My general thoughts on movies, dramas, anime, RPG games, and music from East Asia.(Japan, South Korea, and China.(Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China)
Please note that this blog is not a review blog nor do I clam to be a professional. I just like talking about East Asian pop culture. My opinions are my opinions good or bad. It's no hard feelings. Feel free to comment your thoughts as well.
Youtube/Twitter/Instagram @Rico is 에리코(Erico)
Zhang Bo Lin was a contestant on the Chinese version of The Voice. China's version of the show is called voice of China and Bo Lin was a contestant on season four back in 2015. I couldn't find too much information about him. I couldn't even find a music video…. Only thing I found was his contestant performances and some audio teasers. I decided to talk about him on here since none else seems to be mentioning him.
The Past Now The Future is an album that doesn't seems will make much waves in the Mandopop music scene. The album does serve as a bit of a hidden gem though. Especially for Chinese music listeners that want music that is familiar. There's about four tracks that make up the album. One track is a typical pop ballad that can be attractive to those who liked Mandopop artists such as Eric Chou. Violins and piano storm the track's production as the beat sends a feel of chillness. Then there's a very basic ballad that's alright if your caught in the moment of listening to this mini album one track after the other. I end up skipping this one track for the next one most of the time. Bo Lin makes a swift decision to change music genres to another type of music that's Jazz Pop fusion. This will be the most defining moment on the album for Lin because the track actually sounds like nothing that's out right now in Mandarin pop music. The mid tempo playing of the drums matching the bass guitar will get you drunk on the rhythm as they sound clearly under Lin's vocals. 现在过去未来 is my favorite track on the whole album or at least the one I remember the most. He once again switches out one music genre for another, Dance EDM being his last choice to close this album with a bang. It's a very fun track that makes you want to move your body. When he sings "Mirror Mirror on the wall!" his vocalization comes out like he's determined to make a statement.
I can see why he was on a singing show. His voice is easy to listen to while not being too mainstream pop sounding. Bo Lin could try different kinds of music with his mature voice. You can see he did just that with this release.
The Past Now The Future has a lot of good going for the compilation. I'm not sure if he will become more popular or grow to become an after thought. You get forgotten about quick in the music industry no matter where in the world it's originated from.
Doctors is a Korean drama that ran on South Korean television from 2016 to 2017. Gosh, I'm always late watching dramas. Many people have probably watched this drama a tom of times over but I watch Korean dramas in my own time still. Oh Choong Hwan(My Love from a Star) and Park Soo Jin directs the show while Ha Ayung Hee acts as writer. Kim Rye Won, Park Shin Hye, Lee Syung Kyung, and, Yoon Gyun Sang make up the casting for the drama. People say that the drama had high rating because of the star power of Kim Rye Won who has been acting in dramas since the early 2000s. Doctors was his first appearance acting in a drama after a year. Foreign fans beg to differ that it was due to Park Shin Hye's popularity. These people don't live in South Korea though.
A girl becomes a Doctor to help those who cannot help themselves. She also wants revenge for her grandmothers death. Her old teacher that she has history with also works at the same hospital as her along with her old classmate. Will she accomplish her goal?
There's has been a big increase in medical dramas last year going into this year. I've had to roll my eyes in the back of my head seeing so many dramas using the same theme. Doctors did however catch my attention because of the cast. I'm a long time Kdrama fan so the most of the cast is like a dream. Putting the cast aside, The script reminds my of the dramas from the old school of Korean drama storytelling. Well, except for the details of the main relationship. An age difference is defiantly there and the circumstances of how both characters met might feel awkward to some viewers. Doctor's script stays very consistent with strong content that supports the whole drama. Each episode deals with different medical cases ranging from problems about humanity to the different social levels of the wealthy and poor. The two levels of wealth are seen clearly by the patients rooms. One room looks plain with just white painted walls while the other patient's room looks like a mini apartment. You can guess which room belongs to which person from which social level. Doctors also actually puts in the effort to add realism to it's presentation. Medical terms are used and when they are used, they are shown on the side of the screen with a brief explanation. Patients that arrive at the hospital are easy to relate to when their problems are revealed. I was more interested in the people who needed care in the hospital than the main stories themselves at the end of the day. Viewer's will get into their feelings watching the patients and their love one's struggle to get their lives to what they once had. Emotions are the core of the excitement that makes the episodes interesting. Episodes make you want to keep watching them back to back. At some point, the conflicts even hit close to home for our main characters. This just heightens the plot even more. My only problem with Doctor's script was how it decided to deal with the villains of the drama. I didn't feel satisfied with how the drama solves the main conflict. I felt that their should have been more punishment outside of what occurred. Forget that sentimental crap. The main bad guy took a life based on a simple mistake that could have been avoided. Overall, Doctors was written very thought provokingly.
