Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Nothing beats the original? Not really! Newer is always better? Not really! Older is always better? Not really! This is what I keep in mind in dealing with various remakes of old school stuff or foreign adaptations or localization of certain series. Meteor Garden adapts its story from Hana Yori dango for the Chinese audience. the 2001 version was made in Taiwan while the 2018 version is made in China yet with Angie Chai (the original producer) still calling the shots. The 17 year time gap means much technology has improved -- like the use of smartphones has replaced the use of regular cellular phones. The setting, the clothes, etc. has been different. My college days are not the college days of the new batch today! I decided to give Meteor Garden (2018) a shot after I was done with What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. I was thinking that there's such a thing as in the shadow of the former's greatness. I was thinking of how much I often praised Meteor Garden (2001) to be the...

Predictable or not? Not every good ending K-Drama ends with a wedding. Some get married in the middle, they nearly decide to split but they kiss and make up at the end of the series. In the case of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim -- I guess the wedding was necessary if it was to fulfill the plot involving the childhood plot between Yong Jun and Mi So . Mi So discovers that the very child she asked to marry her was none other than Yong Jun and it seems logical to wrap it up the way it should be wrapped up. The whole wedding preparation had its own share of comedies as some couples do realize their feelings. Yoo Sik finally reconciles with his ex-wife. Ji-Ah tries to snap Chang Sul from his extremely frugal lifestyle and they become a couple during the wedding day. Also, Se Ra and Yong Chul finally admit their relationship before the wedding day. I guess it's a nice way to get everyone's feelings out, right? Though why aren't we getting pre-nuptial picks for the two?...

The second to the last episode of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim deals with how to do a romantic proposal. I could remember the amusement park scene. I could remember the first time Yong Jun asked Mi So to marry him. But it all failed. It was hilarious to see how things unfold in the TV series as it's about to end tonight. Last night's episode was really touching with how the proposal was done. You've got Mi So's father who is trying to make sure that Mi So is in good hands. It was funny to have Yong Jun get drunk and Mi So gets drunk. Later, you've got the scene where Yong Jun asks his trusted aide Yoo Sik on how to do the most romantic proposal ever. I laugh at some areas and feel sorry for Yoo Sik having a divorce with his ex-wife. This causes a lot of crazy ideas to pop out in order to pop the question. Will Mi So accept Yong Jun's question. The only real problem now is at home. It's not that Mrs. Lee won't accept Mi So. She's already th...

This just in -- Tokusatsu News Network has now presented the very thing that me and some Kamen Rider fans (though I'm more of the casual fan towards it) have been waiting for. So what's going on? It's time to reveal the plot and the writer-producer tandem after the rumor that I reacted to some time ago . First, I could talk about the plot details: In the fall of 2018, a time machine appears before a hero born in the year 2000. The hero has always dreamed of becoming a king. A mysterious girl appears from the time machine, telling the hero “I come from the year 2068, a world without hope where the king of demons reigns supreme.” The girl has come from the future in a desperate effort to change her own time. The girl then gives the hero an ominous warning “You will become Kamen Rider Zi-O, King of Time, the demon destined to rule the world.” Can this really be the hero’s fate? This is the story of a Kamen Rider who would be king, who will fight to save the past, pr...

Last episode seemed to be the end of Evolt but it wasn't. Here's a few things I have ignored. One, Evolt warned that it isn't over and two, isn't it TOO GOOD to be true that Evolt was destroyed that easily? Turned out to be that Professor Katsuragi's plan was a failure. He was planning to destroy Evolt but it turned out that the villain himself is badass. Not only has he used his DNA on Banjo but he's also used it on Kazumin and Utsumi to regenerate himself. Wow, talk about freaking and I just felt like saying, "Phew! Evolt ain't gone and he's going to be the FINAL VILLAIN after all!" The whole scene also includes the tragic death of Professor Katsuragi. He whispers into Sento's ear about some mysterious white panel. Meanwhile, Sento meets his other self Takumi within his subconscious. It's all about Professor Katsuragi. I always find the whole Sento/Takumi problem to be pretty much like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. After all, ...

It's no secret that What's Wrong With Secretary Kim is in fact -- coming to an end with two more episodes next week. Things are getting more exciting and episode 14 has little to no serious moment. Maybe, except for gossiping about the relationship of Yong Jun and Mi So. The whole episode has some business focus and some romantic focus. We also get a glimpse of Yong Jun's childhood friend whom he hasn't seen in years. Mi So shows some signs of jealousy. It's revealed that Yong Jun had a crush on his childhood friend and asked her to marry him when he was five. Later, Mi So asked Yong Jun to marry her when he was five. It's really something to think that while some childhood crushes fade -- but not in the case of Yong Jun and Mi So. Mi So finds her childhood crush and so does Yong Jun. The relationship is no longer the usual puppy love or crush identity. It's now a mature, more adult-oriented relationship. This also causes Mi So's father to pretend ...

