Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I remembered watching Vagabond last 2019 for a rather stupid reason namely Suzy Bae. Though I was also quite enthusiastic to see her act together with Lee Seung Gi for a second time around even if they weren't lovey-dovey like in Gu Family Book . After I got WTFed by the ending of Vagabond - I decided to check the TV series Strangers which is alternatively titled  Forest of Secrets which had Shin Hye Sun involved in a sidekick role. I think she requested that she be written off so she could pursue better offerings than to be part of the second season which I'm yet to see. Yet, the first season felt like a second season wasn't necessary, unlike Vagabond . Now, the common denominator in them is that actor Lee Geung Young is in them. Both of them have him as the man behind the man. In Vagabond , he played Edward Park, who pretended to be all innocent, and lied that his airlines were hi-jacked by a terrorist when he did it himself. The very statement of Jessica (who you th...

Personally, I tend to hate it when as how goes with having the first season, then having a second season, or whatever. Can you remember how some American primetime shows go by season each with a different theme per season? Vagabond sure had a very hanging ending that felt like Toshiki Inoue and Yasuko Kobayashi were hired to write it down. The possibility of having a Season 2 is being talked upon but somehow not confirmed. What's my take? Would I want another season or a movie to wrap things up? Personally, I think I'd want a Vagabond movie instead to get it done and over with. Why would I go for a movie than another season? I think a movie can still wrap up the stuff. Make the movie a two-hour feature film that will try to conclude the series. Have Hae Ri discover that Dal Gun is alive. Have Jessica as a vengeful bitch who'll do anything to bring Edward down even if she has to die with him. Have both Hae Ri and Dal Gun finally meet each other. Maybe have Hae Ri and Dal...

I really had my fingers crossed for the possibility that Hae Ri would be Samael all along because of the beginning. Does she turn out to be an evil woman beneath her Anime-ish kawaii face? Quite a plot would seem as random as what if Hiroyo Hakase (acted by Maaya Uchida) were the true villain of Akibaranger if you ask me. Though, it may also come out as trying to copy Scream 4's villain Jill Roberts (acted by Emma Roberts) if you ask me. From the website   Bitches Over Dramas   - you can see quite a good speculation which I think could've effectively set her up as a Jill Roberts type of character. The short note doesn't dismiss the possibility that her ditzy behavior may just be a cover for a devious mind. I wanted to put that into consideration. If so, it would have been great for Suzy's career if she can pull off a devious minded woman. I'd imagine Suzy Bae as either an Asian Catwoman or Asian Poison Ivy. In her case, she seems to be more Catwoman if you ask m...

I don't know if the suspense was worth it. Again, you still need to see Vagabond and judge for yourself since my opinions are well JUST THAT. I'm just sharing what I think and some agree and some don't. The final episode hit yesterday and I'll share my thoughts on how the show went and ended in just 16 episodes. I think one problem with TV drama over Tokusatsu is this - episode spacing. Sometimes, you need to run in more episodes to get something done. Vagabond had its promise though it almost ended up the way Toshiki Inoue or Yasuko Kobayashi would wrap up a series. It almost suffers from the same problems with Kamen Rider Amazons where the ending is really meh at best. I even wonder what really happened to why the ending ended that way. But before that - let's talk about some of the good aspects that got REALLY rushed. The exploding warehouse scene was pretty well done. Both criminal groups John & Mark as well as Dynamic Systems are catching people in t...

As Vagabond ends tonight, I do have the need to write a separate rant to why I feel the Samael revelation is probably a weakness for an otherwise interesting show. If you saw last night's episode, you can clearly see that Edward Park is Samael. I stated that it's just, anti-climatic! That really made me jump off my seat not because it felt surprising BUT it has to do with how weak it feels for me. If you think it's a good twist then fine but I always felt Prime Minister Hong and not Edward should've been Samael. The Prime Minister could still speak of Samael without revealing himself as the person running behind the scenes. I think Edward feels he should've just been a lackey. Jessica herself was later revealed to be just a lackey so why not Edward too? Edward as the Bigger Bad doesn't seem to be very fitting for me. Okay, this is a BIG WALKING SPOILER so I hope you have seen last night's episode before reading this one. One could consider that the game c...

Predictable or not? Honestly, I guess you always call suspense as suspense because you don't immediately know what happens next 90% of the time. Sometimes, you've got more than one bad guy weaved into the story. Vagabond is exactly that and the spoilers here is this - if you haven't watched the show PLEASE DO NOT READ MY POST. But if you're a spoiler addict like me then GO AHEAD BE MY GUEST! I have to admit that I was already prepared for the possibility of a Scream 4 remake in this script. I admit, I kinda wanted Suzy Bae to act as Michael's girlfriend OR have her act as the bitchy sniper Lily. Suzy has a blackbelt so I'd really NOT mind her playing a vicious villain - just give her a good script, make her dangerous, give her a strong protagonist to fight against, give her a good villain for a higher-up (or make her Jill Roberts-like), and we're good!  This episode does shed a generous amount of blood. Sang Mi has been brutally murdered and I real...

