One Nutty Hospital: Eiko Koike in "Shinjuku Yasen Byoin"

Eiko Koike in Shinjuku Yasen Byoin

 Watched the first episode of the new Eiko Koike-led “Shinjuku Yasen Byoin” a medical/comedy drama, (if there’s such a thing) and holy cow, was this one WACKY show, centering around a community hospital in Shinjuku catering to mostly homeless and foreigners, people who have need of medical attention but may not have the insurance or credentials to go to a regular place.
At the moment, the hospital is on its last legs (and threatening to be bought out)  because their director, once a famous star physician, is now elderly, half-drunken and shaky, a situation which is problematic at best!  And the rest of the medical team isn’t any better, cowardly and incompetent and lacking the basic skills to perform even the most rudimentary of procedures!!

Taiga Nakano

Takashi Okabe

Tohru Baba

Akira Emoto

Muga Tsukaji

Gaku Hamada

Kami Hiraiwa

Ai Hashimoto

Atsuko Takahata

Enter Yoko Nishi Freeman, an ARMY medical doctor newly arrived from America with limited funds, an abrasive attitude, and a WHOLE lot of medical knowledge! Arriving at the team’s shabby medical station for alcohol poisoning (a result of taking too much tequila shots in a challenge, LOL), she becomes the hospital’s lone chance of pulling through and making it.

Sounds like a nice set-up for a fun drama but MAN, was this one WACKY! Like, headache-inducingly wacky, with screeching and completely spastic characters , somehow their medical mishaps and surgical shenanigans made me more queasy and nervous about the whole idea of medical malpractice than any feelings of mirth!

 Frankly with this kind of advanced nuttiness I'm not expecting anything great, but who knows? I’ve been irritated by other shows that have gone on to become HUGE faves of mine, so maybe this one will turn into a WINNER! Ya never know....Guess I'll have to stay tuned to find out!

PS: For someone who was supposedly raised in America, Yoko sure speaks lousy English! In fact, both Eiko Koike and Ai Hashimoto's characters are supposed to be fluent English speakers but GADS, if it weren't for the subtitles, I wouldn't understand HALF of what they were saying! LOLOLOL

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san おわり

 “The Makanai~Cooking For The Maiko House”, An absolutely touching and moving drama, following two 16 year old girls who move to Kyoto to become maiko (apprentice geisha) and the futures their destinies hold, one to become a true Geisha while the other to become the cook for the house.

A slow-paced, thoughtful slice-of-life type drama with focus on Cooking, geisha culture, and above all, the unbreakable bond of the two friends through thick and thin.

There is nothing I can say about amazing Hirokazu Koreeda’s style of gentle storytelling that hasn’t been said before, suffice to say that Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san is yet another wonderful feather in his cap!

I loved everything about this drama- the slow pacing, the kind friendship and respect between the girls, (especially the caring nurturing Momoko has for Sumire into helping her blossom), and, finally, the simple and yet so sweet ending song(with just a piano, a sparse backing score, and Kiyo humming along) that had me in tears at the end of so many episodes!

Such a wonderful little drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san

Just watched the first two episodes of the NETFLIX series “Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san” (The Makanai-Cooking For The Maiko House) and I am simply amazed at how beautiful and soothing this drama already is~ 

From the show’s very first seconds, you can already tell that this is a Hirokazu Koreeda helmed show, with its gentle lingering on atmosphere, environment and mood, with warm and thoughtful music scored throughout…from the first scenes of a woman lovingly stirring a pot of azuki bean soup, your heart is already swelling with anticipation for what lies ahead!

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san tells the story of two eager and excitable young girls who, at age 16, have decided to move from Aomori to Kyoto to become Maiko. Sumire (Natsuki Deguchi) is the more collected of the two, reserved and thoughtful, while Kiyo (Nana Mori) is the more playful and clumsy of the two. Nonetheless, both have dreams of becoming apprentice geisha and making the big city their home!

At first I thought this was going to be strictly a Nana Mori vehicle, but I guess I should have guessed by the NETFLIX promo banner that this is truly an ensemble cast drama, where seemingly every character is someone with faults and desires, and everyone is given their time to shine.  And what a cast this is!  First off, was happily surprised to see Matsuzaka Keiko and Takako Tokiwa as Chiyo and Azusa, the madams of the house the girls live and train out of!

Though the girls take to their new "mothers" well, resident Ryoko (Aju Makita), who also lives there, tells them that they think of the girls as nothing more than live-in slaves!

Undeterred, the girls slowly make their way through the initial training, where we will find that Sumire has a natural elegance and poise which helps her adapt to the refinement lessons, and we see how serious  she takes this profession. On the other hand, Kiyo struggles with the training  and has a hard time paying attention for too long! But she does find that in the kitchen, she has a considerable knack for cooking! These traits will determine the eventual fates of both girls….

???

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Kiyo's in trouble with Sensei!!!

Finding her knack!

Such wonderful attention tot he food preparation and cooking, this is sure to satisfy foodie fans!

Besides the stars already mentioned, we also have Yukiya Kitamura as the kitsuke (geisha dresser) for the girls, as well as the general handyman for the house...

Momoko Fukuchi, Kotoko Wakayanagi, Kotona Minami, some of the young geisha living at the house..

(cast also lists Mayu Matsuoka but I have not seen her as of yet...)

Ai Hashimoto as the established and elegant geisha Momoko, she of whom is a great inspiration to Sumire...

Watching Momoko perform

She is an elegance to aspire to!

Also featuring Koreeda mainstay Lily Frankly as the proprietor of the local watering hole... (with Ryoko on hand)...

..and Iura Arata as one of Azusa's suitors...

Cannot stress enough how much I’m LOVING this drama! I’ve always loved Koreeda’s work (and notice he’s brought back many of the stars from past projects here), Nobody Knows, Shoplifters and Still Walking, and even the TV Drama "Going My Home...all classics, and with Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san I believe he’s hit another high!

Can't wait to see MORE!!!

PS: You know what this drama reminded me a lot of, the Haru Kuroki food-based drama Mi wo Tsukushi Ryouricho, where Kuroki played a girl working at a Restaurant while her best friend worked as a top-of-the-line geisha! And as I absolutely LOVED that drama, it makes sense that I love this one so much as well!!!