Legend of Lu Zhen (Female Prime Minister) 2013

Legend of Lu Zhen

To escape her cruel stepmother, Lu Zhen enters the palace as an attendant. She was quickly promoted through the ranks for her pottery-making skill. During this time, she captures the heart of crown prince Gao Zhan. However, she can never be with him as social status and jealous enemies work against her at every turn. She devotes herself to politics and helps Gao Zhan defeat a coup d'etat. Though Gao Zhan can not make her his wife, he bestows her with the highest position in the land, the female prime minister.

I really liked this Ancient Chinese Series, which is not quite political or a harem drama but has aspects of both. It largely deals with the romance of our two lead characters and some of the supporting characters too. As the synopsis eludes to Lu Zhen has to deal with the issues of why she has to leave home and enter the palace and what happens when she enters the palace and tries to work her way through the dangers and politics of being in the palace.

Zhao Liying as Lu Zhen

I liked the relationship between Lu Zhen and Gao Zhan.  Initially the chemistry didn't really come across but it changes when it seemed like the actress became more comfortable with her co-star and the story. Also their were other relationships that I liked, though some of them did not get a lot of focus. One was between Gao Zhan and is older brother Gao Yan, they had a good relationship and wanted the best for each other but you knew that Gao Zhan could not be completely forthcoming with his brother because Empress Dowager Lou killed his mother, changed Xiao Huanyun's marriage and was also responsible for the Emperor never getting well and numerous attempts to murder Gao Zhan and Lu Zhen.  The relationship that finally developed between Gao Yan and Xiao Huanyun was also nice considering everything they went through. Danniang and Yuan Lu were a nice fun relief to some of the tension.  Also is was good that both Lu Zhen and Gao Zhan had a nice small group of people that they considered friends and could often go to.  Though, Shen Jiayan was for both. 

Chen Xiao as Gao Zhan

I think most of the actors did a good job with their roles.  Yang Rong, who was in Swordman with Chen Xiao.  I did not even realize it was her until I saw her picture out of costume and I thought she looked familiar. 

Yang Rong as Xiao Huanyun

I really liked the costumes.  They were bright and well done.  There was so many that I just wanted to wear if only once.   Although, I like a lot of Ancient Chinese costumes, I often think most of them are not practical unless you are just sitting around with attendants for everything, but the costumes that Lu Zhen wore especially when she was outside the palace looked very nice and practical.  Although I did notice that the costumes for being in the palace always had more colorful and decorated than those worn when outside in the world. Some off the colors were a bit much or to me seemed to clash.  The scenes were also nice, though the sets at times seemed repetitive .

Qiao Yinliang as Gao Yan

I also really liked the opening theme, Treasure (Cherish) by Li Yu Chun.  I listened to it endlessly even before watching the show.

Xuehua as Empress Dowager Lou

Below are somethings that contain spoilers so be warned.

There were somethings that I thought were funny when watching. An example was the scene when Lu Zhen is running away from the forced weeding and runs into Gao Zhan.  We see how the scene cuts from here flying backwards with her hands untied then suddenly when they are face to face it is suddenly tied again.  Besides this scene there is the scene with the yellow flower that is later mirror with Shen Jiayan though these never went anywhere.

Tang Yixi as Shen Bi

In the beginning we see that Lu Zhen helps her father with the business, which is why she is so knowledgable about pottery and accounting.  What I did not understand was her insistence on not getting.  I could understand that she wanted to continue doing some king of work and be reliable, but where did she get the idea that women were completely equal to men and that she did not need to get married because there was no one or anything in her environment or upbringing that even alluding to this idea.  I know they wanted to show here to be more independent and unique from the other woman but some of it did not make sense.

Wu Jinhao as Danniang

(I really like the simple hanfu Danniang is wearing. I want to own it)

There were also times when I did not like Lu Zhen, such as when she be angry that things were not fair when she got help and assistance that no one else.  There was also the issue of social class and how she always brought up the issue that Gao Zhan was looking down on her because of it when he had not brought up the issue.  Plus what she did to Ling Long was upsetting. If she just took 5 minutes, so much would have been resolved.   This also includes incidents with Shen Bi, particular the pregnancy arc.  Lu Zhen knew that Gao Zhan had been set up but she acted like he had forced himself on Shen Bi. Despite that I did understand when she was arguing with Gao Zhan when he wanted her just to stop working an marry him. I also wondered why they created such a strong tension around her hand when later it never was really an issue. She still wrote up edicts and carved pottery.  Lu Zhen had always wanted to contribute and work so it was nice that this was something she fought to get Gao Zhan to understand. 