I could do better without Super Hero Time due to the relay race but this Vagabond delay is really getting me into suspense mode. Yup, I kinda think about the whole REAL fact that there  won't be Vagabond this week. Here's what Soompi has to say about the reason: SBS’s “Vagabond” will also not be airing this week due to coverage of the 2019 WBSC Premier12. Episodes 15 and 16 of “Vagabond” were previously scheduled to air on November 15 and 16. Episode 15 will now air on November 22 at 10 p.m. KST. I was really prepping myself to see the possible suspense factor. There's a twist that I'm told could happen any time! There's talk that Go Hae Ri might become South Korea's version of Scream 's Jill Roberts. Oh weird! I was secretly comparing Suzy Bae to Emma Roberts even if the two have very different approaches! So, this is really where things go from here. Episode 15 will be aired on November 22 because of the BASEBALL coverage. Though this ...

Jessica is arrested but it doesn't seem over. It's probably too good to be true that she's the real antagonist for this reason - she can't get away with what she did for some time if it wasn't for political backing! A lot of new stuff is about to emerge and some old faces. Then there's the mysterious Samael - a nickname for a hidden person. I'm even wondering how will this end? Will the cast decide to break the fourth wall eventually because of that intro scene way back in the first episode?  Right now, a lot of people died in the operations in Morocco. It can't blamed to what really happened. I have to admit, Suzy Bae's crying here is rather not cartoony. I was expecting her to go, "WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" or just make that rather forced crying Maaya Uchida had in Akibaranger's final episode. I'd like to pretend that the memorial here had the pictures of the Akibarangers after they collided into the sun. Nope, it's all fo...

Celltrion Company says that there will be an upcoming plot twist. I was thinking about the scene at the beginning where Hae Ri is the target of Dal Gun. Why would a stuntman be assigned to shoot Hae Ri? Then we get a flashback years ago. What is the possible twist? I'm reading from Soompi and there's a bit of a discussion there! Personally, I was thinking about Hae Ri being possibly a double agent. She's probably been doing an inside job to get even with her father's killers. Though, I'd probably still think Michael's girlfriend could be Mikey. Why I consider it to be Mikey is because why in the world would Director Kang tell them not to inform her of the said project? Some even think Hae Ri may be a double agent or a previous link. Though I think that if Hae Ri ever killed Michael then it was because of a revenge plot. What if Michael killed Hae Ri's father for all we know? Then again I think Mikey was really Michael's killer. What if Michael also ...

There's only one Vagabond episode this week since South Korea is having the baseball coverage. I can't be too certain about next week but one thing is certain - we only have three more episodes to go. Things are getting intense as John & Mark is already getting its just desserts. But good villains don't go down easily now, do they? This week's episode features some interesting developments.  The trial is finally here and John & Mark may get roasted soon. Greedy Sang Mi who was promised tons of money by  John & Mark gets her statement countered by her estranged husband Woo Gi. Well, I do have to admit that Woo Gi ends up spilling the beans which slowly incriminates John & Mark. I really love how this scene starts to roast the villains slowly but surely. There's much evidence of the wrongdoings of John & Mark. However, the villains do have a backup plan where they simply want to blame it on the late Michael. Michael was shot to silence him....

Yesterday's episode was already an intense one involving smuggling people literally from Morocco to South Korea. Chief Min himself is still unaware of his hated rival Director Kang to be still very much alive. At this point, the government is, in default, under the control of John & Mark as a result of the actions of Chief Min and Secretary of Affairs Shadow. Speaking of Shadow, I really think he looks like Nariaki Utsumi (a henchman from Namba Enterprises) from Kamen Rider Build. This really makes it intense when you've got the good guys who seem to be Kamen Rider Agito' s Hojo Toru (Tae Woong), Akibaranger's  Hiroyo Hakase (Hae Ri), and  Solbrain's  Jun Masuda (Dal Gun) all the while they're facing their own version of Super Science Network (a villain faction in Janperson ) under the control of Reiko Ayanokouji (Jessica). The situation looks pretty dire for the heroes. Both the president and his prime minister at the Blue House still don't know wh...

Last week's episodes really have a focus from Morocco and back to South Korea. Both Hae Ri and Dal Gun are on the boat. Dal Gun starts to troll everyone over and over again and this time so does Hae Ri. It's really easy to see how corruption has taken over the National Intelligence Serve. This reminds me of a scene in While You Were Sleeping where a high school student attempts to poison her own father because of dumb prosecutors. At this point, I wish that Lee Sang Yeob reunited with Suzy Bae as a villain here because of how well he carried out the villain part.  What really is amazing here is that Chief Min is now getting suspicious of what's going on. Tae Woong is supposedly on the side of Chief Min but it doesn't work that way. It also turns out that Director Kang faked his own death. Did they get the wrong corpse cremated in order to do it? Somehow, I do find these fake deaths in spy series to be rather boggling. The risk of Director Kang's faked death c...

