Mulan All the Chinese versions vs. Live Action Disney Mulan by Rebekah Walton

( Yes, I know that this is my Kdrama blog and maybe if I create a Cdrama blog I will transfer this post over there but,  for now this is the best place to do this analysis.)

Hua Mulan is a legend which is possibly to be based on a real story although no one can tell for sure. The legend was about honor for the family and the country. I enjoyed reading English translations of the two most common written versions of Mulan: The Ballad of Mulan,and The Fallen Sakura. The animated Disney classic, strays away from either version of the legend and makes the story of Mulan about more protecting the family and not fitting in with everyone else but, using your smarts to outsmart the enemy. Which I guess is okay, but I never wanted a live action remake that followed this version. So, I was glad when they announced they wanted to make it more real and like the legend of Mulan. 

My dream live action version of Mulan is similar to The Great Wall movie: cool clothes, bright colors, and lots of action and strategy. This is what I wanted going into watching the movie. But, as people kept giving Mulan bad reviews I felt it was best to watch the other live action versions of Mulan before I saw the Disney version. 

In this way, I could give an analysis on what each of them gave us and figure out what the Disney Mulan gave to the audience that was special.

Since some of the movies made of Mulan cannot be watched anymore I decided to stick to those I could easily watch online with subs:

Mulan Joins the Army (1939)- This was a remake of a film that had been made a couple of times before, but, this version I could find easily on youtube. This is the only black and white film on the mix. 

What it brought to the table: This black and white movie is very comedic and has a romance, lighthearted and gritty and realistic like later adaptations.

Please read reviews on Letterboxd to get more in depth.

Lady General Hua Mu-lan (1964 film)- This is an opera musical and the only one based on Mulan that I could actually watch on youtube easily. This movie was such a delight to watch.

What it brought to the table: Comedy. Cute romance. Emotions show by clothes. Singing. Follows the Ballad of Mulan as closely as it can. Only Hong Kong version.

Mulan (2009 film)- Also known as Rise of the Warrior. This is as realistic as they are going to get. This was mostly based on the second version of the Tale of Mulan:

Sad ending, but, super impactful and it makes a lot of sense. Frankly, I kind of wish Disney had taken this story for their live action movie and made their twist based on this plot. It is a war story. Often we forget that Mulan was a war veteran and that wars are brutal. 

What it brought to the table: Realism. The Horror of War. The pain of Death. Brutal Honesty. 

Matchless Mulan (无双花木兰) (2020) - People actually know she is a girl in this version because they are from her village. When new recruits and herself are ordered to rescue the prince, Yuan Hong, she realizes that she must fight to protect her loved ones. 

What it brought to the table: The plot was made up of different smaller missions. More realistic approach, but, only spends a few minutes with her being a woman at the begining. 

Read the reviews on this page for more in depth:

https://mydramalist.com/61011-matchless-mulan

Mulan Legend (2020) - This was just trying to capitalize on Mulan and truly was a different sort of story.

What it brought to the table:

Wuxia-style action adventure that re-imagines the life of Mulan of folklore as a military general instead of a soldier. She goes on a mission to rescue a princess. 

Best review of this version is the only review on it's mydramalist profile page: https://mydramalist.com/68119-mulan-desert-rescue

Mulan Disney (2020)- Suppose to be based on the animation they made years before, but instead is not, they took out music, and added a random evil witch for a Mulan to fight.

What it brought to the table: Nothing, except for the fact we know they filmed on reeducation camps in China. Went along with the message of the CCP eventhough, they did not have to because they are in America and not China. Worst ever. Had the main Chinese American actress talk about about Hong Kong.

Here are the list of actresses that played Mulan in the different versions:

Mulan joins the army 1939:Chen Yunshang

Lady General Hua Mulan 1964:Ivy Ling Po

Mulan 2009: Zhao Wei 

Matchless Mulan 2020: Hu Xue Er

Mulan Legend 2020: Zhang Dong

Disney Mulan 2020: Liu Yifei 

Which actress I liked best:

Zhao Wei from the Mulan (2009).

