Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Ryuki so far has the most number of Kamen Riders in one show.  Now moving on... and I'll include the two possible fates provided by Kobayashi and Inoue. Shinji Kido/Ryuki- As the main character, I would say he's pretty much idiotic, idealistic yet he has noble goals.  Hmmm with his position as a journalist, I thought of him as a parody of Spiderman in some way.  So he and Ren just keep getting into squabbles because of his idiocy and the other is a jerk.  For a character, I thought he always has his moral dilemmas and his reason to be a Kamen Rider is nothing personal, he just wants to protects people from the threat of the Mirror Monsters.  So a pretty tragic hero to the point in the original continuity, he even died after fighting despite all his injuries, in the "second chance" timeline he becomes an idiot again.  In the alternate ending by Inoue, he and Ren don't forget each other and decide to finish the last remains of the Mirror Monsters together ...

Compared to most of the Heisei riders, this is where it pretty much departs from Rider tradition of monster of the week, instead we have the ever-growing conflict of the Kamen Riders that must fight in order to get that one wish.  So we have Ren who's pretty much a jerk and Shinji who's an idiot who gets dragged into the Rider Wars.  So how do yo become a Rider here?  You get a Contract Card, make a contract with a Mirror Beast and you become a Rider.  However the consequences of breaking the card means death.  Ren's already Knight in the beginning with a bat-like beast Darkwing, Shinji becomes Ryuki thanks to Dragregger the dragon.  There is also a limit to the time being a Rider, so pretty much I guess that's the rule of thumb of henshin probably to avoid straining the user.  So this might be Yasuko Kobayashi's love it or hate it work with the help of Toshiki Inoue (who had just finished with his greatest work Agito and later wrote the screwed up Fa...

"Wish to See You Again" is another of Vic Zhou's more serious dramas but not really serious compared to the nearly Qiong Yao type of drama in "Silence".  So the story is pretty much moderate- not too light nor too heavy with Vic Zhou as Xu Le a writer on a block working as a taxi driver to get some inspiration.  He meets his old friends again namely Ah Hao (Ken Zhu), Xiao Ma (Kingone Wang) and Lu Yi (Terri Kwan).  He unexpectedly falls in love with a fan namely Neng Xian who was a friend of Leo (Vanness Wu) who is just a come and go. So I pretty much find this drama to be more on friendship than the love that eventually develops between Xu Le and Neng Xian whose parents work in a traditional Chinese clinic.  So Neng Xian works in a hotel and has initially fallen for Xiao Ma who has a vindictive older brother Yong Jie (acted by Bao Xiao Bo) that I absolutely despise for being a braggart.  Also for the character of Xu Le, I do find his character to be very ecce...

I had noticed that it's as if Qin Han had passed the torch to Vic Zhou and Liu Xue Hua had passed the torch to Ady An.  Just my thoughts- would Vic Zhou ended up working with Ady An next? Ady An had already played her part on Yun Niang as the abused daughter-in-law, Vic Zhou had already shown some very good performance in Silence and lately Home.  So yeah, pretty much looks like it wouldn't be surprising if Vic Zhou will also get paired with Ady An in a remake of any Qiong Yao novel.  I just could imagine a bit of a remake of any of Qiong Yao's novels that were acted out by Qin Han and Liu Xue Hua or any of Qin Han's scripts where he was paired with Brigitte Lin or Joan Lin.  For a few comebacks... I pretty thought it would be nice for Qin Han to act as Vic Zhou's father as a symbolic "passing the torch". Liu Xue Hua could probably act as either Vic Zhou's mother or Ady An's mother after being the cruel mother-in-law.

I just had my thoughts on another yet possible couple match up would be Vic Chou (31) and Esther Liu (24) who might be a good replacement for the classic Qin Han/Liu Xue Hua pairing.  So far, Esther Liu hasn't worked with any F4 member so I think Vic Chou might be a good start.  Starting script?  Maybe get a Qiong Yao novel like Courtyard (remake) or any classic drama to be revived.  Now I had my thoughts on this... Hmmmm Qin Han's apparently passed the torch to Zai Zai, looks like Liu Xue Hua's torch needs another bearer this time, but maybe it's in Ady An's hands now.

