Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

It can't be denied that after Gobusters, Kyoryuger came and then came Kamen Rider Wizard. Considering Kamen Rider seasons these days premiere around September to October, then it's normal that Kamen Rider Gaim aired during Kyoryuger's broadcast and ToQGer's broadcast. It would also be normal that Kamen Rider Drive aired during ToQGer's broadcast and Ninninger's broadcast... while Kamen Rider Ghost airs during the second half of Ninninger's broadcast. Kamen Rider Gaim had a lot of what Power Rangers Samurai, Power Rangers Megaforce, Kyoryuger and ToQGer didn't have which was hard to imitate, high quality writing. I felt the concept of fruits was just stupid so I didn't want to watch it at first. The first episode wasn't all that interesting but I wanted another Battle Royale season and this show gave it to me and it gave me more interesting stuff. Kamen Rider Ryuki could have become better if it wasn't for all that unnecessary executive med...

While watching Kamen Rider as of recent, I thought about two series that did the Battle Royale theme. One was Kamen Rider Ryuki (February 3, 2002 - January 19, 2003) and Kamen Rider Gaim (October 6, 2013 - September 28, 2014). I'll give my few shots on what I thought of them. The truth is that a Tokusatsu show has these three outcomes. The first outcome is that next series can really get better than the last. That's what I believe happened between Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Agito. I felt like Agito had a more complex, interesting storyline. The second is that the series can be just as good as the last. I felt the same happened while I was watching Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Fourze. Both series were pretty good in their own way though I can't help but still think Kuuga and Agito are better. The third is that the next series can be worse than its predecessor. The successful Kamen Rider Black was replaced by the inferior sequel of Kamen Rider Black RX though I stil...

It's a sad fact that older Qiong Yao dramas do not have subtitles compared to the modern ones. But I'll admit that even if I was more used to seeing Liu Xuehua playing as the mother of the leading guy or leading guy, I'm still interested to see her older roles as a leading lady. My first impression to see them was watching them on Taiwan TV. Even if my knowledge of Mandarin or other languages is very limited (considering I'm more of an English speaker), I dug whatever limited knowledge I had while I could actually understand a bit, a bit and it became the time I forced myself to study Mandarin. After my Meteor Garden hype (and thankfully, no Meteor Garden III because the second part was already one that made me tear my heart off), I still wanted a Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu type of pairing. When I started watching Vicki Zhao's version of "Romance in the Rain", that's where I would have heard that Liu Xuehua used to play the leading lady parts while Qi...

During the time of Kamen Rider Drive's broadcast, I always thought that somehow both characters would get married. While I'm watching Kamen Rider Ghost, I'm seeing clips of both of them getting married and I am pretty much excited for that wedding to be shown. So how will the Kamen Rider Drive and Kamen Rider Ghost crossover fare? I'll just have to wait and find out. 

While watching Kamen Rider Drive, I remembered the first hint that the Roidmudes were created by Dr. Banno who is none other than the father of Kiriko and Gou (with his unwed relationship with Sumiko Shijima explaining why they carried their mother's surname). I always felt that Drive also explored the science theme similar to Hirohisa Soda's science trilogy . The whole opposition of ideas in Drive occurred in the form of both Professor Krim Steinbelt and his former friend Professor Banno. Professor Banno was involved in the creation of the Roidmudes. At first, they just felt like rebellious creations but as he resurfaced, he had willfully cast off his humanity. It felt like Doctor Man's rivalry with his former friend Dr. Shinichiro Gou. Banno wanted personal glory while Krim wanted to help mankind. Krim became the Rider Belt responsible for Drive while later, Banno who had become digitized would later become the final villain of the series. While he appeared to be will...

While watching Kamen Rider OOO, I could not help but actually be amazed at what I failed to see.  Kosei Kougami who appears in Kamen Rider OOO. He was pictured as somebody who loved to collect Core Medals for himself. I always thought that he had an eccentric, business-oriented nature. Just then I realized this funny coincidence... The actor Takashi Ukaji looks like Haim Saban. I just thought that perhaps during the time Kamen Rider OOO aired, Kougami Foundation was probably Toei's tribute to Saban Brands. So my next wishful gimmick would be funny is sending Ukaji to the next Power Morphicon. What is also coincidental (if any) is that Kougami Foundation is a multi-purpose company and in real life, Saban also has various businesses in real life. Maybe it's just a coincidence but who knows?

While watching Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Kabuto, I felt like both villains namely Masato Mishima and Dr. Maki. Though the tones of both series were different but I can't deny how two villains were pretty similar in some way. Now let's take a look at them aside from the fact that they wear glasses. Masato Mishima Masato is at first presented as what might be a protagonist, he was part of ZECT and was actively involved in combating the worms. At one point, he was a Kamen Rider using TheBee but he was having his own schemes. He was always shown to be selfish, and manipulative and has been planning to take over ZECT behind the scenes. I always thought that the actor Tomihisa Yuge gave this guy the feeling of being the cold antagonist, where he has been a puppet master of sorts between humans AND the Worms. What's his deal? During the events of Kabuto, he was only thinking about himself while feigning loyalty to Riku Kagami. As time passed by, he's shown himself...