derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

Mawang (마왕)

After almost a week I managed to finish the Korean drama “Mawang.” I am not too fond of Korean dramas, but I decided to watch this because TBS is going to show a Japanese version of this, carrying the title Maou, and since I am anticipating that, I decided to familiarize myself with the plot. For the summary, please go here.

I think the over-all plot for the drama is really good. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s emotional. I just don’t like the idea that there are too many characters in the drama and the way they were introduced are a bit too abrupt, if not their appearance weren’t too smooth. It’s kind of like you’re watching the show and in around episodes 4-5 another one person appears and we kind of don’t know why they’re there, even though their appearances kind of suggest us that they’re a vital part of the story.

I like the detective’s character more than the lawyer’s, for some reason. Feeling ko nakakainis umarte yung lawyer dito. He looks cunning, for sure, pero medyo nakakainis siya. I guess I just kind of liked him during the last parts of the story where he was able to show that he’s having second thoughts about his plans, or at least, he is kind of satisfied with what he has done already. The most annoying character here is the stuttering nerd, ha ha. I think he’s more scary than annoying pa nga, but that only means the actor played his character really well.

There are too many flashbacks too. I’m not really a fan of flashbacks so it’s kind of annoying. But I think in general the show was well-made. Just my personal quirks, I guess. Oh, and BTW, I think it’s too long.

Himitsu no Hanazono (ヒミツの花園)

I like the shoujo feel on it. The show is more like a “trendy” drama for me but I like the romantic tension between the lead character and the two brothers. I’m happy that there are a lot of familiar-looking and good actors here. I particularly like the main character and Hongo Kanata here.

Jigoku Shoujo (地獄少女)

Maganda yung premise. Medyo weird scenarios. For some reason gusto ko yung idea na yung nag-plot ng revenge will go to hell eventually, pero it kind of annoys me the fact that they prefer the instant “sense of justice” brought to them by the Jigoku Shoujo. Wala lang. I like the cast though, even though hindi ko siya ma-base sa anime or sa manga since I haven’t checked any of them yet.

4 Shimai Tantei Dan (姉妹探偵団)

Hindi ko alam bakit 4 sisters, eh yung youngest sister (played by Kaho) lang naman yung nagso-solve ng case. I like the premise of the story, and was thrilled to see that a lot of familiar Japanese actors were there. Also, I like the idea of implied May-December romance here between Sasamoto Yuriko (Kaho) and Inspector Kunimoto.

The cases aren’t really different (kapareho lang ng ibang detective-style dramas na napanood ko na), but I still like the show nonetheless.

Sexy Voice and Robo (セクシーボイスアンドロボ)

April ko pa ‘to dapat pinanood kaso tinamad ako, he he. The premise is interesting, but somehow the first episode kept me from maintaining my distance towards the show. And when I watched the remaining episodes parang boring pa rin. I liked Matsuyama Ken’ichi’s acting here though. Nadala niya yung character ng pagiging eccentric otaku.

Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー)

Despite of its departure to the canon (although not that much, and I can pretty much understand why; after all they only have 11 episodes), Honey and Clover is undeniably the best tear-jerking, mind-provoking and inspiring drama ever.

The Files of Young Kindaichi 2 (金田一少年の事件簿 2)

Finished watching season two of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo. Of course the cases focus more on murders pero I really liked how the stories were executed. I also like the romance part between Kindaichi and Miyuki here. Kamukha ni Domoto si Sakurai Sho (and considering that pareho silang Johnny’s performers, this is quite amusing). I also like the humor in this show. Medyo creepy nga lang yung stories, although it’s creepier than the third season (with Matsumoto Jun, another Johnny’s). Siguro dahil na rin dun sa quality ng videos, medyo luma kasi.

Ushi ni Negai wo LOVE & Farm (牛に願いを Love & Farm)

I like this show! I thought that making a show about the country life is really good, although based from the first episode I already got an idea what to expect from the characters. It’s a bit predictable I guess, but I like the story nonetheless. Also I am happy to see familiar faces (i.e. Nakamura Shido, Toda Erika and Koide Keisuke).

What’s nice about this show I guess is that despite of the reasons that inspired this drama, it really does not pretend to solve everything. I can also relate to the characters, albeit they’re agriculture majors, because they are about my age and are students themselves. So yeah. I like this show.

Galileo (ガリレオ)

Addicting. I guess that’s one way to describe this show. The actual format is quite predictable, as it is a detective / crime / mystery drama, but the way it was presented is a bit different. The main character (played by Fukuyama Masaharu) is actually a physicist and the female protagonist (portrayed by Shibasaki Kou) is a rookie cop. I just like the way how ‘educational’ this show is because the show is brimming with scientific knowledge.

I adored Shibasaki Kou here. I’ve seen her in Maison de Himiko before (didn’t notice her in Battle Royale though lol) and I really like the way she portrayed the role. You can actually see and feel that she internalized the role really well. Her expressions were well-shown but not exaggerated to the point that her character’s being a caricature. And of course, Fukuyama Masaharu had an amazing performance as Prof. Yukawa/Galileo.

This show will make you like physics. Seriously.

Detective Academy Q (探偵学園Q)

Ang saya ng show na ‘to. I really like detective / mystery TV series kaya I tried watching this. This time though the lead characters are teenagers. Despite that, the show emphasized the idea of deductive reasoning and investigation instead of having the kids really rely on gadgets. Even though one of them is the tech genius, he’s usually focused on programming and using the internet to investigate. Nothing fancy, but the show seemed really real.

I think the only part of the show that seemed ‘fake’ is the actual use of hypnosis. Or maybe I’m just skeptical because I really don’t believe in it.