Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Rugal's 10th episode (well sorry for no weekly episode reviews and I didn't realize it's two episodes per week) really has gotten its big-time thrill. The price of the prosthetics in Rugal is a weaknesses. There are some weaknesses like requiring the charge. In Ki Bum's case, it looks like that his eyes are either acting on their own OR somebody hacked into them. Rugal is at the risk of being exposed. Worse, there are false memories in Ki Bum's memory? TBH, I think the villain Duk Gu has more than meets the eyes (pun not intended) because he's one magnificently scary villain. The problem with the AI of his prosthetic eyes is this. The more Ki Bum accesses the AI - the more the AI has the pull and hi-jack his very memories. What's interesting to know is that Ki Bum could turn into a merciless killer. I don't think it's just a coincidence of sorts that his eyes turn red. Somebody and I mean somebody is messing with him. I think it has to be Duk Gu ...

It's no secret that Shin Hye Sun is a "hotter" version of Sarah Elago though she's only slightly prettier. I expressed how I wished Hye Sun were Seo Dan in Crash Landing on You  though it could've had consequences such as Sarah passing an anti-KDrama bill. The fact that Kim Jung Hyun would be King Cheol Jong (the spouse of Queen Cheorin in real life) makes me think that they could have been Alberto Gu and Seo Dan in Crash Landing on You . Why I think Hye Sun (and not Seo Ji Hye) was my choice. Just looking at her characters in Angel's Last Mission and Legend of the Blue Sea makes me think Hye Sun would do good to act as a spoiled communist officer. Just seeing Seo Dan getting picked up by a luxury car and seeing Hye Sun's moments in Angel's Last Mission makes me think she would make a scary North Korean commie officer you'd hate to double-cross. The fact that Sarah went to Switzerland like Seo Dan makes me wish it happened even more. Just a b...

Well, I'm really getting conflicted in the pacing of Kamen Rider Zero-One. Sometimes, I wish I could just write the episodes after one arc is finished. Instead, we're getting separate arcs. Now, it's time to go back to reviewing Kamen Rider Zero-One episodes. At this point, I do call it a Kamen Rider Moment of Badass too. The episode features a tennis coach HumaGear known as Love-Chan. Love-Chan was illegally dumped. There's also a tennis student named Keita. The episode does feature HumaGears' ability to dreams and their limits. Yup, Izu is aware of the limits HumaGears have such as not attending competitions. I think it's fair enough since HumaGears have hyper-focus and humans don't. Love-Chan wanted to become a tennis champion and Izu tells the former that it's against the rules. Love-Chan though gets his job. I think this is Yua's shining moment - at least for this episode. I'm getting tired of seeing her as Gai Amatsu's lackey of...

IntroNews It's really a relief to see how bad boss Duk Gu is showing that he's a person you can't mess with. Just think about the fact that he's power-hungry and trying to get rid of him won't be easy. The power struggle within Argos proves that Duk Gu is one dangerous SOB. He quickly deciphers that Ye Won has been planning to dispose of him. However, for some reason, he hasn't murdered Ye Won who is a threat to his life. I guess he's aware that he has to come up with a brilliant plan that won't easily trace Ye Won to him. Last week's episode of Argos proves that moving against him without a good plan is suicide. Mina's past really shows something. Mina lost her father to Duk Gu. Mina's rather emotional state puther in a disadvantage against Duk Gu. It's amazing how Duk Gu quickly silences witnesses, plants false evidences, and puts his victims under a trauma. He skillfully shot part of Mina's brain to the point where she was a...

Just looking at this episode makes me want to throw in bad jokes. At this point, a HumaGear fashion model ousted by ZAIA Enterprise named Derumo. Derumo is reactivated which has me wanting to LOL or throw bad jokes just watching this episode. I'm supportive of HumaGears doing assist work but doing fashion model work? Lawyering work? Isn't artificial intelligence supposedly limited? I guess HumaGears have souls too. Granted, Toei Ltd. is also responsible for the Dragon Ball franchise where Cell (an artificial lifeform and bio-cyborg) also ended up in Hell. A HumaGear as a fashion model? Personally, I do want to laugh at the thought and I want to throw in jokes about Troy Burrows from Power Rangers Megaforce or the just-as-robotic Shun Daimonji from Kamen Rider Fourze . Honestly, I'd welcome a scene where actor Justin Tomimori will guest star as a HumaGear. Oh, let Andrew Gray dress up with those HumaGear headsets too. I do also have to address the possible contrast w...