Park Shin Hye plays a doctor who is out for revenge for her grandmother's death. She lives day to day as a strong woman who keeps herself closed off. The only person who can open her heard again is her old teacher played by Kim Rye Won. He resumes his job as a doctor and the two meet again at his father's hospital. I really loved Park's character in the beginning of the show because she was a tuff female character that didn't take shit from anyone. Her character dies down a bit as the drama progresses but she continues to possess a strong will to help people. Kim Rye Won's character is like the fairy Godmother or the guardian angel to Park's character. He's funny when he needs to be. He's supportive when he needs to be. He's strict when he needs to be. Kim has an attractive quality in his acting that makes most of us smile. I think him being a big kid made the fact that a teacher was dating his student come across as less awkward… at least to me. Sure, the idea still lingered in the back of my mind while I watched this drama but they have a steady chemistry with one another. Kim Rye Won knows how to kiss a woman!!!! THOSE WHO SAW THE DRAMA ALREADY, DID YOU SEE THIS MAN'S TECHNIQUE?? LORD HAVE MERCY! PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOLKS! Some of these Korean actors should take down some notes. The extended cast did a good job too and I loved the cameo appearances from actors such as Namgung Min. They had their own issues that weren't boring to watch at all. I did want the third wheels to try harder though(like in every drama.). One of the most optimistic doctors has a scare that's hard to watch also.
I'm a bit up in the air about the ending. It wasn't bad at all. I just wanted more of a closure than what was given. If you like purely romance for endings then the conclusion won't bother you as much.
The Battleship Island is a film that had the highest ticket sale rate in such a short time when the film was released last year. Many South Koreans went to see the film because of two strong factors: the cast and the history that the film was based on. So Ji Sub and Song Joong Ki star along side Hwang Jung Min in the film. Marking a great moment where the two Korean heartthrobs worked together in a film. Well known director Ryoo Seung Wan directed the film while the production was done by Cho Sung Min.
The Japanese tricked Korean people into working on an Island in an underground mine during World War II. This is the story about the experiences of those Korean people who lived on the Island.
The script was based on a true story(so were other historic Korean films.) but don't let that influence how you experience this film. There have been more than a handful of films that talk about Japan's and Korea's history with each other in the past. The wounds are still open for some Korean people which would explain why Battleship Island dives right into the nitty gritty very quickly. No warning. No nothing to lessen the blows to the heart you will feel when watching history's retelling. I don't know what I had in my mind before I watched this film but this wasn't it. What got me watching must have came from the desire to see So Ji Sub and Song Joong Ki act in a project together. Viewers don't even get the chance to experience this fully because the film is so busy working hard to make the Japanese seem like the worse people ever. Oh, believe me they were if you look back at history, especially concerning America and Korea. The finger pointing just felt a bit overbearing to me. Japanese people would not be happy watching what happens to their country's flag in this film. Then, there was the deep underlining fact of Korean people have suffered greatly in history. Take these two fact together and that's all that gets shoved down your throat the whole film. History wise, You will get a lot out of this film. A lot of events are bit over dramatized but Korean people did face many of the problems the film chooses to address. I've watched film after film about how the Japanese has done Korea wrong. The subject gets tiring if you don't have anything new to add to this history written in stone. The Battleship Island might have been a grand old time for nationalistic Korean people. Each scene in the film gives a nationalistic Korean person what they want to see in order to make them feel more proud of being Korean. Human sacrifice doesn't mean as much to me anymore since I've seen so many Korean war films touch this same topic constantly. How the film decided to progress the story was pretty boring too. Some exciting scene were in there. Just not enough to make me change my mind about this film. After you push the message of "Kills those Japanese for what they did to us!" out of the way, Nothing else is there to keep The Battleship Island going except pity and lackluster attempts at character background stories. Overall, this film really isn't anything special.
