Who Did It Better? #2: Revenge, Masks and Action

Who did it better? #2

Have you ever watched a drama and thought, "Oh! This is the same as in..." or "I feel like I've watched this before..."? There are a lot of dramas out there with similar plots. "Who did it better?" will be a weekly feature discussing dramas with the same main plot line, and I'll be comparing both to see which one is ultimately better. Last time we had time travel, this week's theme will be:

Of Revenge, Masks & Action

City Hunter vs Bridal Mask

Note: Before I continue, I need to clarify that there are a lot more dramas with this kind of plot, like Iljimae, Bad Guy or even Nice Guy, which is currently airing. BUT, these are the 2 dramas that are most alike and that have gotten the most attention, so these will be the ones I'll talk about.

Synopsis

City Hunter

Lee Yoon Song, trained all his life in martial arts and weapons, learns the truth about his father's death. He then decides to investigate who was behind it in order to avenge his father. In order to do that, he starts working at the Blue House (Korea's equivalent to the White House). There he meets Kim Na Na, a bodyguard. He becomes City Hunter, a person who wears a mask to uncover the crimes of politicians (those who were responsible for his parent's death).

Bridal Mask

Set in the 1930's during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Bridal Mask is about Lee Kang To, a Korean man who becomes an officer for the Japanese government - and thus is hated by Koreans and Japanese alike. He is obsessed with catching the Bridal Mask (or Gaksital), a hero who fights against injustice and punishes crime. But, as fate would have it, his life is intertwined with Bridal Mask's in more ways than he can think of. After a series of life-changing events, he learns the truth about his father's death and decides to take revenge on the people responsible for it.

This is actually going to be really tough because I am a huge fan of both these dramas. Both made me feel on edge the whole time, both made me cry in some parts, and both made me bite my nails with the anxiety I was feeling. Needless to say, I was addicted to both. Then, let's start comparing!

Comparison

In the comments of the last edition, someone mentioned that they would've liked it more if I talked more about the concept being used, not only the drama. She (or he) was definitely right, so I'll try to fix that this time :)

Note: There may be minor spoilers, but I tried to do it as spoiler-free as possible

1. Concept
This is actually three concepts put together, so I'll talk about them separately. 

Both heroes use masks. City Hunter uses black and Bridal Mask uses white. I may be overthinking it, but for me, the use of the bridal mask in Gaksital was metaphoric of the Korean's oppression. Just as women have always been considered the weaker sex, so was Korea considered the weaker nation by Japan. Then again, this is just my assumption. In City Hunter, Lee Yoon Sung uses a black mask which "covers" the lower part of his face. And I say "cover" because I could still recognize him with the mask, but to everyone else, he was unrecognizable (Oh dramaland! So full of innocent naive people. How I wish you were real). In this aspect, I'd say Bridal Mask wins because his mask actually covers his face, has a metaphorical meaning and does something else besides making him look hot.

Action Packed. Both dramas are packed with action scenes, but they are executed differently. In Bridal Mask, there's use of both weapons and martial arts. The only weapon Bridal Mask uses is an iron flute, but he is really good in martial arts too. One aspect that I loved in the fight scenes in Bridal Mask was the use of katanas and samurai, which I have loved since I was little.

In City Hunter, action scenes are a lot more advanced, specifically because of the more advanced weaponry. Most fight scenes at some point involve guns, but there was also a lot of martial arts too. I especially loved the spoon fight scene, I thought it was really funny though I don't know why.

Both Lee Min Ho and Joo Won excelled themselves in these action scenes. They are both flawless and I was impressed with both. BUT, while Joo Won used a stunt double for some of his action scenes, Lee Min Ho refused to use one, so extra brownie points for him. Having said all this, I believe they are tied in this aspect because both dramas have really good action scenes in its own way.

Note: There are better action scenes in both dramas than the ones on the videos, but for the sake of not spoiling, I chose scenes from the first few episodes.

I left the revenge aspect for last because I felt like it was the most important. In City Hunter, we follow Lee Yoon Sung trying to find out who are the people responsible for his father's death and then we see how he uncovers their secrets and makes their corruption public to ruin their lives.

