Vagabond Episode 1: My First Impressions Of Vagabond

Well, it's the long-awaited premiere of the series Vagabond and fortunately -- it's a worldwide premiere. I just checked on Netflix and I'd like to give my thoughts on the first episode itself. I don't know how I'd do my updates here which would be considering that it's a Friday to Saturday late-night show. I might consider slowing down OR temporarily taking a break from Ryusoulger (then catching up on it later) as planned. This also has me thinking I might consider making Kamen Rider Zero-One posts every two to three weeks. Now, moving on.

Whoever says K-Pop guys are fags (and a certain someone has been vilifying them) need to consider that they pass through South Korea's MANDATORY military training. The results of Lee Seung Gi's military training has been VERY IMPRESSIVE. His role as Cha Dal Gun starts out as a failed action director wannabe then ends up in a taxi driver job. However, for a failed director why does he exhibit that many dangerous stunts? I really got nervous watching Seung Gi perform the stunts in this series. I wonder was there a green screen used in several of the scenes that would have otherwise killed a real person? He's tangled in this web after he discovers the killer who crashed the plane. He gets tangled into this weird web of deceit and corruption one way or another.

The other character is Go Hae Ri a member of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea. She's also had a hooded assassin role (the trailers revealed it early) which makes me wonder how did she get into that job in the first place? She's a covert operative who pretends to be stupid but she's really up to something. I wonder how she and Dal Gun will get caught in the web. It looks like she was misled into killing the wrong people in the process. Apparently, the series may be taking place in a dystopian South Korea caught in the web of corruption. She did kill that man in Portugal but what was the reason? Is she manipulated by evil forces that she will soon betray? It seems like it!

But the "Toku doppelgangers" just don't stop with Dal Gun and Hae Ri. One character named Jessica Lee (Moon Jung Hee) looks like old-school Japanese actress Atsuko Takahata. If you're a Toku fan who grew up in the 90s -- you might remember her as Maribaron in Black RX and Reiko Ayanokouji in Janperson. It does seem that Jessica is a bad woman. Her mannerisms seem to suggest that she's manipulating people behind the scenes. Is she the Big Bad of the series or just an accomplice? Regardless, she has a very frightening air that would make you think twice before you cross her. Did she order the killing of that man in Portugal?

Regardless, it's a very impressive first episode. I can't wait to see the possible turn as Dal Gun and Hae Ri may get entangled. What if Hae Ri finds out she was duped into killing innocent people by Korean officials? What would Dal Gun do with the hijacker in the plane? What if Dal Gun's nephew may still be alive after all? Hmmm... loads of questions!

Sidenote, GMA-7 and ABS-CBN better keep their dirty hands of this one if they can't find decent dubbers to do the job!