Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

During the run from Kyoryuger up to Ninninger, I've been skipping them in favor of Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider Wizard was more of a guilty pleasure for Medusa's actress Erina Nakayama. Kamen Rider Gaim fixed a lot of errors that were in Kamen Rider Ryuki. Kamen Rider Drive came in my dream of a police-themed Kamen Rider. Then we presently have Kamen Rider Ghost. While I was expecting a Yuu Yuu Hakusho inspired show, I want to call it as Japan's attempt to try to create their own version of Danny Phantom. The attempt to make a Japanese version of Danny Phantom seems to have already been already done during Kamen Rider Kiva's run. While watching Kamen Rider Kiva, I can't help but make fun of the show's comical situations. Some fans of the show may call it Twilight meets Kamen Rider. I called it Kamen Rider Danny Phantom because of the existence of Western-style horror movie characters set to a world of rainbows and teddy bears. Kiva had the Fangire World goi...

While doing a Kamen Rider Agito rewatch, I thought that some cast members weren't all that good. So I'd submit this wishful thinking post with Hojo's casting. So what's my beef? Sorry Yamasaki, you just aren't cut for Hojo... Considering that Hojo's meant to be the show's conflict, I thought Jun Yamasaki wasn't really ALL THAT good in carrying that part. Sure, he's meant to heckle or to add conflict to the show but the actor isn't all that good. Here's what Shogo B'Stard has to say about the actor himself: While I'm talking about the G3 side of the show, I'd like to say that there's really only one thing that I think can be tedious upon Agito rewatches: Houjou's antics. It's really depressing to find out that Inoue considered Houjou his favorite character in the series, but I guess not all that surprising since he does favor asshole characters like Kusaka and Kiriya. (Some would say Gai, but those people sho...

It's stupid to think that anything gets better or worse every year. Kamen Rider has its ups and downs like every franchise. Considering I've basically watched Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive and I'm currently watching Ghost... I'd like to give my thoughts on the Heisei era Kamen Riders. I'd divide the discussion with some set eras to avoid straining the readers. Part 1 - From Kamen Rider Kuuga to Kamen Rider Decade The whole start was pretty good with Kamen Rider Kuuga . If you recall, Kamen Rider Black RX became the last Showa Era Kamen Rider. It wasn't popular enough to spawn another series after it. Then we had a couple of Kamen Rider movies but no Kamen Rider series until two years after the death of Shotaro Ishinomori. Naruhisa Arakawa entered big time in his first job as the head writer for any of Toei's Tokusatsu series. The show introduced a new formula where the villains...

So it's been some time since I've been calling Kamen Rider Decade as something that's almost as awful if not just as awful as Saban's Masked Rider. I'll try to address this new issue called the controversy of the possible connection between Kamen Rider Kuuga and Kamen Rider Agito. Here's something I thought could be possibly used from The Center of Anime and Toku : You're free to enjoy Agito as a continuation of Kuuga if you so wish, or imagine it takes place in a parallel world, if you so choose. I appreciate this may sound like an asspull , however, so I guess I would say that while Agito takes place '2 years after #4 destroys the Unidentified Lifeforms', it is not a sequel to Kuuga, so take to the show with that in mind.

After thinking of how Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu-Wang both had the Chin/Liu chemistry , I felt like the Meteor Garden cast could have been for the Qiong Yao Television series. As I love to say it, Jerry Yan as Chin Han's charisma (plus I feel like he's can play as the son of both Chin Han and Liu Xue Hua) and Barbie Xu-Wang would have made a better Yi Ping than Vicki Zhao did. I felt that while watching a few scenes from "The Unforgettable Character" especially it took place in a school during a basketball game, some characters in Meteor Garden could've been used. Though, I was thinking the following cast members could've returned as well... I think Chin Han and Leanne Liu could've returned to act as PARENTS to the leading guy. If the series took a few years after Metero Garden - I think both of them would still have the ability to do what I wanted them to do - be Jerry's parents! Chin Han resembles Jerry in some way. Leanne could act as Jerry's mo...

Even if Lavender ended with a bad ending, why do I still want to rewatch it? I really love the writing and the musical scores. The opening song was really nice, this ending song is nice but it really has a sad meaning. It's so sad how the baby also dies with the mother. It's really sad to see how two childhood friends get reunited only to have a very short marriage together. What's sad about this scene is that it's played with Yi Shin dying. Yes she's dying and I really felt sorry for the mother seeing both her daughters die at the end of the drama. I can't blame Leo for crying at the end of the scene. I'd be as sad as him if I were in his place. Tears, more tears and I still remember the sad way Lavender ended in a very predictable way.

I remembered how often I wasn't all that fond of sad stories but Lavender was one TV series that had me hooked for a reason. Was it because the main protagonist Yi Shin (played by Tammy Chen) was really that pretty? Maybe. Was it because even if knew it'd turn out to be a tragedy it was well-written with good character development? Maybe. But I can't really give all the explanations in the world why I even bothered to sit through it. But I guess it's a combination of good and bad reasons why I even bothered to finish watching Lavender. The time I watched Lavender, I remembered a few tears that I cried watching it but not as much as I had them watching Dolphin Bay. I remembered crying in the starting scene when Yi Shin was frequently bullied and how the leading guy Qing Chuan always stood by her. It's sweet childhood that worked itself to adulthood but it's expected to be met in tragedy. Seeing Yi Shin's older sister die was bad enough, seeing her die ...