Westside Story VS. Outsiders

I was thinking about two shows with some similarities namely Westside Story and The Outsiders. I think of Ady An who is eight years older than Esther Liu. Esther was still a teenager by then so I wonder how did she even finish school? Also, wouldn't she be JAIL BAIT that time? I remembered the joke of calling Mana as jailbait in Kamen Rider Agito considering I was still in high school when it first aired. Think about it - Westside Story aired in 2003, The Outsiders aired in 2004, and both actresses starred in Chinese Paladin in 2005! Then, I heard that Esther got a more demoted role due to her age (which I think was appropriate) since Ady had more acting experience. Ady was more professional by then to play such a tough character.

I watched both shows dubbed in Tagalog. What amazed me were the roles played by both girls. Ady is pretty much a Dawson casting (she was 24 at that time) because she was an adult but her role was that of a 17-year-old. Esther, on the other hand, was a year younger than her actual role. I always felt that both girls played similar roles. Both came from strict upbringings who fell in love with bad boys. Esther's character Yu Li fell for Ya Yu and Ady's character Yu Yan fell for Yu Yao. Though the difference is that Yu Li's father is way more reasonable than Yu Yan's father who nearly made her a puppet. Both leading ladies were also planned to be sent to Europe to study by their fathers. Though, I still think that it's much easier to obey Yu Li's father than Yu Yan's overbearing dad.

Both Westside Story and The Outsiders involve gangsters but not as violent. Westside Story didn't involve the same kind of bloodshed or gun violence that The Outsiders had. Sure, Westside Story had some fistfights and blood but it's tame in contrast to what The Outsiders had to offer. Westside Story seems to feature a redemption story. However, The Outsiders isn't afraid to tell you that it could be too late for you such as the death of two leading protagonists while giving one of the protagonists a chance to reform. I mean, Yu Hao does return to school eventually but what about Yu Hao? Too late for Yu Hao because hew as practically killed in an act of cowardice by the main antagonist Ah Bao.

Both shows are enjoyable though I think of a more fair comparison. Ady not being that pretty makes it easier for me to appreciate The Outsiders beyond the surface. Esther's being that hot of jailbait (I was 18 at that time which made me still a minor by legal standards) made it hard for me to enjoy the show. When I stopped caring how hot Esther is (though her beauty made me watch Boukenger because Haruka Suenaga resembled her in part) - I think Westside Story has more interesting characters. I felt that the gang of Westside was more entertaining. The trio in The Outsiders just doesn't turn out to have that much of the charm I had with Westside. Though, I'm still tempted to be stupid and say, "Westside is better than Outsiders because Yu Li is hotter than Yu Yan.", right?

"Light The Night's" Finale (Spoilers Ahead)

SpikyTV I guess the series just kept us guessing, right? I finally got the chance to finish it after some busy nights. I was right that the killer was HANA (Esther Liu) BUT there's a twist - it was more of voluntary manslaughter than murder. Manslaughter is when one kills out of the heat of passion and that's what Hana did twice in the story. Hana had one against a client who used her and another against Sue after some unfortunate insanity attack. Hana ends up planning to hand herself over but her lover commits murder (towards a character named Chiang An) to protect her. The whole psychological thriller for me just didn't match up to what I wanted. I guess I was too used to how Victim's Game rolled out. I was expecting some real murder scheme. Instead, it was the anti-climatic manslaughter where Hana decides to hand herself to the authorities after what she did. I really still think that the finale wasn't worth too much of the wait. I was expecting something gran

I Just Finished "My Golden Life"

I finally finished My Golden Life which I was hesitant to watch. 52 one-hour long episodes? I was thinking it was easier to watch the Wuxia series that had 40+ minutes per episode such as Princess Weiyang which was quite long. A lot of episodes of My Golden Life would have a few minutes more depending on the coverage of the episode. So, I'm done and I never thought I'd actually finish it since I'm way too used to short K-Dramas. This one was rather long but it was rather entertaining in many ways. I was thinking about how Shin Hye Sun actually did well with on-screen partner Park Si Hoo. Sometimes, I'd like to joke about how they had a chemistry that looked good and felt good. Looked good? Both aren't attractive and I often joke how Hye Sun's face feels melted or how she was rightfully matched with Lee Jong Suk in Hymn of Death . Hye Sun isn't pretty but she really makes up with her good acting and likability. The same goes for Si Hoo with how he acts out hi

Just Finished "My Glamorous Imperial Concubine" (Some Spoilers)

This is another Wuxia series finished. I was having some expectations broken. The show can be full of spoilers when discussed even further. In fact, some characters are walking spoilers. If you're not ready to be spoiled - DON'T READ. If not, you can read further. I feel the show had some plot twists and turns. Besides, maybe some of the villains in this show weren't as evil as you think. Emperor Liancheng is an antagonist but dies before the show can end. Liancheng may have some idiotic obsession with Ma Fuya. It becomes even worse when Liancheng's younger sister Liansi and his younger brother Lianxi get involved. Liansi develops a crush on Meng Qiyou and even gets pregnant in the process. It seems that Ma Fuya was pregnant with Liancheng's baby but ends up in Qiyou's household after Liancheng dies. Liancheng dies doing a selfless act to save Ma Fuya. The obsessive empress Ma Xiangyun commits suicide to kill Emperor Liancheng. Emperor Liancheng's quite a

Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Search This Blog