What storyline was my favorite:

Lady General Hua Mulan 

Mulan (2009)

Which ones I would recommend: 

For those that like Musicals: Lady General Hua Mulan

For those that like Realistic war movies: Mulan (2009)

Hotel Del Luna remake by Rebekah Walton

So, we got another kdrama remake in the works in America. Not that we haven't had many others that claimed they would be made and eventually never came about, but, since this has more companies tied to it seems like more of a possibility that it will be made. I am not opposed to American remakes of kdramas all the time, but, I think that sometimes the remakes need to be chosen more carefully. Hotel Del Luna is not one of the stories I would have chosen for an American remake. But, I guess it is better than choosing Hwayugi or Hwarang. Those two would have never worked. 

But, Hotel Del Luna feels very kdrama-ish and currently I can't imagine what an American version would look like. I guess the only thing that America does well in TV shows, that this show includes, is the episodes have a story of the week in each episode. These ghost stories conclude in a single episode but, there is an over arching storyline through the whole show mostly having to do with our main character.  Although, I loved the drama and the ending some people were not totally satisfied with the ending and thus this ending should probably not be the same in the American version. Since we have had many remakes for My Love from the Stars and Itazura na kiss then I will be using those two as examples for what works best in a remake. Personally, I think this drama only did as well as it did because of the star power of IU and the pretty cinematography. Looking at the young American actresses that could carry the show I only found one that I could think of, Selena Gomez. 

I am almost positive she would not go for being in this remake, however. My sister on the other hand is convinced they could do this show well with a brand new actress and shoot her into fame. I mean, I guess that is possible but, it is hard for me to believe. I guess you could choose someone from Riverdale or Sabrina or 13 Reasons Why since this would be the right age group for the main actress. They could, I guess, pick  Jenna Coleman, Florence Pugh, Lucy Hale or  Daisy Ridley, Zendaya, Katherine Langford, Sofia Carson, or Zoey Deutch, but,I still think that these actresses would not be quite right for the role. Jang Man Wol the main character was basically written to be played by IU and it shows. The scriptwriters (Hong Sisters) admitted that they were going to change the show and characters if they were not able to cast IU for the main role. 

With that in mind, the American remake should not try to redo the story for an American audience with the same characters but, instead only the premise should stay the same. The premise is as follows: a young woman is in charge of a hotel for ghosts for a number of years and she hires the main guy as her manager. If this show does not try to do scene by scene recreation of the kdrama it will be better received by most. I am taking this idea from the fact that we have two shows that have been remade several times by different countries. These shows are My Love from the Stars (which almost got it's own American remake) and Itazura na Kiss. My Love from the Stars got several remakes from the Philippines, Thailand and Chinese inspired shows, that are more alike then I think was good for them. 

The Philippines' budget was significantly less the Kdrama budget and it shows. I found it hard to not compare the remake with the original as it copied some scenes and lines almost shot for shot but with a low budget. Also, this remake felt student made at times and was cringy and hard to watch while the actor and actress tried their best. 

The Thailand version did a better job as it included some elements of their own that helped to develop the characters and story a little more but it still felt like a repeat story. In both of these cases the story felt unnecessary since we already had a perfectly fine version that ended well with great actors. On the other hand, Itazura na kiss has had many more remakes than My Love From the Stars and yet, I would say almost all of them have something great to offer. (The exception here is the 1996 Japanese version, all other versions so far have been awesome.) 

Itazura na Kiss is a simple story with a very basic plot, the dumbest girl in school is in love with the smartest boy in school.

(Frankly, they could do this sort of plot in an American movie and still hit a lot of the main points of the story without little change. It would probably have to be a private school in America though because it has very weird school elements not found in any American schools. But, it could be done. ) Taking in mind the several remakes or adaptations made from the manga, it is easy to see what path they should follow while remaking Hotel Del Luna. There are 4 really popular remakes that everyone watches when talking about Itazura na Kiss. 3 out of the 4 try to be pretty accurate to the storyline and do a pretty good job, mostly for these versions everyone is just talking about the best actor and actress and who really had the chemistry. The American version is not going to be able to get the characters and actors correct since the main character was basically written for a certain actress (IU) and so, they should give up trying to do that. Instead, they should do what the other remake out of the 4 did. That last remake which is praised for the great chemistry between leads but not for being accurate to the characters or storyline is a Thailand drama called Kiss Me. 

