The Bridal Mask (2012)

-->In short <-- I only recommend this to people who only care about fanservice and nothing else.


PS : I posted a -->document of 21 pages<-- taking into account the issues (bad writing, bad acting, bad pacing, bad technic) of roughly 10 episodes ; just saying as I am aware of the drama's popularity. So if you are curious, check it out and disagree if you want, we'll discuss it then. Now, yes, it is nitpicking sometimes and everything doesn't have to be taken too seriously, but it doesn't change the real issues within.


Before anything :

The moment I saw the image on MDL, I fell in love with it. I wanted to watch it : Zorro ; that was the only thing running through me and I was excited to start it. (not to mention it is typically the type of things I enjoy) The two first episodes confirmed it and despite the presence of a few issues, I was entertained enough to close my eyes on them. Only two episodes...and then everything started to crumble. From episode 3 to 5, the drama lost itself in the turmoil of delievering fanservice and was unable to stand up again, only falling deeper and deeper. And in case some wonder, no, focusing on fanservice is not an excuse for all what's wrong within the show. As I cannot exactly spoil, I won't recap them precisely here (I have a document anyway). But I will "explore" some aspects on this review.


Story :

So what do we have ? A Zorro-like concept : a man with a mask, the icon of the (future) rebellion ; a lot of fictions of this genre approach that through a manicheist perspective and aren't exactly always accurate in term of historical facts. Bridal Mask is not an exception to that ; so if you want to know more about the annexion of Korea avoid it, it would bring you as much as reading heroic fantasy to try to understand Middle Age better (I feel it is necessary to point it out because I've come across a few people actually thinking they'd know more thanks to this drama). But let's come back to the manicheism. Like everything, it is the way you use something that determines if something is good or bad/well done or not. In BM, if in the first episodes it was correctly pulled, it quickly seems as though the scenarist has run out of ideas or has forgotten as how to us it or show it : it feels forced, random and each time it is done - several time per episode - an inch of credibility is lost. Unsurprisingly, it quickly becomes impossible to take the "villains" seriously, or giving them credits.

This, the unability to use any tools properly, the randomness, the feeling everything is forced and dragged, every aspect of the story suffers from it : turning in circles, repetitivity, incoherences, inconsistences, plot holes, way too many sub-plots open and abandonned (sometimes even 5 minutes afterward, leading to new incoherences), painful conviniences and more. I won't start making a list, the document you can find on the page of the drama is there anyway. If you are curious and aren't too sensitive to nitpicking and innocent mockering, you can always give a look at it before continuing the review.

I'll be frank, past the two first episodes, nothing is to be saved in the story. But instead of only counting them, I'll try to explain why it has come to that : the system of dramas. Most dramas are shooted "live" ; meaning : they shoot an episode a few days before it is broadcasted and only has a few days again to shoot the next one, and so on. One of the main reason of it is simple : the reception. The reception of a drama, episode per episode, is extremly important and will lead to readjustment depending of the complaints/liking of the fans. A lot of dramas have a heavy place for fanservice, it isn't exactly an issue in itself, the issue is when a fiction is led solely by fans. Most fans want to be serviced, the rest is of little mattering ; therefore following fans is the best way to ruin your story : the coherence and the consistence. Most dramas suffer from the importance of audience and fanservice, but are able to avoid falling too much into it ; and then you have cases like Bridal Mask, dramas which don't "suffer" from them, but are simply ruined by them. If you ever came across a fiction where you follow the life of a writer or scenarist, the chance is high there will be an episode dedicated to "following fans desires/advice" and the inevitable result : this type of episode are a message to fans, but also a warning to future writers/scenarists. That warning, that message, BM disregarded it, and fell into the inevitable pit.

