[Drama 2012] Bridal Mask 각시탈

[Guest stoffkimba]

Shunji! So what happens now? Death will not be enough to redeem him now. He needs some moment of realization, of coming to himself, doesn't he? Just killing him off won't satisfy me, at least.
I had thought/assumed/desperately hoped that knowing about Kenji's deed (the murder of KT's mom) would bring him back from the land of the morally dead. But no. He hardly flinched. No hint of remorse. So ... what now? How can they turn this character back into some sort of human being? Love is out, unless he has a spontaneous epiphany about Rie or Sunhwa, or something (MD isn't going to love him). Sympathy for KT, totally out of the window. What - what else can save his soul now?!
Possible scenarios: Kishokai offs papa Kimura. Also, from the beginning I've been wondering what happened to Shunji's mom (or was that explained). It would be kind of cool if Kishokai were responsible for her death. Or even better: If papa Kimura had killed her (maybe as a test of loyalty to enter Kishokai)...

Apart from that: I don't just want papa Kimura dead anymore, I want him torn to pieces limb for limb! (Unless he makes a really quick and all out turn towards the right side - like dramabeans suggested - like right now.) All of last episode was pretty harrowing, but somehow the one moment that got me more than any other was when old Kimura looks at the little girl and sends her off to become a "nurse". Knowingly. For a second I actually got my hopes up and thought he might say something, forbid her to go, and show he's human. But nooooooo. *shakes head* That was evil. Not just cruel, brutal, violent, harsh or something, but true, pure devilish evil.

[mrdimples]

Have to write this before I forget. Some times, things just strike me or make me wonder and like all these wonderful posts that come on this thread, I don't always read everything, and my thoughts I don't always pen them down. 
I remember that in early part of the show, many viewers hated Kangto. He was beat up his own brother, beat up his own people and also slap a girl & even tortured her(ok, not by his own hands but he instructed). I knew I could never hate Kangto in entirety, not when he is acted so amazingly by Joowon. But from watching Joowon in OB to badass Kangto in BM, I was more shocked than I thought I will be cuz I didn't expect the show to take his character so far into the dark side. Now, as I rewatch the earlier epsodes, I found that even the earlier Kangto is not as hateful anymore. I won't elaborate here as it has probably been already discussed long time ago.
When I watched this ep 20, the scene where the gisaeng Masako looked unhappy that Kangto is spending time with Rie, I thought it was just funny. As in cute funny, she pouted and he smiled at her. Then it struck me that the old Kangto, badass as he was, didn't treat this woman badly. Same with that Angel club dancer Mary. They both genuinely liked him and not just as a client type of relationship. You can say they fell for his charms but I think he didn't just sleep with them and treat it like a transaction. Not love but at least friendship.
 Maybe I am reading to much into Kangto. What to do, I can only use my mind, unlike Rie who had to opportunity to reveal more of him and only pulled up his sleeve

[Guest Starlitelet]

I know that Rie and Mok Dan came from different backgrounds. However, that is not what I'm concerned about. What I'm majorly concerned about is Mok Dan's characterization and development. She's like a fabricated character that doesn't seem to fit into the "Bridal Mask world". Her character is close to perfection. The only wrong she basically has is her impulsive actions. Though, is that seriously a mortifying quality? I don't reckon. The audience sees this side of her as a flaw per say, but the characters in this drama see it as bravery. She doesn't have any flaws, like dark side. It just feels so surreal that I don't buy her character. There's barely any room for improvements. And it doesn't seem like the scriptwriter is really focusing on her flaws in general (if she has any to begin with).
Mok Dan and Kang To make a forgettable couple. Rie and Kang To would be a more memorable couple. Yes, I dare say so.
Mok Dan is the typical girl that every Korean dude protagonists fall for. I was hoping that they would dive in a different area after she reunited with Kang To.
Honestly, I'm sick of her puppy eyes. She always seem so constipated. I find her niceness is fake because all she sees is that Japanese people are evil. She doesn't seem to have anything else implanted in her mind other than that. I don't praise her freedom fighting POV either. She needs to grow a brain other than being Kang To's lover/heart. 
Also, Kang To didn't seem to care that Konno died. Konno helped him a big deal. 
I find that this drama is starting to lay out that perhaps all Japanese people are evil, and only the Koreans are good ... or at least that's how the Korean characters view it. Tsk tsk tsk...

