Sean Akizuki's East Asian Drama and Movie Blog

I decided to do some binge-watching of the latest episodes of Kamen Rider Revice . One good reason why I haven't done episodes is because I'm also trying to watch some other shows on Netflix . Currently, I'm watching Light the Night (Taiwanese series) and I'm trying to enjoy the reality TV show New World which has South Korea celebrities on an island resort. I'll give another random drop thought on the idea of Revice - it turns out that the family that fights together, stays together! It's pretty much like how Fiveman , GoGoFive , and Magiranger were all sibling Super Sentai entries.  The first plot with the siblings is Daiji's jealousy of his older brother Ikki. Daiji produces an inner demon known as Kagero - born out of resentment for his older brother. Kagero was defeated allowing Ikki to transform into Live without a demon. The arc built on Daiji was talking about the power of the sibling bond. Ikki wasn't qualified at first but proved he too could f...

 Nope, it's not a Halloween-themed show. Rather, it's about an antiheroine ace prosecutor named Ma Yi Deum (Jung Ryeo Won) who walks in the fine line between legal and illegal investigation. Along the way, she meets a prosecutor named Yeo Jin Wook (Yoon Hyun Min) who has child psychiatry as his pre-law course. The two are in contrast since one is an antiheroine while the other is a clean-cut lawyer. The two have a begrudging alliance that turns into romance - a romance that's barely there. Like most legal K-Dramas with romances - the romances don't dominate the scene as much as the investigation. What's interesting to know is the interwoven past between the couple-to-be. Jin Wook is looking for her mother who is missing for 20 years. Hyun Min's mother has a connection to Jin Wook's mother. I find the unraveling connections difficult to talk about without spoiling anything. Both the characters have a case to pursue. Though one's getting personal and the o...

Who says that horror elements always have to be in a scary series? Zombie Detective happens to have a good mix of comedy, horror, and action in many of the flicks It seems directors weren't too satisfied with giving Choi Jin Hyuk (currently on hiatus after he violated protocol) more sci-fi detective roles such as Rugal , Tunnel , and this one combines sci-fi with horror elements. You might find some references to pop culture such as the Resident Evil franchise with the zombies. The atmosphere may also feel similar to The Twins Effect where nightmare fuel meets comedy elements.  The story has a mysterious zombie who assumes the identity of Kim Moo Young (while spoilers, his real name is Kang Min Ho). Min Ho has no idea how he became a zombie and he was dumped. What Min Ho does is assume the identity of a very much-dead detective to figure out how he landed in the mess he's in. Along the way, he gets some unlikely help from Gong Sun Ji (Park Ju Hyun) who is a nosy woman. Sun Ji d...

  Halloween is just around the corner and Kamen Rider Agito is hitting its 20th anniversary. Phew, that's real fast and I was only 15 going 16 at that time! Now, it's time to really do a ramble on the nightmare fuel in the show. Agito is considered by some as Toshiki Inoue's Magnum Opus while others consider it to be Chojin Sentai Jetman . Kamen Rider Faiz is apparently Inoue's favorite season since he even appeared at the end of it - a series with much potential but it did slowly burn Inoue out. I feel it's time to actually talk about why Agito is a good series with its ambitious nightmare fuel and not just with how Kamen Rider Kuuga is one good scare . Personally, I want to think of Agito as a sequel to Kuuga . I think the lore of the two shows can be seen in the same Universe. One threat is over and another begins. The Grongi were defeated some time ago. Now, the Lords appear and mysterious murders take place. Here, Shinichiro Shirakura and Inoue (all before Shir...

As said, I don't really give updates but I only react to updates when I can or when I feel like it. I decided to do some watching with Kamen Rider Revice even if one of its cast members Subaru Kimura had that annoying blackface incident. Well, I decided to watch the series and think about how I feel more and more distant from Tokusatsu these days. I guess it's because I've watched every Heisei-era Kamen Rider series from Kamen Rider Kuuga up to Kamen Rider Zi-O . Now, it's time for me to think that I decided to give Revice a shot to see how it'd do. I've watched up to the latest episode. As always, don't expect any more episode reviews because of real-life stuff. Now, I'd like to share my thoughts on it in eight episodes. The Igarashi family has them running the Happy Spa. They are Ikki (the hero), Daiji (who is secretly jealous), Sakura, and the parents Yukimi and Genta. Daiji works at Fenix but, for some reason, wasn't allowed to use the Rider Bel...

Netflix has a brand new series. Though this was rather short by half of the usual 16 episodes - we only have eight episodes like the Korean series  Argon . This is NOT a series for those who are faint of heart. There will be some gore and blood since this is a crime drama. This happens to have the same director as Lawless Lawyer and Pride and Prejudice namely Kim Jin Min.  Though, unlike the other two series, this has more blood and some steamy scenes with a hot woman in Han So See.  I really like commenting how So Hee looks quite like Fumika Baba - the woman who played Medic Roidmude in Kamen Rider Drive . Her role here is Yoon Ji Woo (also known as Oh Hye Jin) who is on the quest to murder her father. Ji Woo enters into a sleazy deal with Choi Mu Jin (acted by Park Hee Soon) who is the biggest drug lord in South Korea. This results in a difficult ordeal as So Hee seeks to do the right thing but is too blinded by revenge. It's really impossible to talk much about this on...

After watching Lawless Lawyer - I felt watching the psychological crime thriller Flower of Evil may be another good start. Lee Joon Ki has the charm of playing tough characters while not looking so tough himself. Joon Ki himself plays as the son of a deceased serial killer named Do Hyun Su. Hyun Su assumes another person's identity (Baek Hee Sung) to hide from a wrongful accusation from years ago. In the process, his wife Cha Ji Woon (Moon Chae Won from Shining Inheritance ) is a detective who suspects her husband is hiding something from her. Hyun Su is the antihero out to clear his name and get the real Hee Sung (acted by Kim Ji Hoon) who is the real killer.  At first, I felt that the thriller was a detective married to a serial killer. Instead, it follows that Ji Woon is married to an innocent man framed for murder. It would be interesting how Chae Won (whose lovelife is rather private) has shown a stronger side of her some time after Shining Inheritance . Back when I first saw ...