DOCTORS 2013 SP Review

Title: DOCTORS Special

Genre: Medical, Justice

Broadcast date: 2013-Jul-01

Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Takashima Masanobu, Higa Manami, Kurokawa Tomoka and Takizawa Saori.

It’s been 1½ years since the ‘living liver donor transplant’, and the Dogami General Hospital has gotten a reputation-boost because of it. Patients have been flowing in, and the hospital has been busy. Dr. Moriyama (Takashima Masanobu) returns after being abroad for some time: he’s been practicing laparoscopy surgery, and has become quite good at it. Due to having returned and having done the ‘living liver donor transplant’, Professor Sengoku of Saito University Hospital has black listed Moriyama because he felt offended by it. This also leads to the spread of rumors, and unfortunately decreases of patients.

Some days later, Yukimura Eriko comes to Dogami General Hospital in hopes of curing her cancer. Dr. Sagara (Sawamura Ikki) makes it his top priority to help her, which includes having Dr. Moriyama do the laparoscopy while doing his surgery. But after finding out that she was the former patient of Dr. Sengoku, Moriyama hesitates, because if he helps a patient Dr. Sengoku was unable to treat, he would offend him even more, and that would probably be the end of his career.. What is Dr. Sagara going to do?

As a continuation of the series I was a bit expectant of the special (since the Japanese are really good at these specials), I unfortunately have to announce that this was not as good as the drama. It’s not bad as in acting and screenplay, it’s just that the storyline was a bit boring compared to the drama. I felt there was too much of administration/management and too little medical. Like if you do a medical drama, or special, it is supposed to be medical, not about the fight of who can become the next director or who is on whose side. Of course there can be a bit of it, but this special has about 10% medical - in the end and in the beginning. So you can say I am a bit disappointed. But the thing I liked was how in the special we find out about everyone around Sagara, and get to know them a bit better, rather than just Sagara. All in all, an okay special, though hoping for a better season 2.

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

DOCTORS Review

Title: DOCTORS~ Saikyou no Meii

Genre: Medical, Justice

Episodes: 8

Broadcast period: 2011-Oct to 2011-Dec

Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Takashima Masanobu, Higa Manami, Kurokawa Tomoka and Miyaji Masako.

At Dogami Hospital the rules are very simple: the doctors have the say, everyone else is just less important. The main surgeons are incredibly self-centered and selfish. This kind of pride-driven hospital has lost many patients and a lot of the rest of the medical staff are not only fed up but also close to quitting. This all changes when Sagara Kosuke (Sawamura Ikki) is hired as a new surgeon. At first he seems humble, quiet and respecting of his fellow workers, but that changes when he decides to go behind everyone’s backs and performs a surgery. As he is about to get fired, the director of the hospital gets a hold of a video that was filmed during the operation, and she desperately begs him to stay after watching it, giving him a crazily high raise. Now his true colors seem to shine, he slowly but surely tries to change the hospital. This doesn’t go well with the other surgeons especially the ace surgeon Moriyama Suguru (Takashima Masanobu) who feels that the newcomer is butting too much...

I wasn’t really expectant of this drama for numerous of reasons: 1 I didn’t like the idea of Ikki in a drama (have this dislike for him after I watched Black President) and 2 because it’s 8 episodes. Which is kind of funny: since I made up my mind to watch it so I could change my perspective about Ikki, and I liked the fact that I could watch this drama in one day. Also I really felt like a medical drama, and this one did its job by giving me the things I wanted: medical, short and a change in perspective (a little bit). I don’t know the actor Takashima Masanobu acting as Moriyama, but he is weird. I don’t know if he was supposed to be funny (I laughed A LOT), but he had disturbing facials and he shook too much for an actor.

Anyways, the drama is interesting and pretty charming, though I kind of felt it was a shame that the idea was “too idealistic”, meaning Dr. Sagara is too focused on helping his patients that he didn’t really realize what it did to his co-workers (even though the drama showed it became better, it kind of is a lie if you ask me).

So all in all: a great medical drama with good acting.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Black President Review

Title: Black President

Genre: Social, Comedy, Business

Episodes: 11

Broadcast period: 2014-Apr to 2014-Jun

Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Kuroki Meisa, Kuninaka Ryoko, Kadawaki Mugi and Nagase Tasuku.

A ‘Black President’ is a CEO of a company that only focuses on money: as in the sense of treating the employees as tools to get money - that is Mitamura Yukio (Sawamura Ikki).

The CEO of a well-known textile company, Mitamura Yukio doesn’t really have much of a social life, yet he is a very well-off and talented business man. And yet he decides to apply for a business major at a University, and surprisingly he gets accepted. As the oldest student, and older than some professors, he doesn’t really fit in, but that doesn’t hold him back. He tries to befriend the assistant professor Akiyama Kyoko (Kuroki Meisa) who not only is thrown off by his age, but also by mean personality.

Shortly enough he decides to join the film club duo to unknown interest, and even though the group doesn’t like him they reluctantly have to let him join.

Soon his ‘black business’ ways  start to emerge and change the students and the lives around him, which leads to Akiyama deciding to go against him: expose him to the world as the Black President he is…

Okay, so this drama is basically about business AND involving students? I don’t know what and why they thought it would be a good idea? I mean it’s not badly acted, just very boring. Too many uninteresting situations, and it’s really not funny. I thought it would be funny! The lead is not just an anti-hero he’s also very unlikeable, and has absolutely no growth (character growth). It is one of those dramas you need an open mind and a diverse interest pool, which I apparently don’t have. The younger cast was pretty good, except one of the leads, but the most interesting is Meisa (and I am no fan of hers).

All in all - I wouldn’t recommend it, but a lot of different people liked it, so something has to be okay about it…

☆☆☆ / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥ / 2 out of 5 hearts