Kiss Me followed the basic premise the dumbest girl in school falls for the smartest boy in school but, changes both of the main characters to a certain extent and their storyline has completely different backstories and plotlines. Because of this, everyone was able to watch the story and love it for being it's own story and yet feel some connection to the old story. This is what the American remake of Hotel Del Luna should be. The basic premise: a cursed woman has to live for years running a hotel for ghosts until her new manager helps break her curse and free her from this life, should stay the same, but, the character of the main girl and her new manager should be different characters. Thus, we can see the original and see this version without feeling that this version is ruining the original. This story should take place in same universe as the original, and not be recreating the same scenes or plotlines from the original. While the original shows what happens with Jang Man Wol and how she got the Hotel and what she has to do while she lives in Korea with the Korean hotel for ghosts, the American remake should show how Cindy (😄IU's character in Producers) had to be forced into running Hotel for Ghosts in America. 

Their stories should be significantly different but follow similar or the same rules. Like the Harry Potter books only follow what happens in UK's magic school, a series on the American magic schools would be different and contain different characters and plotlines. The same would follow here. Expand the universe instead of causing controversy and hardship by people fighting over these two series. With that in mind, leave a chance for a cameo from one of the cast members like the main lead guy who went to Harvard in Hotel Del Luna and call your show something else. Have your main lead girl call your Hotel for Ghosts something else not Hotel Del Luna.

 This will allow you to promote this series while not alienating the original series. That is what I reccomend. 

Kim Jongdae and his Wife By Rebekah Walton

Most of Kpop fans and EXO-Ls are excited by the news that Kim Jongdae (Chen) of Exo is engaged and soon-to-be a father. There are a few fans in Korea that are making a big deal out of this and wanting SM to kick Chen out of Exo. But, the rest of us sane people, understand that this is just a part of life and we are all happy that Jongdae is getting married.
In fact, here are some articles and other compilations that prove most of us are fine with Jongdae's wedding and baby:
https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/30-funniest-netizen-reactions-chen-impending-marriage-fatherhood/
https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/15-fan-memes-sum-protest-withdraw-exos-chen/
https://www.allkpop.com/forum/threads/a-compilation-of-best-chen-x-wife-x-baby-memes.364930/page-4
First off, fans have been trending hastags to show that they are with Chen for months now. They have even been telling SM to sue people who leave bad comments about Chen online. There are a great amount of memes about Chen becoming a father and so many cool youtube videos as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DNf66taSXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjKUlnSsLZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLJ3hP5cwKw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-LifhpCJsQ&t=15s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv47k-i9r_8
After we got the news that Jongdae was engaged there were many other celebrities who came out with news of their significant others and the fans joked Jongdae had started a trend calling it the Chen effect:
https://www.soompi.com/article/1380876wpp/sung-joon-pens-letter-revealing-that-he-has-a-wife-and-child
https://www.soompi.com/article/1382106wpp/crayon-pops-gummi-announces-marriage-and-pregnancy
https://www.soompi.com/article/1383694wpp/park-sung-kwang-announces-marriage-to-non-celebrity

Three things I would like to point out before I would like to let this issue be:

1. Jongdae or any other celebrity is not your property and their life is not something that you own or have rights over. (This has been repeated over and over by many people.)

2. The chance of you meeting your kpop star and getting married are very slim to almost none. Get over it. Write your fanfiction and move on with your life.

3. Bullying people to get kicked out of a group is not a good thing. Stop bullying others online and in real life! This is a real problem that has caused harm to many people.

Okay, that's my two cents: Now go watch Jongdae dancing to Baby Shark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlYQcHRUay4

(Updated April 29, 2020)
Jongdae's baby girl was born today! So, he really was telling the truth when he named his last solo album: April, and a Flower. Exo-L's are calling her Exo's Princess and Jongdae's flower. Here is fan art I found on twitter:

Kdrama Comparisions: Who did it Better? 100 Days My Prince vs. Shopping King Louie by Rebekah Walton

If I were to tell you the plot of these two kdramas it goes something like this:

A rich young man who has memories of the female lead whether he remebers them or not, loses all of his memory and gets lost, the female lead finds him.

