Sean Akizuki's Personal Blog

Here's a Mandarin song where the title translates to "Please leave a little love for me tonight." One of its singers is Taiwanese actress Zhen Xiu Zhen who acted as Dao Ming Si's mother in Meteor Garden.  Leave me a little love tonight Now I want more than just a friend Do not tell me with a smile Let all say tomorrow Tonight, leave a little love for me Do you really do not understand such feelings? Lonely, everyone has it Just say that I do not speak So leave a little love for me tonight Do not want to change my life Do not want to go alone So leave a little love for me tonight At the end of the day Have a bit of real feeling Leave me a little love tonight Now what I want is no longer a kind of attachment Say nothing It just gets even harder So leave a little love for me tonight Do not want to change life Do not want to go alone So leave a little love for me tonight At the end of the day Have a little bit of real feeling So leave a little love for me tonight Do...

One of the reasons why I enjoy reading through Amy Chua-Rubenfeld's book "Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother" is that we see this one truth - every parenting system has their extremes. If American parenting can be too lenient then she acknowledges how Chinese parenting can be so unreasonable. She thought it'd work for her because her parents did it. Later, she said she'd do some things different if she could do things all over again with some adjustments. One of the controversies in the Chinese parenting is that an A- is a bad grade. So here's the problem - why make such a fuzz over an A- when it's not a bad grade? You want to know the equivalents? Anything below B- is already a line of seven. Anything above it is 80% to 100%. I agree that children should be encouraged to excel but if there's a middle road to it, it's that, "We're not asking for A+, we're not asking you to be excellent. Just don't give us grades that are cringe-wo...

Even if I'm of Chinese descent but I'll admit that as much as I prefer Chinese food over Japanese food but there are some things Japanese do better. I'd like to present the cover then the original. You can go ahead and think that the cover is better but I think the original Japanese is better. Here's Leslie Cheung's licensed cover of the hit song "Monica". As much as I'm a fan of his music but I don't think his rendition miles better than Koji Kikkawa's version... Here's Koji Kikkawa's rendition of the Japanese pop song "Monica". Kikkawa himself has a better voice and passion than Cheung in this area. While Cheung himself has had a lot of good songs but I don't think he reaches Kikkawa's performance level. Is it me or do most Japanese singers show better vocals than Chinese singers? While Chinese entertainment usually presents better action than Japanese entertainment but I usually like Japanese music over Ch...

Chinese brands are usually very easy to identify like Hwawei, Haier and Tsingtao while others like Lenovo are Alibaba are not so obvious - just Google for Chinese brands and you'll know what to avoid.  Some research would tell you which is a Chinese brand and for one, I personally don't like Chinese brands as much as Japanese or Taiwanese.  I still have had my own issues ever since the 2008 Melamine Scandal - even the Chinese government admits they are not out of the blue with all the dirt the previous administrations left behind. Now it's time to talk about Made in China.  I don't want to sound like Alan Impurisima who is using similar words as antonyms like "advice" and "order" when both are pretty similar.  When you are advised to leave, you must leave.  When you are ordered to leave, you must leave.  Likewise, made in China is when you produce any product unit in China.  I mean, have you ever observed imported brands that are made in the Phili...

Well otakus and weibos (or whatever) would probably still be liking Japanese media but maybe out of an open mind tries to check out the Chinese craze. This reminded me of my first impression of the F4 boyband.  Although F4 right now is dispersed due to Vic Chou's new career similar to Qin Han's younger days in Taiwan TV, Jerry Yan more or less now heading there (and he kinda resembles senior actor Qin Han) and well Vanness Wu's just gotten married but I can't deny the impact they made.  At first, I thought they were a Japanese boyband and I bought their CD thinking it was Japanese.  Ha ha, I was very much trolled there because when I listened to it, it was in MANDARIN!  Ha ha!  And of course, I thought Meteor Garden was J-Drama at first until I saw it was in TAIWAN!  Hee hee!  Besides, what's with F4 and them imitating the otaku hair back then? I guess this picture of Vic Chou and Erika Toda (Vic Chou here is paired WITH Janine Chang, not Erika T...

