Yappari, I LOVE Doctor X!!!

I was completely taken off guard by how much I've been LOVING Doctor X Daimon Michiko since I succumbed to all those drama-advising posts thought the years and actually sat down check it out myself-

 Routine and formulaic and utilizing all the basic tropes of all the ubiquitous medical dramas out there, despite all those cliches of hospital procedure j-dramas,  Doctor X captivated me from the very start, and as I begin on Season 3, I have to give kudos where kudos are due- 

That darn Ryoko Yonekura! As you may recall, she was my biggest reason NOT to watch the series, but my GOSH is she TERRIFIC here as the svelte, smart and entirely BADASS Doctor Daimon Michiko! Fun, zany and charming, I really, really loved her here and am eager to continue on will ALL the latter Doctor X Series!

So amusing to me how much I've been loving the show after all my kicking and screaming about it. But when I wrapped Season 2 and found myself rating it a solid 10/10(! YES!) , I knew I jsut HAD to bow my head in defeat!

Doctor X for the win!

Now, back to even MORE Daimon Michiko!

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

Ryoko Yonekura as the titular Dr.X/Michiko Daimon

 After a good 10+ 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…!

Tsubame wa Modottekonai~ The Swallows Won't Return

 An extremely riveting human drama about a couple Yuko and Motoki Kusaoke (Yuki Uchida and Goro Inagaki) who, due to medical reasons, cannot successfully bring a child to term, and a healthy but down-on-her luck woman named Riki Oishi (Shizuka Ishibashi) with limited work prospects and a crippling debt. Between them is Plante, a Reproductive Medical Clinic dealing with infertility problems and act as go-between to match up those who can fulfill each other's wants.

Yuko and Motoki have been trying to have a child for some time now, but after a third tragic failure, feel things may be hopeless. With the pressure from Motoki's stern mother (Hitomi Kuroki) for Yuko to produce an heir to the affluent family's legacy, they are willing to try even an idea as outside surrogacy.

Meanwhile, Riki is eking out a struggling life through a series of short-term jobs. Through the advice of a co-worker Kawabe (Marika Ito) Riki applies to Plante (which she considers a dubious institution) solely for the money offered for donation of her eggs, though  the reason she puts on the application is "wants to help people". 

Upon arrival at the mysterious clinic, Riki is well to be cautious. But the woman who greets her, Aonuma ((Romi Park) seems considerate and friendly enough as she interviews her and explains what they might expect from her.

Giving up her eggs  is one thing but she is then told she is a prime candidate for child surrogacy. Riki is nervous  about the entire procedure, and only considers at the amount they will pay for her efforts. Part of her still doesn't want to do it. But little does she know she may be the PERFECT candidate to carry the child of a desperate couple, the one who can make their dreams come true...

Must say I was completely taken in by this show from the very  beginning... I know they've recently tackled a similar subject in the Haruka Fukuhara /Kyoko Fukada drama 18/40, but Tsubame wa Modottekonai seems like such a breath of fresh air, with all the predictable and cliched stories out nowadays, this is one where I'm not sure where it's going and am simply clamoring to learn more and more! So much so that I feel it may go on to become another BIG favorite!

PS: Oh My GOSH, Marika Ito is really KILLIN' IT with CUTENESS in this drama as the spunky Teruyo Kawabe!!!! As she's a co-worker of Riki's, I hope she won't be written out of the show and continues to appear, perhaps as Riki's confidante and friend?

In any case, I have HIGH HOPES for this drama!!!!

The Boxer: Takuya Kimura in "Mirai E no 10 Count"

Just began the new Takuya Kimura "Mirai E no 10 Count"!

Our story begins with the zoom in on motorcycle wheels and gloves hands revving the engine as it speeds down the street...

...But as we pull back, we see that it’s not a motorcycle but a mere delivery scooter for take-out pizza, a contradiction that perfectly sums up the characteristics of the delivery guy on the bike~

Shogo Kirisawa(Takuya Kimura) is a former four-time boxing champion who, due to tragedy in his past regarding his deceased wife as well as the threat of a near-detached retina (a common trope for these boxing dramas!), has withdrawn not only from the boxing world but seemingly life itself…

Eking out a meager living as a pizza delivery man, he confesses to his friend (and former boxing colleague) Kai (Ken Yasuda) that he has no desire for living and “could die anytime”. 

