Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

After seeing both the Taiwanese adaptation of Hana Yori Dango called Meteor Garden and the live remake of Hana Yori Dango in Japan, I really still think Meteor Garden's performance is more powerful. Jerry Yan really can act the jerk with a heart of gold role of Doumyoji Tsukasa far better than that of Jun Matsumoto for me.  Well I thought that he really managed to get all of the mean side and soft side of the character better than any actor could.  So yeah, there's a lot of plus points for this guy.  Made me think he's really the "Qin Han" for today's generation. Meanwhile, I think Jun Matsumoto is just nowhere near Jerry Yan in being that good in portraying the role of Doumyoji Tsukasa.  But at least he wasn't a bad actor so I still give him credit, he just needs more practice to be better but I don't think his talent is near Jerry Yan's.  But still, I'd like to see him improve his way like Vic Zhou did. =D

Okay Vanness Wu is not a terrible actor, I just think his acting is inadequate for such a fierce character who's kicking butt.  Me?  I thought that while he does have some merit but it's just not enough for me.  In fact I think actress Eva Huang can act better than him. Here's my preferred actor: Ambrose Xu of Wolf could have played the part of Officer Wang better than Vanness Wu for me.  For me, this guy does not only look like retired actor Kazunori Inaba but also he really act really well making him a lot more fit for the role.  During this time, Vic Zhou's actign wasn't that good yet so Ambrose Xu could have done the job during that time at a better pace.

It's kinda reality but it's true.  Although I'm a Tokusatsu fan specifically my favorite overall is Super Sentai yet I got stuck into Chinese drama more than Tokusatsu.  I think it's no longer hard to explain especially I know myself in that area.  Also, I like Chinese drama more than J-Drama.  Don't worry I still like Tokusatsu but I'll present you one of my guilty pleasures in the form of Chinese drama. So here are some reasons: The ever emerging truth of Chinese influence has managed to influence much of Asian way of life. So it'd be nice for people to also get immersed in the modernized Chinese society.  Japan has already served much but now, even Japan copies much of Chinese influence.  Yup I got to admit over most crappy shows, they have REAL good script writing and their adaptation of Anime is not decayed at all most of the time compared to American adaptations.  Then again, why are they using the Toku hairstyle?  I like having...

For me, Kuuga did have some life reminders and life changing.  Here are some lessons I learned: 1.) We all make mistakes, even heroes.  This was elaborated when Yuusuke didn't immediately master his new forms which really emphasized that life lesson way more than most Kamen Riders.  Fourze had that one too but it wasn't that well done as Kuuga's though I honestly like Fourze better than Kuuga. 2.) We always need the support of others.  Very much elaborated here and it seemed to become the recurring theme of Kamen Rider and was carried over in Agito. 3.) Being a hero is protecting the smiles of others.  Yup it also helped me to realize a new reason why I blog.  And it seemed Yuusuke actually defined the true meaning of a Kamen Rider though he was the only one who carried that theme the most. 4.) Regualr people can become heroes.  That's what Kamen Rider Kuuga's allies were for. Any more?  Just comment!

There's always the remake or adaptation argument.  I was inspired to write this post not ever since some stupid debate on whether or not Power Rangers is a remake or an adaptation.  Now for the clarifications I hope will set things clear for the argument... The drama series "Romance in the Rain" is a remake, not an adaptation.  A remake uses the original concept without changing the original story in a new tone.  Also it STAYS in its country of origin.  So any versions of Romance in the Rain that will be done Japanese-style, Filipino-style, American-style, etc. is an adaptation.  But Vicki Zhao's version of "Romance in the Rain" is a remake of Liu Xue Hua's "Love in the Rain".  They both stayed more or less the same. Meanwhile Meteor Garden is obviously the adaptation of the Japanese series Hana Yori Dango , adapted for the Taiwanese audience.  If a Filipino version were made, it was obviously adapted to the Filipino audience.  Even the...

After watching some videos, I began to think of these facts... There's no doubt Zhen Xiu Zhen is an awesome actress who knows how to appeal to our feelings.  She was mean when she was mean and in Angel's Wings her role as a good mother was also convincing.  No doubt she played as the abused daughter-in-law while she is yet to play the abusive mother-in-law or the woman Hitler. After watching Yun Niang, I really thought Liu Xue Hua provided a more frightening atmosphere than Zhen Xiu Zhen with how much of a bitch her character was.  In fact, I thought Liu Xue Hua's evil laugh in Yun Niang was a really scary one and she knew how to fill the atmosphere with that kind of fear.  But then again, Zhen Xiu Zhen still did a very good role as the evil Kaede Doumyoji.  But just that Liu Xue Hua seemed to look more chilling in Yun Niang and had a scarier stare imo.

There was Leo Ku in the remake of the classic drama "Yan Yu Meng Meng" as "Qing Shen Shen Yu Meng Meng".  Leo Ku played as Qin Han's character Shu Huan.  I thought that while Leo Ku was more or less of age for the role but my problem with Leo Ku was that he was just not as well expressive as Qin Han was.  He was just not adequate for me compared to Vicki Zhao.  I'd say he can act but he just lacks the it factor to play Qin Han's previously held role as Shu Huan. My choice could have been a little bit clearer with Jerry Yan could have played a better and stronger Shu Huan.  I've actually thought that his acting is better than Leo Ku's.  In fact, he really COULD do the same quality of performance Qin Han was able to carry more emotion like he was acting as Dao Ming Si in Meteor Garden.  Not that I think Leo Ku is a bad actor, just inadequate for stronger emotions especially that of the character of Shu Huan.  In fact, while watching Meteor Gard...