Liu Xue Hua is one of those classical actresses we can't forget.  So far here's her roles that she has played as one of the most outstanding actresses... In the younger years, she played the leading lady where she was usually paired with either Qin Han or Kenny Bee.  She also played the part of the abused daughter-in-law, the cheated wife or the poor lady who gets mistreated by the rich boyfriend's mother for being poor.  Her contemporaries would be today are Barbie Xu, Ady An (who apparently bears her torch now, the torch was somewhat passed in Yun Niang), Esther Liu and Liu Yi Fei. In her later years, she would play the important mother figures like the mother of the leading man/lady. She had also portrayed antagonistic roles such as a wicked mother-in-law, a controlling mother or even a selfish witch in Miracle Healers which I can say, all very well portrayed she might as well play Miss Minchin's part in a Chinese adaptation of "A Little Princess"....

Here was one drama series I never thought would get that popular.  It just seems corny, stereotypical at the start and Wallace Huo was still struggling.  The story has Deric Wan from So Close acting as the badass villain Peter (but I wish he was acted by Andy Lau instead!) who is the fiance of Zhuang Fei Yang whose twin sister Liang Xiao Feng has been missing.  The story was that a barren woman gets a baby maker (the mother of the twins) to bear children for them, one went to the father, the other went to the mother.  So Zhuang Fei Yang grows up as a rich woman raised by her father and big mother (what happened to her big mother is never specified so she could be dead already!) while Liao Xiao Feng grows up in poverty.  Hmmm... kind of like the bigamous setting.  On the other hand, Li Wei Xiang a struggling lawyer falls for Zhuang Fei Yang and also for Liang Xiao Feng which makes the story messy.  So there's the conspiracy of Peter seeking to take ove...

While I'm watching Ryuki, I just thought another article I could come up with was Den-O, the very Rider series that re-opened my mind to Kamen Rider with its J-Drama-esque feel.  Though not exactly awesome but I do so some things to this series.  Now where do I begin?  We have the story of unlucky Ryotaro Nogami (Takeru Sato) who starts out pretty unlucky especially he gets caught in the war against the Imagins that threaten to destroy the past.  So what happens is four benevolent (but can be annoying) Imagins get involved and they are Momotaros who does annoy me a lot, Urataros the "lawyer", the noble Kintaros (gold) and Ryutaros (the dancing dragon) who all become part of his four forms in the series.  Also he has his hot sister Airi who took care of him, she's the older sister.  So the Den-Liner comes one day and fate changes for him as he must combat malignant Imagins that invade the past.  Hmmm does Yasuko Kobayashi love time travel that much? ...

Well I'll probably say that Ayumi Kinoshita hasn't stepped down despite her recent marriage and now she's working with Nao Nagasawa for a really sexy movie called "Traveler's: Dimension Police".  Now here's what UkiyaSeed from Orends Range says: Here's another project coming from director Koichi Sakamoto! Entitled "Travelers: Dimension Police", it stars Nao Nagasawa (Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger) and Ayumi Kinoshita (Special Police Dekaranger)!  Pursuing dimensional criminals, policewoman Ai (Nagasawa) travels to the "Retroworld" and encounters her former partner, Yui (Kinoshita). As it seems Yui is now with the dimensional terrorists, they hold the guns against each other.  Why did Yui turn to the enemy? Will Ai find out the truth behind the continuing incidents? The battle of these women across dimensions begins now!  Also staring in this movie are Yuuko Takayama (Kamen Rider Wizard, Kamen Rider Chou Den-O Episode Blue), Ke...