This alarms Kai and, talking to their former coach Kenzo Ashiya (Akira Emoto) of 23 years ago, comes up with a plan to get Kirisawa back on his feet. Ashiya calls Kirisawa to his residence and informs him that since getting stomach cancer a year ago, he hasn't has much time as managing director for the boxing team, and now has announced his decision to retire. The school’s boxing team will be needing a new coach and he has decided that Kirisawa is the only man for the job.

Kirisawa reluctantly takes the job, where he finds Ashiya’s daughter (and Kirisawa’s old teammate from back in the day) Makoto Oba (Yuki Uchida) is the current Principal of the school. 

She is surprised to see Kirisawa rooked into the job, and curtly tells him that the school has changed since they attended- the school has become a respected hall of education and brutish things such as boxing has largely been ruled out. She tells him that he need not try hard at the Coach job since it will be dissolved soon enough, which is fine by Kirisawa.

Kirisawa is paired up with the wide-eyed Aoi Orihara (Hikari Mitsushima) who knows nothing of the world of pugilism and is clearly out of her depth, but she is a trooper and is dedicated to working hard at whatever task she is given.

She is a bit apprehensive when she is saddled with the dour and unmotivated Kirisawa, who barely makes eye contact with the small handful of kids who are desperately holding on the the boxing club...

There is Kaito Iba (Kaito Takahashi), the only three-year member, here because he’s in love with a manga girl who boxes…

Riku Tomobe (Takara Sakumoto) second year, who’s only here because he’s told he has to do something physical...

Tatsuya Tomonoi (Ryota Bando), who chose boxing in lieu of karate…

Akari Mizuno (Anna Yamada), who wants to become a stronger person…

…and lastly, petite Team Manager Ai Nishiyama (Sakura Kiryu)

None of them impress Kirisawa, and the feeling is mutual. 

Later on, the kids wonder, "Why is that depressed sourpuss our coach?” But they are in for a surprise when the look up his name online and find out who Kirisawa really is and read up on all his past glories in the library! 

With pages and pages of his past successes, they now realize what an opportunity they have, getting this guy to coach them! Now if ONLY they could MOTIVATE him to try!

When Kirisawa strolls in to school the next day, he finds that the kids have set-up a sparring demonstration to attract new members. He wants no part of it but is quite literally badgered into lacing up a pair of gloves to spar with Iba, who desperately wants to be taken seriously and get trained seriously.

Kirisawa does an adequate job of dodging Iba’s weak jabs, but when he starts wildly hitting him, begging, “Please take us seriously!” Kirisawa’s reflexes get the better of him and he accidentally hits him a good one in the ribs, cracking a rib in the process!

Despite the pain, Iba is thrilled to have had an actual sparring session with someone for a change, but after a trip to the hospital, the straightlaced Orihara informs the team that she must  report the injury  to the principal and knows that this may well mark the dismissal of Kirisawa.

Faced with the threat of losing the only real coach they’ve had, the kids beg in anguish for Orihara to reconsider reporting the incident. “We finally have someone who can teach us Boxing! please don’t take him away!”

Their passion reaches both Orihara AND Kirisawa, who for the first time in a long time, sees the real desire the newbies have to learn and grow. But it will ultimately come down to how Kirisawa fares against the judgement of Oba and the rest of the school superiors….

Well, this is another tried and true tale of “Former champion down on his luck takes on a team of ragtag losers and coaches them into something they can be proud of!”, actually pretty surprised how much I liked it!
I expect the usual amount of “high School” baggage which of course comes with the territory, but i really like the kids, especially the Akari Mizuno character, who seems really bitter and promises a great back-story.

And though the quiet and nerdy role of Orihara is a different one from the usual eccentric roles we’ve come to expect from Hikari Mitsushima, her habit of barking out scolding to the naughty students reminds me a LOT of her sadistic guard character in “Kangoku no Ohimesama”, and I won’t be surprised of they reveal that Orihara is a former delinquent, just sayin’…

As far as Kirisawa, this is Takuya Kimura in another Takuya Kimura-type role, where he’s basically playing Takuya Kimura as the character. 

Still, you can always expect a certain amount of quality when you see his name attached to a  project…wonder if his name still attracts the viewers like it once did….