Like I stated above, I watched this film for the cast. Both actors weren't really in the same space together for long period of time. They both seemed to have separate existing storylines that were told opposite each other. All the acting by the whole cast was alright. The torture Koreans felt at the hands of the Japanese could be understood well because of the acting. Child actress Kim Su An was the actual raising star of the film. She shined whenever she was on screen.
Ryoo Seung Wan does get praise from me for shooting the film so expressively. The battle scenes felt so open without restriction. They were restricted in the film but the viewer is given plenty of shots that give you a hawk's eye view of all the action.
What more can I say? The Battleship Island was a big disappointment. I'm a black male and I don't want to constantly see films about how my people were slaves. Some of the greatest films have to do with that sad piece of my people's history but the difference between our history retelling and the history that The Battleship Island was trying to convey has to do with forming a strong connection between the viewers and the characters. No strong character connection was formed in The Battleship Island for the viewers to latch on to. Betting on a connection will be there just because it's Korea's history was setting this film up to fail from the beginning.….
Monogram is a group that consists of a male and female singer. A feature that is still rare in the South Korean music scene but not new to it at all. The group debuted last year with a single album that I honestly knew nothing about until now. Yep. I'm pretty honest in these post. If I don't know about certain information, I won't pretend like I know for the sake of looking like a "know it all" in my writing[INSERT ME LAUGHING.]. Space Travel is the duo's first mini album. Their music got my attention while I was on Youtube just browsing for new music to listen to.
Space Travel could be no less than the album for easy going or relaxing music. Their music is pop for easy listening mostly. Only difference between them compared to other South Korean artists out there is that they are good at working together as a two piece team in vocals as well as producing their own music. Violins, piano, and base beat make up almost all of their instrumentals so that the combining these instruments together make an uplifting support track for vocals. I liked some tracks more than others from the album but what got me listening to them was how their music resembles another group called Clazziquai. Maybe I'm an old school Korean music listener because I don't think many new school K-music listeners will know them. However, Monogram's music reminds me of them. Clazziquai's music has more of a slight edginess though.
The male singer's name is Kevin, I do believe, so that explains why their English lyrics are almost flawlessly written. He must be Korean American. Space Travel organizes it's tracks so that the listener can get a feel for the two singers's vocals. The last two tracks are actually solos. Both singers sound just as strong apart as they do together. And together their vocals are magic that can lull you into a place of relaxation. Music that makes it easier for a person to sit in a cafe while sipping coffee is what Monogram feels like to me also. I don't even like coffee.
Here is a great rookie group to check out. That is if you want to get away from all the club dance groups in mainstream Kpop for a little bit. I'm interested to see how they will choose to shape their careers in the future.
JUJU is a solo singer that basically made it famous in Japan by being featured in a lot of other artist's songs. She's done over ten collaborations as of 2001. Her biggest collaboration was the song she did with rap group Spontania. She then used that fame to push her career even further by releasing a duet with multicultural singer JAY'ED, that was also a huge hit in Japan. JAY'ED also gained fame from the song but he couldn't maintain it. Not like JUJU did anyway. She has now become one of Japan's best selling female solo artists. Her newest album is called "I" and it's her seventh album to date.
