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| ~ based on the popular Korean manhwa by Huh Young-Man |
Episodes: 28, Action/Drama/Romance
Cast
Joo Won as Lee Kang To / Lee Young / Sato Hiroshi
Jin Se Yun as Oh Mok Dan / Boon Yi
Park Ki Woong as Kimura Shunji
Chun Ho Jin as Kimura Taro (Shunji's father)
Shin Hyun Joon as Lee Kang San
Jun Noh Min as Dam Sa Ri (Mok Dan's father)
Park Joo Hyung as Kimura Kenji (Shunji's brother)
This drama was amazing. The first drama I've ever seen with Joo Won, and I have to say he is a very talented young actor. Amazing performance by Joo Won. He can sing too! I'll have to watch more of his dramas. His performance was captivating.
This drama is based on the manga by Huh Young-Man. Nothing new about the plot. The hero dons a mask, in this case a bridal mask and fights crime and evil. What makes this drama so brilliant is that every single cast member plays their part so well.
Set in the 1930s in Seoul, Korea, when the Japanese had invaded and taken hold of that part of Korea, Lee Kang To was working for the Japanese police force. He was sick of being poor and wanted to do well successfully to earn a good living to help his family. He was ambitious and wanted to move up the ranks of the Japanese police force even though many people have labelled him a traitor. He desperately and ruthlessly wanted to capture bridal mask, a masked hero who defends and helps the Korean people, but puts the Japanese police force to shame.
When he did capture bridal mask, it was too late to save his family. Bridal mask turned out to be his older brother. At the same time, his mother was killed by one of the Japanese police officers (Shunji's older brother). The truth began to unravel. His beloved older brother all this time was pretending to be retarded, but was actually living a double life in fighting crime, and was seeking revenge for their father who was killed by the Japanese secret assassination organisation Kishokai.
Kang To was heart broken and hated himself for not knowing the truth. He had shot his brother wanting to catch bridal mask. Once the truth was revealed, his attitude towards the Japanese and the Japanese police force changed. He decided to continue and take on his older brother's mission by becoming the bridal mask to seek vengeance for his dad, his mum, his brother and to help the poor people of Korea fight off the Japanese.
The whole drama revolves around him living a double life as the Japanese police officer and as bridal mask helping Korean freedom fighters fight off the Japanese, fight off Kishokai, and to kick them out off Korea; to become independent.
Memorable scenes: When Oh Mok Dan, who hated Kang To for being a Japanese traitor but loved bridal mask found out that Kang To was actually bridal mask, pulled off his mask when he was injured and lying on the horse. The look on her face to realise the person she thought she hated was actually the person she loved!
The wedding day scene, omg and typical of dramas, Shunji wants to kill Kang To but Mok Dan shields him and Mok Dan gets shot and dies instead. How awful for kang To, all the people he loved all dying. Also for Shunji, he was in love with Mok Dan and had killed her with his own hands.
The character Shunji, he was Kang To's best friend, and in love with Mok Dan. He joined the police force because he wanted to protect Mok Dan but his character turned bad. He wasn't able to go back to the old primary school teacher that he was. He had already killed too many people. What happened to Shunji? He was so sweet at the beginning. Does unrequited love (for Mok Dan & Jealousy of Kang To because Mok Dan loved Kang To) did that to him? Or maybe he had psychotic tendencies? His older brother certainly did. His older brother was a nasty piece of work which was later killed by Kang To.
I was expecting a battle between Shunji and Kang To near the end, but Shunji shot himself. Not much of a fight there.
There are many story lines within the drama, but I've only described the main one. You'll have to watch it to understand and love it all :)
In this drama, you can feel the strong patriotism of the Korean people of that time. I kept comparing it to the patriotism I felt watching Fist of Legend: Chen Zhen with Donnie Yen (I prefer the 1995 ATV version). I was really touched by the freedom fighters and their patriotism.
The last scene was with the Dong Jin Death Squad, the Korean student fighters and all the Korean people wearing the bridal mask, holding the Korean flag marching towards the Japanese Police station wanting to wipe them out. The song played was Judgement Day sung by Joo Won & Lee Jung Hyun. Awesome.
OST: Goodbye Day by Ulala Session; Judgement Day by Joo Won & Lee Jung Hyun.
I loved this drama. Loved the romance, loved the martial arts and all the characters. Every episode ended in a cliff hanger which made it very exciting waiting for the next 2 episodes to air. One of the best Korean dramas I have seen. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5/5 ♥
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