A time bomb is ticking if you know what I mean. The reality is Vagabond is just three weeks away before it concludes. That means I might consider either taking a break from K-Drama or watch Yong Pal (which I haven't). The time bomb is ticking as explosive revelations are about to begin to enter into the fray. There's a lot of interesting gun action too as two sides of the coin are really about to clash. Just remember three more weeks (six more episodes) to go and the TV drama is about to conclude.  The Friday episode has some high stakes there. I wonder who put the bomb there. There's the call to dial this number, get to Bullet Chicken, and the codename is "Vagabond" which is the title of the show. I really found it weird (at first) as to why Dal Gun is ordered to set his timer on his smartphone. As it turns out, there's a bomb in the embassy. I guess Chief Min isn't competent enough to realize that there is some hidden information. The whole gunni...

This Friday's episode with Vagabond has to be rather pretty intense. Last week's Friday episode had Kim Woo Gi the co-pilot finally getting arrested. But the orders from Super Science Network John & Mark is to make sure that he's finally gotten rid of. Side note, I really have to think Kim Woo Gi's actor Jang Hyuk Jin resembles Takeshi Ishikawa who played as Dr. Shiina in Janperson and Garoa in Fiveman . Dr. Shinji happens to be a guest villain in Janperson working with the Super Science Network. Okay, is this getting really freaky we've got some coincidental Toku references? Not really. this episode is pretty intense. Woo Gi must be kept alive at all costs to testify against John & Mark. Dal Gun even offered his blood for that reason but he's too disgusted to do so. Chief Min, Shadow, the Sleazy Attorney Hong, and Jessica all discuss their next move. It so happens Shadow is working with the government. Jessica has had a habit of murdering her own ...

This week's second episode is really getting intense. There's also the conflict of ideas between the two characters. Dal Gun is pretty much in conflict with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent Tae Woong. Tae Woong is pretty much the professional smug and Dal Gun is the head-on impulsive guy. Trying to see these two work together isn't going to be very easy. The web of corruption here is really that intense. It turns out that the Blue House has been in cahoots with John & Mark. I'm just having chills looking at how Jessica acts so calm, pretending to be innocent, all the while she had said in episode five  that money and might make right. Jessica is supposedly arrested for investigation but calmly lies through her teeth. That's what makes her a good villain. She knows how to play innocent and infuriates you with how hard it gets to take her down. But that's what makes a good villain. She has the confidence and the facade to keep the show running...

This is another flight to Morocco. I have to admit that there's a lot of stuff that caused me to do research such as that a 13+ hour flight will be there and that the water supply isn't so safe either. This would be the mission to capture co-pilot Kim Woo-Gi who is very much alive. This episode has some really thrilling aspects that make you wonder about what's wrong with the system? I really think sometimes you just got to defy the system if it does bad. Apparently, John & Mark has control of some government sectors resulting in cover-ups. They have Chief Min and yet another mole inside the National Intelligence Services (NIS). Also, I could be wrong about last week's summary when Dal Gun supposedly saw his reporter friend still alive. Later, we have Dynamic Systems' CEO Edward meeting with Dal Gun. Dal Gun may or may have not been mistaken about seeing a person who's supposedly dead to be alive. Edward says that maybe, just maybe Dal Gun could not be...

Thrillers to thrillers as Vagabond seems to focus on betrayals at this moment. I would admit that there's some predictability going on especially with who's been behind some of the major incidents in the show. Last week had a lot of tense moments. Dal Gun's life has been frequently put in danger thanks to Lily's orders by Reiko ahem Jessica of Super Science Network ahem Johnson & Mark. The whole episode does reveal one predictable element in the show. As expected, there is a mole inside the National Intelligence Service (NIS). There's some interrogation about a woman whose husband is purportedly dead but he's revealed to be still alive and hiding. Just who is this mole? Well, it's quite predictable. You may be able to get the answer when you realize somebody's actions such as shredding away important evidence is already a clue. Just read on to find out who is this mole. Dal Gun is already a man targetted by John & Mark as a liability to the...

Episode 4 really has had it with a heavy dose of alcohol . This episode adds more alcohol to the characters. Would you bother to do a drinking game of the number of times that people drink alcohol here? Trying to convince anyone of a hardly unbelievable truth wouldn't be easy as we're going to find it the hard way. I really have to admire Jessica Lee's rather calm demeanor. She's a bitch witch but she knows how to act dignified. I can't help but think of Reiko Ayanokouji in Janperson with how she puts up a dignified front. Rather than throw Dal Gun out of the office -- she tries to act innocent. She tries to negotiate and talk sweet with him -- something Dal Gun isn't buying! She doesn't get defensive about Dal Gun. She acts rather dignified and convincing. She knows how to play her cards like Madame M would in the movie Naked Weapon . She makes sure that her secret of having manipulated events isn't discovered. Any good villain will put on a good ...