Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist

Haven't done live action reviews in a while and this is a backlog post. Sorry about that!

Anyway, I'm not going to do a full-blown review because this series is so short, anything too descriptive might be too...spoiler-y. What I'm going to say is this: If you had your childhood destroyed by the 1994 live-action Street Fighter movie, this rebuilds your childhood and takes it to the greatest of heights.

At first, I had my misgivings about Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist despite seeing a very promising trailer in its Kickstarter page. But private backers resulted in it being pulled out of Kickstarter (thank goodness!) and I was not disappointed. The casting was perfect. (My first thought was: Oh, wow, they found a Ken who actually looks hot even when he seems like he is in dire need of a bath.)

And the story, though short -- it's a 14-episode series with 10 minutes run time per episode -- was very cohesive. Though I've seen some people complain about not seeing their favorite Street Fighter characters, I find that it leaves just enough for one season.

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist revolves around the origin of Gouki and Gouken, plus the development of Ryu and Ken's relationship as brothers-in-arms. If you're not after the story, which, by the way, is as close to the game as it can possibly get (with a few compromises here and there), you'd have lots to enjoy from the fight scenes as well.

Anyway, don't just take my word for it. Go and watch it! This indie effort needs a lot of support and it has already proven that it can deliver. They also work quite fast, as they been showing some indications that they're already working on the second season.

You can watch the playlist through this:

Kanna's Big Success!

劇場版　カンナさん大成功です！
Kanna-san, Daiseikou Desu!

GENRE: Romance, Comedy
Directed by: Koichi Inoue
Written by: Yuko Matsuda, Yumiko Suzuki (mangaka)
Actors: Yu Yamada, Shizuyo Yamazaki, Aoi Nakabeppu, Akira Nagata, Hitomi Sato, Takashi Kashiwabara, Yuko Asano
2009 Hexagon Pictures

Firesenshi's Description:
Kanna Kannazuki (Yu Yamada) is a bijin/美人 (a pretty girl) who, after being maligned in her past as a "fat and ugly" girl, took out all of her life's savings (a whopping 4 million yen) to give herself a comprehensive head-to-toe makeover. But even after her makeover, she realizes that she must do everything in order to become a believable "natural" beauty. Such is supported by her company's beauty and top management protege Reiko Sumidagawa (Aoi Nakabeppu) in order for her to snag Kousuke (Akira Nagata), the only handsome guy who was ever kind to her during her "ugly" years.

Joining forces with Reiko and a formerly maligned "ugly" co-worker, whom she and Reiko endearingly call Kabako / Hippo girl (Shizuyo Yamazaki). Kanna initially has some great successes advancing herself in a highly competitive career in fashion, having surrounded herself with "natural beauties" who do not know of her secret. That is until envy among the ranks of these powerful beauties threaten to reveal this secret to the public.

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Mindless fun with a moral lesson. >>> by firesenshi
It was one in the morning and I was ready to sleep until I caught this showing on the Asian channel. Yu Yamada, Japan's supermodel by right of being exclusive to its top teen magazine Cancam, plays Kanna. Yu Yamada was a delightful surprise as I saw her strut on the street as a former "ugly" girl trying on her new "pretty girl shoes" and falling flat on her face in front her biggest crush. Now, I didn't expect former models to be good at acting. But Yu Yamada actually delivered as a pretty klutzy yet lovable lead as expected from a Japanese comedy. (If you don't know yet, the Japanese are excellent at purposely shallow comedies and have a penchant for making an art form out of it that makes its audience satisfied with crazy laughter in the end.)

