Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I just finished another Korean legal drama. This time, I watched Pro Bono on Netflix . This is a legal drama with 12 episodes that features a "Thor-like" judge Kang Da-Wit (Jung Kyung-Ho). Da-Wit was trying to operate based on pure logic, the hammer of the law, but he failed to anticipate a frame-up. Instead, a fake bribery accusation (led by Yoo Jae-Bum, acted by Yun Je-wook) causes Da-Wit to hit rock bottom and find out the REAL WORLD that law isn't purely about algorithms. It also requires fresh human emotions. That's what happens during the series.  The whole course has Da-Wit become part of the Pro Bono team, aka the public service team. This is where he meets the secondary lead, Park Gi-Ppeum (acted by So Ju-Yeon, born in 1993, while the lead actor is in his 40s), Jang Yeong-Sil (Yoon Na-Moo), Yoo Nan-Hui (Seo Hye-Won), and Hwang Jun-U (Kang Hyoung-Suk). This is where Da-Wit learns through various law cases, like Kaya, a foreign bride from Myanmar; an...

Crime dramas can be rather addictive. I remember watching Copycat Killer ,  Victim's Game , and Regeneration . This time, I felt like watching Million Follower Detective -- a crime drama that explores the generation gaps. Ekin Cheng, who's currently 58 YEARS OLD, plays a father (named Chen Chia-jen) with an estranged daughter named Chen Chia-jen (played by Buffy Chen). This one presents generational gaps given that Buffy is born in 2000 and Ekin is 58 years old -- playing the father/daughter team. Buffy is estranged from her father. The series involves the mysterious character Witch Baba. Witch Baba is a mysterious influencer who could apparently foretell the future. However, behind Witch Baba's predictions is actually a series of deceptions. The recurring villain is Kuo Ta-fu, a doctor who is bitter about life. Ta-fu is someone who forces Witch Baba to read the predictions. Ta-fu is also an insane vigilante. Why does Ta-fu hate influencers so much? However, behind i...

Is it me or am I addicted to Korean crime drama these days? Japanese crime drama can be good. However, I feel that the Korean way of filming and narrating crime dramas is better. I couldn't exactly explain it. South Korea is known to have strict gun control. This is a great debate for gun control. There are people in this story who say free guns. The others are against free guns. I, for one, believe in strict gun control, that NOT ANYONE should be allowed to own a gun.  The story isn't so black and white either. What makes a drama compelling isn't always some who's Pure Evil. No, instead, the antagonist Moon Baek (Kim Young-Kwang) isn't all in black and white. The guy's motive isn't power. The main character Lee Do (Kim Nam-Gil) is a police officer who's seen so many losses due to unrestrained usage of guns. Does a bad childhood justify a terrible present? Lee Do had a bad childhood but was given proper therapy. Moon Baek never had the proper support -- ...

Drama Beans I decided to watch the Korean drama Karma . Crime drama has its own way of being appealing yet frightening. I decided to put some spoilers because some things were just OH SO SATISFYING. The whole K-Drama has some villains who pay for their crimes -- in the most gruesome ways. It's got some questions like, "If I my revenge then what?" It's the question that nags the mind of Dr. Lee Ju Yeon (played by Park Min-A). It's because Lee Ju Yeon was victimized by gang rape as a teenager. Ju Yeon wants revenge. Would she pursue the revenge or not? The criminal elements here are downright gritty. You've got an evil landlord (and he's apparently a Karma Houdini, so maybe we'll need a second season to kill him off) and his organ harvesting. The true main antagonist is Kim Beon Jun -- a man who stole the identity of another crook known as Park Jae Young. It's nice to actually have Park Sae Hoo play a villain -- after his role as a delinquent in Squi...

Korea Herald I could say it's easy to be obsessed with crime drama . I watched Innocent Defendant during the Legacy Virus pandemic. I'd say that watching Give Up Tomorrow -- a documentary on the Chiong Sisters' MISHANDLED case gave me an interest in legal dramas. What will you do if you're actually an innocent defendant? This crime drama made me think about what Paco Larranaga and Hubert Webb went through -- being charged over a crime they COULD'VE NOT COMMITTED. The main character, Goh Jeong-woo (Byun Yo-han), was mistakenly charged with murdering two of his classmates. Several years of his life wasted over a crime HE DIDN'T COMMIT. A public that still believes in the trial by publicity. If it wasn't Jeong-woo, then who murdered two of his classmates? It gets difficult to talk about the situation WITHOUT the Walking Spoilers involved. It's because a good crime drama knows how to hide things and slowly unravel them. It's difficult to talk about who ...

As always, blogging is just a hobby. I'm going to have to wait for Can This Love Be Translated? which will be late this year. I decided to watch another Korean crime drama. This almost takes me back to the Netflix series Narco Saints . This one involves a dilemma with an investigator who runs into a reporter. It's a recent project but with more senior actors. It's hard to belive that Ji Sung was born in 1977 and Jeon Mi-Do was born in 1982? Like WUT? Are people finding an elixir to prolong life? It's already something when I'm seeing attractive-looking OLD people. Ji Sung plays as main lead Jang Jae-Kyung and Mi-Do plays the reporter Oh Yeon-Jin. This show is DIFFICULT to talk without spoilers. Crime dramas are meant to be discussed without spoilers. It's because there's really a lot of stuff going on and to keep the audience engaged.  Jae-Kyung is professional ace detective who works for the FICTIONAL Anhyeon Police Station. Jae-Kyung is forcibly fed a drug...

