greysniper
Despite my torn opinion of him as an actor (damn your managers for steering you to more crap roles than good), "Black & White" has firmly asserted Vic Zhou into my mind as a "actor" and not a "Idol actor".
Yes I liked him in "Mars" and "Sweet Relationship" but it was his portrayal of the not-so-by-the-book "Chen Zai Tian(Pi Zi)" that made me go back and re-watch those dramas to confirm to myself; "Was he always this good?"
In this we have him playing a cop with more going on under the surface than meets the eye, partnered with a straight laced kind of cop, "Wu Ying Xiong" played by Mark Chao.
First of all, the dynamic between these two was bloody brilliant.
I love how "Zai Tian" was like the Captain Jack Sparrow of policing, down to the little walk and womanizing. Vic Zhou had us rolling our eyes and laughing at every wink, saunter and hushed seduction While Mark Chao's "Ying Xiong" had us busting stitches at every foiled seduction attempt he smote like some cock-blocking god.
But with every laugh they got us with every dramatic scene too, not overly done, nor overly drawn out, which was a godsend because some dramas can wring out that angst for all it's got and still ask for another bucket.
While the characters were a good symmetry for each other, the story writing and editing and directing were just as perfectly matched.
You don't feel rushed while watching it, and you don't feel it's too slow. Just the right pace, coupled with great actors putting it to the best that they can push it made "Black & White" the best Taiwanese produced drama I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
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As I stated in my comment below, outstanding job by Takeuchi Yuko playing "Himekawa Reiko", but the team as a whole I liked as well. I loved the slight character development we see with the supporting roles, especially "Kukita","Nori" and the last episode's bad guy, showing that writing and directing put in a great deal of thought when fleshing out their cops, as well as the criminals to the ongoing cases.
Directing was very well done, unlike past Japan cop dramas which could get really wonky some times. Think Boss (more wacky than needed but still an entertaining show) and Jiu (the lack of common sense in that drama, coupled with bad music choices).
We actually had a very good balance of comedy and drama and didn't lose sight that this is a 'cop drama'. More often than not, some of them tend to loose sight of the occupational part of the drama and start focusing on character relationships, and not in a good way.
With Strawberry Night we get a good look at the psychological and moral sides of the cops in which the main character and the supporting characters alike are included. More than 'who dun it' dramas we are given 'why' and the varied procedures that lead to that why which makes this an interesting pick to watch.
So to conclude, it may not be 'on the edge of your seat' action, but it most definitely won't keep you bored.
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Nice little rom-com about a female Chef and a business man who meet under strange circumstances and keep bumping into each other and bumping heads. This was the description I got when I watched it the first time, man was that understated.
This little gem was just what I needed on a boring afternoon after studying. The female Chef, Suzuko (Hasegawa Kyoko) was just so damn cute, and the business man, Haruki (Koide Keisuke) was funny as mister suave business man with a not so suave lover lurking inside him.
Supporting characters were great too, especially Haruki's father (when you watch the show, you'll understand) and the staff from the restaurant.
Not the greatest, but if you are looking for some lightweight rom-com that's not necessarily fitting the mold to fill in between shows, try this one out.
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A little bit of a throwback to my past, I went searching for a "GARO" review, found there was none, and decided to write it myself.
There is not much I can say for plot because the synopsis given pretty much tells you what the deal is (a but too much in my opinion, but meh) so I will just be jumping into my thoughts on the show.
Man I loved this show. First of all, creative director should get an award. I'd hate to compare this to Power Rangers because it'd be like comparing a slingshot to a gun, but this is like that genre for a more mature crowd. The "Horrors" are splendidly created with interesting diversity. I loved the mermaid episode costume, and the main boss near the end. Animation sequence could have been better where used but you get so wrapped up in the story that you forget/ignore it.
Konishi Hiroki as "Saejima Koga"... honestly I found him adorable in the broody-type-of-lead way. He didn't kill it and made "Koga" likable (trust me folks, harder than it sounds sometimes, this type of hero you tend to bore of). As Koga, you kind of like the fact that "Kaoru" (played by Hijii Mika) has that way of putting his knickers in a bunch. Her character surprises you towards the end.
"Rei" (Fujita Rei) was probably my favorite for character writing because they made him so bloody interesting right from the get-go. I actually liked Fujita Rei in this. I have seen him in other shows, but hadn't really taken a liking to him like I did in "GARO".
Character development wasn't too rushed, and they didn't flood us with angst.
Story, honestly, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be going in. I had tried to watch Kamen Rider to no avail, and stumbled into this and got sucked into the story. It's an interesting ride as we see our Hero try to live up to expectations, stay true to his sense of right and wrong, and still do his duty as Garo within the span of the 25 episodes. Oh, and keep "Kaoru" alive.
Music.... ok well, the first opening... to put it gently got annoying fast, which is why when they switched the theme song for the second opening I was so glad.
As for re-watching, up until last year I was still re-watching the series. I don't know, there is just something about this show that gives this sense of nostalgia when remembering it that brings on the urge to re-watch.
So to conclude, Great show with a interesting take on the whole "magical/transforming armor" genre. Do not be detoured by the whole Transforming bit! It surprisingly gets under your skin for a great 25 episode run. Good story telling and great art make it worth the time.
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Takeuchi Yuko plays "Aoi Yoshiko(Jinko/Gene)" a woman scorned by her ex in the most inventive fashion and the drama is the sometimes hilarious, sometimes serious journey of growth she has to walk as he suddenly reappears in her life again.
As one commenter mentioned this is a more "mature" rom-com than the norm. While still sharing out it's own funny, it questions a lot about life, love and occupation. The way it goes about doing that (tying it in with the main characters research on bugs and the like) is a refreshing take on occupational Rom-Com. Directing is about average, but the writing is gold.
