Saki (2013)

Wow, what a roller coaster of a drama that was! I absolutely enjoyed every second of it. The plot was unique and it kept you glued to the screen for all 45 minute of each episode. Amihama Saki is definitely one of the most interesting drama characters I've ever come across. She is a femme fatale but at the same time she is so much more than that. She is an abandoned kid, a lonely woman, a loving sister, a passionate nurse. Did she lead men to destruction? Yes. Was it wrong? Most likely. Can you blame her? Depends on the person, but most people would. But can you really hate her? Absolutely not. And that is for the simple reason that she is one of the most engaging character you'll ever see in a JDrama or any other Asian drama in general. And of course, needless to say that Nakama Yukie's portrayal of Saki was phenomenal. I don't think there is any other actress that could off that role as well as she did. Especially her acting in the last episode gave me chills. You could almost feel all the feelings she experienced without a word having to be spoken. As expected from one of Japan's most versatile actresses. Except from Nakama, the rest of the cast was amazing as well in terms of acting. Miura Shohei, Uchida Yuki, Hagiwara Masato and Takashima Masahiro were all outstanding in their respective roles. Finally the music came as the cherry on top of this wonderful drama. Jane Doe by Takahashi Minami in the opening them, Catch Me by Tohoshinki in the end and all the other songs during the episodes fitted perfectly the whole atmosphere and mood of the show and made the tension even more palpable.
I gave the rewatch value only a seven, just because I think the show loses some points if take off the mystery that is a big a part of its charm when you watch it for the first time.
All in all it was a great drama and I definitely recommend it to anyone that can appreciate a multi layered character and amazing acting.

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Let me start off by saying that I loved this drama. It was suspenseful, had a great cast, great plot, and was very addicting. Nakama Yukie who reprised her role as Saki did not disappoint one bit and made you wonder just what evil plans she had in store for her selected targets. If you're someone who only knows her from the Gokusen series, this drama will show just how amazing and versatile she is as an actress. She may still be teaching lessons and kicking ass, but this time it's through revenge.

Plot: The story itself had a a great plot. You learn that Nitta Hayato [Miura Shohei] is searching for his older sister whom he only discovered existed after his mother's death. This brings Amihama Saki [Nakama Yukie] into the picture. What starts off as a heartwarming reunion soon turns into an eerie mystery as Hayato discovers that his lovely sister may be someone completely different than what she seems and she's actually got a hidden agenda of her own. She's out for revenge and nobody's going to get in her way. If you're someone who likes suspense, you'll definitely enjoy this drama because the whole time you're on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen to everyone and how she's going to bring them down. Although her actions are undeniably evil and wrong, you just might find yourself unable to hate her as the drama progresses. Up until the very end, I could not hate her character at all despite everything she did. This drama was very well done. You might feel a bit weird about wine and steak after this one though Lol...

Acting: The cast lineup and acting was great. Nakama Yukie was perfect at portraying an angelic woman who is in fact calculating and leading her targets to their own destruction. Her ability to express Saki's emotions was so amazing and I really felt for her character during the last episode. I'd love to see her reprise this kind of role again. Miura Shohei did well too and had great chemistry with Nakama Yukie although, I was amused at first since they went from having a student-teacher relationship in gokusen 3 to brother and sister xD Aside from that though, the cast was great. Uchida Yuki was awesome. I actually wish we saw even more of her in the drama. I'm also a fan of Okada Yoshinori so I was pleasantly surprised to see him in this drama. Takashima Masahiro, Kyo Nobuo, Ishiguro Hideo, and everyone else were great in their roles as well.

Music: Takahashi Minami's song Jane Doe was a great opening song and TVXQ's catch me fit perfectly with the ending scenes. There was also an english song they played, I'm not sure what it was called, but that song matched really well with the scenes they showed with Saki. All the music gave a perfect feel to the story.

Rewatch Value: I'd watch this drama again. The only thing is that the mystery part isn't much of a mystery anymore after seeing it twice and you somewhat lose the suspense so it won't exactly be the same. It's still a great drama and worth the time though. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who likes mystery or suspense. And of course, if you're a fan of Nakama Yukie but haven't seen it yet, I'd say check this one out as well as Utsukushii Rinjin, where Nakama Yukie played her first role as Saki =]

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