Korean or Japanese Version
Which one do you think is better, I for one think the original Korean version is better. It's longer and its got Uhm Tae Woong but the Japanese version does have a great intro
shareI watch the Japanese version at least once every six months, for the excellent performances of Koyabashi Ryoko and, especially, Ohno Satoshi. I have the Korean version, but I haven't watched it again since the initial viewing.
The reasons why:
The Korean version is too drawn out, the acting isn't remotely in the same league as the Japanese version, and the production qualities are abysmal in comparison. Yes, the Japanese version compresses the story, but that actually tightens up the narrative and leaves out most of the unnecessary filler and meandering that the Korean version has. Most importantly, the characters are better written in the Japanese version, deeper and less one-dimensional.
The biggest improvement in character development is with the psychic reader. The Korean version of the character is the annoying kind of goodie-two-shoes, preachy and pushy. It's like being hit over the head that she's the requisite Nice Girl. The Japanese version doesn't do that; they let Kobayashi Ryouko SHOW us the character's intelligence, sweetness and goodness via her expressions and behavior. Not that she's a perfect actor, few are at only 20 years old, but you FEEL the character more with Kobayashi. Shin Min-a was flat and boring. I hated her and dreaded seeing her show up. I wanted Kobayashi's Shiori to be my friend.
Next: No offense against Ju Ji-Hun, the Korean model who plays the Devil, he's gorgeous, but he made the character a lot less dynamic and he just wasn't all that scary. I hadn't seen Ohno Satoshi as an actor before this film, but he really impressed me with how believable he was as the grieving survivor who's lost his entire family, the terrifying master manipulator set on revenge, and the tortured, conflicted soul who is realizing that there could have been more to his life than rage and pain. I got chills when he was evil. And I cried when he was sad, or conflicted, or in pain. He was very, very good.
The one Korean casting that was better, and very much so, was Eom Tae-woong, as the cop. He looked AND acted like every cop I've ever known. Ikuta Toma is a decent actor, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous, but he just wasn't as believable a cop as Eom.
The one other thing I liked about the Korean drama above the Japanese was their adherence to proper criminal procedure. The Japanese version glosses over it to the point that it's just not very believable. Worse, some of the gloss covers up some very bad mistakes on the part of the Japanese cops. Example: You see bad guys handling envelopes or cards with their bare hands, but, when the police get the card or envelope, they don't test for fingerprints? Really? Because I've never known cops who wouldn't test something like that, just in case the killer got sloppy. Most cops I know will admit that they are more likely to catch a criminal who messes up than if there isn't a single mistake. So you run the tests, every single time, in case an otherwise meticulous criminal goofed.
Anyway, having those two advantages isn't enough to make the Korean version remotely as good as the Japanese. Which is why I just finished my umpteenth viewing of Maou, not Mawang.
This is a really great critic for a TV series. I don't often find fair reviews of TV series because, let's be honest here, being a woman myself, some of us get bias because the actors in the show are really good looking and we fall for them easily. A really good example is the various Hana Yori Dango/ Boys Over Flowers remakes. I have read a bit of the manga.. well ok, most of the manga and since I now how the whole copy, I am making some time to re-acquaint myself with it.
But at first, I saw the anime series, which, to be honest, was the first thing I saw amidst all the Live-remakes and the manga. (P.S. if you have not seen it, it is definitely worth it.)
For some reason or other, I decided to watch the Japanese version first. Purely because I have read and heard that the Korean version was SUPERB, and I saw that the first Season of the Japanese version wasn't very long. Since then, I have struggled to watch the Korean version purely because the opening sequence itself did not captivate me the way the Japanese series did. Lately, from all the Asian dramas I've been watching (Japanese and Koreans + Filipino), I find somehow that the Japanese TV shows a lot more accessible: easier to dive into their world, etc. This is probably because the shows themselves are very tight as they have fewer episodes. Plus the acting is miles better, in my opinion.
Originally, even though I like this kind of stories, I am watching Maou because I liked Ikuta Toma's acting in Hana Kimi/ Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. I watched that because I AM a HUGE Shun Oguri fan, but strangely enough, even though he is supposed to be the "main" guy and heart-throb of the main character, it was Toma-san's acting that really caught my attention. I rooted for Nakatsu there instead of Sano (btw, I hate the actress in that series, I just didn't believe her, she suited the part physically but acting wise...)
With Maou though, I have yet to see the whole series. But I have a feeling that Toma-san acts like Toma-san in most of his works... I don't no. Apart from Hana Kimi and Maou, I saw him in a romantic movie and he feels like he is acting like Nakatsu but more serious. Still, I fancy him definitely. Yes, also, he is a pretty good actor. No where near Takayuki Yamada or Shun Oguri's level but good.
Sorry for the ramble about Japanese or Korean tv shows. Since you mentioned it, I too wanted to put my 2 pence in it. At this point, it should be obvious that I find Jdrama's a lot more compelling. Although there are a some Kdramas which are pretty good too. For example, I enjoyed Dream High (but find it hard to start Season 2).
I used to be a Kdrama fan too, but not a hardcore one at that. Yes, its nice to stare at really good looking men on screen but it is equally a lot more enjoyable when the dishy-bishie is really talented (at acting).
Speaking of TV series and tightness, Filipino dramas tend to be like over a 100 episodes. Now, I am Filipina but I don't really enjoy, or never really, enjoyed a lot of our own shows. OA most of them. OA = overacting. But, there is a show that I gave a chance to recently which is really good, imo. Got to Believe. Don't know if there is any subbers or subtitles available for this but it is pretty awesome. The story is pretty good (not excellent) but the two leads are compelling and you see, particularly the guy, grow organically (not forced). Plus, it is a pleasure to see them act on screen.
So I'm rewatching Maou for the 5th time and everytime I get to episode 4 I find myself rewinding a part over and over again. When the journalist corners Serizawa at his family's house and says "bocchan" (young master), that's Nino who says that right? I mean listen to it, it's gotta be Nino, that actor doesn't sound anything like Nino but that one word sounds 100% Nino. I was wondering if maybe it was some kind of little fan service thingy or a little prank that the drama makers decided to pull and it was known about in the fan community?
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