Episode 13 of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim tries to focus on the pacing of two characters. All the revelation pours in too fast -- Mi Soo discovers that her childhood love is none other than her boss Yong Jun. Yong Jun's always had a crush on her for nine years straight during the time she was his secretary. Yong Jun was always looking for her for all those years since he was a child and he found her nine years ago -- all the while suppressing the kidnapping incident from his mind and causing himself and his older brother Seong Yun to have that unnecessary sibling rivalry going on for years. So how's it going as far as the relationship is progressing? Granted, we only have this week and next week to finish the show so the story must be wrapped up As Soon As Possible, right unlike those idiotic teleseryes from the Philippines, right? Three more episodes and we're done so there's no room to slow down the pace especially that Mi Soo is not getting any younger, is ...

As said, just take rumors with a grain of salt -- though we have to realize that Kamen Rider Build has already finished filming. So for all we know, a lot of this rumor may already be true and I'd like to share my thoughts on the latest rumor from JEFusion concerning the upcoming series -- Kamen Rider Zi-O! Kamen Rider Zi-O's real identity is Daisuke, a man who has been erased from time while Kamen Rider Gates is named Ryu, a man from the future who's job is to repair cracks in time.  The year 2018 is the last year of Heisei, a year where a Kamen Rider was never born. Gates is from a future resistance group who fight against an evil cult known as BLOOD.  Gates goes into the past to try to change the future, but BLOOD causes a ripple in time that fractures history.  Evil BLOOD monsters have invaded the homes of past riders, Zi-O and Gates must stop them in order to create a better future and return Zi-O to his rightful place in history.  People b...

Kamen Rider Build has its 44th episode -- this is where the title somewhat says it all, "The End of Evolt". This has me wondering now that Evolt is gone, what's next? He was the main reason behind all the mess but it looks like that there's a much bigger problem now. It turned out that Evolt was double-crossed by Shinobu Katsuragi. Everything is going on as planned? What in the world is Professor Katsuragi talking about? The scene where Professor Katsuragi creates an escape plan for his son to escape was something. But it turns out that heh as other plans. I think he wants to rule the world with Takumi/Sento by his side -- which could be the reason why he planned for Evolt's downfall in the first plac.e This also has me interested in one way. If you remember Go-Busters some five years ago -- the Messiah Virus was the Big Bad that eventually got destroyed also in the 44th episode. Evolt is destroyed in the 44th episode too. So what's it going to be now...

Yesterday's episode had a serious half followed by a lighthearted half. But what's lighter and softer without serious moments to balance the show from becoming denser and wackier? This episode starts off with some light, steamy moments followed up by the whole flashback of what really happened. Why did the two brothers have so much resentment that's deeper than the ongoing love triangle? Song Yun's nightmarish flashbacks in yesterday's episode are finally revealed. It was revealed that both Song Yun and Yong Jun were once out in a walk prior to the kidnapping incident. Yup, that was one scary scene and good thing the suicide was done off-screen. Yong Jun was thirsty and Song Hyun wanted to buy some water. Some stranger tricked Yong Jun into helping her and then she kidnapped him. Yong Jun was later hospitalized from the trauma and Song Hyun also gets traumatized because it's really all his fault -- why did he leave his younger brother there rather than accom...

I was thinking about how this Manhwa turned live adaptation (and note that Manhwa is actually inspired by the Japanese invention called Manga) is going to the cliche of childhood romances. Yup, a good portion of episode 11 is focused on the serious stuff. We saw Mi Soo faint in episode 10 when she was reconnecting her childhood -- she could suddenly remember the face of the kidnapper who apparently committed suicide. Was it because the model had a similar appearance? You decide? The first half of the one hour episode is really that serious. We see the childhood scene of Yong Jun (who was going with another name as Seong Hyun for some reason). Everything comes to full circle doesn't it? Previous episodes already showed Yong Jun giving a caramel, him easily getting a cold and the scars on his feet. It turns out that he's been trying to repress the memories but to no avail. Mi Soo wakes up and finally reveals she remembers everything -- she's kind of angry to why would ...

