Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

It's time for another random review. This time, I finished the Xianxia series,  Blossoming Love . The Chinese title is 千朵桃花一世开 — (Qiān duǒ táohuā yīshì kāi) meaning  A Thousand Peach Blossoms Bloom in a Lifetime .  In this case, I was kind of stressed so I ended up watching a show for the eye candy. Yes, Sun Zhenni is really super pretty in this one. The last time I saw Zhenni was in the series was in Love and Redemption as a gumiho, and she's really pretty. I ended up watching a Xianxia TV series that had a complicated plot about lovers caught in several cycles of reincarnation over  10,000 YEARS. Yes, talk about how much more complicated an Xianxia is compared to a Wuxia in terms of time jumps !  The story of the two lovers is complicated by the passage of 10,000 years and their immortality. The main character is Xie Xuechan (acted by Vin Zhang), who used to be Emperor Zhao Ming. Xuechan is the leader of the Immortal Alliance. Mu Xianling (Zhenni) is the ...

I've taken a break from the Korean series for the Chinese Wuxia series. This series would have some weird stuff going on. The beginning almost reminds me of Kamen Rider Zi-O where the main hero is also the future villain. Tantai Jin becomes the Devil God and starts destroying the future. Li Susu sees the future damaged by Devil God Tantai Jin in real carnage. I really loved how the beginning starts with real carnage. The Devil God Tantai Jin is truly a menace. Meanwhile, Li Susu goes back into the past and becomes Ye Xiwu. I think Ye Xiwu has probably the past life of Xiwu. People forget their past lives for a reason. Think it over that there's so much emotional connection whether the leading lady is Susu or Xiwu. I really love the chemistry betweeen Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu. Yunxi knows how to play the more benign side of Tantai Jin before he becomes the Devil God Tantai Jin. Bai Lu manages to play the heroine and the possible past life she had 500 years ago. Susu as Xiwu develops...

Since it's the seventh Lunar Month in the Chinese calendar - it would mean that it's Ghost Month. There's a collection of stories called the Liao Zhai . It's also called Chinese Ghost Stories . If I'm not wrong, a less popular group of eight is known as the Eight Honorable Fairies - a group often shadowed by the Eight Immortals Across the Sea. During Ghost Month - it's effortless to talk about Lu Dongbin's daring exploits in fighting off devils. Yet, Lu Zhu is another Taoist saint that I fear is overshadowed, commonly known as Maiden in Green or Lü Xian Nü (绿衣女). Alternatively, I think she's also called Lü Yi Xian Gu (绿衣仙姑) or Diok Yi Sian Koh in Hokkien. The very job of  Lü Xian Nü is to fight off devils. I heard her birthday hits on the 10th day of Chinese Ghost Month (which falls today). Quite fitting really that she should also have the same role as Lu Dongbin. She also shares the same birthday as Iron Crutch Li of the Eight Immortals Across the Sea....

I remembered there were a couple of remakes and adaptations of the story The Legend of the White Snake or also referred to as Madame White Snake . The story would be about a white serpent spirit that falls in love with a mortal woman and seeks redemption from her status as a demon. There were several versions but this was the one available on Netflix for 36 episodes. Yup, this one is a mercifully short Wuxia series! So far, most of the cast is strange to me except for Chinese beauty Ju Jingyi (who I admit is my STUPID reason to watch it) who thankfully wasn't aborted! Jingyi is part of SHN48 - the Chinese branch of AKB48 and a sister group of MNL48. Like Love and Redemption and the Eternal Love series - it should be considered as a Xianxia, not a Wuxia. The physician Xu Xian (Yu Meng Long) and his marriage to the white serpent spirit is not without its limitations. Bai Suzhen (Madame White Snake) falls for him and understands the limitations of the mortal life. Along with Suzhen is...