I didn't enjoy this album as much as I enjoyed her last album, WHAT YOU WANT. Honestly, even that album had a lot of tracks that could be skipped in my opinion. I pretty much is a snooze fest for most of it's playing's duration. JUJU is taking her music slower than her last album insert but her creativity is still there. It was hard not to imagine JUJU singing in dimly lit Karaoke bar in front of a small audience as a listened to the first six tracks. For one thing, when I mention her creativity, I'm not just talking about her musical production but her song writing abilities also. The women knows how to do a subject like love huge poetic justice most of the time. You can see why she has such a huge female fan base. I's tracks are composed of ballads that have lyrics any Japanese housewife and high school girl could listen too for emotional healing. These ballads are produced very well too. Each one focuses of giving JUJU's voice the emotional stage that it needs to ring true to the listener. She sounds very beautiful here. So where does that leave my negative thoughts on this album? I would say that they still exist because I don't like storytelling slow jam version of JUJU in such huge quantity. Jazz must be JUJU's playground because she excels in the genre. I'm a big fan of JUJU when she lets the saxophones, drums, horns, and guitars play a funky tune for listeners to swing too. WHAT YOU WANT had more opportunities to let her true self out but "I" tries hard to appeal to the masses in Japan by touching on a more ballad and pop style. Both of which I ended up skipping when listening to this album. Roll the Dice was the only track that reminded me of her last release. Believe Believe and Because of You were released as singles to promote the album before it hit stores. Believe Believe was an instant favorite for me and I love how she took the male vocal out of the album version(even though I loved the song with the male vocals). From track eight to the final track are the best tracks to me. I listened to these tracks all the way through without skipping them. They're fun tracks that are ones you will remember later on.
JUJU's low notes are so good. She sang in a lower register more on this album. Normally, she sings in a higher octave since she's a female and Japan loves it that way. Her low notes are totally from her love of Jazz though. I also love that she uses male background vocalists to sing with her. This really makes the harmonies stand out more because of the difference in vocals. The performance below sounds like JUJU was sick….. You can hear her straining to get the notes out…… The struggle was real.
Half of this album will have to take a hike off my iPod. The latter half of the album can stay. JUJU is still slaying in her own way and she has my respect for that.
Miike Takashi hasn't gotten much attention from the overseas market in a odd number of years. A fact that has changed because of the release of the live action adaption of Blade of the Immortal. I was surprised that Blade got a released in theaters outside of Japan(considering the ticket sales in Japan.). Miike's name being attached to this film might have been the main reason for the release in North America. You might know but if you don't, Miike has gained an occult following over the years for his films that range from bizarre to comiedic. Blade was originally a manga created by Samura Hiroaki who created the series from 1993 until 2012. The live action film has an all star cast of Kimura Takuya(Ex member of disbanded boyband SMAP), Sugisaki Hana, Toda Erika, Fukushi Sota, Kitamura Kazuki, and Kuriyama Chiaki. Japan's reaction to the film was not particularly good because the film was released around the time that long time beloved idol boyband SMAP decided to disband.
Blade of the Immortal looks just like every other Japanese samurai film expect for the immortality part. Japanese cinema lovers won't find anything new looking at the distant past of feudal Japan through the lens of this new storyline. My biggest driving force for watching Blade in live action formate was very simple: I had picked up the manga about a year ago on a whim and haven't put it down since then. Miike creates good films. I've watched a bunch of his films without even knowing that he was the one who was the mastermind behind the camera. However, I wouldn't have watched this film had it not been for my love for the manga itself. That caused my experience watching Blade to be different from other who watched this film and only saw a samurai film. Walking on pins and needles while watching made me feel emotional because I was waiting for there to be a slip up that would mess up the original story. Realization then sets in that liberty can be taken when making live action movies based the source material. Which is fine as long as the film still does the source material justice. The film covers only two arks of the manga. Not surprising considering the manga goes on for thirty one volumes. Events in the film don't stray away from the source work for a lot of the movie. Certain events that were edited or taken out completely had more to do with other characters's storylines. There wasn't enough time to add everything that happened in the original source work. Even without all the details added in, Blade is an easy breezy kind of film interns of pacing. Watching the two main characters go from one sword fight to the next made me realize that the two were never truly safe in the manga. The film moves at a constant fast pace most of the time. My only problem with the film is that there were two characters that I wish had been left out. Their appearance made the film seem incomplete somewhat especially when they have bigger background stories in the manga. These characters were there then suddenly vanished off the screen. Unless there's a plan to make more films. Blade of the Immortal the manga has more than enough material to make that happen.