Li Yixiao as Gao Xiang

Towards the end I think the story was resolved nicely for the most part.  It was sad how Lady Lou was complete abandoned and thrown out by the Empress Dowager Lou.  I was surprised just how Lu Zhen and even Gao Zhan thought Shen Bi was some king of victim.  Shen Bi knew what she was doing and thought nothing of it because she thought she was better than other.  Shen Bi kept saying she loved Gao Zhan but I don't think she ever really stopped to care of his feeling.  It's sad what happened to her in the end, but she knew that Empress Dowager Lou didn't care about abandoning her own niece, what did she think would happen to her. 

Gao Yan and Xiao Huanyun had a tragic end though they were a good couple and their son gets to live and be Emperor.  Although the title Female Prime Minister was advertised, she only becomes it at the end and we never see her actually do anything in that role. 

I have to say I really like an appreciate when there are really emotion and display of love in Ancient Chinese series. There were real kisses here not those petrified barely touch frozen lips, but then why did they just quickly pull away. 

I was also a little disappointed with how they ended the story. I did not know there was any magic in this show because the Empress Dowager Lou just got engulfed by the sacrificial flame and disappeared. Where did she go? Gao Yan, Xiao Huanyun and even Danniang had this devastating, critical meaningful death but Gao Zhan just died. Not that it wasn't sad that Lu Zhen lives 15 more years with most of her loved ones not around but I felt there would have been a scene where Gao Zhan is fighting to hold on but his body is giving out.  Lu Zhen also doesn't want him to leave and he doesn't want to leave because she says she will soon join him. But finally she tells him to let go and rest and that she would be joining him soon

This story was inspired by a real woman in Chinese history. While trying to research the real person I found that Lu Lingxuan is probably the inspiration for Lu Zhen.  Lu Lingxuan seemed to be the inspiration for Lu Zhen not only in name but also time period being Northern Qi and being a wet nurse to Gao Wei.  At the end Lu Zhen had adopted Gao Wei, Gao Yan and Xiao Huanyun's son.   Also there was no emperor named Gao Zhan and Gao Yan was actually Gao Wei's brother. Aside from being a lady in waiting and becoming a lady of commandery, Lu Lingxuan was actually to be devious and for a brief moment her husband had been Emperor.  Despite all this I did not find any info that stated that Lu Lingxuan was actually named Female Prime Minister.  However, I did find some information on an archaeological dig from 2013 that speak of Shangguan Wan'er who served China's first Female Emperor Wu Zetian and married her son.  Shangguan Wan'er effectively took on the role of Prime Minister, although this was during the Tang Dynasty. 

  

Tokyo Ghoul (Anime)

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul tells the story of Kaneki Ken, who barely survives a deadly encounter with Rize Kamishiro, a woman who reveals herself as a ghoul, a human-like creature that hunts and devours human flesh, and is taken to the hospital in critical condition. After recovering, Kaneki discovers that somehow he underwent a surgery that transformed him into a half-ghoul, and just like them, must consume human flesh to survive as well. With no one else to turn to, he is taken in by the ghouls who manage the coffee shop "Anteiku", who teach him to deal with his new life as a half-human/half-ghoul, including interacting with ghoul society and its conflicting factions, while striving to keep his identity secret from other humans.

I felt that the show had a great hook. The situation of Kaneki getting turned into a half ghoul and looses his sense of taste. The scene when he is trying to force himself to eat his favorite food that was bought for him by his only true friend that, who he has been hiding from was done well.

Another thing about Kaneki's initial change that I liked and was well that were the habits that he had that he continued to fall back on. I felt that was realistic, because sometimes when a character suddenly gets turned into another creature suddenly they have all the ticks and habits without anytime  having past even though they are still their old self (in terms of memory at least).

I felt that the creation of the Tokyo in this world was a little weak.  This Tokyo is suppose to be contemporary to ours except that they have ghouls.  This knowledge of these creature is not in anywhere new.  From some of the news programs that we see talk of ghouls is a fact of this world, they even know how ghouls taste buds work just as we do our own. But I was taken aback by the fact at how everyone reacted to any news of a ghoul attack.  Sure it was not anything they had not heard of before, but there no established things that showed that it was a normal aspect of this world. I mean, usually when there was news of a robbery or some danger near my school for example, security would issue a message about a curfew, buddy system, getting home earlier, walking on lighted and crowed street etc. Yet here you don't here any saying "oh, we will have to leave work early because of that ghoul attack downtown. Do you want to walk home together?” 