[wildcherry]

The story is getting heavier & I'm beginning to miss the old, rude, hot tempered & flamboyant Lee Kang To...I even miss his 'Bingo'...and the spunky Mok Dan who 'do first, think later' kind of attitude...

However their secret interaction & romance mow is sumhow more exciting & thrilling...just hope they'll have more scene together in next episode

[Guest Starlitelet]

wildcherry

said: The story is getting heavier

However their secret interaction

[Guest stoffkimba]

I just read in the dramabeans comments' section that in the Philippines comfort women are even disregarded/ignored by their own people. Is that true?!!! How about other countries?! I've only ever talked to Koreans and Chinese about this issue and read things on this issue from their perspective and it sounded really supportive of the victims (although sometimes they seem to be just used as a kind of symbol/means for political pressure)...
This is really worrying me, now. Does anybody know anything about this?  (I'm utterly shocked, so ... omg, somebody! anybody!)

@Starlitelet: Yes, concerning Konno, the Japanese ... and partly even MD (girl's gotta grow a brain in some respects) I sometimes felt the same while watching... Well, there's still 8 episodes to go. We'll see where they are going with this...

[mrdimples]

Starlitelet said:
Also, Kang To didn't seem to care that Konno died. Konno helped him a big deal. 
I find that this drama is starting to lay out that perhaps all Japanese people are evil, and only the Koreans are good ... or at least that's how the Korean characters view it. Tsk tsk tsk...

[coolreborn]

I just finished watching episode 20 and I have to sign in here several times before I get my password right. *my hands is shaking*

Darn that Shunji!!! When he hugged Mokdan and Kangto was having an iron fist clad control not to tear them apart and beat the crap out of Shunji. I was like, holy f@$5i#9 shet, I'll be the one taking the daylights out of Shunji. AAARRGGGGHHH!!!! And then after that, the its-ok-its-alright-its-gonna-be-fine holding hands. Oh, my blood pressure drops a bit. So heartbreaking holding hands, I never thought holding one's hand is gonna be heartbreaking... huhuhuhu. And I was thinking, is Shunji thinking of making Mokdan his own comfort woman, gah.

And I was like ..... AAAAAAAHHHH!!!! when Rie appeared and shots the tree, yes I screamed at the screen. I don't care who heard me but I freaking screamed. The poor tree.... I want to cry for the poor wounded tree... *no really, its just a stupid crazy thought that I think of so my mind can process what I just watched.*

Man, I really love the fighting scenes in Gaksital. I replayed it and I really find it cool, like watching Jet Li or Bruce Lee and it reminds me of The Matrix. It's like I'm watching my favorite animes but treated with Joo Won instead. Oh heaven. lol. And I really like the fighting background music, I can imagine myself beating the crap out of someone with that song. hahaha. I hope I can have that song.

And the scene where Rie opens up Kangto's outer clothes, taking the buttons one by one, I can only sigh and looked at her hands with contempt. *or jealousy perhaps coz I'm not the one taking it off... man, so many layers of clothes, hahahaha, if I'm in Rie's situation I'll.... pervy ) *

Dang it, 5 more days to go, right? Gaksital... I hope they will not kill you in this drama. Coz I will be heartbroken if they do.