When China comes to mind, it reminds me of one of history's most cruel figures namely Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward while mercilessly blowing away all who opposed his administration. If another yet notorious figure in China is Deng Xiaopeng in whose administration the otherwise intended to be peaceful rally at Tiananmen ended pretty bloody because the Chinese government ran them over. In fact, one must question the decency between Communist China and "democratic Philippines". A few years ago back in 2008, the melamine plague hit China and there was a corrupt health minister. When China found out that many of these fake products entered several parts of the world, they demanded a recall of all these bad products in exchange. They had all the corrupt officials involved to be executed. The melamine scandal was taken care off by the Chinese government. Would have the incident happened in the Philippines, don't expect...

With the rising need for Mandarin education, to be honest it can be very frustrating to have Mandarin education with only memorizing phrases without understanding them, really or that fill in the blanks isn't helping.  For me, this might be the best way considering this could be the only way... The first step is to really make it easy.  Note that most Chinese students might not be Chinese or even if they are ethnically Chinese but being descendants of migrants, it can be a problem.  I mean, Vanness Wu for instance because of him being American by citizenship had to start all over.  Also in the Philippines, Filipinos can be very dumbfounded with Chinese since it's a very different language.  If Chinese can be dumbfounded by English, the same can happen to other people when it comes to Chinese.  So the fact is ENOUGH of the useless memorizations in Chinese! It's VERY important to STOP with the Chinese alphabet and MOVE towards the direct use of the Pho...

The fuzz isn't over and perhaps I'd talk about the CHINESE market next.  The Filipino-Chinese market tend to have different taste over the Filipino market.  Some of them can be very die hard to their Chinese culture or the requirement for Chinese studies is another.  I mean, cultural immersion is VERY important if the Philippines expects to get into a much better track. So let's just say these Filipino-Chinese who are bored with all the CRAAAAAAAAP that is offered on Filipino local TV as of late decide to fly off abroad to buy LEGITIMATE DVDs of Chinese films or to buy Chinese music abroad because they can't buy it here.  Now they get CRIMINALIZED even if it's the original copy? WTF?  And then you expect the Chinese market to come all the way here to buy Filipino books, DVDs and music at a more affordable price?!  Oh wow, that's really a double standard problem and much more IDIOCY!  Or maybe, in the offering of Mandarin lessons, how then in the wo...

Well I was thinking of the time I ate Peking duck in an occasional basis or in any gatherings at Shanghai or Beijing, I really say that it's a tasty treat.  All I can say is that the duck skin, the duck meat, the lotus pancakes and the hoison sauce... they all do make a really good combination for a luxurious meal.  I just thought that it'd be fun for me to watch this video seeing how Peking duck is actually made.  Enjoy the demonstration which is fortunately in English for all who can't understand Chinese.  Woohoo!

Here's the reality: to adapt or not to adapt?  I was just thinking of this question due to the horrible reality of unfair and extreme favoritism of Super Sentai by its purists aside from the freaking childish side of those who don't want to view Super Sentai as Power Rangers extremists.  Now here's the reality.  Adaptation is NOT always bad.  It's how it's being adapted that matters.  Seriously I'm even opening my fan fic "Super Sentai vs. Nickelodeon" for adaptation purposes for those who don't like my roster of characters or felt they can do better, bring it on.  So now here's some good and bad adaptations... There are Taiwanese and Chinese adaptations of Anime.  Some of them turn out pretty good as you know it.  Meteor Garden was adapted from Hana Yori Dango, to which while it had its big differences (because of a second season) but it was done well.  However some of them can be terrible like Hot Shot due to poor execution.  But s...

Actually like it or not, Mandarin education is rising up and we can't just do without it these days.  Okay English is the universal language BUT Mandarin is a fast approaching phenomenon which can be seen how not only Chinese culture manages to influence non-Chinese entertainment but also, people of Chinese ethicity are widespread throughout the world.  Take a look at how the Chinese people compose not only the American people but almost every nationality in the world.  Eventually a lot of Chinese have begun to team up with other races and also some have managed to influence commerce.  Think of Filipino businessmen of Chinese ethnicity like Tony Tancaktiong (who owns Jollibee) or John Gokongwei (who owns Robinsons).  They have managed to influence businesses in the Philippines without them, the economy could have gone that bad. Now China has emerged as a major economic power since the late 90s up to the present not ever since the gates of the country were open...