Well here's the latest Zi-O scan update thanks to JEFusion . So far, so good and I think this is a twist of events. Do you remember how Kamen Rider Decade gained both the appearance and abilities of past Kamen Riders? However, a new twist has arrived to where Kamen Rider Zi-O's latest ability will allow him to create hybrid versions of each suits.  What do I think of this new concept? It could be a newer (and hopefully) better gimmick to sell more of them Bandai merchandise. At first, I was nervous at the idea of trying to redo Decade with Zi-O copying the appearance and powers of past Kamen Riders. Instead, we're probably getting a breath of fresh air with this new concept. Hmmm... I can't wait to see this show in action. On the other hand, I still have a whole month of August to see the last four episodes of Kamen Rider Build. What do you think of this latest update? 

Whether we like it or not -- we can't avoid cliches, can we? You've been watching some K-Drama and you probably find that there are cliches mixed with non-cliches. Sure, not every K-Drama ends up with a dying male or female lead (though I wonder why it usually happens to the female in some of the K-Drama), it's become more cliche to have a gutsy female protagonist (even when the TV series is a comedy), childhood crushes (and yes, Mi Soo has now seen it that her childhood crush was her boss all along),  a love triangle between siblings (which is happening to Yong Jun and Seong Yun), some rich guys who do stuff that commoners do and the whole it's not meant to be a year long aren't a surprise, right? What's not to be expected? Well, one cliche that got kicked out was that there's really no parental conflict when it comes to Yong Jun's choice for a bride. I mean, sure the cliche of sibling rivalry is still there but what I find refreshing is the abse...

I decided to read through the Sentai Bandicoot's past post where he asks, " How Much Sentai is Worth Watching? " and it made me think, "How much Kamen Rider is worth watching?" This is one question I just want to ask myself considering that I really don't find myself too open towards the Showa era -- back when Kamen Rider villains operated with the entertaining half-brained yet dangerous plans for world domination (ex. making a necklace that unleashes bees) in contrast to the more dramatic era of Kamen Rider -- where most of the writing feels like that they're focused more on creating many quality dramatic storylines mixed with science fiction fantasy -- which I believe that they may help in unleashing one's inner child for older fans. One could think about watching Kamen Riders from the the Showa era. Personally, I'm not even that interested in that era even if I will give them a shot or two whenever I feel like it. My first Kamen Rider was ...

Okay, pardon the Lee Min Ho picture -- especially I love to joke that he almost looks like a younger Takeshi Hongo from the very first Kamen Rider. Now, I'd like to present a bit of my current struggle between two of my favorite stuff -- new school K-Drama and new school Kamen Rider! I thought about how new school Kamen Rider feels more mature all the while it's still enjoyable to little children and teenagers, right? On the other hand, K-Drama is usually geared towards teenagers and adults. Yet, I find myself still liking both based on their individual merits where I can like one over the other while still liking them both. I admit, I haven't been giving weekly updates on Kamen Rider -- ever since I got stuck with some new school Korean shows of my choice. I feel like writing updates on Secretary Kim may be more enjoyable than writing updates on Kamen Rider Build (which is now coming to its end) -- even when I'm enjoying both shows. Sure, writing some occasional upd...

Well I'm finally done with watching W: Two Worlds and I admit that it's somewhat vague to what really happened in the end. So what's the big deal anyway? The collision between the "real world" and the "World of W" or the two universes, the heroine falling for a man from a completely different world -- is it a cliche in fiction already? So what did I think with how the show ended? I found the whole idea of killing Congressman Han via the author's whim to be quite poetic. The killer (who was almost eerily like Evolt in Kamen Rider Build prior to getting his identity established to who he is) made the writer Seong Mo do a lot of stuff that was damaging the World of W. Now, it's time to really give some real poetic justice -- Congressman Han gets some tape in his mouth (unexpectedly) and shoots himself. IMHO though, I wish he fell off from a skyscraper in an epic battle with Kang Chul but I think this is good in its own way. I admit, this is ...

Hmmm I just didn't notice it but we've got a couple of problematic fathers in Kamen Rider, don't we? Although we don't see them too often but I've noticed that it started with Kamen Rider W -- to put a problematic father who's at odds with at least one of the protagonists who is their offspring. It's not a new trope and it's seen in various works of fiction (such as having Darth Vader for your father) or in real life when parents fail to do their own duties towards their children.  Kamen Rider W has Ryubee Sonozaki. He's the father of Philip. He appears as a caring man but he's also at odds with Philip -- because his son is the other half of the Kamen Rider W combination. His actions caused his own wife to turn against him and seek to destroy him. In the end, he started to regret his own actions as he was finally defeated.  Kamen Rider Wizard has Sou Fueki as a caring father but an irrational decision maker. He appears as this White Wi...

