Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

Kung Hei Fat Choi!  Considering today is the first day of the Lunar New Year (and too bad we never got to see Noynoy and Pabaya get run over when the clock struck 12), I want to write a recollection of how I got into Chinovelas whether it was from Taiwan, China or Hong Kong. I have the guilty pleasure of lumping them as "Chinese entertainment" and in a sense, Taiwan is called the Republic of China while China is called the People's Republic of China. I showed little or no interest with Chinovelas (combination of Chinese and telenovelas) before the craze started. Amazing Twins showed up but I wasn't all too interested in it. I was more interested with some Japanese entertainment with dubs or that there was a time I was more into American entertainment. I was trying to live the American dream  and I wanted to detach from everything Asian and become American. I didn't care too much about Jackie Chan or Jet Li. Although I watched a few Chinese movies but mo...

With the event that Rain and Kim Tae Hee tied the knot today (and I guess I smell despair everywhere now), I want to do a bit of a Thursday Throwback post. I remembered in College I didn't immediately like Korean drama. I could remember how I was hesitant to watch Autumn in My Heart because of too many tears. Watching Taiwanese drama helped me connect to my Chinese ancestry even if I wasn't born in China or Taiwan. When I thought of Korean drama, I decided that I wouldn't be so easy to click on it. I once said, "Only idiots like Korean shows." which I soon became that idiot for watching it later. When I watched Autumn in My Heart and Full House in Tagalog, I could only care about the beauty of the protagonist. I could remember how Song Hye Kyo's character was dubbed as Jenny in Autumn in My Heart and as Jessie in Full House. Yup, I can't forget that really stupid crush I had on Song Hye Kyo. Then I watched Love Story in Harvard and Forbidden Love for Ki...

Just right now, I feel like I want to go haywire like Dr. Kuroto Dan and Dr. Mikoto Nakadai. I'm stuck in a game of juggling between preferences. Whether it'd be within the realm of Tokusatsu (since I prefer mostly new school Kamen Rider and mostly old school Super Sentai) or with other passions. That's why I never call myself a die-hard fan of just anything. I can't forget how I had a taste fatigue with Super Sentai last 2013 yet I find myself watching new school Super Sentai this 2016 and I'm looking forward to Kyuranger this 2017 and to Zyuohger's finale on the first Sunday of February.  I can't forget how there were a few times that I wasn't watching Tokusatsu earlier last decade. It was because I got caught with what I consider as "better stuff" like some Taiwanese, Japanese or Korean drama. Taiwanese drama helped me get in touch with my ancestral roots though I speak very little Chinese. Korean drama gave me a different cultural i...

There's always some odd looking couples but the emphasis has been more on chemistry than appearance. I think Full House did the same but it unintentionally becomes a parody of Beauty and the Beast. I can't help but call Rain the "beast" not only because of his face but because he's got a huge body build to accompany it. Song Hye Kyo's a petite beauty. I thought about how it becomes a comedy version of Beauty and the Beast. It's pretty much Belle trying to recover her castle from Beast who bought out of a questionable transaction. Like how in the world could the Beast even, I mean buy Belle's castle so quick? It sounds more like a fairy tale than a real life scenario. This creates a dilemma when Beast forces Belle to marry him. Beast wants to spite a girl he liked so much but discovers he's in love with Belle. Belle just wants her castle back but finds out she's falling for Beast. It's pretty much a reverse of Belle being in Beast's c...

I remembered the time I was around 18-19 years old and I got into the Chinovela craze. I started watching Meteor Garden without expecting myself to get sucked into it. At first, I thought Meteor Garden was a Japanese TV series and I thought the F4 were Japanese the first time I heard of them. Then it happened that I simply got hooked with Meteor Garden as my first Taiwanese TV series . I didn't care too much about Hana Yori Dango starring Mao Inoue because Barbie Xu-Wang made the best Makino Tsukushi but I absolutely disliked the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango. Then there was the Korean craze which I had pre-conceived biases and I could talk about it.   The first one that got me into K-Drama was Autumn in My Heart. Oh, I can't forget the really bad crush I had on Song Hye Kyo and how I cried a river of tears (exaggeration) in her dying scene. I just saw the Tagalog dub back then and due to my academic requirements I had to ask my elders what happened next. I couldn...

This week's Kamen Rider Gaim has Kamen Rider Gemn's identity getting revealed to the others. Kuroto Dan revealed his identity as Gemn first to the audience then to the protagonist riders. While he appears to be a nice person but he's really a sadistic madman who gathers Game Data of Death from others to create what could be a Resident Evil type of game called "Dangerous Zombie". This reminded me of one villain from Abaranger. If you haven't watched Abaranger yet then I suggest you do.  Imagination Station has already finished subbing it. I know it's already 2016 but it's still a fun show nonetheless. One of Abaranger's villains is also a professional doctor known as Mikoto Nakadai. He's bored and wants to have some excitement at the cost of other people's lives. Mikoto accepted the dangerous power of Abare Killer and had Top Galer as his companion. He's always making everyone's lives miserable for both the Abarangers and the Evo...

I find it funny how Japanese Tokusatsu could click so fast to certain Asian countries but they decided to localize Japanese Anime and Manga into live shows. Just to make it clear, according to Globalization and Language Association this is what localization means: Localization (also referred to as "l10n") is  the process of adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market . Translation is only one of several elements of the localization process. In addition to translation, the localization process may also include: Adapting graphics to target markets Modifying content to suit the tastes and consumption habits of other markets Adapting design and layout to properly display translated text Converting to local requirements (such as currencies and units of measure) Using proper local formats for dates, addresses, and phone numbers Addressing local regulations and legal requirements The aim of localization is to give a product the look and feel ...