Or people thinking I need to get my whittle, pepper spray and stun gun or shop putting on sale items that are affective against ghouls, whatever those maybe. Only time we get something like this is from Kamishiro Rize, but we find that was just a ploy, but at least. But what things other than the special anti-ghoul force (doves) and in one episode we heard that people could inform on suspected ghouls and that some hospital test to reveal you to be a ghoul. However, they did also mention that those could be forged. 

Kamishiro Rize aka Binge Eater

I really liked the action and fight scenes besides the ultraviolet color invert for censorship (then why make it at all).

Kirishima Touka

One idea that the show raises that I found really interesting was that ghouls don’t eat human flesh just to be evil but that it is the only thing in existence that allows them to live. I mean humans are able to get nutritions from so many different sources, but this is there only source for ghouls. This basic necessary function to live, they can only get if from human flesh. What happens when there are two living things who are intelligent and can communicate in the same language but one can only live by eating the other?

I had quite a few scenes that I liked throughout the show.  I think initial as part of what hooked me was when Kaneki was being taken to the operating room. You hear a doctor and nurse talking. The nurse don't want to operate but you know when they mention not having guardian approval is not the main problem. Just the audition sound of protest the nurse make, you can just feel that what ends happening to Kaneki is not an accident or was done out of desperation to save him. it sounding that that doctor knew that he was transplanting a ghoul organ into a human.

Kimi & Nishiki

Another good scene was the fight scene when they go to save Kimi's life. The messages of having empathy and that connections can be formed between people and races that can seem to be so apart that they have nothing in common.

A couple (if you will, teacher/pupil) that had good connection and scenes together were Amon and Mado. Although most of the time Mado came across like he was crazy, he was a genius and when he talked he knew what he was talking about. Their relationship and those we see with the ghouls conveyed the idea that everyone forms bonds. Whether they ghoul, or some that society might consider normal. 

Mado & Amon

Hinami's lost of her parents was crushing. But what was incredible about her character and how strong and wise beyond her years and something that is admirable was that she did not become bitter and hungered for nothing for revenge.  In the sewers, she had lost her parents to Mado and Touka to was about to be killed, but she was just in pain and had not tired bitter to thinking all humans were evil and she wanted to kill them all.  It was also hard warmer when we saw that she had inherited both her parents powers, so they both would continue to live in her and protect her. 

Hinami

There is a argue that Kaneki as with Amon when trying to stop from going where Touka and Hinami.  Kaneki comes to the realization that all his life he has been a good person and has done the right thing and yet look at where he has ended up. Amon's argument is that the world would be fine, that there would be no children left behind if all ghouls were gone and that's why he is a dove yet he doesn't see that Hinami, a child too is left alone because of what humans have done. Kaneki can see that he is not the one who is wrong because as a person he was good, he did the right and as a ghoul as well and yet each side ghoul and human reflect each others pain, happiness and bonds and yet they have set out to destroy to each other, without seeing any of these.

One curious thing was that, why did Touka not even think that Amon and the other special forces had family? I mean when she attacked the Amon and the other two they were hanging out together. Yet it is only after she saw Mado's weeding ring that she was like 'oh, they have family too?' I wonder because her initial reaction seemed like she recognized the ring, as if she had seen it before.

These last scenes I didn't like because of what was happening but about the message it was trying to send. Kaneki's torture and realization, I think were quite powerful.  I believe he comes to realize that someone will end up getting hurt or will be at some disadvantage sometimes whether you want it or not.  The scenes were Kaneki was being cut up by Jason and forced to count so that he was always conscious of the pain.   Kaneki had his mother's mentality that it was always better for you to hurt than for someone else.  I think it was good how Rize-san was there to challenge this mentality and it helps Kaneki question, face and grow through his pain.  Kaneki saw how because of her mother belief she ended up not wanting to hurt her sister by refusing to give and instead she ending hurting herself, which led to her death and left Kaneki all alone. 

I liked it that Kaneki over comes his mom’s mentally of it's better for only you to hurt, and Rize-san mentally of just hurting others and formed one that is more balance and healthier. 

Liar Game 2 (2009)

Liar Game 2

Liar Game 2 picks up two years after the last episode, and Kanzaki Nao, Akiyama Shinichi and Fukunaga return to the Liar Game with a new character Katsuragi Ryou introduced. 