But then, it'd be too easy to only blame the 'fanservice and audience at any cost' temptation ; BM has a second issue : its lenght. 28 episodes...one hour each....28 hours...it is a lot and you better have a story able to fill in this amount of time. A lot of dramas suffer from their lenght too, but BM, once more, is a perfect example of the trouble it represents and is part of its ruins. I said it before, but the story is very repetitive. You might point out that the "episodic" structure instead of an "arc" one would explain and justify it, but, like for manicheism, there's a way to do it properly. The episodic structure requires the ability to pull each time a new variante fo the same structure, so that even if it is to some extent repetitive, it is at the same time enough "new" that it remains interesting and entertaining. BM doesn't seem to know how to use it, the "episodic" structure use the exact same situations with the exact same characters with the exact same results for over half of the episodes ; there's no variante, and apart from giving away a feeling of repetitivty and dragging the drama doesn't achieve much. Ten episodes maximum would have been more than enough to tell everything with a calm pace, giving you the opportunity to "lose" some time on less important matters or explore sub-themes. 7, if you want a well paced story (I say that in regard of the content of BM). The rest is nothing more than an inconsistent dog running all over the place to come home by the end of the day and doing the exact same running again the day after.

Another issue from this live system : it has naturally an impact on the writing itself : there are two possibilities : you either have a build story beforehand or you have a very thin red line and adjust with the weeks ; in both cases, you suffer from audience and fanservice ; in the second case, the chance is high you'll suffer even more from it. Writing a script week by week isn't an easy task, if you have nothing to base yourself on (a build story) how do you want to produce something consistent or coherent ? In any case, such a rushed system cannot develop the potential of any fiction to its best, it can only harm it.

Lastly, as strange as it may sound to some of you, the budget had an impact on the story. The numbers of locations can be counted on your fingers. If they could have, they'd have certainly had more and if they had more, those 28 episodes would have felt less repetitive and the scenarist would have had more opportunities to vary the story. Certainly, if the drama had been less long, that issue would have also been reduced (everything is tied together in a way or another). With such a shortage of locations, their overuse on such a long run is inevitable and the writer can only work with what he/she has at his/her disposal ; however, there remains some locations which could have been used less in favor of others ; for example, the torture chamber in the police station, which turns closer to a running gag than any potential seriousness it should have. This clear limitation on budget only increases the fact having less episodes would have improved the fiction greatly.


Esthetic/Soundtrack :

If there's one place where budget was well put, though, is the esthetic and the soundtrack.

Most dramas don't put much money in their soundtrack, BM, however, has a worked on and varied (compared to most dramas) soundtrack ; a real pleasure to the ears and several memorable themes. However, I cannot help but wonder how much impact on the quality of the story there would have been if they had put less money into that aspect to use it to increase the locations (and therefore improve the story).

The same can be said about the esthetic, the choice of costumes, the decoration, all those kind of details are a nice sight, despite the historical inaccuracies, and yet, giving less money for it and more for locations, once more the drama would have generally benefited from it.

Because of that, those two positive points contain that bittersweet taste of "only if". A budget is always limited ; knowing how to use it well is important and it is more important to have a minimum of quality in each era than to boost some and ignore more mattering one which will impact the general quality negatively.

As an adding, if there's no real shot issues, the montage is very often painful to watch with its flashbacks and transitions ; like everything, there are ways to use them. For the flashbacks, they are used as fillers more than to help the watcher (when they don't bring up incoherences) – another proof there’s way too many episodes for what the story has to offer - and for the transitions, it is often purely a misuse that requires going back to cinema school as it seems to forget its basics.


Characters/Actors :

Like most things, in the two first episodes, everything is fine and clear, there was no issue whatsoever but then episodes 3-5 arrive and throw in a huge mess and the characters don’t survive from it to. Between the sudden and unexplained personality switch from some characters, you have others which you can perceive what was trying to be done with them (mainly the two main males of the cast), but fail miserably at it : once again, when a character changes/evolves naturally, due to what has occurred around him/her or to him/her, there are ways to do it (as annoying it may sound) ; in this case they are off-screen, if you want to be nice, or purely none existent, if you are less nice, leading to incoherent and inconsistence characters (once again, proof of that in the document). And even by being nice, the inconsistency remains in almost every conversation, switching from traits to another without as close as a reason other than dragging purposes. It’s also good to notice that charas have “traits”, they are very far to have any type of psychology ; so if you are the type to enjoy your charas to have a minimum of psychology, it’d be better to avoid this, or else be prepared for headache. Which, considering they had 28 episodes, is a shame and inexcusable, they had more than time to develop their main cast properly. For the drama’s credit, the two last episodes try to give Shunji some senses again, to show us there actually was “something”, but far too late to make up the over 20 episodes inconsistency and simply too superficial to even matter in the end.