I would like to tackle on the most in your face pairing due to the extremely low compatibility.  So I guess Toshiki Inoue may have intended them to be a couple in the end with a few of these hints in Kiva's world of rainbows, teddy bears and censored out vampires... So two different people, two different worlds and of course, they don't like each other.  As much as I think the ending is very WTF however there seemed to be a few "hints" or that Inoue was forcing the pairing all along even if in real life, chances of this happening is very slim or even zero percent. In episode 4, Nago admits "he really likes her" but oh really?! In episode 5, there was that stalker who was going after Megumi.  So was Inoue putting hints towards his most messed up that it's hilarious ending? Nago brought Megumi red roses in episode 7 in the hospital. One scene made them look like they were dating BUT it wasn't a date. In episode 21, Nago refuses to go n...

While watching Kamen Rider Kiva, forced as this is but I think Ryo Itoya aka the Spider Fangire does share resemblance with Santiago from the Vampire Chronicles series or from the Interview with the Vampire movie. Both are creepy buffoons who are very playful with their victims.  Coincidence?  Most likely since I doubt it that Toshiki Inoue was reading the Vampire Chronicles when he wrote this.  He was probably playing Castlevania and watching Danny Phantom (dubbed in Japanese) with his family instead of reading the Vampire Chronicles.  But there is the creepy similarity I can't deny in this forced comparsion.  And also, both failed to kiss the human women they intended to kiss too.

One of the most interesting plots in Kamen Rider W is the Gaia Memory which is basically can become like drugs hence the term Dopant coming from the word "dope".  Without the right filter, a person can become addicted and even grow insane the more they use it or in other cases, death.  Now for how the Gaia Memory addiction destroys the users... The Sonozaki Family or the ones who ran Museum.  After some Gaia Memory addiction, there has been some drift like how Ryube and his wife Fumine/Shroud.  So Ryube goes crazy with power and so do his daughters Saeko and Wakana as they became Dopants.  It does tear them apart especially when Shroud decided to create a rider on pure hatred.  For Ryube, his plans to preserve humanity through his daughter Wakana as the new high priestess.  The problem was that this insanity tore apart their family and Philip/Raito was affected by his family's own addiction to Gaia Memory. Isaka is the best example of that destru...

With the idea that Rin Takanashi and Emi Takei were in one movie with Tori Matsuzaka namely "Love for Beginners"... just a thought why I think Emi Takei was more suited. I just had my thoughts that both girls are pretty in their own way.  However Rin Takanashi looks more like the antagonistic beauty like Poison Ivy is in Batman while Emi Takei has the "childlike innocent look" for me. I would say Rin Takanashi could play as a pretty geek (without emphasizing the appearance) while the main lead sort of required the "unpopular school girl" image thus Emi Takei is qualified to play the role while Rin Takanashi after showing her acting ability to play a bad person in Kamen Rider W: Eternal, so why not let her play a regular villain?

I kind of thought that with Kwan Lun Mei's rather boyish appearance at times, I think it would make a good comedy drama for Vic Zhou to be a playboy who falls for a lesbian (Kwai Lun Mei has done a lesbian role in Blue Gate Crossing) whose heart he'll try to conquer no matter what. I think it may just work for for either movie or series. Of course Vic Zhou is perfectly aware that Kwai Lun Mei is a lesbian but his passion with flowers and the arts causes the attraction to her. Or what about this- remember Leslie Cheung's She's A Man, He's A Woman? Maybe Vic Zhou is gay and Kwai Lun Mei is a lesbian and the two fall into a rather awkward attraction towards each other and ending with each other in the end.

Well Wallace Huo did manage to improve from his slightly disappointing performance in Twin Sisters since he's already done some action in "The Best in the World" and "Red Buddha Lady".  So he's with Chen Qiao En/Joe Chen who is most likely his leading lady (she does look like Yami Yamasaki in Boukenger).  Plot? From Wiki: The story delves on friendship and love, deception and betrayal, ambition and lust for power. In the middle of it all is Ling Hu Chong, an orphan who is the senior student of Yue Buqun, leader of Huashan Sect. During his journey and development as a swordsman, he meets many colorful characters and witnesses various intrigues which take place in the martial world.

