This Season’s Best: Unmet: Aru Nogekai no Nikki おわり

When I was at about the halfway point in the Hana Sugisaki/Ryuya Wakaba medical drama Unmet, I already knew without a doubt that this was going to be the best drama of the season, and indeed, the show only got better and better as it headed towards its conclusion, and with the final episode now done, has proven that all expectations have been fully met!

Ryuya Wakaba was great as Sanpei Tomoharu, the charismatic "center" of the drama, and WOWWW, the level of acting Hana Sugisaki held in her portrayal as the amnesiac-but-still-positive Miyabi Kawauchi has to be her FINEST yet, conveying SO MUCH with just facial expressions, head tilts and body language, so much with few words and few gestures. I was happily surprised at how much time they spend just lingering on scenes and letting the characters “breathe’ between dialog…so many of the great pivotal scenes filled with mostly silence between the characters….

I’ve long said that I’m not a huge fan of medical dramas as they all tend to skew to the same tropes, however, while Unmet of course had some of it, I was constantly surprised by the directions they chose to follow, surprised by unexpected developments, all keeping me on my toes until I realized to myself: "HEY! I'm really INVESTED here!!!"

Ryuya Wakaba

Hana Sugisaki

Iura Arata

Michiko Kichise

Terrific story aside, it MUST be said that the MAIN strength of the show is the awesome acting of everyone involved, not just the main leads, but the immediate supporting cast as well. This was a veritable "cast of hundreds", OK, more like dozens, but all colorful and likeable...

Below: Takumi Ozaki, Nakamura Riho, Kasumi Yamaya, Kayo Noro

Amane Okayama and Erika Ikuta

And I have to give a special mention of Chiba Yudai as Kota Hoshimae- he was the emotional character who stood in for us, the viewers, reflecting OUR feelings as he cheered happiness for Miyabi, crossed fingers for hope, and shed tears when misfortune befell our vulnerable heroine. It was his reactions that got the most out of me!

All of them together  produced a strong, gripping drama, one I was totally invested in for the past few months!

I was having dinner with a friend over the weekend, and I gushed “MAN…Unmet is SO GOOD right now, and I'm praying that the last episode continues on the same trajectory...please, don't screw up the ending!!”  And as I watched the last episode, besides crying my eyes out for MOST of the show’s duration, I was also very nervous about how it might end. But I need not have worried, for the drama delivered one of the best, concise and clear endings it could have, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief…even as I shed even MORE tears!

Aw Man, Hana Sugisaki MUST get some kind of accolade for this drama…it was the number ONE drama of the season, BAR NONE, and most of it was due to her and her wonderful creation of Miyabi. This was one real MUST SEE drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Unmet: Diary of a Neurosurgeon

 As some of you know, one of my all-time favorite dramas is the 2015 Yui Aragaki mystery show “Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku” about the spritely private investigator who, due to an event in her past, cannot make new memories and whose mind resets at the end of each day.
In that same vein, we have the new medical drama “Unmet: Diary of a Brain Surgeon”, starring Hana Sugisaki as Miyabi Kawauchi, a young woman who, on the cusp of becoming a promising brain surgeon, is involved in an accident which blots out not only the last two years of her life but the inability to retain new memories of the day. 

Like Okitegami Kyoko, Miyabi awakens to a bunch of scribbled notes and signs intent on “catching her up” on what she needs to know to go to work and get through the day, and just like Okitegami, also tells herself, “For me, I have only today.” 

Such a similar set-up, however, whereas Okitegami was a fun, comedic romp, Unmet is very sombre, heartfelt and heartwrenching drama, full of all the pitfalls and tragedies not only the patients but the medical staff themselves have to go through.

Despite her condition, thanks to the care of the Hospital president Osako (Arata Iura), Miyabi still works at the hospital along with people she knew before the accident and can remember.Her role, however, is no longer a neurosurgeon but merely an assistant nurse. 

She is content with the life, but this all gets shaken up with the arrival of  a newcomer to the Hospital. His name is Sanpei Tomoharu (Ryuya Wakaba) and he is the hospital’s appointed new neurosurgeon. 

As he is a new face to the team, it takes awhile for Miyabi to  get him filed away in her huge book of notes, but as they interact, Sanpei notices her immense skill in diagnosing patients and explaining procedures to them, and, upon watching her practice under the microscope, sees her operating skills as sharp as ever.

Wanting a competent second paired with him during procedures, Sanpet makes a motion to begin putting her back in the operating room as a practicing surgeon, but many balk at this, including Medical Safety Officer Reiko Tsubata (Michiko Kichise), who feels Kawauchi’s lack of memory retention is detrimental to the patients care.

There are pros and cons on both sides to the case, but when Osako himself also admits that he thinks it’s time Miyabi got back to work as a practicing surgeon, they make an exception for her to attend the operating procedures while they are in effect.

But convinced about Kawauchi’s natural talent, Sanpei steps aside mid-procedure and has Miyabi herself finish the surgery. His judgement, sound, Miyabi finishes the operation in record time, amazing everyone with her speed and skill!

It seems that, due to this Dr. Sanpei entering Kawauchi’s life, things will finally begin moving, and even her own personal outlook towards the future has become a little bit brighter!

But not all are happy with Sanpei's arrival at the hospital.Medic Hoshimae (Yudai Chiba), curious about this mysterious newcomer to the hospital, has uncovered a photo from his past…one in which MIYABI herself was once a part of! 

Just WHO is this Doctor Sanpei, really? And what is his connection to Miyabi, her past and her predicament? Only time, it seems, will tell.....

Must say this was  a real RIVETING first episode- I was completely glued to my seat throughout the entire show and am already champing at the bit to see what develops from this point on!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com