The thing I don’t understand is why they created the 2 yrs gap between games in the series. Even though the television series is filmed two years later, the actors don’t look that much older that the time skip was necessary and there is no new information or event that happened in that time gap that it was important to add it. 

There are some new faces and plot that parallel the manga in terms of games and set up, but again they have changed the name of the games and the teams plus they brought in a new villain, Katsuragi Ryou, a former classmate of Akiyama from college.  Katsuragi’s character does not exist in the manga though there is someone who was Akiyama’s college mate. The theme of Nao being an angel that will save everyone continue as Nao returns to the game though she says she doesn’t want to but she just has to save all these players, during the demons and angels game and at the end when she saves everyone including Katsuragi, who she says was merely misunderstood. 

I had a hard time watching season 2, although I still like the games, everything else came across to me as annoying, frustrating and unnecessary.   In this season it felt like there were an excess of repeated cuts, close up of the reactions, revelations, and just unnecessary things. Most of the side characters were just over the top (at times it was fun). And our main characters were for me dull. Nao had just the same two emotions. Akiyama had lost most of his emotions, he just had this low scowl on his face for almost all the season. He didn’t get angry, he wasn’t surprise or even slight nervous when things were dire.  Katsuragi was not very different.  The two just seemed to be in control all the time thought they were suppose to be combating hard. The characters had little relationship or chemistry. 

Kikuchi Rinko as Katsuragi Ryou

The last game,Gold Rush, was just a rehash of the last game with Yokoya. In the manga, the parts from Yokoya’s game and kasaragi’s game are the same.  I could not get myself to sympathize or connect with Nao by the end of this season and there was no longer anything compelling about the story. 

There is this quick conversation in this season, where Nao says that Akiyama is warm but Katsuragi is cold. In the manga, it is Yokoya she is referring to and it has such much meaning especially after all the went through.  Here, I did not believe especially since at the end Nao decide that Katsuragi is just misunderstood and is not a bad person. Where does she get this? We see and hear that Akiyama was always number 1 and Katsuragi was not, which makes us believe initially that this might be why Katsuragi wanted to fight and beat Akiyama in the Liar Game.  But then they show just that their suppose last profiling assignment Katsuragi is the one that won and she uses this many times against Akiyama.  Despite this we see that since Akiyama and she parted ways, Katsuragi continued used, manipulated and often looked down on people. They imply that she had been playing the Lair Game, winning, and hurting others long before Akiyma came into the picture. Suddenly out of nowhere in the end they want to suggest that Katsuragi wanted to be friends or lovers with Akiyana and that’s why she did all this? Did she ever do or say anything to Akiyama to express that she did not want to be is enemy? No. Should she be excused because really deep down inside she has feelings him? No. Katsuragi is an adult and a psychology professor, she should realize that what she is doing is wrong and stop or get help. It seems she is even more at fault because she is has more knowledge of these things than a person that has not studied psychology.

Then we have a clip of Yokoya, who despise Nao having ‘saved’ him continued to plung other players into massive debt, even if he does pull out of the game in the end. What did he learn, what was the point of Nao ‘saving’ him when he didn’t learn, change but just continued what he had been doing. 

There is a Movie and a third season of Liar Game but I don’t think I can put aside enough skepticism since watching those first two seasons that I would start to enjoy it more, even if there is a change of some characters. 

I am however willing to give the Korean version a chance, especially since I have heard good things from reviewers who had similar problems.

Lair Game (2007)

Liar Game

Liar Game is a Japanese television series from 2007 based on a manga of the same name.

Nao Kanzaki is a college student considered to be honest and naive.  one day she receives a black postcard along with a box containing 100 million yen indicated that she had been selected to participate in the “Liar Game” tournament. 

My experience with Liar Game started with the manga. I read the manga up to the beginning of the fourth round with the game Musical Chairs.  I had not wanted to stop reading but I was occupied by other priorities. Recently, I heard that a Korean version of the story would be made, so i wanted to get back into Liar Game.

I just finished Liar Game season 1.  For reasons that are obvious I could not help but compare the series and manga because I was familiar with the later.

The series is pretty closely adapted from the manga but changes have been made.  Paticularly with the secondary characters, the games, mainly the title and names of teams and since the series is only 13 the events too have been changed.  Nao Kanzaki and Shinichi Akiyama have remained relative the same.  

