Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I admit that it took some time for me to get into K-Dramas and I haven't watched reviewed any K-Movies yet. I do think I might watch her latest project Innocence and maybe try watching The Sound of Flower and Baekdu Mountain starring the rather eccentric Suzy Bae. Now, it's time to focus on Shin Hye Sun. She does remind me of a puppy love I took too seriously and maybe why I fell for that girl who somehow resembles her. I used to find said person really pretty when she wasn't. Then I think about how Hye Sun has been called ugly. According to Soompi   - she showed her rather admirable conduct when she replied this way about people calling her "ugly": I receive a lot of comments calling me ugly or a nobody. I look up articles about me a couple times a day. I read all the comments one by one too, only because I’m curious about the stories surrounding me. However, I’m now slowly practicing not to take comments to heart. I'm just reminded of why I probably f...

The second challenge between HumaGear sales agents and ZAIA Specs is here. This time, it's all about selling real estate. Smile Sumida is a real estate lessor HumaGear pit against Tatsuya Arayashiki a real estate agent who uses ZAIA Specs. The latest challenge is to sell real estate by 1000%. What I'm finding cliche though is seeing HumaGears getting corrupt and fixed ever since Gai appeared. Smile Sumida gets corrupted and we've got a ZAIA Specs wearer who becomes a monster-of-the-week. Tatsuya does become the Splashing Whale Raider in the quest to defeat Smile. Just who in the world is giving the ZAIA Specs wearers their monster transformation keys? Smile gets corrupted in the first half. Smile then gets repaired in the second half. The idea is to sell the house to a billionaire to get points. The second half does feature the guest appearance of 77-year old Hirohisa Nakata. Yup, I'm amazed to see the actor still appear here. For all the newbies - Nakata himsel...

Yes, I'm already done with Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain . I could say that the 37 episodes haven't been so fun but can still be fun. The first half focused on the anti-villain Tianlun. The second half starts to have them hit with Xue Boren (where the wolf siblings are mistaken to be eating humans when they aren't). There are some plots that just try to balance the show's comedy with seriousness as to avoid it from turning into a slapstick. But sometimes, I just wish a comedy were total nonsense rather than this show that tries to balance it.  The conclusion of the Qianling Sect had its leader Tianlun try to seal the darkness away. The darkness arrives yet again in the second half. I would admit that the three wolves arc and the Fengling love story are interesting. The views between Wang Lu and Yunfan regarding the mythological demons is something. Yunfan just sees mythological demons as scum such as the honorable werewolf brothers. Boren just wants his wif...

It's no secret that I tend to watch almost anything good for a bad reason. I may have chewed out Power Rangers Megaforce mercilessly in spite of the eye candy because the show was so bad. However, I tend to watch a good K-Drama for the same stupid reason I tend to watch a good Tokusatsu - it's for the girls! I remembered watching Gu Family Book , Uncontrollably Fond , While You Were Sleeping , Dream High , and Vagabond because I find Hiroyo Hakase ahem Suzy Bae pretty. The same went for Full House and Autumn in My Heart because of Song Hye Kyo. I remembered watching a couple of Japanese and Taiwanese shows because I found some girls attractive like Return of Condor Heroes (2006) and Green Forest, My Home . While watching Still 17 - I think about it that I can't help but comment that Shin Hye Sun can't be considered pretty. Then I remember I had a crush on a girl who looks like her or that I once had a crush on Ako from Chojin Sentai Jetman . Hye Sun tends to remind m...

Considering that Still 17 was a last year K-Drama so I can watch the shows at my own pace. It's not like this year's K-Drama where it's shown at least once or twice a week so I can do a review, pause, do real stuff, and write. In my case, when a show is finished (hence why I have the tendency to prefer new stuff when they age after a year) - I can watch at my OWN pace. Now, it's time to simply focus oon the past and present colliding. Seo Ri having been asleep for 13 years is no easy thing. She wakes up at 30 but still 17 mentally. She would take some time to get used to her face. I did find it quite funny when she ran into an old woman and nearly thought she was a Rip Van Winkle . Remember the story where a man slept for too long and awaken very old? Seo Ri awakens with no experience of what it is to grow up. She tries to adjust to a new world. She even doesn't know that mobile phones can connect to the Internet. She was probably too used to the traditional p...

Well, it looks like I do need to really plan more ahead about my Kamen Rider 01 updates. Well, I decided that I might actually be a little more careful about doing the episode/s review. I usually prefer to do it whenever an arc ends. Now, it's time to grant the conclusion of the flower arrangement arc. Right now, there are some interesting plots and maybe some really predictable plots. It's no secret (at least to the audience) that Gai Amatsu is a charmer. Yua is now confused with her loyalties. It's interesting to see how Isamu himself gets into a clash with his partner Yua. The big question is does Yua even know that Gai Amatsu is really a villain? I do find the naming of Gai Amatsu to be kind of intentional - there was the smug rich boy Kamen Rider Gai from Kamen Rider Ryuki . He also shows signs of being able to deceive his opponents and make it look like he's not doing anything. Gai is also very much good at hiding his true intentions by simply having a rematch....

