Avistas recently had their anniversary and to celebrate, had a "freeleech" weekend where you could grab anything without worrying about the size or the burden of reseeding the amount, and I used that opportunity to get a few larger size dramas I've always wanted in more HQ formats, and among them was the excellent "Seigi No Mikata" from 2008! I've gushed time and time again this drama's virtues, and besides being my #1 drama of the 2000-2014 era, could even possibly place number one bar none, it's THAT good! I've always wanted cleaner files of the show, and wasted no time grabbing that one right up!
With this set of crisp new files now in my possession, I knew it was a PERFECT opportunity to REWATCH the series ALL OVER again! spent the week absolutely BLOWING through it, and HOLY HECK, It's JUST as great and timely as it ever was, despite it being a good 15 years since!
This is the FOURTH time I am watching the series all the way through again- as I've mentioned in older posts, this is a drama I return to TIME and time again as every episode seems to showcase one scene or another that I've just GOT to see again! I cannot stress how much I adore this drama, though I guess my many, many posts gushing about it makes it clear enough!
My original assessment after watching it for the second time sums it up succinctly:
"...While watching the show all over again, I realized that Seigi No Mikata is probably my FAVORITE drama of my “modern” era! Besides the clever, witty dialog, the hilarious slapstick scenes and the awesome, awesome acting of Shida Mirai and Yamada Yu, this drama also benefits from having one of the tightest storylines; in its set-up, its consistency and its superb conclusion, one that keeps me coming back for more!
Seigi No Mikata is the story of a young girl named Yoko who has a dominating, bullying older sister named Makiko, whom, though evil, selfish and vain, always seems to come up looking like a savior to everyone around: When her boss chews her out at work, she wrings a moldy washcloth into his tea- when his stomach begins hurting, she orders him to “leave and get to the hospital!” She is free of him for the rest of the day! Next day, the boss’s wife comes in to gratefully thank Makiko for advising her husband to go to the doctor because they discovered a malady that, since they took care of it so soon, is non-threatening. Makiko has inadvertently saves her boss’s life, and is celebrated for it!
It’s situations like this that drive little sister Yoko crazy. Only SHE can see her sister’s real, evil intentions, but she seems almost helpless as she watches each person, one by one, get accidentally “saved” by Makiko and praise her as a real “Savior of Justice”!
This is a title hard for Yoko to take when she is being persecuted every day by Makiko- made to do her chores, run her errands and help her with her selfish pursuits. But when Makiko sets her sights on a new lawyer at the firm (Mukai Osamu) and enlists Yoko to help snag him, Yoko happily realizes if Makiko succeeds and tricks the guy into marrying her, she’ll be free of her sister forever! But will Yoko’s conscious let her stand by while this innocent guy gets deeper and deeper into Makiko’s deceit?
Well, by the last episode, everything has come to a head, everything has been put on the table and, amazingly, everything gets resolved! And for the last chapter of the story, the person who benefits from Makiko’s selfish ways is none other than Yoko herself, who finds that even in the midst of her evil, narcissistic ways, Makiko’s deceptions bring forth true goodness to all those around her!"
Sentiments that I feel even MORE strongly after having finished it up for the fourth time!
i'll say ONE thing in hindsight- It's crazy that actress Mirai Shida hasn't become a BIGGER star than she currently is. Because her skills in Seigi are simply OFF THE CHARTS! I mean, I know she's well-known,but in shows like "Brush Up Life" and such, she's still playing the little sister roles and more often than not is cast in smaller secondary roles. I remember at the time of Seigi, thinking she was going to DOMINATE the drama scene! Well, she's currently heading her own drama with the recent "Shori no Hoteishiki ", so THAT'S good!!
And as for Yu Yamada, she of the the wonderfully volatile character of Makiko, seems like we haven't seen much of her drama-wise for YEARS... Guess that's what happens when you dedicate yourself to being a mother of four (FOUR!) children, such as she has! Well, she still posts on her instagram and continues to look as commandingly radiant as ever!
Besides the aforementioned lead actresses, we also have others like Osamu Mukai and Hongo Kanata who appeared as the romantic leads, as well as Irie Jingi and Shizuka Nakamura as Yoko’s school friends… ALL actors who have gone on to bigger status in the dramaworld, such a shock to see them so YOUNG!
And it was most heartwarming to see Yoshiko Tanaka once again! As you know, we lost her in 2011 so it is particularly sweet seeing her interacting with her ‘family” once again! Always the PERFECT TV Mommy, she is still sorely missed...
Yep, ALL these feels and MORE can be experienced time and again thru the magic of rewatching, and I KNOW I'll be rewatching AGAIN for some time to come!
Seigi No Mikata Forever!!!
She can sense any malady a patient may have- simply by sight, smell and/or their actions and she even knows when a new admission is on its way even before the telephone can ring! And her skills in almost any field of surgery is unsurpassed- even performing TWO operations at ONCE!
Beautiful, calculated and always cool, in the end, the obsessed Dr. Asura and her team always gets the job done! But there is a dark past fueling Anno's determination, and the operating room victories are always bittersweet. Thanks are rarely given and indeed unwanted. The patient's well being and recovery is her only desire.
Seiichi Tanabe (with Worst Haircut of the Season)
Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
Koyuki
Shiro Sano as the big bad hospital director Fudo
