History vs fantasy in absurd TV serials

At a glance

Applauded war-themed TV serials in recent years:

The Proof of Memories (2002)

Photo provided to China Daily

The 29-episode TV series broadcast on CCTV chose the uncommon perspective of Chinese prisoners-of-war-turned-forced-laborers in Japan to look back on that period of history. It topples the traditional barrier between the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang soldiers on Chinese screens. This production also made Koji Yano, then a Japanese student in China, who played the laborer supervisor, a familiar face to Chinese audiences, and he later appears in numerous war-themed TV series.