period asian dramas and movies I've watched(pretty much for mousie

[meganbmoore]

dangermousieasked me about this at her LJ, and since it's WAY too long for a reply...

*cracks knuckles*

OK, pretty much everything here probably has tags and picspams at my LJ(actually, I'm pretty sure they all do, if not at my LJ, then at

dorama_chat)...

 

Emperor of the Sea is AWESOME, but I'll warn you now, as much as I like the OTP, the most compelling part of the series is the relationship between the heroine and the other man, and I actually have a VERY soft spot for the hero and the daughter of his mentor, who loves him(he loves and respects her, but it's not romantic love, but rather the platonic love for a woman who he admires and respects as an individual and who is the daughter of the one he admires the most.  As much as I likes Bogo and Jung Hwa's "eternal undying love" bit, part of me wished they'd met the others BEFORE meeting each other and then everyone could be happy instead of living out their lives in love deprived angst.  It's very long, but very compelling and I don't think there was a single character who didn't interest me on some level.

Even though I don't talk about it as much as others, Musashi is flatout my favorite. The fights are sometimes a little fake, but it's beautiful and excellently done.  The OTP doesn't spend a lot of time together, but they were excellent as the entire point of their love was that even if they were never able to see each other again, the fact that the other was out there somewhere was enough for them to keep going(don't worry, it's a rough road, but they're together in the end) One way that it differs from the book(which I STILL need to get), though is that it doesn't have the Musashi/Otsu/Kojiro triangle...instead, Kojiro is involved in a love triangle that's actually pretty interesting, though it made me want to shake him at times(I think there are a lot of posts on Musashi at my LJ)  It also gave me a new appreciation for Japanese arts...it actually had me staring in fascination at making those illustrated sliding doors.  The epilogue made me sad, though...not the "how could you do that lets ruin the happy ending" kind but the "we know they'll both die eventually but couldn't we just leave it with them escaping and going off to live in peace instead of cutting to many decades later?" kind.

I have but haven't watched Yoshitsune yet, but I shall soon(maybe we should squee over it together?  Or Spring Waltz...I have that too...)  Seven Swordsmen is excellent, but may be too plotting for you in large doses.  Hwang Jin Yi is ALMOST as good as Damo and EotS and is the only dorama to almost tap out my angst meter in the good way(in fact, I think a lot of why I've had trouble getting into doramas the last few months is because I'm worried nothing can live up to it.  Two good romantic comedies are the cdramas Lost in the Chamber of Love and The Gentle Crackdown. Chinese Paladin is more fantasy than historical, but I think you'll like it(though I suspect you'll be like me and get annoyed with the heroine...but the rest more than makes up for her)

*moves on to movies*

What is this "Untold Scandal" thing?

You HAVE seen Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers, right?  If not, put them high on your list.  You'd probably love Hero, too.

Shinobi is pretty good, Musa is excellent, Shadowless Sword is good and stars Commander Hwangbo Yoon as the hero. I adore Iron Monkey(which has Donnie Yen) The Banquet isn't the best thing ever, but it has some great visuals and is very interesting. Hmm..Blood Rain was interesting and very good, but probably not your thing, and graphic enough that I doubt I'll rewatch it myself. Sword in the Moon is good, but a little caught up in it's cinematography and themes...I spent the first half wondering if war had driven the angsty rebel mute.

Some of the historical doramas that are in my backlog that I haven't gotten to yet but can move up the list to at least check out if you're curious are Shinsengumi, Toshiie and Matsu, Oh Oku, Guts of Man, Handsome Siblings, Lethal Weapon of Passion and Love, Magical SWord of Heaven and Earth(actually, I checked out the first ep and wasn't grabbed, but then, it was about a week after finishing Hwang Jin Yi, so saying it bored me is probably unfair) Next/Rebirth(actually, a reincarnation tale with the main story in the present day and flashbacks to several other periods in the lovers' previous lives) and Strange Tales of Zhai Laiozhai.  And for movies, Azumi 2(meant to buy 1 and accidentally got 2-ONLY reason Oguri Shun with a sword hasn't been devoured by my eyes yet) Chun Hyang, Dragon Inn(also with Donnie Yen, though I understand his role is...odd), Fearless, Forbidden Quest, The Emperor and the Assassin(hasn't been watched for the same reason I haven't watched Seven Samurai yet...big time investment for a subtitled movie) and Seven Swords.

*phew*
*checks flist and goes back to her anime*

Comments

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I've seen CTHD, Hero, HOFD, Chunhyang, The Promise, Empreor & Assassin and Seven Swords. The rest sound awesome, thanks!