Thanksfully, in a way, not all characters suffer from inconsistencies, what is saddening, though, is that the only consistent characters are underdeveloped secondary characters.

As for trying to figure out what messed up the characters so much, basically for the same reasons as why the story was messed up ; it is linked, of course, so I won’t repeat what I’ve said already.

For the actors, I do not know if they are good or bad actors, and sorry to say that it doesn’t matter in the slightest ; what matters is their performance in this actual show. It is the same as for the characters : inconsistent characters can only lead to a sloppy performance ; consistent characters is the best way for an actor to actually play well. Luck for some actors being unlucky to play the inconsistent one, there were times they were able to actually act well, Kang To’s crying for example, it isn’t so easy as some think to be convincing ; Shunji is sometimes good at acting crazy….but then….it is, on the opposite, far easier to play as some would think, so I cannot praise him for it. However, I can actually praise the actor for trying harder in the last episodes, but once again, too late to make up for anything. A few consistent characters don’t have the luck to be played by decent actors though ; Katsuyama for example – which explains why he pretty much is part of the decoration (and his erasing from the plot wouldn’t have any impact, ironically as I did enjoy…his look, but I do not let my hormones control myself) – is played by someone I suspect to not even be an actor ; I could have forgiven it as his fighting performance seem real, but as he’s basically never really used in the plot anyway, his presence is quite useless. Well, apart from being a nice sight, but I tend to expect more from a character than to remain a pleasant decoration.

But then again, the current drama system hardly makes it able for its actors to perform at their best : overheavy schedule, lack of time, rushed shooting ; how are they supposed to play properly in those conditions ? And furthermore, how can they when the characters they are supposed to play lack consistency ? This all might annoy you, but too many people are unaware of the growing black point the drama system represent for its fictions, BM just is a perfect embodiment of most of its issue.


Overall :

It is simple, I enjoyed the two first episodes ; I enjoyed writing up everything wrong with the show and I was actually hesitating between 1.5 and 3.5 for the final rating of the show ; but the last 6-8 episodes were a chore and nothing pleasant to them ; not even the nice esthetic and soundtrack were enough. It is neither something I’ll ever rewatch nor something I’d actually recommend. Nothing in the show is able to save it as an average show either. Overall, it is one of those bad fictions that get popular for bad (/no) reasons.

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E.P.I.C.
That’s if I had to judge this show in one word. A very Dark yet satisfying drama to watch.
It will take you on an emotional roller coaster, punch to the gut, brink of tears and a real urge to stand up and do a happy dance at times (you know, the one you never do in public).
You had me at hello and I never wavered till the end. A very dark period of Korean history and this drama had the stones to embrace its dark side till the end and I absolutely loved it.
The Characters were written perfectly (ok, many things based on actual events but still..) and the actors/actresses chosen for the roles could not have been better, they played them just how they had to be and convey emotions (good or bad) to the viewers in a very powerful way, even when they did not have to speak a word.
Jaw dropping ending, wow wow wow!
Saddest past, I wish I could watch this show again for the first time.
This Drama hit me so hard that I went and bought a book about the Japan occupation of Korea to understand more what was going on (being European, we don't learn anything really about Asia at school).

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Gaksital is a combination of action and historical drama. At first, I was hesitating to watch it because it is a historical drama and I rarely watch historical dramas. But then, one of my followers on my twitter spazz account recommended me to watch this drama because it is one of a kind drama.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
On episode 1, I got hooked(YES. It is one of the dramas that I got hooked on the first dramas) Why I got hooked? It is not because of Joowon but because the story itself made me interested and I already felt that I will feel intense on this drama. This is my 3rd action drama that I watched.