  I finally decided to finish watching Eternal Love: Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms . The story can get complicated when you consider three lifetimes that each must face, the Ghost Tribe's intrigue, and the trials that lead to the events.  For acting, I'd say Mark Chao does a good job of being two characters - Mo Yuan and Ye Hua who are two separate characters. I'm amazed at the camera trick that done with Mark playing the two characters. One is the God of War while the other is the Crown Prince Ye Hua. The last time I saw him was in the Taiwanese police drama Black and White  with Vic Chou as the stoic cop. Here, both characters are mature and wise beyond their years. His trial as a mortal begins because he ended up killing the beasts that guarded the divine fungal grass.  Yang Zi takes the complex role of three identities. One, she plays "Mulan" when her character as Bai Qian assumed the identity of Su Yin. Su Yin is her male alter-ego in hopes of learning of diffe...

Drama Llama Perhaps one reason some Wuxia series are hard-to-watch is because of the length. Love and Redemption is longer than Return of Condor Heroes (2006) by 18 more episodes. I guess the popularity of the series caused an extension - which for me did create some useless fillers such as Wu Tong's "must do it with Ling Long" getting extended for too long. Though, Princess Weiyoung was five episodes shorter than this one. So, back on track, I didn't expect myself to enjoy it due to the length. It was quite enjoyable actually and true to its title. It's all about love and redemption. There will be spoilers so avert your eyes if you haven't watched it. Yes, spoilers! It's a happy ending!  The series does have some unique twists. King Bailin was too obsessed with maintaining order that he becomes what nearly becomes the main antagonist. It also turns out that the War God was also Rahu Ketu (the Mosha Star) was from whom the War God was born. I find it still...

So far, I've seen up to 40 episodes of Love and Redemption . As said, don't expect episode reviews from me all the time. I guess watching this Xianxia (Immortal Hero) series has distracted me away from Kamen Rider Saber (which I'm watching at my own pace now). How is this series going on? The forbidden love trope goes with the history of the sects - Shaoyang Sect, Lize Palace, and the ever-mysterious Sky Hall. Sky Hall's main leader is the Lize Palace's deputy chief who seeks nothing more than power. The Lize Palace is composed of Golden Red Birds. In Japan, they would be considered Boumas.    I could talk about the unfolding mysteries of the Lize Palace and the Sky Hall. It turns out that members of Lize Palace are forbidden to marry. However, its current chieftain (who eventually dies off) is the father of the main hero Sifeng. Sifeng is a hanyo - the result of the union between a Bouma and a human being. Sifeng achieves the status of a Nagare Bouma because of his...

I haven't watched any of the martial arts flicks in ancient times for some time. The last one I tried watching was Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain . Now, I was simply browsing through Netflix and felt I wanted another martial arts story with some romance. I could remember that I was fond of was Return of the Condor Heroes and the tragedy of Chinese Paladin . So, I decided to watch another star-crossed love story that features two sects and a forbidden romance. The plot goes back to a thousand years before in the war between the Celestials and the Asuras (Demons). The Star of Mosha is defeated by the Celestial God of War. A thousand years later would have the plot to revive the Star of Mosha. Meanwhile, the Li Ze Sect exists as an ascetic clan. The main hero, Yu Si Feng (Cheng Yi) falls in love with Chu Xuan Ji (Yuan Bing Yan) who is from the Shaoyang Sect and born without the six senses. The ascetic Li Ze clan does hold a dark secret about the clan leader and the leading man....

It's very often that people who are of non-Chinese origin or that outside of the Chinese countries may confuse Wuxia and Xianxia. I could remember a conversation I had with some Filipino friends who called all of them "Wuxia". I also kept calling every martial arts series Wuxia. What wasn't too surprising is that Xianxia is often confused as Wuxia. It's very easy to confuse the two especially if one's knowledge about Chinese culture is rather casual. For me, I was too involved with too much American superiority mentality and only started to appreciate my Chinese roots when Meteor Garden (2001) aired in the Philippines.  What does Wuxia  (武俠) actually mean? For some Filipinos, their first exposure to Wuxia may have been in  The Amazing Twins . In my case (or for others), it was with the  Once Upon a Time in China film franchise or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon . So what does Wuxia mean? The Chinese words for Wuxia are martial (wu) and xia (heroes). That...