People responsible for City Hunter's father's death (Sorry for the Spanish subs, it's a screenshot I made from my own copy)

 
In Bridal Mask, while he starts that way (wanting to find the people responsible for his father's death), he, later on, grows to be something entirely different. Bridal Mask becomes a symbol of freedom, justice, and hope for the Korean people. He grows from trying to avenge his father, to trying to save his own country and fight for it.

Kishokai, the organization responsible for Gaksital's father's death

  

It's important to note that while Bridal Mask kills the people he punishes, City Hunter only ruins their lives as he refuses to kill. I believe that in the revenge aspect, City Hunter wins because it is a bigger part of the drama and the plot. Besides, the investigation and spying Lee Yoon Sung does to uncover everything is pretty cool.

2. Plot and writing

As I mentioned before, while City Hunter's plot is all about him avenging his father's death, Bridal Mask is not only about that. It's also about Bridal Mask's journey from an avenger to a national hero, from a killer to a revolutionary. 

I think City Hunter's plot is clear from the very beginning. You know that he will start avenging his father's death, then he will realize that there are more important things in life and so forth. What keeps you glued to the screen (or at least kept ME glued) was seeing HOW he did it: how he fell in love with Na Na, how he grows as a person and those little plot twists that keep the story interesting. Somewhere along the way, there would be a huge plot twist that would lead towards the ending, but you knew this was the basic structure.  

With Bridal Mask I was expecting something very similar to that, but I got something completely different within the first 5 minutes of the first episode. You can say that it definitely starts with a boom. Whatever I thought was going to happen, almost never happened and you never knew what was going to happen next. This is what kept me glued watching Bridal Mask; that feeling of wanting to know what the heck was going to happen next. What was Lee Kang To going to do? How would Shunji react to something? Who would Bridal Mask attack next? The plot for me dragged very little, which is amazing considering that it was a 28-episode long drama.

For me, the writing on both shows was brilliant. But, for all the plot twists, character writing and development, and the rough scenes, Bridal Mask really does deserve an award. The characters, especially Lee Kang To and Shunji, were incredibly complex and it was fascinating to watch them develop. Besides, using the idea of how love can save or ruin a person was really genius; as we always only see the good side of love, but what happens when something horrible happens with it? These are a few superficial aspects that make the plot and writing in Bridal Mask so enthralling and different. One thing that I did like better in City Hunter was how there was no love square of death.

3. Love Story

The love story in both these dramas is really similar. Each love story is actually two love stories because there's the love story between the female lead and the hero but there's also the love story between the female lead and the person behind the mask. The main point is "does she fall in love only with the hero? Or will she love him before she knows he's the hero?"

Personally, I didn't like the love story on either. There was so much going on that for me that there simply was no time to develop an epic love story. Besides, I had huge issues with the female leads in both dramas, and I'm going to explain why next. First of all, I find the actresses have a huge physical resemblance with each other, and both characters even had similar styles (even the hair and clothing).

                             
                             Jin Se Yun as Oh Mok Dan                  Park Min Young as Kim Na Na
                                        in Bridal Mask                                          in City Hunter

I'm not as shallow as to hate a character only for that reason. What really bugged me about these characters was that they were presented as really strong and independent women in the beginning of the drama, only to become a burden and the damsel in distress later on. Kim Na Na is a bodyguard for the Blue House, which means she knows martial arts and how to use a gun, but somehow she always gets herself in trouble and Lee Yoon Sung has to be constantly saving her. Oh Mok Dan is the daughter of a revolutionary man who knows how to fight really well, as we can see in the drama's first scene, where she beats several officers and even fights against Lee Kang To. But as the drama progresses, she becomes only useful to: catch Bridal Mask, cause trouble and get herself in the worst situations possible by her bad decision making. Besides, while both of our masked heroes have huge character growth and depth as the story progresses, there's really no development happening with Oh Mok Dan or Kim Na Na. You can watch the first and last episode of either drama and you will find out that they remain pretty much the same (if not worse!) through all the drama.

These dramas are based on the hero, so I somewhat understand why the female leads are left behind and aren't as important. However, both dramas would've been even better if they had developed these characters more, and at least tried making them as good as the heroes (instead of just burdens.) Something like they did in King2Hearts, where Kim Hang Ah is as good, if not better than the Crown Prince.