ON THE CHARACTERS

Joowon as Lee Kangto/Sato Hiroshi - On the first half episodes, I find him an anti-hero because of his attitude on this drama though as I carefully knowing his character, he is one of a kind lead and a risky man. Joowon's portrayal as Lee Kangto is DOPE and IMPRESSIVE (YOU CAN REALLY FEEL HIS EMOTIONS ESPECIALLY WHEN HE CRIES) and he is one of the best korean actors. I became a fan of Joowon on this drama

Park Ki Woong as Kimura Shunji - I find him as a typical second male lead but as the episode goes by, his character grew into a dark one. Park Ki Woong's portrayal as Shunji is also impressive and it is my first time watching him in a drama and I wished also he will be the main lead.

Jin Se Yeon as Mok Dan Sari - One of the bravest and independent woman that I saw in k-drama land. I find Mok Dan's patriotrism for her country realistic because she is proud on who she is and of course her nationality. I find Jin Se Yeon on her portrayal as Mok Dan as a mature one(She's only a '94 liner like me)

Han Chae Ah as Ueno Rie/Rara - I was annoyed at Rara because I find her very mysterious about herself. Though the good thing about her is she is a badass woman who can easily beat bad guys x) I kinda ship him with Shunji(They also look good together). Han Chae Ah really fits on this role.

Shin Hyeon Jun as Lee Kangsan - Am I the only one who was touched by his character? He is a Village Idiot but somehow he truly cares for his family especially on his younger brother Lee Kangto. I was impressed on Shin Hyeon Jun's portrayal as Lee Kangsan.

On the supporting characters, JOB WELL DONE *thumbs up*

OVERALL PLOT/STORYLINE OF THIS DRAMA
This drama is well-written and it will made you interested if this genre of this drama is not your cup of tea though. I can say that this is more cliffhanger than DOTS(it's also one of my top one drama) and also it is a roller coaster of feels. The cinematography of this drama is amazing and has a good quality and I was thinking also if this drama was pre-produced. When I was searching on the synopsis of this drama, I saw that it is one of the highest rating dramas of 2012(It really deserves a high rating) **I suggest that you need a free time if you are going or planning to watch this drama**

MORAL LESSON OF THE DRAMA
It's simple, you should love your country regardless of your race, religion, nationality and gender and also you should be proud of who you are. Lastly, everyone can be a hero and a leader for everyone.


10/10. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. MUST-WATCH. ONE OF MY #1 K-DRAMA.

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I did it! I watched Bridal Mask in under a week! Was it worth it? I’m not even sure. I have to be honest with you. I hated a lot of things about this drama. I also disliked a great many more things. I did so much eye-rolling I once gave myself a headache.

So this is about "Bridal Mask" – Freedom Fighter! Or, revenge fighter. Heaping revenge upon revenge, avenging wrongs that in turn incite others to enact revenge, so they can go out and again avenge someone else who died during someone else’s revenge. Did I mention this is a revenge drama? It’s also got one of the most torturesome bromances I have ever had the misfortune to sit through… I think I sat through most of this drama wondering just how sucky can these characters’ fates actually get!?!

Probably the most epic of epic dramas (that I have seen recently), this is also my first time with actor Joo Won, and though I can say I was pleased overall by his performance, I'm still not really his biggest fan. Park Ki Woong as Shunji was more to my taste.

What I Liked:
For all the plot-wasting time, I found Bridal Mask to be a genuinely good story with some pretty compelling characters, especially in the initial set-up period of the drama: Kang To before he became Bridal Mask and Shunji before circumstances forced him to side with his father against his friend.

What I Didn’t Like:
The romance – shockingly. I just didn't feel it, and it's mostly to do with the main female actress Jin Se Young as Oh Mok Dan. Her backstory is fine and dandy (for Kdrama standards), but as the pinnacle of our love triangle she’s almost too bland, and her acting while not horrid was not as compelling as others. I was mostly bored every time she came on screen, and only tolerated her because she was so vital to the story, and in the motivations behind our two main leads.