My only annoyance was that they didn't end with an episode 12.
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First of all, the story would have gotten a 10 if it weren't for the continuity errors.
All the actors did a good job, there was no problem in the acting. There was with either writing or directing. Either the writer forgot to tidy up his or her bread crumbs or the director cut the scenes to fit it all in. Regardless of speculation, there were a few plot holes that contributed to this drama's lower review.
Music wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable either. There weren't tracks that I wanted to hear again, or steal off of YouTube.
And while I can say I watched this twice, can I say I'd want to watch it more than twice? Sadly no.
So make a review to the point, Good drama, somewhere in between fluff and decent writing, that's main highlight is that the cast carried it well and it's not tedious or draggy.
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With that being said, I believe it is perfectly fair to rate this 8 all around.
It's not ground breaking, it's not idol fluff, so what we get is actually a pretty close live-action to the Manga "Skip Beat!".
Because this is based from a Manga, directing took a more direct approach to the interpretation, meaning Kyoko's evil aura and good and evil spirits come out just like in the Manga/Anime.
Was this a good thing? Yes. Unlike other Manga adaptations where their attempts at showing the Manga-style comedy on screen tended to fall short (Playful Kiss), was badly timed and/or usually made some of us wonder "was that really necessary?", in "Skip Beat!" it felt like you were reading the Manga the whole time. Though I do admit there were some scenes that could have been done better.
Ivy, Siwon, and Dong-hae actually do their respective lead roles justice. Siwon's interpretation of Ren gave me goosebumps.
Mostly because he can get that "shining angry Ren" smile out accurately. As a person who has read, and is still reading the Manga, it was really surprising how dead on he was to it. Even while looking at it, it doesn't look any different than a smile, but the feeling behind that smile was not happy at all.
Ivy's "Kyoko" was actually what sold it for me. She was just as dead on as Siwon's Ren. Wardrobe needed to pay more attention to detail, though, as in a few episodes her hair was longer in some scenes and shorter in others. Her facial expressions were dead on.
Dong-hae's "Shou" was good too, could have been a bit stronger, but really he did a very accurate and sometimes hilariously wacky job.
Yes the show did come off a bit too wacky in some parts but really, that's the best part, when Kyoko goes into crazed fits cus she doesn't want the make-up to come off or the ridiculous bike riding scene in episode one... these are all from the Manga with liberties taken by the director. I don't think it'd have the same appeal if you took them out. Actually, I don't think it would be the same Manga/Anime/Drama if you did.
Now those points is what dropped it down from 10 to 9 for me.
But what dropped it down from 9 to 8 was the dubbing. In the off chance in hell that someone from their production department sees this...
Don't. Dub.
You went and hired Korean actors/idols for your show, the least you can do is not dub them. Pissed me off when you can catch a few of the dubbed areas in episode one.
To summarize: If you haven't read the Manga, a lot of the evil/angelic Gong Xi moments will be lost to you, as you'll be wondering why it's like that, while still laughing at those spirits creeping people out or exacting revenge. If you have read the Manga, you'll be pissed it's only 13 episodes because it's so damn good.
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Good looking leads
Decent (if not good) story: [I am sorry Taiwanese fans but as much as I watch a lot of Taiwan dramas like the next addict, I find a lot of it fluff drama]
Good balance of humor/romance
It was, thankfully, not all Taiwanese-idol-fluff drama. Sam Wang has got to get more leading roles, by the way. He's actually not that bad when you get him out of the shadow of someone else's drama. Though such is the life of a second lead, your talent can go unnoticed (I, until recently, didn't like Ming Dao for the same reason, too many idol-fluff, not enough proper acting. Once you get these two to do something out of the norm they surprise you).
Can I say that it's the greatest drama ever? No.
I can say it wasn't a waste of time, nor am I demanding my life back after watching it. It was average, acceptable, and light enough to watch and think fondly of after completing it.
Can I say that I'd re-watch it? Well... I already did. When it came out and last year when nothing good was on.
Overall: Fair enough for a good time and maybe one or two re-watches.
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With that said, "Assault Girls" was lacking as a movie in writing. The Story failed the visuals. We did get a few funny lines at the beginning, and if you are a gamer, you'll get why it's funny. We've all been around to witness dumb gamer banter on PK servers. But the story in its entirety fell short, or rather it felt like there wasn't a story at all, it was more like watching someone's 3D game play. Fun for the user, not always fun for the observer.
Yes, it was filmed in a desert, but that was the gaming environment... get over it.
I hate to refer back to something not everyone has seen, but with "Avalon" they did the reverse. They tried to show equally the in-game and off-game environment.
It showed the universe that the writer of the script wanted to portrait while also, curiously, their choices in unrealistic colors for the real world and realism for the game world gave you a sense that for the player portrayed in "Avalon" the real world held no luster. It's as if her reality wasn't real enough for her.
While with "Assault Girls", the lack of off-game time in the movie was it's downfall because it left us with no real insight into character development. They made a sad attempt with the opening sequence but that was... what? About 15 minutes in or so compared to how long the movie was? There was a shot at working together and collaborating as an undertone at some point too, but because the story was so underdeveloped it either went unnoticed by most or just made any viewer that noticed confused.
In Summary, go watch "Avalon" first if you felt like the movie would have been worth your time with more story in it. Watch "Assault Girls" if you have watched "Avalon" and get the meaning to the long ass written intro in the beginning of the movie. If you get that, watch the rest. You might not think it was worth the time after but you'll understand where the direction went wrong and at least won't think that the movie was a complete waste of time.
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