Here's the screen shot from the film "Love for Beginners" where my wishful thinking for Kaoru and Kenshin was actually turned into a twist.  Tori Matsuzaka starred with Emi Takei as his leading lady and Rin Takanashi as his lover who's some kind of liberated hippy.  It's not surprising either that Rin Takanashi played a villain since in Kamen Rider W: Eternal she was also one.  Quite different from their characters in Shinkenger. =P

Here's the Cinderellas that beat out the stereotypical Cinderellas of Pinoy Drama namely... Barbie Xu's role as Shan Tsai/Tsukushi Makino- Compared to her crazy parents who have the Cinderella mentality, she actually has a MUCH different approach.  She works for her own money, doesn't go after rich men and will love a rich man not for his money. Mao Inoue's role as Tsukushi Makino- Maybe not as tough as Barbie Xu's version but she still counts.   Ady An's role as Mu Cheng- Okay I can't stand her white lying part but the difference is that, despite her extreme poverty she doesn't dream of flying to America to get a good husband but rather, get out of the poverty herself.  She's independent minded so even without the ideal husband, she knows how to fight for her income. Vicki Zhao's role as Lu Yi Ping- Yup she's got a strong role.  The fact she stood against her brutal father and her wicked stepmother makes her a strong-will...

After doing a review on "Next Stop Happiness" I think I should do a more close-up focus on Guang Xi and Mu Cheng.  For me, the relationship is one of the most stormy and unexpected ones, yet with a happy ending after all the tears the series produced in the eyes of the viewers.  So it all starts where Guang Xi was the arrogant law student because he's rich and for Mu Cheng, a poor woman with determination in life to get out of her misery.  As a Bento girl, she just wants a happy life, not aspiring to be Cinderella yet meeting the most unexpected Prince Charming in her life- Guang Xi!  So she doesn't expect to fall for Guang Xi, but Guang Xi fell for her and she was just about to become one of his many girls to fool around and dump.  Yet her kindness and gentleness managed to conquer Guang Xi especially when she played the piece "Air on G String" to which, Guang Xi in return saw the error of his ways and fell for Mu Cheng while she had a lover Tuo Ye who she...

Here's my thoughts- if it is possible I would also like to see an actual Tori Matsuzaka x Rin Takanashi pairing than just the fan pairing of their characters Takeru and Mako in Shinkenger.  My idea for their pairing?  Maybe a Rurouni Kenshin live series or just your everyday J-Drama styles.  Either way, I think it could work out.

I'd like to compare the styles of Inoue between Agito (which I like more) vs. Kiva (which I like less) but I will probably say where Inoue got it right and where he got it wrong in the otehr.  Not that Kiva is awful but could have been better only if Inoue managed to write better.  Now moving on ... The main hero: I would say that Tatsuya and Wataru have their own uniqueness although the latter is pretty weird.  For Tatsuya I enjoyed the part he was an amnesiac and how he got the Agito powers, for the case of Wataru I think there was a cool concept with how his story goes (like his half-Fangire revelation) but it just got too predictable or, since Kiva's a rainbow and teddy bear type of Kamen Rider, I shouldn't expect more compared to Agito which has a more serious side. Supporting characters: Inoue's supporting characters in Agito usually range from the jerks to the nice ones, they pretty much aren't too serious nor too dark.  For example, in Agito maybe H...

There was really a time when I left Tokusatsu not liking the facelifts of the industry, or just afraid to move forward while I respected its fans while having self-biases without implementing my biases on other people.  So just a thought- I was soon getting more into Chinese dramas especially those that involve a lot of swordsplay then I got into J-Drama.  During that time, I was slowly accepting the turn Super Sentai had then like in Dekaranger or Boukenger, but mostly on Dekaranger.  So I thought I was just being damn unfair with not giving the Heisei riders a second chance.  Then I watched Kamen Rider Den-O (review coming soon!) and say, "Hey this ain't bad." although I don't consider Den-O to be anything spectacular.  At first, I had a hard time adjusting with how it's written (like it takes at least two episodes before the monster of the week is beaten in most episodes!) or every ending ends like a J-Drama.  Then I said, "So I can adjust to it." be...