Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

With the ongoing proposal to ban Koreanovelas and the like from the Philippines and protect Pinoy garbage, one might really consider what's wrong with Pinoy Drama.  Here are some that I can name and what I can learn as I progress and learn from my mistakes as well: 1.) The protagonists tend to encourage rebellion and the idea that the poor are always oppressed and worth pitying even if it's not always true.  On the other hand, you might see in the Chinese, Japanese and Korean drama that though they may be blinded by revenge or rebellion at first, they do see through their mistakes and start to become better persons. 2.) The antagonists on the other hand seem to be very trim and proper, always rich and are always pictured with the misconception that wealth is evil (by the Pinoy leftists).  I was thinking that many of the protagonists are always pictured to be dignified villains all the time rather than a mix of different protagonists. 3.) Over-extension of the story...

I wasn't so happy about Hana Yori Dango's cast (except for Mao Inoue) so what if we used Tokusatsu cast members?  Wild imagination but here's my dream cast at least to go in par with F4 with mostly my favorites: Emi Takei as Tsukushi Makino- I don't see any reason why she and Tori Matsuzaka can't be paired again!  If she can be Kaoru Kamiya in Rurouni Kenshin so why not as Makino Tsukushi?  She may not be as great as Barbie Xu but the role should probably shape her up for future roles. Tori Matsuzaka for Doumyoji Tsukasa- I think he can really kick serious ass!  I thought he can beat Jun Matsumoto and he in his later roles, can deliver a fierce character.  So yeah, he and Emi Takei as Tsukasa and Tsukushi could be really a blast. Yasuka Saito as Soujiro Mimasaka- I think he can pull off a womanizing role as well as Toshihide Wakamatsu can.  After all, he did pull quite a performance in Boukenger. Yuki Yamada as Akira Mimasaka- He does look like ...

Watching Meteor Garden all over again out of nostalgia, I was thinking of how the two carried out their love team in both seasons.  And after watching the 1986 version of Romance in the Rain, I was thinking that Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu could have nearly become an overused love team like the classic Qin Han/Brigitte Lin pairing or the one I'm more familiar with, Qin Han/Liu Xuehua pairing.  I thought Jerry Yan really has the charm, an aunt of mine calls him "Qin Han Jr."  And I thought Dao Ming Si's relationship with Shan Tsai in Meteor Garden almost felt like Shuhuan's relationship with Yiping in the 1986 version of Romance in the Rain. The possibilities for Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu would probably prompt the remake of other Qin Han classics.  Qiong Yao might pick "Ting Yuan Shen Shen", "After Many Red Sunsets" and then she might also cast Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu also with other remakes like "Zai Shui Yi Fang" and "Seagull'...

Well I do have my research to work on so don't expect much updates from me.  Next week and more I'll be pretty busy so yeah, my blogs won't be as updated as they used to since I'm trying to meet a deadline for my research work.  On the other hand, here's my planned watching of Qiong Yao's heartwarming story Princess Pearl where Vicki Zhao and Ruby Lin are set in ancient China in the heartwarming drama known as Princess Pearl.  It has three seasons but I might watch the first season after I'm done.  Here's a basic introduction from the Manga Book Shelf . On the other hand I'm already overly reminded of my former crush back then who looked like Vicki Zhao but she wasn't Chinese but a Filipino woman who has Spanish and well Chinese descent (she was 1/4 Chinese after all).  I would admit it was a short term infatuation not meant to be.  She like Vicki Zhao married a Singaporean businessman... COINCIDENCE?!  Speaking of Vicki Zhao, she is one of my...