The first part of the story seems a little boring as the flashback of Kanna's "ugly" past was shown in claymation. (As in, they really look the cartoon Bob the Builder.) But this quickly eased out to focus on Kanna's transition into the "pretty girl world." It was a world that Kanna truly and deeply aspired to be in, enough to save 4 million yen for her transformation. She stalked the beautiful Reiko and took down notes on Reiko's every action. (For example, "Pretty girls don't have to apologize." Or "Pretty girls don't have to pay.") She took notes until she has compiled the seven principles of pretty girls and posted this in her apartment like some sort of vision board. Yes, Kanna is fully engrossed in becoming a pretty girl! Yet instead of acquiring Reiko's effortless poise and grace, all she effortlessly does is trip in front of cute Kosuke and greet visitors with exaggerated speech and diction. Oh yes, I find it amusing that Yu Yamada, who in real life is a "natural beauty," has managed to act out how truly difficult it is to transition into the "pretty girl world." (Who woulda thunk?) It is in these parts where we see that Kanna, even though she is now a pretty girl, still wanted to use her 'powers' for good instead of using them to become a diva.

Whether it is by sheer luck or the inner pureness of heart that led Kanna Kannazuki to instant success, you will still cheer for her through all this. I cheered for Kanna to get together with Kosuke. I cheered for Kanna even as she ran in her high heels like a drunk giraffe!

Come to think of it, I didn't find any annoying character in this movie. I loved them all, even as they exaggerated their roles. (Emphasis is part of the wit...and sarcasm.) Plus, everyone is really pretty up to the top cougar boss. Kanna's love interest Kosuke is a very cute, kind-hearted, salaryman, who's just the right type of simpleton, beloved by Kanna just by being kind. (Isn't it great that love is really simple in comedies?) The other guys such as Kosuke's senpai and second-in-command Yuki are also cute so there's a lot of eye candy that should be enough to watch the movie. (Right?)

The movie also manages to break stereotypes. Reiko of course, despite playing the role as the naturally blessed beauty, is the token 'non-bitch.' You know, all the other women in fashion where Kanna and Reiko work are bitches who revel in their style and position. (They even have a special sequence where they enter the building in runway style, led by the chief executive cougar boss played by Yuko Asano, who channels a Japanese Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada.) But of course, Reiko is that one person who's beautiful inside and out who must beat the stereotype. (Let me add, though, that Yuko Asano's rendering as top cougar boss is in a class of its own. She has her own presence, that of a cool sophisticate who cares less about her adoring public and yet has a sequenced and stylized bowing ceremony from her subordinates when she enters the meeting room.)

The other gem to beat the stereotype is Kabako (Hippo-girl), who I thought at first was a man, as she looked like Filipino comedian Michael V in drag. (Sorry.) But as it turns out, Shizuyo Kanazaki is a top comedienne. You will love her here as she undergoes her own transformation and play as the only umm...hippo-girl in the friendship.

But let me end with a contrary disclaimer: Don't expect too much. I actually didn't, which is why I thoroughly enjoyed it. My raves are all about getting enough amusement from the characters and the comedic timing that I didn't expect from its actors. What I mean is that this is not a life-changing rom-com. It's clear, mindless fun with a moral lesson which was enough to make me finish it until 4 am.

Note: This is based on the manga of the same name by Yumiko Suzuki. A Korean movie based on the manga entitled 200 pound Beauty was also made prior to this Japanese movie. I have heard good things about the Korean movie too.

Individual Rating: Casting 8; Story 7; Characters 8; Sounds 7

Hana Yori Dango (TV Dorama)

GENRE: Shoujo Dorama (Romance, Comedy)
Directed by: Yasuharu Ishii
Actors: Mao Inoue, Jun Matsumoto, Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda, Tsuyoshi Abe
2005 Katsuaki Setoguchi, Tokyo Broadcasting System

Amazon.com Product Description:
Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, the school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by Flower 4 or F4, a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa, the leader and heir of the Domyoji World Finance Group; Hanazawa Rui, the introverted son of a large company; Nishikado Sojiro, a player who is the heir of a tea ceremony school; and Mimasaka Akira, a madam killer with ties to the underground. If a student gets on the F4's bad side, he/she gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school. Makino hopes to pass her days quietly -- without drawing any attention to herself -- but one day, she stands up to Domyoji in defense of her friend. The next day, Makino gets the dreaded red notice. Even though she is harassed, Makino decides to keep going to school because she is a "tough weed". She declares war right back on the F4. Her resolve gets the attention of her crush Hanazawa Rui and oddly enough, rouses romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyoji Tsukasa.

