Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

After seeing both the Taiwanese adaptation of Hana Yori Dango called Meteor Garden and the live remake of Hana Yori Dango in Japan, I really still think Meteor Garden's performance is more powerful. Jerry Yan really can act the jerk with a heart of gold role of Doumyoji Tsukasa far better than that of Jun Matsumoto for me.  Well I thought that he really managed to get all of the mean side and soft side of the character better than any actor could.  So yeah, there's a lot of plus points for this guy.  Made me think he's really the "Qin Han" for today's generation. Meanwhile, I think Jun Matsumoto is just nowhere near Jerry Yan in being that good in portraying the role of Doumyoji Tsukasa.  But at least he wasn't a bad actor so I still give him credit, he just needs more practice to be better but I don't think his talent is near Jerry Yan's.  But still, I'd like to see him improve his way like Vic Zhou did. =D

Okay Vanness Wu is not a terrible actor, I just think his acting is inadequate for such a fierce character who's kicking butt.  Me?  I thought that while he does have some merit but it's just not enough for me.  In fact I think actress Eva Huang can act better than him. Here's my preferred actor: Ambrose Xu of Wolf could have played the part of Officer Wang better than Vanness Wu for me.  For me, this guy does not only look like retired actor Kazunori Inaba but also he really act really well making him a lot more fit for the role.  During this time, Vic Zhou's actign wasn't that good yet so Ambrose Xu could have done the job during that time at a better pace.

It's kinda reality but it's true.  Although I'm a Tokusatsu fan specifically my favorite overall is Super Sentai yet I got stuck into Chinese drama more than Tokusatsu.  I think it's no longer hard to explain especially I know myself in that area.  Also, I like Chinese drama more than J-Drama.  Don't worry I still like Tokusatsu but I'll present you one of my guilty pleasures in the form of Chinese drama. So here are some reasons: The ever emerging truth of Chinese influence has managed to influence much of Asian way of life. So it'd be nice for people to also get immersed in the modernized Chinese society.  Japan has already served much but now, even Japan copies much of Chinese influence.  Yup I got to admit over most crappy shows, they have REAL good script writing and their adaptation of Anime is not decayed at all most of the time compared to American adaptations.  Then again, why are they using the Toku hairstyle?  I like having...

For me, Kuuga did have some life reminders and life changing.  Here are some lessons I learned: 1.) We all make mistakes, even heroes.  This was elaborated when Yuusuke didn't immediately master his new forms which really emphasized that life lesson way more than most Kamen Riders.  Fourze had that one too but it wasn't that well done as Kuuga's though I honestly like Fourze better than Kuuga. 2.) We always need the support of others.  Very much elaborated here and it seemed to become the recurring theme of Kamen Rider and was carried over in Agito. 3.) Being a hero is protecting the smiles of others.  Yup it also helped me to realize a new reason why I blog.  And it seemed Yuusuke actually defined the true meaning of a Kamen Rider though he was the only one who carried that theme the most. 4.) Regualr people can become heroes.  That's what Kamen Rider Kuuga's allies were for. Any more?  Just comment!

There's always the remake or adaptation argument.  I was inspired to write this post not ever since some stupid debate on whether or not Power Rangers is a remake or an adaptation.  Now for the clarifications I hope will set things clear for the argument... The drama series "Romance in the Rain" is a remake, not an adaptation.  A remake uses the original concept without changing the original story in a new tone.  Also it STAYS in its country of origin.  So any versions of Romance in the Rain that will be done Japanese-style, Filipino-style, American-style, etc. is an adaptation.  But Vicki Zhao's version of "Romance in the Rain" is a remake of Liu Xue Hua's "Love in the Rain".  They both stayed more or less the same. Meanwhile Meteor Garden is obviously the adaptation of the Japanese series Hana Yori Dango , adapted for the Taiwanese audience.  If a Filipino version were made, it was obviously adapted to the Filipino audience.  Even the...

After watching some videos, I began to think of these facts... There's no doubt Zhen Xiu Zhen is an awesome actress who knows how to appeal to our feelings.  She was mean when she was mean and in Angel's Wings her role as a good mother was also convincing.  No doubt she played as the abused daughter-in-law while she is yet to play the abusive mother-in-law or the woman Hitler. After watching Yun Niang, I really thought Liu Xue Hua provided a more frightening atmosphere than Zhen Xiu Zhen with how much of a bitch her character was.  In fact, I thought Liu Xue Hua's evil laugh in Yun Niang was a really scary one and she knew how to fill the atmosphere with that kind of fear.  But then again, Zhen Xiu Zhen still did a very good role as the evil Kaede Doumyoji.  But just that Liu Xue Hua seemed to look more chilling in Yun Niang and had a scarier stare imo.

There was Leo Ku in the remake of the classic drama "Yan Yu Meng Meng" as "Qing Shen Shen Yu Meng Meng".  Leo Ku played as Qin Han's character Shu Huan.  I thought that while Leo Ku was more or less of age for the role but my problem with Leo Ku was that he was just not as well expressive as Qin Han was.  He was just not adequate for me compared to Vicki Zhao.  I'd say he can act but he just lacks the it factor to play Qin Han's previously held role as Shu Huan. My choice could have been a little bit clearer with Jerry Yan could have played a better and stronger Shu Huan.  I've actually thought that his acting is better than Leo Ku's.  In fact, he really COULD do the same quality of performance Qin Han was able to carry more emotion like he was acting as Dao Ming Si in Meteor Garden.  Not that I think Leo Ku is a bad actor, just inadequate for stronger emotions especially that of the character of Shu Huan.  In fact, while watching Meteor Gard...