Takuya and Hana's chemistry as the two leads lights up the screen. They both dig deep into their characters to find a romantic chemistry that the film isn't even calling for. Manji is a character that lives hell everyday. You would think that not being able to die would be a blessing but it's really not all that fun when you think of the consequences. Plus the blood worms put inside his body to keep him alive hurt him like hell when they heal him up. Add that on top of losing a loved one and you have our main character. Rin(Hana) hires Manji as her bodyguard to revenge the death of her parents. They end up being a team as they face enemies from different Dojos around Japan. It was a bit weird seeing Fukushi Sota as the villain but he seemed to understands the character well. I agreed with all the actors and actresses choices for the most part. Some of the actors looked so good in their roles, it was like they leaped off the page of the manga.
Blade is shot in a fashion that makes the action look real. Miike is a guy that loves for his films to be extremely bloody if you didn't know. This film isn't too over the top. Mike has really gone crazy with the red substance in the past but this film has a few very violent parts then that's it. In my opinion anyways….I might have become dull to the extent of violence... The samurai sword fights are decent looking with a select few parts of the action really making your eyes go wide. This film is no Rurouni Kenshin or Azumi in terms of sword action sequences though.
Overall, Blade of the Immortal is a film that I didn't feel like I wasted my hard earned money to see. I would watch this film again. I would also recommend it to a friend that enjoys Japanese samurai films. Fans of Japanese cinema won't want to miss out on this film either. I'm more satisfied than disappointed as a fan of the manga.
1. Clown 2. Carry on 3. Laugh now 4. Misty rain 5. Knock knock
I've been listening to BACK-ON since I was in middle school. It's literally been almost over a decade if you consider my history with them. This band has never really made it to the height that I felt that they deserved but they've had a top ten album on the Oricon Chart which I celebrated when I saw the achievement. BACK-ON is mostly known for providing songs for anime and being apart of 2008's group project called BAReeeeeeeeeeeeeN. Their frontman is married to popular singer, Kumi Koda. New Era is their first EP in a long while which was released digitally. The release actually feels kinda unexpected.
New Era signals a big sign that BACK-ON is ready to try something new. If you go back to listen to the band's older music, you will find that they have always added pop music into their group of hard rock numbers. They decide to go back to this pop style once again. Only this time they go all in head first. While they leave some of their hard rock elements such as the loud guitars behind, Tracks still sound very full and in charge. Carry On comes into your headphones as an electro pop number with enough keyboards to make you wonder if BACK-ON had this kind of ability in them all along. You might say to yourself that the absence of the hard rockers we are used to is alright until Laugh now starts to play, revealing that the hard rockers we know haven't left. Instead they are just evolving. Misty Rain becomes the album's slow number that hits in-between being created from the band's new style while containing traits from their old style as well. The track is equally poppy and rocker friendly. My favorite quality about BACK-ON's music is that I have always liked was the rap parts. There's not a lot of Japanese rock bands out there in Japan that have legit rapper. What I mean by legit is that he has bars by himself without BACK-ON backing him up. He is the extra spice to any BACK-ON song plus, he is on fire in this new EP! New Era is truly a new chapter for this band's artistry. I'm happy that them experimenting didn't mess up the sound they have crafted over the years.
The vocals sound more polished and slick than before. When BACK-ON first started their career, the lead singer didn't sing with much skill. Now he sings like he's been focusing more on singing better. Maybe he took vocal lessons.
I belive BACK-ON fans will easily add New Era to their collection. The EP is a quick listen for those who enjoy Jrock. I like some tracks more than others.
Track List: 01. 다시, 봄 (You Are My Spring) 02. 눈사람 (The Snowman) 03. 비가 온다 (It’s Raining) 04. 변명 (Excuses) 05. 사뿐 (Shall We Walk Together?) 06. 타임라인 (Timeline) 07. 제자리 (Still Here) 08. 오뚝이 (Tumbling Doll) 09. 바람 같은 노래를 (Singing Like A Wind) 10. 이 노래가 (At The End Of The Day)
Jung Seung Hwan was a contestant on the show, Kpop Star season 4 where he was praised by the judges for his original take on covers of other artists's songs. He didn't win that season but still got signed to a label and released his first mini album titled His Voice. This album is his first full length album from the singer.