Crime drama can be that complex. I'd admit that my squeamish side entered as the show ended yesterday. I'd avoid writing spoilers unless I specify in the title otherwise. Talking about crime drama without inciting spoilers is difficult or even impossible.  Jang Tae-Soo (Han Suk-Kyu) is a legendary criminal profiler Korea. He was one of the first in his field and paved the way for criminal behavior analyst in the country. He has gained the absolute respect and trust within the police organization. At home, he is a single parent and raises his daughter Jang Ha-Bin (Chae Won-Bin) by himself. Jang Tae-Soo works on a murder case and realizes that his daughter is involved in the case. The discovery shakes everything in his professional beliefs and his relationship with his daughter. To protect his daughter, Jang Tae-Soo struggles to reveal the truth. It's difficult to handle a task when one's child might be involved in a crime. A single-parent household and strains between fa...

My fondness for crime drama happened in 2019 because of Kill It. However, after watching the K-Drama Justice -- I developed a liking for realistic fiction of a crime drama. I watched The Frog after I watched other East Asian dramas like Mind Game and Copycat Killer from Taiwan. Most of these dramas focus more on the investigation than the crime. In this case, The Frog focuses on the crime rather than the investigation.  True, the drama is just fiction. However, part of it was based on a real incident . People have to get their inspiration somewhere -- such as how Narco Saints is partly based on the Jonestown Massacre. What makes it a breath of fresh air for me is the use of older cast members. It's going to be a crime drama after all. Veteran actor Kim Yeon-Seok plays the main character Jeon Yeong-Ha. Yeong-Ha lived in a secluded town with his dying wife. Yeong-Ha's wife dies and he's stayed in that area. Yeong-Ha's daughter  Jeon Eui-Seon (played by Roh Yoon-Seo) pl...

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 ...

I just finished watching Midnight Photo Studio and I feel it's a bizarre combination of ghost stories and forensics. It's got some Anime-ish or Japanese J-Drama kind of humor. One may think of X-Files and Mentalist  with some K-Drama twist. The supernatural element is done c/o Seo Ki-Joo (Joo Woon) and Han Bom (Kwon Nara) who is a lawyer It was fun to see Nara act in a legal drama again after seeing her in a secondary role in the crime drama  Suspicious Partner . The novel was written by Kim Yi-Rang. I'll admit supernatural crime drama may not be my biggest cup of tea. I prefer non-supernatural crime drama because the inspiration is closer to real events. In this case, I was able to say that Nara has been more versatile than Erika Toda-Matsuzaka ever was in J-Drama. I find Nara's acting more convincing than Erika. Not that I find Erika to be a bad actress. Erika was able to do her job in Death Note . However, Nara could still do a better performance even if she's us...

Resonate I have an obsession with Korean crime drama huh? Sure, I do enjoy Taiwanese crime drama (still considered Chinese though since Taiwan is called the Republic of CHINA) and Japanese crime drama. The show A Killer Paradox explores the world of vigilante justice. The show can be so full of spoilers and the budget seems so high that it was cut into only eight episodes. Yes, they did the same thing with My Name which obviously had a high budget. There's also what I'd call to be an unnecessary nude scene which hardly contributed to the plot.  The plot has Lee Tang (Choi Woo-Shik) who starts out as an ordinary college student. The warning is about the first taste of blood. Tang accidentally murders a person (in a convenience store), readies to turn himself in, and discovers that the person he killed is a wanted serial murderer. This causes a series of dark events that create a domino effect. Tang becomes a bloody vigilante of sorts.  This causes Jang Nan-Gam (Son Suk-Ku)...

  It's no secret that I got critical about Super Sentai last 2013-2016, I was in denial about me being a fan of Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters , and that I soon enjoyed Kamen Rider more than Super Sentai . However, I find myself detached from Kamen Rider Gotchard presumably due to the extremely young cast. I could recall a conversation where me and a person compared the newer Kamen Rider to a telenovela. Kamen Rider Drive was something that I'd call sort of a dream come true. The whole series might be compared to Knight Rider or Automan for its inspiration.  Drive isn't exactly the best Kamen Rider series there is. I think the best entries are Kamen Rider Kuuga and  Kamen Rider Agito . I think the worst is still Kamen Rider Decade . Drive started off as a rather campy series. Shinnosuke Tomari is pretty much a comical character but he has a dark secret that gets unveiled midseason. The show featured the dangers of unethical experimentation, parents who you literally need ...