Here's Ukiyaseed's latest update with another Kamen Rider Zi-O leak. Is it me or does his motif look like a Diver's Watch? So are we getting a clock theme? Most likely because of the image looks like a watch. The current rumor has it that he could use 24 hours each representing 24 Kamen Rider powers. Also, his premiere date will be on September 2, 2018 -- which reminds me that I should be bracing myself as Kamen Rider Build comes to an end.  So when was the last time a clock motif got used? Well, it was 18 years ago with Mirai Sentai Timeranger when clocks were used -- granted that it was a time police show. Last time we've had time travel it was with Kamen Rider Den-O. This time, a clock is getting used for Kamen Rider which is just good news IMHO. Hopefully, it will manage to meet the potential that wasn't met with Kamen Rider Decade last 2009. 

Episode 10 has Mi Soo who starts to discover the one fact -- her first love wasn't Seong Yun but Yong Jun. The scene at the car as her discovering her past, her possible mistaken identity and then she starts to discover more that the very little boy she wanted to marry as a little girl is actually Yong Jun himself! She goes to his house to ask for information -- only to lead to some traumatic past regathering. Also, why does Seong Yun think he was the one kidnapped? Why did he develop a crush on Mi Soo? The background story of the  brotherly love triangle  unfolds as the series moves forward. I mean, we've got six more episodes which means three more weeks to go before I decide to wrap things up. Mi Soo's sisters are still distrustful of Yong Jun. I guess, they have a wrong perception of what rich people do which is pretty understandable. I still think about it that some rich people tend to still do what the commoners do. Yong Jun can be seen enjoying the crabs and g...

Episode nine of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim now explores the thin line drawn between the two characters. Yong Jun and Mi So are now dating -- she confessed she loves him too all the while Seong Yun is still involved in the cliche brotherly love triangle . Seong Yun openly confessed his feelings some time ago -- which causes Mi So to suddenly depart from the book concert scene. Yong Jun also has his fear of reviving his sibling rivalry -- will he try to avoid it at all costs especially that Mi So is the seed of it? I thought about the thin line to be really something. Mi So's probably thinking for those nine years not to pressure herself over getting a boyfriend. It happens all the while that Yong Jun has had a crush on Mi So and can't hold it much longer. They start going out on a date and Mi So can't stop doing secretarial work even on a date. I really found it hilarious where Yong Jun starts to do some of his tasks themselves -- which caused a lot of miscommun...

Image taken from Ukiyaseed   So I guess it's time for another copy/paste then insert my views huh? Well, it's time to take this rumor with a grain of salt since it's still freaking July AND Kamen Rider Build is still in its second to the last month. Anyway, I'd like to give my reaction to what Ukiyaseed has to say with these words below: Kamen Rider Zi-O will use 24 different clock faces to represent 24 hours needed to access the Rider's timeline to use their powers. The Kamen Riders and the hour they represent in Zi-O's clock are: 01am - Kuuga 02am - Agito 03am - Ryuki 04am - Faiz 05am - Blade 06am - Hibiki 07am - Kabuto 08am - Den-O 09am - Kiva 10am - Decade 11am - Rider #1 12am - V3 01pm - W 02pm - OOO 03pm - Fourze 04pm - Wizard 05pm - Gaim 06pm - Drive 07pm - Ghost 08pm - Ex-Aid 09pm - Build 10pm - Zi-O 11pm - BLACK 12pm - BLACK RX Take note, the only concrete info we have about the new Kamen Rider is that he is the 20th Heisei Kamen Rider and tha...

I admit that things have never been the same ever since the Kamen Rider Decade meltdown  -- the show could have lasted up to a year long but I guess lack of popularity was the problem. IMHO, although I'm still watching new school Kamen Rider, I have very little interest with old school Kamen Rider  (though I will watch some whenever I feel like it) but I really wished that the Decade Meltdown never happened and new school Kamen Riders premiered every late January to early February each other. But sigh... anyway I'm already thinking about the scheduled end of Kamen Rider Build to make way for Kamen Rider Zi-O who will be revealed in August -- so stay tuned for possible rants on updates. So why am I "bracing myself"? I guess you've noticed that I've been publishing MUCH LESS Kamen Rider content here and I am devoting myself to K-Drama related posts and I may soon start watching more new school Taiwanese drama soon. But it doesn't mean I'm not going t...