I fell like reviewing a Korean Drama today!
Bridal Mask is rather hard to describe without giving away a
bunch of spoilers. Therefore I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as
possible, which may make it a bit difficult to explain the plot.
First off, I will explain the setting a bit;
The drama takes place in 1930 when the whole of Korea was
occupied by the Japanese as they were trying to expand their eastern empire. To
give the oversimplified version of why this occurred, the Japanese wanted
resources and wanted to become an imperialistic country much like Great Britain
or France. War and politics are completely messed up and complicated, and when
it comes down to it, it’s hard to choose sides. Bridal Mask looks at the side
of the Koreans who have suddenly lost their leader and their kingdom (it was
the Joseon Kingdom, and had been around for centuries) and were expected to
integrate into the Great Japanese Empire. This included learning Japanese and
changing names to more Japanese sounding names.
So basically, the Koreans were pretty pissed. It’s still a
rather sore subject to bring up and there is quite a bit of arguing about the
Japanese use of Korean women (as well as women of other nationalities including
Japanese) as comfort women (aka Prostitutes) in an attempt to reduce the number
of Chinese brothels soldiers used and keep up morale (didn’t work).
Bridal Mask tells the fictional tale of a mysterious person
who wears white robes and a Gaksital which translates to Bridal mask
from which he gets his name. He performs acts of justice is the eyes of the
Koreans and is a pain in the ass terrorist to the Japanese. Lee Kang To, a
pro-Japanese but actually Korean Imperial Police officer conflicted between
surviving and doing what he knows is right, becomes obsessed with tracking down
Bridal Mask, up until certain events lead him to take the mask himself.
I must say, this series is fabulous to look at. There’s over
the top martial arts, period costumes, and good shots of the mountains. The
plot is simply amazing and it even had some twists a seasoned viewer like
myself certainly didn’t see coming.
My complaints are simply limited to my own personal
preferences. I would have preferred Bridal Mask wear black to better contrast
with the white the Imperial Police were so fond of. Personally, I’m a person
who hates war, blood, and violence, and I’m always the first to look for a
peaceful way to get information; peaceful meaning not beating the shit out of
them. I haattteeeddd the torture scenes, they were so brilliantly done.
This drama was
intense. There were torture scenes so gruesome that they were hard to watch
(and I watch surgeries for fun) and I felt as if nearly every character was
about to go completely insane and go on a murderous rampage. No one is
completely safe from committing immoral acts, or jumping off that slippery
slope and becoming about as logical as clothes on a Pomeranian during the
summer. I had to take a break and watch some gold old fashioned Ouran High
School Host Club before I could will myself to continue.
Depending on the pacing, you might like that intense,
constantly moving the plot forward but for me, I felt a bit like I was riding a
train towards a canyon without a bridge. I loved it, and I loved the
characters, and I loved it when they slowed down a little, and I loved the
intrigue and the plot twists, but I never forgot that Korea didn’t get their
independence until 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the Allied Powers in
World War II. That meant that for roughly fourteen or fifteen years after the
series, the Koreans still had to deal with name changing, comfort women
recruitment, censorship, and being unable to govern their own nation. It put a
damper on the victories of Bridal Mask for me.
Rating: Hot Coffee (tastes good but don’t bolt it all at
once)
Best Parts: The acting is simply wonderful, the characters
are very easy to relate to and even the villains get their fair share of
characterization. The number of action oriented females surprised me, as did
the number of women who got okay characterization outside of the love interest.
Parts I could do without: The torture scenes and the number
of times people resorted to violence turned my stomach, but I understand that
there was a reason to it. My only real complaint was that it was painful to get
me to like so many characters and then watch their world turn increasingly to
shit.
I say check it out, if it’s not your cup of tea, you’re
better off not sticking around. If still interested, I suggest checking out the
Manhwa by Huh Young Man.