Also, I hate to admit it, but there were so many torture scenes in this abominable show that I almost wanted to yawn through them. Just how many times need we depict people being whipped or burned or put in a box with metal stakes. I think it was the writers’ go-to solution. “Well, what should we do now? The story’s slowed a bit.” “Hey, I know! Let’s have them bring this person back in for questioning and torture, AGAIN!” Repeat, two episodes later. And two episodes after that. Tedious, anyone?

Need more masked-man action, pppplease!!

Unfortunately I think Bridal Mask suffers much from a combination of too many small things to count. Almost as if it couldn't decide what genre it really was (after the revenge drama part). Maybe the length has to do with most of these faults. I will say that the overall ending was good - the last 30 minutes were especially compelling. Shunji, you will always be in my heart, somewhere. Deeep down.

Read my more detailed review + spoilery thoughts on the end at:
http://shinealightrose.blogspot.com/2013/02/kdrama-review-bridal-mask-2012.html#more

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I'm a person that has watched SEVERAL dramas, Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese. I'm a VERY picky person when it comes to dramas, if the plot doesn't hook me or drag me into the story, I drop the drama. So when I stumbled onto 'Bridal Mask' I was pleasantly surprised on how suspenseful it is; the main character is very dynamic. Bridal Mask isn't your average korean drama with simple romance and a bit of a serious plot. Every moment in Bridal Mask is serious and tense, well there are some comedic reliefs to let the viewers rest.
This drama draws you in, probably by far one of the best korean dramas I've watched. The lead actor, Joo Won does a brilliant job of portraying Lee Kang To, a ruthless pro japanese officer. He did such a wonderful job that I hated his character so much. His acting is just superb, I didn't expect this cruel side of him. The lead actress, Jin Se Yun is a new actress. To be honest, I did not quite like the main female character, Mok Dan. I wish the screenwriters could have developed Mok Dan into a better character because so far in the drama, all she has basically done was run, get caught, run, get caught again. She does serve as an important character to Lee Kang To because she becomes a love interest. Then there is Kimura Shunji, played by the second lead actor. Shunji's character development was a big twist in the drama. I praise the actor for Shunji because I certainly did not expect such a character change.

Overall, this drama is a must watch.

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After watching the whole drama, I still feel I had very high expectations for this drama, especially everyone was raving about it and it was the no. 1 drama everywhere, for me it was a good but not a great drama. I thought it had too many flaws along with it being good in some parts.

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely worth the watch and it addicting and instesting even if it does get repitative at times. The ending was OK, I felt it should have had a more definative ending but it sort of held it in for the veiwers to assume the rest.

Story:

The story was good and new, because of the time frame and a different kind of struggle, but it had some major flaws (my opinion so it might differ from others)

*****Beware of SPOILERS, so dont read if you havent watched it yet*****
The major one was about Sunji, he is shown as a principled, mild, pleasent and non political man. He thinks his father is wrong in doing what he does, and doesnt get along with his brother (he even says so in the end) also thinks bro is his father puppet hense he has chosen to be a teacher and live a peaceful life. Now suddenly when he see his brothers death...he swithes to this evil conniving and murdering person. He doesnt feel bad about killing innocent women or children or anyone in the path to get his revenge. Now what is this..How can one change ones personality in a sec...no matter what you do, you do have a consience and cant do things you have always felt were wrong, or only do them to the parties concerned.
The other matter was about the hair styles and clothing...I dont feel they was for the time frame being filmed. Although sometimes they were, sometime not.

Acting
All of the actors did a fantastic job and really made each of their characters shine. Especially Gang To and Sunji. They were brilliant. You really get attached to all of them and felt their joys and pain. Bun was ok but the other girl did a fantastic job. Bravo everyone.

Music:
The music was good, and different themes for different scenes. Overall the soundtract was quite good.

Summary:
Overall I was a little disappointed but it definately was not a bad drama, mostly because I was expecting too much. You know when you hear something is ssooooo great, and when you watch it, it seems ok, on the other hand if someone says it was ok and you seem to find that really great, My opinion about this drama is like that.
I would definately recommend it to watch it but dont know if I will REwatch it. Inany case there are few I rewatch anyway.

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