About the Battle Royale/Hunger Games similarity discussion: Along with the surreal experience of watching reality television paired with images from the war in Iraq, Suzanne Collins was also compelled to write The Hunger Games after her childhood experience of waiting at home while her father was fighting what we Americans call the Vietnam War (but referred to by some folks in the region as the Resistance War Against America - just acknowledging the different perspective on history.) Collins also references the severe trauma that her father was suffering once he returned home from the war and the many ways that trauma affected his family and community as well.
Battle Royale film director Kinji Fukasaku grew up as a teenager in Japan during WWII and was significantly impacted by those horrible years. It's been said that he was drawn to Koushun Takami’s book (the source material) because of how much it reminded him of what his life was like then, with some details that are so horrific that I won't write them here. My point is, war is inhuman and horrible and has been written about, sung about, filmed on, and attempted to make meaning of for many, many years. THG and Battle Royale are two of these works, and BR, especially, has gone on to inspire many other films and dramas in the death game genre.
Just You is one of my favorites!! I love Aaron Yan and Puff Kuo so much and this drama really does hold up pretty well after all these years. The OST is awesome too!!!
I've seen both of those dramas (JBL is my favorite) and this one is nothing like either of them. I'm liking it so far, but it's not at all similar to either Chocolate or Just Between Lovers.
Oh good grief. They certainly didn't ruin Alice in Borderland and thanks to them I get to watch more dramas legally…
I watch J-dramas on any platform I can find, so Netflix certainly isn't my first and/or only streaming platform and I've been watching for a number of years now. I've written about and taught The Hunger Games in university classes and I can tell you that AiB and THG are completely different. Other than the death game concept, they're very different stories. Alice in Borderland's characters are loosely based off of the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (or Alice in Wonderland.) So it's not a totally original story, but it's very original in its execution, and yet still fits squarely within the death game genre, (at which Japan excels.) Have you actually watched the drama the whole way through or did you just watch the trailer? I don't agree that they don't care about the plot - it's been reported widely that Netflix (especially) gives a lot of creative freedom to their international partners, so the writing and direction come down to their Japanese (and Korean, etc) partners. I'm not saying that they have no say in how the production looks - I wouldn't say that at all, because of course they do. And yes, they want to make money - but it should come as no surprise that Asian drama makers also want to make money.
I never hate-watch anything because I think it's a horrible waste of time LOL I just have one thing to say - hate…
I agree with you! I NEVER (like never ever) read the timed comments because of how negative and complain-y people get. I guess what it boils down to is I'm just not that interested in how other people are experiencing the drama....
Oh good grief. They certainly didn't ruin Alice in Borderland and thanks to them I get to watch more dramas legally…
You and I will just have to disagree about Netflix, as I see them as a valuable resource in helping more folks be able to see Asian content. I most definitely do not see them as evil and I very much look forward to Alice in Borderland 2 soon.
Netflix? no thank you, they ruined asia tv, ruined Japan Tv and Korean Tv , they are evil taking over all the…
Oh good grief. They certainly didn't ruin Alice in Borderland and thanks to them I get to watch more dramas legally rather than having to watch on shit Kissasian and Dramacool.
Meh. Disagree. The film was much better BEFORE the twist came along and ruined it. The conceit that the author…
You want the chance to mock me in the future?! No chance, you fucking pretentious asshole. News flash - your writing could use some work as well, since you seem to love using meh and lol and then have the fucking nerve to act like you're some kind of commenting genius. You're totally worth a block, too, so good riddance.
Meh. Disagree. The film was much better BEFORE the twist came along and ruined it. The conceit that the author…
I don't know if you've noticed before but a semi-polite way to respond on MDL to a negative rebuttal of a positive comment is a reiteration of the fact that we all have our own opinions. If you can't manage that, feel free to block me.
Maybe it's just me, but when something is labeled "2021" I'm expecting to see storylines about the pandemic - because the whole world still dealt with it in 2021 - but it's weird when writers act like it doesn't exist in favor of love triangles...
Meh. Disagree. The film was much better BEFORE the twist came along and ruined it. The conceit that the author…
It's your opinion, and you're entitled to it. I'm entitled to mine. I'm not the only one here who liked the twist in the middle but if you didn't, so be it. I wrote this review 10 months ago but it still stands. (Also, writing "lol" a bunch of times after quoting my words doesn't make your argument any more convincing...)
Fantastic article!! My favorite drama of his is Just Friends, with my fave Yeon Woo Jin. They look like babies in it, but it's not hard to see why they both became huge stars! This is one comprehensive fan guide and I loved reading it. :-)
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Along with the surreal experience of watching reality television paired with images from the war in Iraq, Suzanne Collins was also compelled to write The Hunger Games after her childhood experience of waiting at home while her father was fighting what we Americans call the Vietnam War (but referred to by some folks in the region as the Resistance War Against America - just acknowledging the different perspective on history.)
Collins also references the severe trauma that her father was suffering once he returned home from the war and the many ways that trauma affected his family and community as well.
Battle Royale film director Kinji Fukasaku grew up as a teenager in Japan during WWII and was significantly impacted by those horrible years. It's been said that he was drawn to Koushun Takami’s book (the source material) because of how much it reminded him of what his life was like then, with some details that are so horrific that I won't write them here.
My point is, war is inhuman and horrible and has been written about, sung about, filmed on, and attempted to make meaning of for many, many years. THG and Battle Royale are two of these works, and BR, especially, has gone on to inspire many other films and dramas in the death game genre.
I've written about and taught The Hunger Games in university classes and I can tell you that AiB and THG are completely different. Other than the death game concept, they're very different stories. Alice in Borderland's characters are loosely based off of the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (or Alice in Wonderland.) So it's not a totally original story, but it's very original in its execution, and yet still fits squarely within the death game genre, (at which Japan excels.)
Have you actually watched the drama the whole way through or did you just watch the trailer?
I don't agree that they don't care about the plot - it's been reported widely that Netflix (especially) gives a lot of creative freedom to their international partners, so the writing and direction come down to their Japanese (and Korean, etc) partners. I'm not saying that they have no say in how the production looks - I wouldn't say that at all, because of course they do. And yes, they want to make money - but it should come as no surprise that Asian drama makers also want to make money.