Taking on "Doctor X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon" at Last!

Ryoko Yonekura as the titular Dr.X/Michiko Daimon

 After a good 20+ years on, I’m FINALLY tuning in to the long-running “Doctor X” Series, and many would say it’s about time!  For some unknown reason or another, I've always been slightly off-put by actress Ryoko Yonekura, which is odd since I’ve liked her in just about every drama I’ve seen her in- (especially Seikei Bijin which is a big fave)- Maybe it was being constantly told by overzealous fans how cool, beautiful, and badass she was, but somehow it got to the point where every time I saw a new show with Yonekura, I’d think, “Meh, not her again…”

Such was my frame of mind when her new series “Doctor X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon” debuted in 2012. Seeing her in yet another “Cool Beauty who is also a Badass” role, I immediately passed on it, and even as the show became more and more prolific over the years and harder to ignore, I’ve still resisted checking it out!

It was only in recent years, after falling in love with similar medical shows featuring standoffish “I Never Fail” Surgeons, like in “Get Ready”, “Dr. Chocolate” and most notably of all, the Wakana Matsumoto “Dr. Asura” (which REALLY seemed like a Dr.X clone) , that I felt it was time to give the ORIGINAL drama a try!

Looking it up, I have to say that even though I’ve known that was a long-running series, I was still a little surprised to find that DoctorX had SEVEN seasons, plus special, movie, and even spinoff series, and while I had no intention of watching ‘em ALL, I did ultimately decide to give the first season a chance!

Well, the character of “Michiko Daimon” was indeed a real Ryoko Yonekura prototype for sure, but I GOTTA say, I was entertained from the VERY beginning and had to laugh at all the entirely comic-like arrogance she showed, even as she dazzled with her amazing operating-room orchestrations!

Each episode was as good as the one before, and soon I even began to anticipate coming home from work and watching the next episode, as if I was watching it in “real time”, and by the halfway mark found I really adored this character, fantastic as she may be! 

The show got better and better as it went on, and I gotta tell you, the final episode arc was as gripping and EXCITING as anything I’d ever seen-VERY powerful and dramatic, I was on the edge of my seat it was so damn GOOD!!!

Sure, all the usual medical drama tropes are here- the confrontational patients, the argumentative and stand-offish other doctors (Masanobu Katsumura, Kosuke Suzuki) , the wide-eyed newbie who looks on in awe (Kei Tanaka)…the seasoned veteran who slowly sides with the hero's methods and becomes a silent partner of sorts (Yuki Uchida)....

...and of COURSE, the corrupt Hospital Board of Directors! Yes, EVERY Hospital drama MUST have corrupt Board of Directors, and as a rule, must eat steak at meetings - J-Dramas ALWAYS have the rich and corrupt eating steak to show how greedy and selfish they are!

YES, the drama is full of cliches and a heap of predictability too...But yet somehow it all WORKS, in no small part due to the efforts of Ryoko Yonekura whom I grudgingly admit really has the charisma to pull off the hard headed outspoken narcissistic genius Daimon Michiko into a likable character and makes you root for her and cheer her on to succeed! This is a STELLAR vehicle which seems just made for her; to paraphrase director Jack Wolz in the Godfather- "The part is perfect for her- It'll make her a big star!"  And indeed, it does... I really, really loved Doctor X! 

Funny, reading up on fan opinions online afterwards, I found people’s ideas of which were the good seasons and weak ones really varied, with most citing season one as the weakest, with the writers still discovering who the characters really were, and some saying the later seasons lose its way into repetitiveness. But for me, MAN, if season one is the bottom and can only go up, then I guess I’ve just GOTTA see more!

Ironic that after all these years of avoiding this series, only NOW am I getting into it, right when lead actress Ryoko Yonekura is calling it quits on the series and begging off doing any more, wanting to do things outside of the Michiko Daimon role- the Doctor X Movie says it’s the “FINAL” and though who knows how much water THAT statement holds, it really seems I’m coming in at the last minute to the festivities! Oh well, better LATE than NEVER!

Now I’ve got some SERIOUS catching up to do…!

Dr. Asura おわり

Wakana Matsumoto in "Dr. Asura"

 The “Medical Drama with the Genius Surgeon” is surely one of Japan’s most enduring and popular tropes and follow such an unwavering formula that many episodes could be interchanges between shows with nary a hitch!

Despite their similarities, there are some medical dramas which strike me as mundane-and others which dazzle me and keep me on the edge of my seat, and I’ve concluded that it all comes down to the charisma and passion of the actor/actress/team who are are playing the lead role(s). It’s THEY who are responsible for my interest and involvement with the stories, and so it was with Wakana Matsumoto as the titular character and the terrific ensemble cast in the highly entertaining DR. ASURA, which kept the show as a “must see” for me this season!

From its first episode all the way to its very intriguing last, this drama kept me thoroughly entertained, holding my breath through its intense operating sequences and wiping away the tears during some of its more touching and inspiring passages!! 

Wakana Matsumoto has moved WAY up on my list of favorite actresses, and I'll definitely be keeping a lookout for what projects she decides to do next!!