Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Looking at "The Unforgettable Character", I thought the following would have been a badass cast for the remake... Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu as the leading cast. Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu have the charm of Qin Han and Liu Xuehua respectively. Barbie Xu doing her piano scene in Meteor Garden, I guess they could let her do the scene again (just dub over the song) and let her sing the songs. Jerry and Barbie could have made a great Lu Youwen and Tu Hsiaoshuang. Qin Han and Liu Xuehua could act as both of Jerry Yan's parents. It would be nice to have a leading couple of the original cast return to acting as parents of the leading guy. Qin Han is pretty much old enough to play Jerry Yan's father. Liu Xuehua paired up with Qin Han again in a way different scenario would still work out. It was really a great casting error to cast Tang Qi as Qin Han's grandmother (aging makeup was used on her), she could have been better cast as Jerry Yan's grandmother, Qin Han's MOT...

I remembered the time I watched Lavender which starred Tammy Chen.  While Tammy Chen (who's getting married this year to a plastic surgeon named Xue Boren), I did think about Jerry Yan and Tammy Chen were rumored to get paired.  So I'd like to share my thoughts if this could have worked out. My impression on Tammy Chen is that she's pretty and adorable but she's not that good with her acting.  In Lavender, she is easily overshadowed by Penny Lin who can freaking act.  I mean, Penny Lin looks mean but she can freaking act.  No matter what role she is in whether it was Dolphin Bay or my favorite role of hers as Fei Yang in 100% Senorita, I couldn't help but clap to her performance.  Tammy Chen is pretty bland for some of her episodes. So Jerry Yan can act but the effect will just be like in "Loving Never Forgetting" that is Jerry Yan will overshadow his leading lady.  While Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu had a chemistry because both of them can act like Qi...

Too bad they didn't have other scripts! I may be biased in saying this considering Meteor Garden is the very first Chinese series I have watched from start to end with Meteor Garden II the next one.  I watched Lavender, Westside Story, Dolphin Bay and a couple more Chinese drama.  I have seen some interesting chemistry between Ambrose Xu and Tammy Chen but Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu for me had the best chemistry ever.  The interaction felt real even when it wasn't a real romance, just TV romance but dang, I thought they would have made a great couple in real life.  However, like Liu Xuehua, Barbie Xu married somebody else instead of her on-screen partner. For Meteor Garden, I had no doubt enjoyed watching Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu play as Daoming Si and Shantsai.  As Daoming Si, it required a really good actor like Jerry Yan that not even Lee Minho or Jun Matsumoto (who is marrying his on-screen partner Mao Inoue this year) could match the performance!  Bar...

Three times the charm.. before Inoue practically undid himself in Kamen Rider Faiz! After the success of Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Agito became the second Heisei Kamen Rider era.  Kuuga provided the framework, now it was time for yet another show that would try to return a lot of stuff.  Yet part of it was very atypical and part of it was typical with how the show ran from start to end.  The style of Agito is a show that has a lot of woven mysteries, conflicts and complex plots. So how does that all count in?  When you think of it, you definitely know nothing of the main protagonist who just becomes Agito.  We don't know anything about the man who is called Shouichi in the show.  He's just an amnesiac young man who suddenly feels the need to protect humanity one way or another, while living in a family that's not his own namely Professor Misugi who was taking care of his late stepbrother's children.  Along the way, there is the mysterious Ryo...

Kamen Rider Kuuga in itself was a huge ambitious attempt to remodel the Kamen Rider franchise. Back in the late 80s, Kamen Rider had one success followed by a lesser success. Kamen Rider Black was so successful that it had a much less successful sequel in Kamen Rider Black RX which ended in September 24, 1989. After Black RX, the Kamen Rider series somewhat came to a close. Only specials like ZO, J and Shin Kamen Rider came but no Kamen Rider series came in. Kamen Rider came to a close for a time being. On 1998, Shotaro Ishinomori also died. Toei wasn't going to easily rest and Kamen Rider would have a return after 11 years of hiatus. May 1999 was the month and year that a new Kamen Rider would be created. At that time, Shotaro Ishinomori had died. By that time, I guess die-hard Kamen Rider fans would have wanted Kamen Rider back. The project was finished on time and on January 30, 2000 the new Kamen Rider for the new millennium was born... Kamen Rider Kuuga! Kuuga started an en...

The more I watched "Loving Never Forgetting", it felt like your traditional Qiong Yao drama with Jerry Yan as Qin Han 2.0.  Aside from my previous wish that Esther Liu were Wu Tong (she's a Liu Xue Hua 2.0), I think the story should have been in the 40s Shanghai.  So why did I think of setting the series in the 1940s? You have to consider that Wu Tong's character is something you can't find in today's China where women already know their rights, were all girls are allowed and women have a choice.  Wu Tong feels like your typical Qiong Yao protagonist - she suffers for some time for the sake of love.  She is always crying and overly martyr type.  Her typical scenario of being the overly martyr type would be more typical in 1940s China than in the contemporary setting it was in. That means, remove all the cellphones or any technology that didn't exist in the 1940s.  Maybe let Li Zhongmou live in the Lu Mansion in Romance in the Rain and let Wu Tong liv...

While watching "Loving Never Forgetting" I really had problems with Wu Tong's actress Tong Liya.  While Jerry Yan certainly can carry Qin Han's charm to the point my aunt calls him "Qin Han Jr.", Tong Liya just doesn't have the similar charm of Qin Han's leading ladies.  Knowing Barbie Xu may have retired from acting (she and Jerry Yan met each other again like Qin Han was reunited with Brigitte Lin)... now here's my possible picks. Esther Liu would have made a much stronger Wu Tong.  Why is that?  Even in Westside Story when she was underaged, she can freaking act!  Whether you need a comedic or dramatic scene, she can do it.  Aside from the Liu, she might be the best replacement for Liu Xuehua in playing leading lady roles.  I guess she can act every Qiong Yao character assigned to her.  Their age gap is 11 years (Qin Han and Liu Xue Hua were 13 years apart), it can work in a chemistry. The other possible leading lady is Liu Yifei which ...