Watching the 1986 version and the 2001 version has its own sets of advantages and disadvantage.  So here's some things I thought were stuff I dislike, that the 2001 version for me is better: As if Meteor Garden wasn't enough for me to say that Shantsai should dump Daoming Si, in here you have Shuhuan being abusive to Yiping.  Really what kind of boyfriend is that?  Yiping wants to get away then Shuhuan picks her up and pins her to a fence?  I personally thought that 1986 Shuhuan was almost as bad as Dao Ming Si and both characters really are stubborn mules, maybe that's why they both develop a crush on both their leading ladies who are strong panthers.  And one thing also, the more fierce Yiping is, the more attracted Shuhuan is to her.  The 2001 version managed to make Shuhuan much better though Qin Han is the better actor over Leo Ku.  Returning Shuhuan and Yiping works in real life for the 2001 version, the 1986 version you have Shuhuan as pretty...

Here's a sadder review of Romance in the Rain for the 1986 version. I have seen the 2001 version and there's some differences here. One might consider the setting is in 1960s Taiwan rather than in 1930s China. Insteadm we have Lu Zhenhua as a retired general who had multiple divorces, left with one ex-wife Wenpei and the current wife Xueqin. For starters, I'm only more familiar with Liu Xue Hua and Qin Han because they are still active, but for the rest who are these people? I can't really critique much except the sadness of this story. So we have the whip plots, Du Fei being the idiotic one (Alec Su's version is better) and I thought it was a low-budget Qiong Yao, what do you expect from the 80s? But if anybody really stands out here Qin Han really, really beats Leo Ku's rather shallow acting. Qin Han as Shuhuan is well what I'd call passionate and debonair but why in the world does he have the nasty habit of lifting Yiping up and holding her against a w...

Knowing that Meteor Garden is currently airing at ABS-CBN, I think this article could also be an eye opener to Pinoys as well.  Now for what we can see as reality shown that is also very rampant in the Philippines: The F4- You can have them represent four top Filipino-Chinese who belong to prominent families.  Dao Ming Si can be your frustrated rich guy because of bad parents, Hua Tze Lei can be your humble rich guy, Ximen and Meizuo are playboys. Shan Tsai's parents- These guys are very common in the Philippines.  They have lack of money yet they spend it like it's always there.  They think that the only way to escape from poverty is through the Cinderella mentality.  You can see them not valuing time at all or Shan Tsai's father is a very irresponsible person who is always late for work.  They always think they are entitled to everything and have their own victim card mentality as well. The heroine Shan Tsai is the awakened Filipina.  Rathe...

Romance in the Rain aside from karmic retribution, also had its romances.  So let's analyze the love stories involved: The four major players- Shuhuan, best friend Dufei and half-sisters Yiping and Ruping.  I was thinking of how it went.  Two half-sisters repeat their mothers' rivalry over a man to which Shuhuan becomes the man.  Ruping likes Shuhuan, Yiping wanted to date Shuhuan for revenge but it becomes a genuine relationship. The relationship of Shuhuan and Yiping is too kiss/slap/kiss at times.  Leo Ku's version of Shuhuan is more tame than to that of Qin Han's who would sometimes carry Yiping by force but lacks the charm of of the older version.  But whether it was 1986 or 2001, both versions really goes to make you say, "Shouldn't they just break up already?"  I mean, the relationship whether it was 1986 or 2001 just spins around in circles.  The more I watch the series, the more I seldom think it's better that they don't end up toge...

Romance in the Rain is a huge remake from the 1986 version Love in the Rain.  I had done some research to compare both versions which shows, despite that both shows make you cry buckets of tears, you could see some differences like: The setting- The 1986 version was set in 1960s Taiwan or earlier.  Here Zhenhua had retired from duty and had eight ex-wives.  In the 2001 version, it's set in 1930s China which later transitions into World War 2.  I thought the 2001 setting made a little more sense. The tragedies that were averted for the 2001 version: Mengping's tragedy.  In the 1986 she does remain a bitch but in the 2001, after her tragedy she became a better person caring for other children. The Lus after losing their wealth had these changes:   While Ruping killed herself in the 1986 version, in here she was about to and she ran off, but she decided to become a nurse with a death wish to die honorably instead.  In short, Dufei doesn't cry o...