KPop-Hit Every good action or legal drama has got to have a villain who knows how to torture the heroes, right? In real life, you would probably facedesk if criminals were halted over a very stupid mistake rather than divine retribution (such as falling for a subtle buy-bust operation) moving its course. In the case of Rugal -  one can consider the villain Hwang Duk Gu (delightfully portrayed by Park Sung Woong) is no pushover. He has his ambitions to take over the criminal group Argos and will stop at NOTHING to get what he wants. Choi Ye Won (Han Ji Wan) was previously married to Chairman Park but didn't get to consummate her rights. Quite a relief actually considering that Ye Won is young enough to be Chairman Park's daughter. What makes the main villain Duk Gu delightfully evil? It's that he really knows how to hide his footprints that only divine intervention could get him. Duk Gu arranges the death of his boss since he wants to take over Argos. He wears gloves ...

Well, it's time for another Kamen Rider Zero-One r eview. This time, I'm in a mess right now on how often I should update it here. I thought about how I should even do my Rugal -related posts since I've been watching the series at my own pace while it's still an ongoing. Here's a big throwback way back with last year's fifth episode . HumaGears are now outlawed thanks to Gai himself. Now, something unique about the HumaGears is about to show up. So the Manga artist Choichiro shows up once more. The HumaGear G-Pen is now rendered back to square one. Something unique happened with the HumaGear G-Pen. At this point, I'm reminded for the nth time of the plot of Megaman X where Reploids have the capacity to develop their AI nearly as close as humans do. The HumaGear G-Pen starts to show some creativity power. Hiden Manufacturing just began its operations. Choichiro wants G-Pen back not as a HumaGear but as a robot with independent thought. There's some ...

After watching Orion Cinema Network's Kill It followed by Justice - I decided to go for the sci-fi direction of the impossible. As said, these series are NOT for children and there are some bloody scenes. Thankfully, a lot of these violent and bloody scenes are toned down even for a series that's rated Mature. I mean, the Mortal Kombat video game series are rated M-17 last time I checked. Since I started watching it pretty late so please don't ask for episode reviews. What's amazing is that this is my second time getting exposed to Choi Jin Hyuk who appeared as the main character of Kill It . Is it me or do some of the best dramas love to get corruption involved? The K-Drama series Vagabond involved government corruption with a walking spoiler. In here, the company known as Argos appears to be benevolent on the outside. However, it turns out that it has caused damage to a lot of important key persons. The leader Hwang Duk Gu is excellently played by villain actor Pa...

Somehow, when a Kamen Rider series starts - the meaning of the name sticks to it, huh? The name Zero-One would have signified the start of a new Kamen Rider era because it's the first official Reiwa era Kamen Rider. Also, Aruto must start all over again with a little company known as Hiden Manufacturing so he can become Zero-One once more.  Gai Amatsu has taken over Hiden Enterprises and things don't look very good. Unlike Kuroto in Kamen Rider EX-AID who unfortunately decayed in the second half - this guy starts progressing towards utter douchery where he values his power above everything. I wonder is this guy meant to be like previous Kamen Rider villains who show how humans can be eviler than the recurring antagonists ? Banno in Kamen Rider Drive , Masato Mishima in Kamen Rider Kabuto , and Dr. Kiyoto Maki in Kamen Rider OOO are some examples of these ones. Gai may be a human being but he sure lacks humanity when he ignores HumaGears have feelings too. He shows he...

Soompi So, surprise surprise that I didn't notify that I was watching Justice huh? The legal K-Drama features a lot of good stuff. I was finished with Kill It which was pretty okay except for the sad ending. At least, Kill It owned the rather pointless Filipino drama Ang Probinsyano by several miles. The series Justice itself is pretty much a web of conspiracies. The plot involves an entertainment company and missing girls. There's much of the past and the present colliding. The main protagonist Lee Tae Kyung (Choi Jin Hyuk) is an anti-hero. Tae Kyung's past is shrouded by dirty secrets which he wants to pay for it later on. Tae Kyung's relationship with Prosecutor Seo Yeon Ah (Jin A Nana) was tainted due to his bad choices while he sought to avenge his late brother. Director Joo Wong must've been pleased with Nana's performance in  Kill It  that she rightfully landed on that spot. Along the way, there is much corruption within the legal firms and the comp...