Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Well, as said, I would definitely prefer reviewing Kamen Rider episodes after an arc is over or when I feel like it. So, pretty much this is a two-parter. This time, I'm introduced more to Japanese folklore with the Hanzaki. Meanwhile, we do have Ryo Ogami/Kamen Rider Buster with his son Sora as the main focus instead of Kento. Yes, Kento the guy who arrived in a magic carpet last week and a childhood friend of the hero.  Most Kamen Riders aren't parents, right? But in this case - there's one who's got a kid on-screen. So far, a lot of Heisei era Riders weren't parents. Technically, Shinonosuke and Kiriko had a child from the future in the Kamen Rider Drive movie. However, Shinosuke and Kiriko never showed their child in the present state and the last we know is that they got married. Apparently, Ryo is a single father and maybe his wife died before the show begun.  There's the power of the promise. Okay, I was thinking it's been some time since we'd had...

  While there are a few funny moments here and there (like the Lethal Weapon movie series) - the story does have some great, serious moments too. The whole story of a child who lost his mother (and grew up in a single home) to some political corruption, making the right decision before it's too late, and some suspicions that gave a lot of build-up to the story. The story was mostly surrounded around Eun Dae Gu and his former identity as Kim Ji Yong. There's a killer and someone behind the killer in Dae Gu's past as Ji Yong. Dae Gu suspects that Captain Seo Pan Seok had something to do with his mother's death but no surprise - he wasn't. Captain Seo is the supportive captain. There's also Chief Kang Seok Soon who has a stormy relationship with Assemblyman Yoo Moon Bae and his daughter Yoo Ae-Yon. Like Pride and Prejudice (no, not the novel by Jane Austen) - there's the romance element with a high school friend. Soo Sun acts as the high school love interest wh...

KDrama Buzz Well, I guess rather than watch on what's new (for now) - I decided to watch some older series taking place last 2010 (which should be the new old school) called You're All Surrounded . One of my backtrack watching was Pride and Prejudice which starred Choi Jin Hyuk. Both series took place in 2014 which should be an interesting backtrack watching for me. If there's a lot of older series I find interesting - I want to take a break from new school to check the best of old school. This show is definitely no exception because a story's quality is determined by its execution - not whether it's old or new.  What got me interested in the plot? Well, Lee Seung Gi has been rather action-heavy after his bratty role in Shining Inheritance . The story involves Eun Dae Gu (originally Kim Ji Yong) who witnessed the death of his mother. He has his determination to bring his mother's killer to justice. I wonder what's with directors giving Seung Gi his stereotyp...

It's no secret that I tend to watch anything for stupid reasons.Yes, it's been a major flaw in my system where I tend to watch shows for the pretty ladies. I remember watching K-Drama for the cute or attractive actresses such as when I watched Autumn in My Heart and Forbidden Love because I fiund the women attractive. I also remember rewatching Super Sentai during the 2000s and for what? The attractive women can be easily spotted in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger , Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger , Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger , Gougou Sentai Boukenger , and Samurai Sentai Shinkenger to name those series. Then I thought about why I even watched the super-AWFUL Power Rangers Megaforce . Sure, it had attractive ladies but one can't deny that the show is just a huge waste of budget. That show even made me cringe all the more about how the Power Rangers franchise got even worse under the second Saban era! Then I remembered one time I actually said to myself about Super Sentai - it's not a...

  Last week's episode (though please don't expect for weekly reviews from me) had the mysterious warrior arriving. Turns out that it's Rintaro Shindo (Kamen Rider Blades, not to be confused with Kamen RIder Blade) arrives as the warrior of water. Rintaro requests for the sword and book back from our hero Touma. However, it turns out that Rintaro has been chosen to become Kamen Rider Saber. They do enter into the Northern HQ which exists at... the North Pole? Well, Santa Claus did appear in Kamen Rider Wizard and has appeared in some Super Sentai series with different variations in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and Engine Sentai Go-Onger . So, I wonder if we'll see another variation of Santa Claus to appear here sooner or later. Then again, what if Santa Claus chose the Kamen Riders here? The character Sophia provides the badly-needed exposition about the Greater Book. She is a protector of the books in the Sword of Logos organization. I'm getting RPG vibes looking at her ...

  It's really easy to bash Mulan (2020) a lot and maybe bring up Mulan (2009) which was obviously NOT made for children. Watching Mulan (2009) alongside Mulan (1998) by Disney will make you realize Jingle Ma produced an adult version of Disney's Mulan. Sure, the movie Huadu Chronicles was advertised as not suitable for children but the movie itself felt more like a PG-13 flick. Mulan (2009) which came out nine years after the Disney adaptation really had a lot of blood in battle or some scenes deemed inappropriate for children. It's not just meant to be realistic Mulan - no wirework, no magic spells, no Mushu (and yes, that's a GOOD THING), and no spirits of ancestors guiding Mulan. Though I think the 2009 movie could've utilized some supernatural elements to further communicate that Mulan is just a folk legend and not a real person. How is the 2009 movie really an adult version of the 1998 Disney movie? Well, you need to check for some Disney tropes before 2009 and...

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...

  It's no surprise that Mulan (2020) by Disney really had it coming. Crystal Liu's big mouth along with Disney's support for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) really brought it down with #BoycottMulan . Now, it's time to re-review the film that truly brought honor to us all called Mulan (2009 ) by Jingle Ma . It has a DVD re-release which I think would get a lot of sales to protest against Disney's Mulan. I also think that both Angry Joe and Nostalgia Critic may want to watch this film. I mean, this film was a lot of well-timed WTF moments that Nostalgia Critic could make fun of (such as the bathing scene or the Rouran princess's desire to be a queen in Wei) without derailing it. The 2009 film is obviously not for children - it doesn't do violence for the sake of it. I don't think it'd get a PG-13 rating either since it's got blood.  Now, a look back at how the movie did bring "Honor to Us All". The movie itself actually knows when to b...

  It's the first week of September 2020 and we got our second Reiwa Rider namely Kamen Rider Saber . I remembered writing my initial reaction before the show began . Kamen Rider Zero-One had ended last week and fortunately - no one-week hiatus. There are even some jokes in the credits with ZAIA Enterprise and Hiden Intelligence. So, the theme is once again related to knights. Wait, didn't we get knights and dragons in Kamen Rider Ryuki ? Except for this time, the power of Western fairy tales and knights come to life. So, we might be getting some Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog vibes considering the RPG elements. Hopefully, it'll actually succeed where I think Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger failed. The main hero Touma really puts some tribute back in 2009 with Shotaro from Kamen Rider W  attire-wise. The world of books is here and I'm wondering should I actually rewatch The Never Ending Story movie series as well as The Pagemaster ? I'm actually willing to give Takuro Fuku...

I didn't expect myself to get trapped in My Golden Life since I was obsessed with action or suspense K-Drama. Maybe it's because I'm used to short-running K-Drama, T-Drama, C-Drama, or J-Drama. Then again Princess Weiyang was kind of long and not to mention Wuxia series are usually longer than usual. I remembered Return of Condor Heroes (2006) was around 40 episodes long too. In this case, it's just your regular K-Drama where it's more on daily life, meant for the heartfelt story. It was also shown in the Philippines in GMA-7 but I couldn't stand the bad dubs. I admit that watching Stranger's second season just didn't feel so well ever since Shin Hye Sun was written off in the first season.  Do Kyung is a persistent bugger and suitor to Ji An. Is it me or do Korean series love to use the running gag of the couple NOT liking each other at the start? They start off antagonistic with each other usually for very petty reasons. Do Kyung finds out that Ji An i...