Now, that he has lost all of his memory and has no memory of where he lives or who he is, the female lead and him are forced into living together. At first, the man useless and buys items that cause the woman to go into debt because he has no money of his own.

 The female lead forces the male lead to get a job, but, the male lead is found to be very bad at that job, until they find out what he is really good at and he regains his memory. For a time the female and male lead live apart since, the male lead was found by his family and regained his memory, but later on, the male lead goes back to get the female lead and they live happily ever after the end.

Also, to make it more confusing the female lead in these two kdramas are played by the same actress Nam Ji-hyun. The only real difference between these kdramas is the time period that the story is set in. Shopping King Louie is set in the modern day while 100 Days My Prince/ Husband is set in the Joseon time period.

Now, on to which Kdrama is better my opinion.
Shopping King Louie(myRating): 7.50 out of 10.00

100 Days Prince (my Rating): 8.00 out of 10.00

Shopping King Louie (September 2016): came first while 100 Days Prince is just basically a remake of this story set in the Joseon time period.
As I say with all remakes and orignials, it is not always fair to judge the orignial by a remake, because the remake has the potential of fixing the problems of the orignial because it came second.

But, when the remakes do not fix the problems of the orignial or make more problems, that's what shows the remake is really bad. So, to tell if this remake: 100 Days My Prince is a better, we must look at the problems of Shopping King Louie and see if the problems were in the remake or if they were changed in the remake.

Shopping King Louie problems: The male lead is a shopping addict and continues to buy items although he has no money and becomes very annoying because of this.

 The plot becomes somewhat  boring at one point in the story because there is little going on, so little, in fact the writers had to fake that he lost his memory again. A lot of filler in this show. The twists in this kdrama did not intrigue me to keep watching in the least.

One thing that the kdrama had going for it was the cute couple.

100 Days My Prince problems: The male lead is still buying items although he has no money, but at least in this kdrama the things he is buying seem more like neccesities than just stuff. He does not tend to keep buying items once he has bought the few items he wanted, and so, in general he seems more content than Shopping King Louie.

He was less annoying in this way, since he got fooled by a loan shark. Since the plot does take place in the Joseon Era, politics can come into the plot more easily, thus adding more storylines and make the story less boring.Instead of filler episodes, this kdrama seemed to be just the right length for this type of plotline and story.

 But, due to the politics angle, the male lead is a prince who is married before he meets the female lead again. That is seemingly not a problem as I initially thought it would be, though because in kdramas they get marriages annulled pretty easily or just get a second wife.

 But, deaths do occur in this story, so watch out as some of your favorite side characters may eventually die on screen.Despite this, the story was still an enjoyable watch. The main couple was still cute but the other plot lines were also entertaining to say the least. The twists in this kdrama were more enjoyable than Shopping King Louie and made me excited to watch more.

If I had to choose between the two, I would reccommend 100 Days My Prince/Husband everytime.

Super M by Rebekah Walton

SM really couldn't get a good name together.....Super M......what does this mean Super Members or Super Mandarin? Either way, this name stinks. I understand the concerns that everyone has about this group....these people could do their own solo debuts, or this group should just be a project group or a collaboration......SM is working these boys to the bone and not giving them proper rest....SM is not promoting these boys in their projects and then wants to make another group....and what does this mean for group comebacks later.....

Personally, though I think this is just a group till all of the boys come back from military. Once they come back this group will be disssolved. Actually, I almost think that the rest of Exo should all leave on military duty now so they can comeback faster if this group is a success. The one thing that confuses me is why are their no Super Junior members in this? If you are going to call this Super M, it confuses me why you would not include a Super Junior member in this. Look, SM you are marketing this to the USA, right? So, including say Sungmin should not be a problem. The International Elfs from all I have read, and I am one as well, want Sungmin to comeback and sing. SM, you could have included Sungmin and thus gotten a whole another fandom prompting this group. Really the super group crossover should include: Super Junior, TBXQ, SHINee, Exo, and NCT. So, really, they should have included at least one member from SJ and TBXQ (or both members).