So here's an update from me which this time, I'll post some updates on things aside from writing reviews. Just started watching Kamen Rider OOO.  So far, so good and I like the use of human desires themes.  For me, this show beats out Faiz in my opinion and might be even better than Kiva.  But yeah, Yasuko Kobayashi did have a bad job for me with Gobusters but still, she does have some great ideas but this is a taste of Naomi Takabe who Fantasy Leader dislikes.  I just had a thought that this series has its own comedic theme attached to it.  Hmmm why do the Greeeds look like the Lords?  Just made me think though while Kuuga and Agito are for me better plotwise but this one has its own disciplines. We have Kosei Kougami... is it me or is this guy like one of Toei's favorite golden geese,Haim Saban?  Just a thought.  Maybe he is, maybe he isn't but I got to watch before I jump into my conclusion.

Well I guess I'll have to reward myself after really watching the painful world of Kamen Rider Faiz.  So yeah, it was Inoue's disasterpiece considering he had burned out.  Kiva may be a silly season but it's still enjoyable for me.  Now here's what I'm doing lately... I am now sitting through watching the Qiong Yao-type soap opera "Last Night of Madame Chin" which every episode cries buckets of tears.  It almost felt like those old TV dramas that starred Qin Han and his leading ladies like Joan Lin, Brigitte Lin and Liu Xue Hua.  Yup my Kakuranger viewing will slow down as I try to endure all the meldoramatic plotlines here.

So far I've begun rewatching this show which was based on a novel by Pai Hsien Yung. However I can't help but see there are similarities of it to some of Qiong Yao's stories namely... It is set in the early Republican era where are severe traces of chauvinism and feudalistic family dictums. Also it seemed to match with the ideas of bar girls who had more dignity than most rich people. Loads and LOADS of tears. Really, I thought that this was a very teary eyed drama similar to Qiong Yao's many novels.  Also you have PLENTY melodramatic plotlines and dialogues and not to mention females who go through intense psychological suffering for the sake of love. Zhao Li's story is as such where she endures a lot of stupid stuff like being a bar hostess which really, really she is forced to do so due to the chauvinism around her. You have male protagonists who are often mentally weaker than the female protagonists. Vic Chou's character of Sheng Yue Ru might be compa...

Looking at it that Jerry Yan may be having a tearjerker drama, here's an art of Jerry Yan with Qiong Yao style huh?  Too bad Qin Han isn't cast in here as Jerry Yan's father.  The title is Lian Lian Bu Wang. You might want to compare the quality of Jerry Yan's art to this.  I wonder if Qiong Yao is the writer of his latest drama?

Here's another confession.... while I am a fan of Tokusatsu (but never rabid), J-Drama for me (then again I could consider Kamen Rider of the Heisei era to qualify due to how it's written), I really still like J-Drama over Tokusatsu even Super Sentai.  Yup, sometimes Super Sentai does have its ups and downs for me.  Now for a real confession... One of the factors that got me into J-Drama was Super Sentai.  To be honest, my Super Sentai blog isn't as updated as it used to be because I'm finding Super Sentai kind of uninteresting after Gokaiger.  For one, some Super Sentai alumni after their launch end up with J-Drama like Toshihide Wakamatsu playing roles in J-Drama every now and then... while he really bothered to become a ghost in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.  And in one way or another, J-Drama manages to somehow get their careers going.  And for one, I have my guilty pleasure that I'd confess I'd rather watch Uramiya Honpo than Dekaranger since Ayumi Kinos...

I guess this is one article I felt I need to write.  Just me following a bit of Shougo B'Stard's style of writing here.  Now here's how I got into Chinese drama... I remembered there was the meteoric rise of F4 which is currently known as JVKV.  WHen I first saw Meteor Garden and didn't really see the first episode until I borrowed a copy of it on VCD with subtitles, I really thought it was one of my paternal grandmother's shows.  That was because the first scene I saw was Dao Ming Feng/Kaede Doumyoji attempting to pay off Shan Tsai/Tsukushi Makino away.  But when I saw the F4, I really had my thought that I thought they were Japanese until I saw the F4 music video "Can't Lose You" which became a huge hit.  In fact, at that time I was taking sort of a hiatus from Super Sentai or Kamen Rider because I felt like I wasn't ready to adjust to newer Tokusatsu out of close mindedness but fortunately I got out of that shell but Chinese entertainment is ...

Well real life issues are surfacing again and as said, it can slow down.  But here's what I intend to review next:... Last Night of Madame Chin- However I am again crying buckets of tears here.  Oh boy, writing my fan fiction after crying buckets of tears erodes the quality a lot. Kamen Rider Hibiki Kamen Rider OOO Meanwhile, I don't think I can take any more of those "cry buckets of tears" drama for some time.  In fact, this blog might even slow down like never before but I hope my five followers can help me out.

I was thinking about Toshiki Inoue and his love for drama like it was evident in Jetman that there's been a lot of conflict, he brought conflict to Hibiki when he took over (but I NEED to watch Hibiki first so I can review it), wrote Faiz and then Kiva.  So far, I would say Faiz was his worst work for me due to it being overly depressing while he had the cartoony Kiva.  Made me think though that with his success in Agito, he could actually write non-Tokusatsu J-Drama himself.  Makes me think that while it's Inoue x finales can go from passable (Agito) to really bad (Faiz) to intensely silly (Kiva), he might actually pull off with J-Drama considering that J-Drama tends to have shock value at the end of it.  But I can say I think it would be a fair thing to give him a chance though maybe it might be better if his daughter (who is now emerging as a writer) wrote J-Drama.  I dunno but maybe Toshiki Inoue might do well in J-Drama though he really did burn out with F...