Toda Erika as Kanzaki Nao

Pros:

I did not like was the over the top performances in the secondary characters particularizing Yokoya and Fukunaga.  The editing which involved a lot of cuts, close up and the repetition of the same words or action over and over and over. The crazy laughters, just pulled out of the show especially in contrast to how realistic they kept the rest of things. 

The lack of backstories and depth for the characters, particularly the two mains, which was surprising.  Nao and Shinichi seemed to have no flaws and things that could have made them interest were always quickly negated. 

The relationship between Nao and Shinichi seemed to always be a stand still. Shinichi was always protecting and getting Nao out of trouble but they never really get to know each other well and how each thought and why they thought that way.

Shota Matsuda as Akiyama Shinichi

The suppose big villain and boss behind the game just made no sense to me. I can kind of see what they were trying to do but for me it didn’t work and I didn’t care enough that he was ‘saved’ by just watching Nao and this theme they just stuck about in about Nao being an angel whose light would last everyone else who were just vile humans.  The old man at the end said he created the Liar Game but when he was talking Lerioa to me it came off that he was just part of it, not the creator or the person running it.  Because initially Lerioa refused his request but after the mention of the money he had contributed, Lerioa agreed but gave him a dire warning should something he did interfere with the game.

I felt there was a lack of clarification of ideals, particularly that of Nao. She asks “is there anything wrong with being stupidly honest?”  and she trusts everyone. But what does trust mean?  I think some people believe that taking what someone says without question is trust, but trust is when you are clear on someone’s principles and intentions. That they will be genuine with their words and actions, but you can’t know the intentions or principles of a stranger. There is an idea from the manga I liked which was that you needed to doubt, observe and learn about people and all that takes time and it is implied that is how you trust. So if we look at it, it means Nao doesn’t really get to know people, so how can she be saying that she trust them? Nao also believes that everyone in the world can be happy and that if everyone in the game would just trust each other and work together everyone would get out of the game with no debt. However, the thing is for the most part only Nao and Akiyama came into the game without any particular debt.  Her junior high teacher was already in debt before he got the Liar game invitation and so were most of the other participants.  Also most of the participants did not play the game just to get out (at least not initially) some of them wanted to make a lot of money.  Also there are some characters, thought this was never shown in the television, who were initially like Nao but ended out getting hurt because they believed in everyone even people they didn’t know. 

I grew to the point of being upset with Nao in the series, there is being naive and then there is something else.  She kept falling for the same betrayal and lies from the same people, in the same way on multiple occasions.  This among other things made it hard to connect and attach with her. No one in the series ever pointed out the mistakes Nao made, the ones that usually did were of course the villains, so she never grew or learned at all. 

 Nao wanted everyone to work together and help each other yet in episode 13 she decided she would stop Akiyama from taking revenge and save Yokoya but the action she took ending up putting her teammates in danger.  

The ideal of Nao being complete pure and some angel that 'saves' the old man and in the end was flying and being her saving light on where one else who are vile in the old's man painting, I don't think I like. 

Cons:

I liked the games and how characters work to outwit one another. I also like the exposition by the characters gave on their methods at winning and outwitting each other. 

The acting was good. 

I was disappointed that after Akiyama’s rage erupted and they just stuck with the fact that it was him just acting.  But I found it odd that he had time or thought ahead enough or even had any clue that Yokoya was part of the scheme that caused his mother’s death.  Plus there was a another brief moment when Yokoya mentioned his mother that you saw him get angry again. 

During the contraband game in the manga Akiyama talks about the idea of payoff being a reason why Yokoya was able to dominant his team thought they out numbered him.  I have studied a little bit about payoff and I think it applies to Nao from the series a lot.  By the end of the series I was becoming more and more convinced that Nao trying to save everyone and being overly honest, and being a sort of martyr was a payoff for her.  This was how she wanted to see herself and others to see her even if it meant being involved in dangerous behavior.  Payoff lay into a lot of things we do and how we reacts sometimes for overall wellness or ill. 

I liked the show because I got more off the Liar Game, but I would also like to have interesting characters and story. In the manga for Nao, Akiyama, Funukaga (who is completely different from the series), Yokoya and even the game dealers were far more interest and you had more development. 

I will try to watch season 2. But as it stands I think the manga is much better. But if you don’t or can’t read the manga. The T.V is some fun and good mind games. I just have a hard time getting past some of the crazy acting, Nao amazing ability to always get betrayed and be genuinely surprised by it over and over and the big villains.