[mojobobo]

@Starlitelet, I agree that Mok Dan may seem too good to be true. But Damsari, Anna and the Independence fighters are also too good to be true characters isn't it? Not everyone in this world has some dark side to them in the same extent as it exists in Kangto, Rie or even Shunji. Sure, there are no 100% perfect beings but there are still good people with minor flaws. I don't think Mok Dan is all that bad and writing her character off just like that would appear to amount to writing off heroes who truly believed in the cause they are fighting for. That would be unfair. 
I don't see how Mok Dan is a typical K-drama kind of girl. Yes she's a damsel in distress but she's not one of those makjang types and she's doing everything in her ability to fight back at the oppressors. She's a tough girl, especially when she never once caved in to threats, not even when she was only 9 and was hanged upside down in a well, whereas Rie at 9 lost her parents and gave herself to despair. Naturally, Mok Dan is not as awesome as Rie because:
1) Mok Dan has no connections to anyone, other than that she knows Damsari and Gaksital but is pretty much left out of the loop;2) She's still young;3) She's NOT trained as a fighter/spy. 
I think in the recent episodes we got to see some growth, and that is that she is less impulsive and USING her brain, possibly because she needs to protect Kangto. She only fights when there is no other solution, like when the girls got dragged off to go on the truck. And obviously, she failed spectacularly. But you've got to give it to her, knowing that she'll get hurt but still doing her best for her friends. And some even criticised her for calling Kangto about the suspicious couple. So if she fights, she's stupid. If she calls for backup, she's also stupid. It's a lose-lose for the poor girl.
Oh, and Mok Dan DID treat Shunji as a friend. He was the first Japanese she saw as a friend. Recall: scene where he came to yell at Kangto to catch Mok Dan when she was doing laundry and Kangto was watching her, she cried. She lost a friend. 
Granted, Mok Dan has less personal conflict/tragedy to deal with and Rie is more interesting. But I think Mok Dan's reaction to her circumstances also prove that she's worthy of Kangto because she holds on to what she believes in. I don't think one can simply say that Mok Dan is was and will be a goody two shoes simply because she is one. To have been caught since young, lost her mother and left alone. She must have been lonely and sad and afraid but yet she held on to what she thought was right and never wavered. I would say that this makes Mok Dan very very worthy of Kangto. She's strong and can.will give Kangto the support he needs. Rie is not strong and cannot give that kind of support. Rie and Kangto would be interesting to watch, but it would be more like Kangto being Rie's therapist. Kangto needs someone who can heal his wounds and Rie cannot do that because she herself is not whole yet. 
Also, I don't know why you say that Kangto didn't care when Konno died. He obviously did, because he told Shunji that he wanted to investigate and asked to be put on the file. I guess the episode didn't have much time for Kangto to dwell on it because we had to deal with other issues  and there's only so much air time to do so. So I don't think Kangto didn't care. He obviously saw the assassin and knew that investigating could possibly lead to harm but he still wanted to do it. I don't know how else he could have shown he cared.
I don't know if we are watching the same show but I absolutely disagree with your last sentence about the drama. No offense. We saw Konno, we still have Abe and we had Shunji. These are good people (Shunji is on a different level but still...) As for the Koreans, we have the couple recruiting women, the Count and Countess, the circus traitor, and Rie (she's bad for her deeds but I'm not saying she's beyond redemption. I would like to see her change for the better too because deep down inside, we still have our conscience). Heck, even Kangsan was not the perfect hero we all thought he was. So really, I don't think this drama is characterising all Japanese as bad, all Koreans as good. To say that would be to put down this drama for its very awesomeness and subtlety. I think this drama is more about the circumstances people are placed in and how we react to them. Circumstances make or break a person. So to say that this drama is all about caricaturing the two races would be really trivialising what this drama has sought to achieve and IS achieving.  

I don't mean to be offensive but I am indeed upset that the drama has been trivalised. This is what Gaksital does to fans. T_T
-Edit-
Awww, @mrdimples has beaten me to what I wanted to say heh. 