I decided to watch another crime drama (and yes, it's really there) with The Good Detective . The last time I saw a drama involving an innocent person framed up was called Innocent Defendant . I didn't enjoy it as much (at first) so I decided to go after other series like Suspicious Partner and Lawless Lawyer . I admit, I nearly dropped this but I decided to complete it for the sake of completion. The story itself involves trying to prove the innocence of Lee Dae-Chul. The case reminds me of classic cases where an innocent man gets wrongly tagged for murder (such as Paco Larranaga and Hubert Webb from the Philippines) since the person was NOT physically there during the incident. First season The cast itself has three different protagonists crucial to proving Dae Chul's innocence. Kang Do Chang (Sun Hyun Joo who I also saw in Justice ) who is a detective for 18 years who uses experience and personal collections. Meanwhile, the contrast to him is Oh Ji Hyuk (Jang Seung Joo) ...

Koreaboo Well, it's time for a strange rant while I'm thinking of what Korean drama I'd be watching. I heard of Mask Girl on Netflix but it seems I might not like the plot. With a bit of a crazy mind - I want to write this post recalling a crazy time when I actually compared Korean drama actresses with NICKELODEON stars of all places. So what really happened? After watching Dream High - I ended up comparing Suzy Bae to Victoria Justice  It wasn't easy to compare Dream High to the Nickelodeon show Victorious . I ended up enjoying it more than Victorious . Okay, I used to watch Victorious before becaus I find Victoria Justice pretty. Then I watched Dream High sometime after watching Uncontrollably Fond and While You Were Sleeping . Baek Hee was pretty much the "Jade" of the show while Hae Ri was pretty much the Tori of the show. Fortunately, Hae Ri doesn't have an annoying older sister to deal with. I soon compared Suzy Bae to Victoria Justice. Both are sing...

After watching What She Puts on the Table - I felt watching another Korean crime drama mini-series would be interesting. The series is rated M due to some questionable scenes. The series has two boxers whose loved ones are victimized by fraudulent loans. Unlike other crime drama which is more focused on investigations than revenge - this is an action-packed fisticuff drama since the protagonists are two boxers instead of two policemen. We have Woo Do Hwan as Kim Geon Woo who's a former marine. His partner is Hong Woo Jin acted by Lee Sang Yi - also a former marine. Both see the tremendous powers of how the wealthy can sometimes manipulate the law. I'd say one of the best things, IF NOT the best thing in that show is Park Sung Woong. Yes, the main antagonist in Rugal has to be the show stealer. I really enjoy how this guy makes Kim Myeong Gil such a dangerous villain. The sly smile that Sung Woong makes while getting ready to act out a despicable deed is PRICELESS. Meong Gil is ...

I'm not too keen on newer series except if said series catches my interest. It's pretty much not about if something is old or new - it's that something delivers the results I WANT. I checked out the Taiwanese series Copycat Killer . It's based on the Japanese novel by Miyuki Miyabe. In 2002, there was a movie with the same English title. The Japanese title is Mohou Han . The Chinese title is Mófǎng Fàn. (模仿犯). Very similar titles now, aren't they? Watching this one, I was getting ready for possible nightmare fuel. I was also ready to be kept awake because of how Miyabe's novel gets brilliantly adapted. Did Miyabe coordinate with the Taiwanese company, Greener Grass Production? Interestingly, Greener Grass Production was also responsible for the crime drama Mind Game . Granted, I've been sweeping between Chinese (either from China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong), Japanese, and South Korean stuff. I've enjoyed dark South Korean crime dramas. Now, it's time to w...

I decided to check out this Netflix movie which I treated like an unwrapped birthday present. The film's literal meaning is I Just Dropped My Smartphone while the international distribution title is Unlocked . I wanted to watch some legal K-Drama but with me watching some more older Tokusatsu (for now) - I felt watching this movie would be better than my planned watch of the legal comedy Love to Hate You . The source material is Japanese novelist Akira Teshigawara and a Japanese film named  Stolen Identity . A familiar face returns when Chun Wo Hee (of Argon ) returns as the main character. It was fun seeing Wo Hee and her excellent acting in Argon . Sure, I don't find her pretty but good acting matters more. Though I kinda wanted Shin Hye Sun to be the main lead even if Wo Hee still convinces me that she's in a state of dilemma. We also have Im Si Wan as "Oh Jeon Yeong" (his real identity is a mystery) and some brutal murders. A father thinks his son was committi...

I guess I'm now a sucker for cop drama, right? After the love story genre, I felt that legal drama can be more interesting. Though, there will be some bad eggs like how I dropped Somebody because of how boring it can get. Yeah, I dropped Squid Game but because of the annoying "main hero". I decided to watch Bad and Crazy which is crazy but definitely not bad. In fact, it's more than not bad. It's kind of good especially with the choreography, action, and the gray morality of some people.  I was reminded of the time I watched the Taiwanese cop series, Black and White . Black and White did have Vic Zhou with a vague morality of a police officer. Here, actor Lee Dong Wook, who's as old as Vic, while this place took place in 2021. Dong Wook's character is named Ryu Soo Yeol whose birth name was In Jae Hui. Soo Yeol is pretty much an ambitious cop who has corrupt tendencies. Black and White also had Vic's character of Chen Zaitian as a cop of vague morality...