Well, I won't sit here and tell you that I know Jung Seung Hwan that well. I'm not the type of person to watch Korean singing shows normally. So I don't know him as far as knowing his music in-depth. Some buzz has been forming around his album though. Mostly because South Korea's "little sister" also known as IU penned Jung's title track called The Snowman. IU has hit or miss music releases to me but I will say that I like how she wrote the song. Also, can we take the time to talk about how Jung Seung Hwan is EVERYTHING?! There's not even a need to have a paragraph talking about vocals on this post. Jung's vocals on his debut are that good. He waste no chances to show why he is here, gracing listeners with his strong honest vocals. The album isn't just an ballad album. Jung touches many different genres of music including rock, pop, and, RnB. This album is an album that had me jumping out of my chair, cheering along with clapping my hands. He can defiantly sing… I'll only imagine how good he was on Kpop Star if he is this good now. I don't care too much for the second single(Its Raining) used to promote this album. Its Raining sounds too much like a typical Korean ballad you hear everywhere in Korea. As a listener of a lot of Korean music, I look for music that can be better than what's already out there right now. And Spring uses some of the typical cliche Korean ballad traits especially since the only forgiving grace for The Snowman is those notes he hits at bridge towards the end of the song….. Well, ok. I'll admit that the song itself has a pretty melody, making it rememberable. These traits don't stop Jung from moving to the next level of music creativity though. Many of the tracks on the album remind me constantly of IU's music production. The acoustic guitar adds a sadness to lyrics about waiting for the one you love because the guitar by itself creates a lonely sound depending on how the instrument is played. Transitions to RnB or Pop music doesn't hurt his voice at all. Jung has the vocal capability to singer whatever kind of music he wants. He's following in the foot steps of other Korean legends such as Kim Bum Soo and Lee Seung Chul. Both of whom branch out to different genres of music from time to time, away from the Korean ballad formula.
Jung Seung Hwan has my vote as one of the top singers today in Korea. He doesn't let labels define what music he should be doing. I like that a lot. I'm afraid to listen to his first mini album. That album might not be as good as this one.
Napping Princess is a Japanese animation film produced by Signal.MD studio and Kenji Kamiyama(Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East) directed and wrote the film's script. At the time of the film's release, it reached ninth place in Japan. The films popularity also spawned a spin off short film that will I hopefully get the chance to see soon. Gkids licensed the film for North American release on Blu-ray and DVD.
A teenage girl enters a world where she is the princess of an entire kingdom when she naps. People she knows when she is awake appear in this world too but what is this world? And how is she related?
Viewers will probably write this film off as a Your Name spin off right from the start. I can't really blame you either. While the film doesn't unfold in the order that Your Name did, there are some contained qualities that are similar to the smash hit film. One of them being the concept of sleep being a tunnel for fantasy action that sparks the conflict for the film. However, I will assure you that Napping Princess creates it's own unique path to take. A plot that has a very mysterious flare was create from the idea of imagination…. That's all I will say without giving too much away but what lies in the core of all the fantasy is family drama. This carries the plot's progression without being overly sappy or mediocre. The interactions between the characters are pretty realistic causing viewers that came for the action/fantasy to stay for the emotion. Our characters already have solidly built personalities before the film got the chance to do the character building for them. The main character is strong willed in the face of all her family's past progressions but the script makes sure to leave room for more growth as she looks for answers. The Villain was… comedy relief most of the time. Is it bad that I worried more about the conflict with the family than I did about the bumbling Villain? I kept watching to find the answers to the questions that I had based on how the plot started. My mind had a hint of confusion. Not the bad kind of confusion. Confusion that gets you excited because you want to find more information to the questions you seek. Napping Princess threw my movie watching experience for a loop. The loop is a fun ride though.
The art style reminds me less of Ghost in the Shell and more of other anime films like Summer Wars. Even the character designs along with the drawn scenery gave off a Summer Wars vide. This isn't a bad thing overall since I love that that youthful formula that brings the drawings alive.
I would recommend watching this film if you enjoy anime films. It's not the best anime film out there. You will enjoy the emotionally driven storyline and the action the film has to offer.