[coolreborn]

@stoffkimba : maybe you may want to read this one: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080308-123465/Antique-honors-Lola-Masing-comfort-woman, it's totally heartbreaking, I remembered this one. I think it's not only in the Philippines that this stuff happened. I remember they want the Japanese government, not any other agency, to apologize to them and maybe accept that this thing really happened. But of course, it did not happened. Actually, what Gaksital potrays about comfort woman is not much different on what happened in the Philippines when Japanese occupied it, but it maybe worst here since we were an ally of America back then. I personally care with this comfort woman, I am a woman myself and I can just imagine  what they have gone through. I don't even know if I have older relatives, grandmothers that became one, they tried to keep it a secret since it's kind of a disgrace if someone will know. Please don't say that the country did not care, coz the people did care. I even read a book about it, stories on having a child with Japanese features but saying that they are not. But this kind of things do happen in war time, in any place strife with war, in past and even in our present time. And if I will only think of the atrocities that they had made in my country, I may not admire their animes and mangas. But I know, like any country who went to war, the whole of the population did not agree with it. Gaksital potrayed that in Konno, he don't want any civil unrest by killing Damsari. In such a small act, I can relate it in the whole concept. But if the higher ups will say go to war, they did even if someone don't want to.

[Louise30]

@mojobobo & @mrdimples:

Just in the middle of typing the response to @starlitelet but it turns out you both have done it perfectly instead so oh well... what an excellent and thoughtful responses. You both said what're in my mind almost precisely.

So what about these... I know some of us interested on watch Arang too next week. To welcome it and the healthy competition between it and BM (+ To the Beautiful You, I might just watch all 3 starting next week *sigh*, they all interesting with very different genre each. But of course I'll still say, Fighting BM!), how about Arang poster ft. JW-JSY?  :x  It's lovely.




And this fruit image also cute. Lemon and grapes love strawberry? LOL.







Credit: Gaksital DCInside

[coolreborn]

@pavlichenko : whoever made the fruit thing, they nailed Kangto right, coz Joo Won loves sour fruits/stuff. Nah, I think Arang is not my type of drama, I know the girl is from My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, am I right? I'll stick with Bridal Mask. I think the Koreans may like this drama since it is based on their folklore. Bridal Mask storyline is much familiar with me because it's about the Japanese occupation and it happened in our country.

[Guest stoffkimba]

@mrdimples and @mojobobo: I don't know about starlitelet, but you two got me convinced to see the things going on in the show in a more positive light. Or maybe it's just the banaba-chocolate ice cream I've just bought myself (I needed chocolate! positive energy! *rah*). They just didn't have time for a "crying over Konno" scene, some Koreans (the original betrayers, and let's not forget the newspaper men) are beyond redemption and there are still some Japanese who are kind of good (I'm actually counting Jun among them - but that might just be because of the visuals )... *nods* I just choose to see it that way now. Everything else would just make me even sadder.

On Konno (because mrdimples raised the issue): I for one don't think he would have helped Gaksital! He saw him as a terrorist and there was no question that Konno was loyal to Japan. Of course, had he found out about him being Kang-to, he would have tried to find out his reasons. In a ways, they were hunting the same people (Kishokai)! It would have been really interesting had this drama explored that issue! Also - I've said so before, but never mind - I do think Konno would have been opposed to the comfort women plan. It's not in his character. He would have tried to do something about it. (Or maybe the other ones would have had to convince him that they were recruiting prostitutes, not school girls, and that everything was morally "all right"...) I would have liked to see that.

[Guest stoffkimba]

