Bridal Mask Review

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.