It's kinda reality but it's true.  Although I'm a Tokusatsu fan specifically my favorite overall is Super Sentai yet I got stuck into Chinese drama more than Tokusatsu.  I think it's no longer hard to explain especially I know myself in that area.  Also, I like Chinese drama more than J-Drama.  Don't worry I still like Tokusatsu but I'll present you one of my guilty pleasures in the form of Chinese drama. So here are some reasons: The ever emerging truth of Chinese influence has managed to influence much of Asian way of life. So it'd be nice for people to also get immersed in the modernized Chinese society.  Japan has already served much but now, even Japan copies much of Chinese influence.  Yup I got to admit over most crappy shows, they have REAL good script writing and their adaptation of Anime is not decayed at all most of the time compared to American adaptations.  Then again, why are they using the Toku hairstyle?  I like havin...

So far, since there have been Chinese-Caucasian breeding somewhere in between so here are some of the lovely results: Bug-eyed oriental girls. Yup. Vicki Zhao is one example. Some look more Chinese but have Caucasian skin. Isabella Leong Nolasco de Silva is half-Portugese, half-Chinese. Penny Lin and Wallace Luo. They may have traces of Spanish or Portugese blood along the way. Most Taiwanese have evidence of interbreeding with Europeans. Even some Japanese exhibit such appearances these days.

Some people, probably not Chinese think that the situations in Mano Po are being unrealistic but the truth is far from fiction. Whether it was the trilogy (1-3), the dual comedy (5-6) and back to serious again (6) where each film was not connected to the other but operated within their own continuity, there is much truth in those films if one has lived with traditional Chinese parents. And how true indeed. Here are the following truths derived from each and every entry: Mano Po 1- My Family There's a high tendency to discriminate a Filipino to the point to call him/her a criminal when they aren't A true Filipino doesn't have to be Pinoy by blood to be a true Filipino In the older Chinese family setting, it's all about extreme obedience Mano Po 2- My Home Overextended Chinese families are usually a burden A Chinese mistress can be worse than a Filipino one Being too traditional damages people like how Antonio Chan should have just turned down his mother's command ...

Here's what- making a racist comment against Chinese is not only going to anger the Chinese community but also some Americans who are very anti-racist believing that America was meant for ALL not for those just born American. These Americans can also include those who are married to Chinese partners.

While it's been pretty much in our minds that Americans are usually taller, the contrary is true. Also with the Chinese, many of them have gone taller and China also has gave one of the tallest basketball players around Yao Ming. Also there are some Chinese stars of this generation who are actually around 175 cm and higher. For example, Japanese actor Tori Matsuzaka is 181 cm in height. That makes him taller than the rest of the Taiwanese F4 boyband members. Some Oriental males who are married to western women are a lot taller than their wives. And some Americans are actually shorter than we think especially with women. Emma Roberts is only 5'2 tall. Hmmm I wonder why she didn't grow taller? In fact, some Chinese guys who married American women are actually a lot taller than their wives. I remembered meeting an American woman and she was just that tall too. I personally would be interested in dating a 5'2 Caucasian girl.

In the past, it was usually a Chinese woman marrying a Western man that was becoming the norm. However, things have gotten a little different. Now it's becoming the norm of having a Chinese guy marrying a Western woman and it's no longer counted as deviant. Why do I think Chinese-Western marriages are now happening the other way around? Here are some reasons why I think so: The Chinese men are not very ancient Chinese in thinking upon migration and blending in so much into the Western culture while keeping a few values that can still mix well. The Western women may have found them better than most of their Western suitors. Also in China, some men have a hard time finding a wife so they fly west never to return and find themselves falling for Western girls. Maybe there are some values that these Western girls find in the Chinese men. I don't know really. But somehow, I'm open to the idea of marrying one and spending the rest of my life with her, and well... grow old...

Somehow I've always thought of this fact- some Chinese guys have left China because they're having a hard time finding a wife (blame it on abortion and gender biases), flew West and ended up dating and eventually marrying Caucasian girls and staying in their new countries for good. While it's the usual norm that it's the mother who's Chinese and the father who's Caucasian, however it's also becoming the new norm that you have person with a Chinese father and a Caucasian mother. Brandon Lee was an example as his mother was American, his father Bruce Lee was Chinese. When a Chinese guy adapts to the culture of the Caucasian girl and vice versa (to a certain extent like belief systems), there is NO problem into it. I mean, for example, Vanness Wu may be Chinese but he's more American in his upbringing. Take for example Jonathan Patrick Foo who starred as Jin Kazama in Tekken. He's one of the norm reverse results. His father is Chinese, his mother i...