The wonders of the digital age really work when it goes beyond the computer. Now, with digiboxes and a monthly paid subscription - the local Philippine TV may be rapidly becoming a thing in the past. I'm now trying to watch Still 17  which stars Shin Hye Sun. Shin Hye Sun's role as Seo Ri is a woman who spent 13 years in a coma. She has lost contact with the real world. Much can happen in a few years and more so in 13 years . She's a 30-year-old woman who still has the mind of an adolescent. So, I'll give the show my initial thoughts. As said, since I'm watching the show at my OWN PACE so just don't expect episode reviews. I'll just blog about when it's convenient. Meanwhile, I'm still watching Lingjian Mountain where I'm in a good half of the show. I could choose to schedule my watches due to real-life issues. Now, it's time to give my first impressions on this show. I really thought about how my head tends to be stuck in my teens. Woo...

Perhaps one of the best definitions of what makes a good antagonist isn't necessarily evil for evil's sake. Sometimes, some villains just need to have a motive beyond For the Evulz (such as the Masters of Evil villain group in Marvel Comics) which can be very common in superhero shows. In the case of Qianling sect leader Tian Lun - his atrocities are coupled with a much greater aim. I always found the whole bloodletting thing creepy. Okay, no human sacrifice was made by the sect members. However, it turned out that Tian Lun massacred his own family while leaving one daughter Li Xian alive until now. Did his whole family agree to die in his hands? The whole purpose behind the lives of thousands was to save millions. It was to create a Blood Matrix that will eventually seal off the Black Tide Seal - something that may reveal an even greater evil into the world. I was really thinking of some RPG villains with that kind of aim. I'm thinking about how Tales of Xillia 2 had...

Well, I'm glad this ain't a boring new year clip episode. Just the idea of a flower-arranging battle made me think we might get another clip show. Instead, it's a major turning point as ZAIA Enterprise is about to bring forth its power. Gai Amatsu debuts his new form as Kamen Rider Thouser. ZAIA Enterprise is about to show off its latest product. The beginning of the five-game acquisition is here. Somehow, I do feel like doing alternative methods such as one review a week vs. reviewing an entire arc interchangeably. A new product called ZAIA Spec is created. It gives humans a bolster in their intellectual ability. The Christmas rampage caused a huge bolstering 1000% sales in this product. Right now, I do feel like that Hiden Intelligence and ZAIA Enterprise are meant to represent the two sides of capitalism. Ethical capitalism seems to be what Hiden Intelligence would represent - the dream of helping others. Meanwhile, ZAIA while seemingly wanting to help others may ...

Image Source Watching Lingjian Mountain does have me fill a bit of nitpicking. I could go ahead and enjoy the action BUT I'd love to nitpick. Even the best shows in the world will have noticeable flaws. I could really laugh at how Sandrine Pinna-Ji who's obviously a half-white is in here. Now, it's time to point out the rather funny scene called the Heart Boys. Are these guys trying to be the 911 boyband or parody the Backstreet Boys before they existed? One of their songs is called "A Little Sweet" which really should make you laugh when you know the ENGLISH translation : I will save an apple as I wait for you here Hope that it will help quench your thirst, my dear Like a winter’s warm drink, or a Coke in the heat You are totally the right one for me You and I’ve already planned the end of next week Your light mood swings are no biggie for me I don’t even know why, old wounds haven’t yet dried Yet somehow you’ve crashed right into my life Yo...

Before the live version of Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain had a live adaptation - there was an Anime version of it based on the Manhwa novel! It's not too surprising when you realize the cycle of influence plays itself. No idea in Japan is completely original. You can consider how Toei had to get Marvel's license before they created their own Spiderman or how Janperson is obviously inspired by Robocop . Then you can consider that Manhwa itself was clearly inspired by the Japanese invention called Manga. I mean, do check the art styles of Manhwa comics from China, Taiwan, and South Korea - they obviously use Anime-style graphics! Am I really that surprised that the Anime version came first or that it even exists? You can consider how Manhwa is derived from Manga. There are also Anime shows adapted from Chinese literature and Lingjian Mountain is no exemption. Maybe, you've tried watching the Three Kingdoms anime or maybe the Return of Condor Heroes anime. Those were...

Images were taken from My Shiny Toy Robots My opinions change all the time now, don't they? I remembered not wanting to watch Kamen Rider Kuuga or any new Kamen Rider series back in the 2000s only because of somebody's personal opinion. Like, why am I letting other people's opinions on shows dictate mine? Kuuga is such a show that was in that range. It also took me a long time to return to Toku because there was other newer stuff in the 2000s that I checked out. I was simply taking a break from the Japanese hype in exchange for the Taiwanese hype. I watched some new school Kamen Rider but I was still more into Super Sentai. Now, it's time to do a re-evaluation and I'd say re-review of Kuuga - the highly ambitious reboot of the Kamen Rider franchise. What I failed to notice or remember was that the Showa era of Kamen Rider was a mess. It took four years after Kamen Rider Stronger ended before Kamen Rider Skyrider (which was intended to be a reboot ha...