coolreborn said: @stoffkimba : maybe you may want to read this one: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080308-123465/Antique-honors-Lola-Masing-comfort-woman, it's totally heartbreaking, I remembered this one. I think it's not only in the Philippines that this stuff happened. I remember they want the Japanese government, not any other agency, to apologize to them and maybe accept that this thing really happened. But of course, it did not happened. Actually, what Gaksital potrays about comfort woman is not much different on what happened in the Philippines when Japanese occupied it, but it maybe worst here since we were an ally of America back then. I personally care with this comfort woman, I am a woman myself and I can just imagine  what they have gone through. I don't even know if I have older relatives, grandmothers that became one, they tried to keep it a secret since it's kind of a disgrace if someone will know. Please don't say that the country did not care, coz the people did care. I even read a book about it, stories on having a child with Japanese features but saying that they are not. But this kind of things do happen in war time, in any place strife with war, in past and even in our present time. And if I will only think of the atrocities that they had made in my country, I may not admire their animes and mangas. But I know, like any country who went to war, the whole of the population did not agree with it. Gaksital potrayed that in Konno, he don't want any civil arrest by killing Damsari. In such a small act, I can relate it in the whole concept. But if the higher ups will say go to war, they did even if someone don't want to.

[Guest Starlitelet]

@stoffkimba: Haha - I'm surprised you're also on the same boat as me. I feel terrible for feeling this way about Gaksital, but it's the honest truth. I mean, what I typed is my honest feelings about Gaksital at the moment. It's good to know that I'm not alone .

mrdimples

said:

Starlitelet

said:

Also, Kang To didn't seem to care that Konno died. Konno helped him a big deal. 
I find that this drama is starting to lay out that perhaps all Japanese people are evil, and only the Koreans are good ... or at least that's how the Korean characters view it. Tsk tsk tsk...

[coolreborn]

@stoffkimba :  Your welcome, the article was written in 2008 when Lola (Grandmother) Masing died but it was a news back then. In my opinion, maybe every country occupied by Japan tried to right what they did wrong to this comfort women, but alas, they put an end to it in a rather harsh way. It stinks but it happened. I don't know, maybe the government is so darn adamant, I'm not a Japanese so I can't say.

Oh well, back to our favorite Gaksital. I think Rie will have a change of heart.

And if ever I'll wear a mask, Gaksital's mask is not for me cause I might not be able to see where I'm going. lol.
But really, Kangto looks hot even if he is wearing a mask. KYA!!~~~

[coolreborn]

Anyway... where is Katsuyama while the fighting is happening? Don't tell he will just let this pass? Or is he so devoted to Rei he will do whatever she wants and not tell the Kishokai big boss. ( Or will Rei take Bridal Mask as prisoner, yay! evil-pervy thoughts arises. lol. )

[Guest stoffkimba]

Starlitelet said: All the good Japanese people are either useless (Abe) or dead (Konno) or crazy (Shunji) at the moment. So in the end, what does this generally say about Japanese characters? Only the bad Japanese people prevail and have brains.

[ahoxan]

((( Episodes 01-20)))

"Bridal Mask (2012) Softsubs"

Subtitles brought to you by:...

~ "The Bridal Mask Team" ~

The softsubs are synced as labeled.

 Bridal Mask (2012) Softsubs Google Drive folder 

 The individual RapidShare links for the softsubs...

KBS2.Bridal.Mask.E01.H264.720p-HANrel.EN.srt

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[nenechanchan]

I wonder how someone could continue watching this show when all they do is nitpick at the characters. It's a known fact that MD's character is quite one dimensional and underdeveloped compared to other characters, HOWEVER, she has been this way from the beginning, so why complain about it NOW? just because Rie has come into the picture?I feel that all these criticisms toward MD (and the actress playing her) are starting to surface only because of the recent episodes, where she hasn't had much to do. Although we are exploring Rie's side of the story at the moment, where she is indeed quite interesting to watch, we shouldn't compare her to MD because they are two very different people - they're made to be different...there's a reason why KT loves MD and not Rie, you know...Remember how cool MD was when she willingly walked into the nail cage? how she tried to fought back against the people taking her friends to become comfort women? how she continues to protect KT despite constantly getting harassed/violated by Shunji?Just because she's in the episodes for 4 minutes doesn't mean that she has no role or she's unnecessary or she contributes nothing to the story.Please cut MD some slack. no show is flawless. the reason we get awesomely layered and developed characters like KT and Shunji and Rie IS because some others (like MD) have to give up their own screen time for the show to focus more on the important people.