Still, if I had to choose one, I'd say that City Hunter's love story is better. There's more chemistry between the leads, and Na Na actually does some awesome things other than being a burden. There is also the development of the love story. One of the things I hated the most about Bridal Mask, was that we really didn't see how they fell in love. They were just magically in love because of their past, which to me, was pretty silly. Actually, the whole love square was based on past relationships, way before the drama started. Another aspect I didn't like in Gaksital was how the love story between Lee Kang To and RaRa would've actually been a lot better, yet it was wasted.  Their relationship was way more complex than Lee Kang To's with Oh Mok Dan, and it would've allowed the plot to move even better. Besides, Ra Ra was a strong woman, she didn't become weak at any point. 

4.Acting

The first time I met Lee Min Ho was when I watched Boys Over Flowers. By the time City Hunter came out, I was a huge fan of his and only started watching it because of him. I loved him in it. I think it has been his best role (yes, I'm counting Faith, too) so far. He really surprised me because of the depth he gave to Lee Yoon Sung, and because I had thought until then that he was only a pretty face.

While with Joo Won I had a whole completely different experience. I started watching Bridal Mask only because it kept popping up in Viki, and because Lis-ssi recommended it to me. I hadn't watched any drama that had any of the cast members, so I was completely unaware of what I was getting into. Joo Won swept me away with his incredible acting skills, and then swept me away with his looks. His performance as Lee Kang To was heartbreaking, breathtaking and unbelievably real. He made me cry and laugh, and be afraid of him, but at the same time fascinated. Besides, he plays all the different faces of Lee Kang To equally flawlessly. 

These two dramas were the first I watched of both Park Min Young and Jin Se Yun, so I am being completely unbiased when I say that I don't think either of them acted the best they could (or so I hope.) Jin Se Yun was capable of only one facial expression throughout the whole drama, and she only smiled ONCE.

Jin Se Yuns' expression for anger, confusion, sadness, shock....and several others...

As for Park Min Young, she was the opposite. She kept smiling, and smiling, and smiling even more. But, she did have other facial expressions, at least. Still, she could have done a lot better job with Na Na.

    
Two very important characters which I haven't mentioned a lot so far are the ones played by Park Ki Woong and Lee Joon Hyuk. These two are the second leads in each drama, and each has a really complicated relationship with the male lead. These characters are in contrast to each other, but both actors excelled in making them come to life. I was especially shocked by Park Ki Woong's performance. His impersonation of Shunji blew me away completely. I read that he got so into the role, that he still had nightmares about it sometimes. Lee Joon Hyuk also did a terrific job impersonating Kim Young Joo, a straight edge prosecutor who is trying to catch City Hunter.
In the acting section, even though City Hunter was great, Bridal Mask wins by far. I don't blame this on the cast's acting skills, but more on the script. Bridal Mask's characters were a lot more complex, so it gave the cast a greater opportunity to excel themselves.

5.The end

This is the hardest part: to write about it without spoiling anything, so I will make it short in consideration for those who haven't watched either of these dramas. I think that Bridal Mask's ending was better. I liked City Hunter's ending too, but I had goosebumps all over watching Bridal Mask's. Maybe it's because City Hunter's ending only involved a bunch of people and how they resolved their life, while Bridal Mask's ending included a whole nation's future. Watching it, I even felt like I was one of them fighting for Korea. It was really great. And what made it even better was that it was historical, and these things actually happened (though unfortunately, Bridal Mask was a fictional character).

Conclusion

     
Even though both these dramas were great and I loved them, the one who definitely did it better because of the story, acting, and the whole thing put together is... Bridal Mask. I really think that Bridal Mask deserves many awards, and I hope it gets them. I enjoyed watching every minute of this drama. It shocked me many times and I couldn't stop watching. But, I'm not saying City Hunter is bad, it's extremely good too and one of my favorites. However, in terms of a solid plot, acting, characters and the overall feeling of it, Bridal Mask just outshines it.

On a side note, even if this was not taken into consideration to reach a decision, I loved Bridal Mask's OST, especially this song:

But again, this is just MY opinion. Do you agree with my opinion? Do you know any other drama, old, new or upcoming, with the same kind of plot?  Feel free to comment!
PS: I'm sorry if the article is too long, or boring, but I tried to be as fair to these awesome dramas as possible, so the length was necessary :)