the woman who played his mom but Ge Wei Ru could play that part better IMO.  Watching her performance in Dolphin Bay, she could have played the frustrated legal wife who was lusted after, got by an abusive husband and not to mention the "trophy wife" who you'd like to have even if she doesn't love you. If Xiao You were in Meteor Garden II, I think she might actually have a scene with her too...

If there was any scene in the live Mulan movie that got me to go "huh" was to why they had to make Mulan's discovery to be a woman to Wen Tai to be that suggestive. If you can remember clearly, Mulan was bathing in the hot spring and apparently, Wen Tai saw her body. But at least it was less humiliating than in the Disney for her though since it was in a closed area. But still, Wei Tai got all red from the scene.  I just wonder what came into the heads of the writers?

"Wish to See You Again" or "Found Love Here" which featured Vic Zhou as a writer named Xu Le and his love interest Nen Xiang who is played by Michelle Chen featured some rather well done love scenes. Here are they: I liked the part where Xu Le helped Nen Xiang with researching about the concepts she needed for her work. I just can't forget the side where Nen Xiang worries about Xu Le when he gets hospitalized. It also happened where he injured his wrist and she worries that she can't write. I also liked the scene where they both become "parents" to an annoying child. Ha ha. I liked the scene where they were going to see the sunrise at Alisan together with the boy. They were like a family. And of course, the ending scene where they meet at the first sunrise of the first solar new year.

Here are some common stereotypes usually viewed in Chinese, Japanese and Korean drama: A couple you don't expect to be together and the social class gaps. There are plenty of tears in drama. The suffering heroine is very common indeed. There are also previous relationships that happen too. There are sad relationships between the opposite sex. There are damsels in distress. Rainy scenarios are taken to express sorrowful romance. In some of them, a marriage gone bad. Violence and threatening are common too. The wicked woman to ruin the scene. Most of them usually played by the women who played suffering heroines in the past. They are usually portrayed as the monster mother, the monster-in-law and the stereotypical wicked stepmother. And lastly, many do focus on tragic deaths usually by disease. Most of them cause the lovers not to be together in the end. Some of them do spend a short married life together also.  Sadly it's usually the heroine that suffers.

Here's a collection of stereotypes in Korean soap operas.  Enjoy!