Season 1: 9 Episodes
Season 2: 11 Episodes

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Best depiction. Ever. >>> by skysenshi
Ok, this is the very first Dorama review in this entire site. It took me years to decide. I actually didn't want to put anything that isn't animé-ish in here but I believe the Japanese anime fandom has already -- long long ago -- reached a point that it embraced everything Japanese. I first almost faltered with Gokusen. But I'm giving in because...who can resist Hana Yori Dango??

I have actually reviewed the Taiwanese version's soundtrack back in 2003, and I remember making a few comments regarding the actual series. Taiwan's Hana Yori Dango, by the way, is Meteor Garden. (I'm not quite sure if the Chinese did an on-yomi reading of the title and ended up with that weird Taiwanese name.) There are many differences between the Taiwanese and the Japanese dorama that struck me. The most noticeable is that, despite the better looking actors of Meteor Garden, Hanadan's F4 are actually more accomplished as thespians.

I have my favorites in both series, so I was already thinking that if I were to form the best F4, they would be: Matsujun (Hallo? Is there any other choice for Domyouji??), Vic Zhou (the first time I saw him, I knew he was Rui), Ken Chu (I'm biased, I have been crushing on this dude since forever), and Tsuyoshi Abe (best-looking Akira, hands-down). Mao Inoue as Tsukushi Makino was a good decision. She captures the essence of the manga character with such precision that it really awed me. (I thought Barbie Hsu was too pretty and delicate for the role.)

Casting is Hana Yori Dango's strongest point. Though I did not feel butterflies in my stomach the way I did with the anime and Meteor Garden -- which I'm attributing to my overexposure to the story -- I observed that the characters were so well-portrayed.

Another powerful element of Hanadan was its story-telling. I quickly noted the differences from the anime and Meteor Garden. Apparently, the writers chose to concentrate on unexplored aspects of the manga, which I had never finished. This was a good move since it kept Hanadan from becoming Domyouji-centered, the way Meteor Garden had been.

The Rui-Makino-Domyouji love triangle had been developed so well that I found myself just as confused as Makino. In the anime, I had rooted for Tsukasa Domyouji. In this dorama, I couldn't believe that I actually wanted Rui to have a fighting chance, even if the actor isn't as hot as Vic Zhou. Shun Oguri is really good at being Rui, which is saying a lot, considering my fondness for Matsujun, who plays Domyouji.

What I like best is how relationships were fleshed out, and people get to see what happens to the other members of F4. They actually have lives! They don't revolve around Domyouji and Makino the way Meteor Garden's F4 did. It's really a shame because cutie Ken Chu as Soujiro could have had juicier scenes.

People might also be happy to know that the second season is actually powerful. The intensity stemming from complex relationships remained consistent all throughout, unlike in Meteor Garden where all Makino did was cry to "All By Myself" in every episode. (That was annoying.)

Both soundtracks for Season 1 and 2 are gripping. Season 1's Planetarium by Ai Otsuka is so adorable that I feared it would be hard to match. Good thing they brought in Hikaru Utada for Season 2's Flavor of Life. You definitely cannot go wrong with Hikki singing in the background. Hehe.

Ok, I will be a girl here and rave about the women's clothes. Anyone who has been immersed in the anime would probably agree that its fashion was so so so so bad. It seemed to have caught the tail-end of the most horrible styling phase of the 90s.

So you can probably imagine how delighted I was when I saw Makino's numerous boots. Of course, it doesn't make sense that she'd have a lot of totemo kawaii footwear since she's supposed to be dirt poor. But allow me to suspend my disbelief and just bask in their glory.

I also love how the older women (they're ALL so darned gorgeous!) assemble their outfits. Very tasteful and classy but very far from matronly. It's been five years since this series aired yet the ensembles seem to have stood the test of time.

Individual Rating: Casting 9; Story 10; Characters 10; Sounds 10