Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

What's on Netflix There was the first Victims' Game where the crew dealt with a secret death cult . I wouldn't be giving out spoilers since the real antagonist -- like in the first season -- is a Walking Spoiler. The first season was released during the Legacy Virus pandemic last April 2020. It kept me entertained after watching some Korean crime drama before the Legacy Virus took over the world. It was nice to have the original cast such as Joseph Chang (Zhang Xiaoquan) returning as his Fang Yijen and Tiffany Ann Hsu returning as Hsu Haiyin (the surname is spelled as Xu in Mainland Pinyin, take note this is Taiwanese Chinese). The first season investigated a death cult where the culprit turned herself in. The second season involves the gruesome deaths of people from an incident 15 years ago. A vengeful person is out there and they don't know who it is. I'll avoid spoiling the antagonist's identity but I'll give some minor spoilers. The antagonist gets so in...

When it comes to crime dramas--I think South Korean and Taiwanese Chinese ones provide the best suspense. This is coming from someone who can't stand realistic torture scenes! I watched Crisis: Special Security Squad and it was good. Vivant was also interesting . I may have not enjoyed this as much as South Korean or Taiwanese Chinese crime dramas--it still deserves some praise.  The drama doesn't take things too far like Copycat Killer  -- the Taiwanese adaptation of a Japanese crime novel . I enjoyed Copycat Killer for balancing gore (and not prolonging torture scenes or not focusing on them) and the GOOD WRITING. Unnatural also goes with a mysterious serial killer who goes by the Goldfish. Finding corpses with a goldfish mark in the mouth hints that it wasn't an accident. Instead, they're on the hunt for a serial killer while working on ongoing cases. The J-Drama goes for 10 episodes -- a tad bit longer than overbudgeted K-Dramas.  The main character Mikoto Misumi (...

Right now, I want to re-explore Chinese drama whether it be from the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China (Taiwan). I watched a few Taiwanese Chinese crime dramas such as Copycat Killer   (based on a Japanese suspense novel) and Victim's Game . These dramas aren't for the weak-hearted. They may not be as gory as American mature series but there's still generous amounts of blood. I may cringe at torture scenes and THANKFULLY we don't get to see that. However, I do love a good investigation drama not ever since I watched the documentary Give Up Tomorrow . It's as long as Copycat Killer which was worth 10 episodes. To avoid leaking out spoilers -- there's a certain person who only goes by the identity of Fei Ke. Okay, it's really a pun considering Fei Ke sounds TOO SIMILAR to Fake. Fei Ke apparently died but they discovered there was no body. Female journalist He Shan (Zhou Yiran) meets with five other strangers. The five other strangers are ...

Chinese romance drama can be stereotyped as overly sentimental -- whether the entries are from China or Taiwan. I remember my late paternal grandmother borrowing those sappy Chinese dramas such as those written by Qiong Yao. There's even that black car and the rain. However, watching Amidst a Snowstorm of Love - I confess that the show focuses more on romance without those moments from stories by Qiong Yao.  I found t his interesting reason to watch the drama from Soompi:  “Amidst a Snowstorm of Love” is an uncomplicated narrative of love and second chances. There are no unnecessary subplots, neither are there scheming troublemakers, wrecking havoc or creating misunderstandings. The story does not shift focus from Lin Yi Yang and Yin Guo and their journey. Yi Yang is well aware that he has to undo the mistakes he has made, which had a lot to do with his own inflexible attitude. He may be calmer and restrained, but he realizes it is difficult to break perceptions, especially w...