But, in general I think direct marketing to the USA does not work for Kpop and I highly doubt that this group will really succeed considering how many people don't want this anyway. Also, Avengers of Kpop? SM, you have an alien theme already for Exo but, this sounds so stupid.

Enough ranting, I will support Super M when October comes! Our boys need support in all their projects!

Anyway, I thought it was fair that if  SM was going to make the Avengers of Kpop, Jyp should make the Justice League of Kpop to compete against the Avengers of Kpop and call it Justice 8. The members included would be: Nichkun from 2PM, Jae and Young K from Day6, Jackson and Mark from Got7, 3Racha from StrayKids. 

At What Point do Underrated Kdramas become Overrated? by Rebekah Walton

As I scroll through lists of underrated Kdramas, I wonder about the fact that I have seen a lot of the same Kdramas on these lists by totally different people. Which gets me thinking, At what Point do underrated Kdramas become overrated? 

Now, this could easily be a post on my other blogger since I believe this question applies to not only Asian Dramas, but, also, Anime, and American Tv shows and movies. But, I decided to narrow it down to only Kdramas. We all know the Overrated Kdramas: BOF, You're Beautiful, Full House, The Heirs, My Love From the Stars, Coffee Prince, Descendants of the Sun, Goblin,Strong woman do bong soo, Secret Garden, Cheese in the Trap, and so many others including: Scarlet Heart:Ryeo, and Hwarang. 

These dramas whether they were good or not is not what I am discussing here. I enjoyed many of these and I understand why they have been over hyped. But, I am discussing what makes a kdrama overrated or underrated.

But, the underrated kdramas are more up for discussion.While Gentlemen's Dignity, Healer, Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds, Weightlifting Fairy, Dr. Stranger, Tomorrow with You,Surplus Princess,Playful Kiss,I’m Not A Robot, and Duel were not overhyped when they were airing and in some cases got over low ratings in Korea or Internationally, they can not really be on the underrated Kdramas list anymore since now, they are or almost all overhyped.

I can't get by an international list without Healer being mentioned and Playful Kiss has it's own cult following because it is a remake of Itazura Na Kiss, and all 12 million of those have their own group of people who love them. (I am included, I love all the remakes and the original, infact, we do not have enough I want an American version too, I know I am greedy.)

When I was looking down an underrated list I was very suprised to see I'm Not a Robot since, I enjoyed that drama a lot and everyone I saw was talking about that drama and how sweet they were. But, since it did get low ratings in Korea I see why people were saying it was underrated, but, I really think it was only underrated in Korea. If we wanted to be accurate and list all kdramas underrated by Korea, Scarlet Heart: Ryeo should really be on that list. Korea did not really care for the show so much that it never got renewed for a second season unlike the original Chinese one Scarlet Heart. 

Weightlifting Fairy was not highly rated during it's time, but, I have recently found this drama included in overrated Kdrama lists.

Dr. Stranger is a favorite of mine but, it still seems to be underrated by a whole lot of people, that and Tomorrow with You. Dr. Stranger had an awesome couple, but, apparently some people got SLS, I don't know, the main couple was cute, hot and could survive gunshots, they seemed liked the perfect couple.

I have no clue why Tomorrow with You was underrated, I considered it better than Tunnel and I loved Tunnel.

Mermaid Kdramas do not seem to do very well in Korea so that's why Surplus Princess is on this list, although I must say there might be another reason for this kdrama being underrated, it truely wasn't that great. (Kind of boring if I say so myself, and I love Mermaid stories.). Also, since they were cut to 10 episodes the story wasn't able to be fleshed out and therefore has a lot of weird plot gaps.

Moonlight Drawn by the Clouds seemed to be underrated mostly by the International community while it was currently airing since everyone was watching Scarlet Heart: Ryeo instead. But, now it probably does not deserve to be on the underrated list now, as I am pretty sure everyone has watched and heard about this drama by now.
 

So, back to what I am trying to say. Maybe, we should second guess if a Kdrama is underrated if it is on everyone's list, really underrated Kdramas should be ones that not everyone has heard of about a billion times. In most cases, these kdramas should no longer reconsidered underrated. So, next time you are looking at an underrated Kdrama list, try to find kdramas you have never heard of.