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| Kimura Takuya as Okita Kazuaki in A Life |
As a huge fan of Fumino Kimura, Nanao and Yuko Takeuchi, I was highly anticipating the new Kimura Takuya medical drama “A Life~Kanashiki Hito” and I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint! I love Kimura Takuya dramas in general, (though there have been admittedly a few that didn’t do it for me), but that added bonus of having the show crammed with THREE past Zdorama “Crush of The Day” alumnae just had me up in arms!
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| Kimura Takuya and Takeuchi Yuko |
A LIFE tells the story of a brilliant surgeon named Kazuaki Okita (Kimura) who worked for a hospital under the care of Danjo Toranosuke until he was sent to America to expand his knowledge. In the time he was gone, Okita did indeed become a master at his craft. eventually becoming one of the most highly-regarded surgeons around.
But when he hears the news that the elder Danjo has fallen ill with a heart problem that only an extremely risky and dangerous operation can cure, Okita has returned, ready to use his skills to save his mentor.
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| Okita talks to his mentor, Danjo Toranosuke |
Things are not as easy to return as they seem. Before he had left, he had captured to heart of the director’s daughter Mifuyu Danjo (Yuko Takeuchi), but jeaolusy from his “best friend” Masao drove them apart when, to get a clear playing field with Mifuyu, recommended to the Director that Kazuaki be sent to America.
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| Okita and "Best Friend" Masao (Tadanobu Asano) |
Now Masao and Mifuyu are married with a child, and the return of Okita has put everyone’s feelings on edge. Jealousy flares up once again in Masao’s heart and despite his outward , friendly look, wants nothing more than to see Okita gone again.
Additionally, there are those in the hospital who are against Okita’s radical style of operating, his flashy and daring methods which he learned in the states has them baffled and nervous, and people like Dr. Hamura (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) and Igawa (Kenichi Matsuyama) criticize and hinder his every move.
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| Oikawa Mitsushiro and Matsuyama Kenichi |
Even at home, Kazuaki has never gotten along with is father, and he has returned to find things much the same, harshly judged and highly critical of him despite Kazuaki’s successes. It seems the only thing Okita can really rely on and believe in is his medical knowledge and skill.
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| Uneasy relationship: Father and Son |
After watching FRAGILE and MEDICAL TEAM LADY DAVINCI NO SHINDAN, I had gotten used to the newer and flashier style of medical dramas which focused more on the medical afflictions and procedures, but A LIFE harkened back to those good old-fashioned drams like Hoshi No Kinka, this was a MELOdrama with a capital M! All the soap-opera type cliches are here, with “Evil Board of directors”, “Backstabbing Best Friends”, “Rocky Father/Son conflicts” and the tried and true “Ex-lover Whom you Swear you Have no Affection for any more but U know U do”, it’s all here, LOL!
Not to say that the actual medical diagnoses and procedures in the drama has been diluted in any way, FAR FROM IT- the operating scenes are true ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT nail biters, where they explain the procedures out plainly for you the viewer to understand, and then graphically show you the operation as it is in progress! This blew me away- was literally holding my breath in all the Operating Room scenes!!!
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| Operating Scenes not for the faint of heart! (No pun intended) |
And as far as my “Crush Of the Day” Actresses go, I have to say I’m hoping Yuko Takeuchi’s character Mifuyu becomes MORE than just the moody and wishy washy hand-wringing ex-lover type of character I’ve seen so far. I’m SO used to her playing these strong, brash and charismatic women, here she plays a role that seems to be just a woman for the two doctors to “fight” over. We’’ll see how things progress.
Nanao made her entrance in grand style, playing the svelte and sexy Minori Sakakibra, the hospital’s shrewd and calculating lawyer, and this is one sassy gal who not only knows the scoop about everyone in the Hospital and their secret agendas, but is guilty of playing under-the table games as well! Oooooh she looked so scrumptious here, and I was glad to see her in one of her more forceful roles where she gets to be as tuff as she wants!
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| Above and Below: The Sexy As Hell Nanao |
Out of all of them, however, the storyline I love MOST is the ones with Kazuaki and Fumino Kimura’s character Yuki Shibata. Out of all the staff at the hospital, she is the one who first realizes what a skilled surgeon Okita is, and her alertness and intelligence in the operating room is recognized by him as well.
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| Fumino Kimura as Yuki Shibata |
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| "That is one skilled Surgeon!" |
And when a problem with the surgery arises and the hospital turns against Okita, Shibata is the only one who is by his side helping him research a solution. MAN, I LOVE the scenes with these two, their interaction is really heartwarming , and I would love it if their relationship developed into something more, but I won’t hold my breath as I can feel she’s going to remain a secondary character.
I'm telling ya, Fumino Kimura’s time has come!!!
So far such an intriguing drama and I do believe it's going to become my most-anticipated show of the season!!!!
I'm telling ya, Fumino Kimura’s time has come!!!
