Japan's "Unicorn" Asada Mana, Suffering from Backlash Over Comparisons to Park Eun-bin… Local Reactions Split [Star Issue]

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As the Japanese remake of "Unicorn," which starred actress Park Eun-bin and won widespread acclaim, aired its first episode, local reactions toward lead actress Asada Mana have been divided.

On the 19th, the drama "Extraordinary Attorney Minami" premiered on a Fuji TV-affiliated network in Japan. It also climbed the Netflix "Today's Top 10 Series in South Korea" chart, drawing significant attention domestically as well.

"Extraordinary Attorney Minami" is a remake of the ENA drama "Unicorn," which aired in 2022. The story follows a rookie lawyer on the autism spectrum who grows by solving various cases based on her unique perspective and exceptional memory.

The role of Woo Young-woo, played by Park Eun-bin in the Korean version, is taken on by Asada Mana, a national treasure of Japanese acting. Asada Mana portrays Minami, the protagonist of the Japanese version, depicting a rookie lawyer who possesses a genius-level intellect but faces various difficulties in social life.

Given that the original work gained not only domestic but also global popularity, and that Park Eun-bin received high praise for her portrayal of Woo Young-woo, attention had been focused on comparisons between the two actresses' performances even before the Japanese version was released.

Following the first broadcast, Japanese local media continued to offer favorable reviews of Asada Mana's acting skills.

On the 22nd, Japanese media outlet MANTANWEB focused on viewers' reactions expressing admiration for Asada Mana's performance.

According to the outlet, responses poured in on Japanese social media, including "I got goosebumps from Asada Mana's acting within five minutes of it starting," "Her body language and eye contact are amazing," "Asada Mana is wonderful," and "I was surprised by how great her acting is."

In particular, some viewers who compared the Japanese version to the Korean original expressed positive reactions to Asada Mana's character portrayal, saying things like "She looks much more like Woo Young-woo than I expected" and "There is immense respect for the original work."

Another Japanese media outlet, cinemacafe.net, also reported favorable reviews from fans of the original work following the first broadcast on the 20th.

While the Korean version features a scene where Woo Young-woo struggles to pass through a revolving door, the Japanese version changed this to an escalator. The gimbap that Woo Young-woo used to enjoy was also replaced with onigiri (rice balls) in the Japanese version.

Regarding this, one viewer evaluated, "They changed settings to suit Japanese characteristics, such as replacing the revolving door with an escalator and gimbap with onigiri, while still following the main storyline of the original. I felt sufficient respect for the original work."

However, not all viewers gave positive evaluations. Some Japanese viewers directly compared the performances of Park Eun-bin and Asada Mana, expressing disappointment.

On the Japanese drama review platform Filmarks, a review stated, "Her gaze, body language, and actions are no worse than Park Eun-bin's, but I felt a decisive difference in acting skill." The viewer specifically noted feeling a sense of alienation in Asada Mana's voice, tone, and speed of dialogue, pointing out that the innocent atmosphere shown by Park Eun-bin was lacking.

A netizen who had watched the Korean version first also evaluated, "Asada Mana is not bad, but compared to the Korean version, there are too many explanations, and it lacks expression through visuals or nuance."

Meanwhile, "Unicorn" sparked a syndrome-level popularity when it aired in 2022, and lead actress Park Eun-bin won the Grand Prize in the TV category at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2023 for this work.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original