Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I remembered the hype on GMA-7 about My Golden Life. Personally, I preferred if a Korean series was usually just a matter of 10 episodes and up depending on the plot. However, I felt Rugal needed more than 16 episodes to spread out development among the heroes. In the case of My Golden Life - it would be very long due to 52 hour-long episodes. The main lead Shin Hye Sun presumably requested to be written out of Stranger (and season two just doesn't feel complete without her presence as a badass prosecutor) and so she could try out for My Golden Life which was her first lead role. I wanted to check out her first lead role though she did act the role of a bitchy character in  Legend of the Blue Sea which I might decide to watch soon. Here, she gets her big role as Ji An while her "sister" Ji Soo (Seo Eun Soo) is the true heiress. Ji An falls for her supposed brother Choi Du Kyung (Park Si Hoo) which causes a maze of emotions. For one, Hye Sun's performance first caught ...

Well, it's the end of Kamen Rider Zero-One as a TV series as concerned. However, like Kamen Rider Zi-O before it - it's going to have a follow-up movie. Zi-O purposely did the reset button for this purpose - they were planning a movie called Kamen Rider Zi-O Next Time - Geiz Majesty .  So, I'd like to do some thoughts first on the series. So you've noticed I haven't been doing episode reviews. Not to mention, my love for Japanese stuff has slowly dwindled (in favor of South Korean stuff) hence another reason why I'm no longer guest-writing for JEFusion and quietly left some time ago. How the series went was that some plots were rather slow (such as the five-part competition was worth ten episodes) or how Yua herself got stuck with Gai Amatsu for a long time. Then you've got some random plot twist where Isamu's parents are still alive rather than dead. Gai goes from villain to anti-hero and I really just feel it's not that developed. This is coming fr...

  Well, Memorials or alternatively titled as The Ballot or Into the Ring - I thought about it that it's not the kind of series I'd expect Nana to be in. Sure, she did some action scenes but it's a far cry (at least for me) from her two previous performances in Kill It followed up by  Justice . Personally, I find the whole toning down of Nana from two serious roles to a comedic role is a double-edged sword. Nana retains her beautiful as a rose and deadly as its thorns image. However, don't expect serious plots here because Memorials seem to focus on lighthearted comedy and romance than action scenes. The character of Sera does come to life with Nana. Maybe, I'm holding such a high bar because of Nana's rather serious performances. The role of Sera as a funny badass does come to life with Nana's acting. The show doesn't make the mistake of intentionally capitalizing on Nana's looks. Instead, it tries to give Nana some flexibility by making her act as a...

Well, it's time for a random watch. This time I decided to go with the K-Drama known as Whisper . Legal K-Drama is really getting into me, huh? I thought about it watching some shows on Netflix before the license expires huh? Well, this legal drama features the reign of Taebaek Law Firm and some legalities in 17 episodes. The main characters entangled are Shin Joong Joo (Lee Bo Young) and Lee Dong Jun (Lee Sang Yoon). Joong Joo is a police officer who has lost her trust in the law and Dong Jun is a judge who gets corrupted with the promise of power. Dong Jun marries Choi Soo Yeon (Park Se-Young) but who is still in a relationship with Kang Jung Il (Kwon Yul). The whole plot has the frame-up of Joong Joo's father (who has lung cancer) and the downfall of Dong Jun as a judge. Dong Jun who was initially known as an incorruptible judge falls for the poisonous offer of Chairman Choi (Soo Yeon's father). The unrighteous ruling of a once-righteous judge causes a battle for his own...

Hymn of Death was based on the true, tragic star-crossed love story of Yum Sim Deok and Kim Woo Jin. Woo Jin was already married to a disagreeable wife when he met Sim Deok. Sim Deok also sang a song called "Caro Mio Ben". It's an Italian song released in 1783 and composed by Giuseppe Giordani.  Now, it's time for the English translation of the song from Lyrics Translate : My darling dear at least believe me, without you my heart languishes.   My darling dear, without you my heart languishes.   Your faithful admirer always sighs. Stop, cruel one, being so harsh.   Stop, cruel one, being so harsh1 So harsh!   My darling dear at least believe me, without you my heart languishes.   My darling dear at least believe me, without you my heart languishes. An interesting thing to notice is that Shin Hye Sun is obviously lip-syncing. In reality, she just can't sing... =P This video shows that she's really indeed TONE DEAF. Well, I'm pretty tone deaf myself too. I...

Well, Yong Pal will be taken down from Netflix until August 17, 2020, that's until the license is renewed. This show was aired on GMA-7 before. This show is already five years old but it's still pretty good. Joo Woon of The Good Doctor acts as the new doctor named Kim Tae Hyun who gets the alias Yong Pal. This is where a badass sleeping beauty named Han Yeo Jin acted by Kim Tae Hee. Hmmm funny that the writer Jang Hyuk Rin should give the main protagonist a Kim Tae as his name while the secondary protagonist is acted by Kim Tae Hee. Tae Hee who's a badass beauty had been in many other projects like IRIS and Forbidden Love while being part of the typical love story genre. Yes, there's a love story involved as the protagonist Yong Pal enters into a marriage of convenience with Yeo Jin to save her. What's amazing with the show for me is the medical themes mixed with insane action scenes. Family feud has wayward half-brother Han Doo Joon (Joo Hyun Jae) not awaken her fr...