I must make a point of commencing this review by saying what a great drama this is; the scale and quality of this production is unparalleled to any other I have seen thus far, so first and foremost please take this into account when addressing my criticisms of it.

The grandiose nature of this drama can initially feel a tad overblown before you are engaged by the plot; every character is introduced on screen in each episode with text denoting their name and association to other characters or establishments, the music is mostly orchestral, with a good choice in The Eagles' "Desperado" thrown in, and sweeping overtures throughout the series give the whole thing a sense of huge importance. This, combined with the enthusiasm and respect of those who support the central character feels slightly false at first. Only very slightly.

This foundation is well laid, however, as the story that unfolds is so engaging, the enemy so cruel and terrible in the face of such unceasing, hopeless optimism, that anything less is scale would fail to support it through to the final climax.
The story is a sad one, but necessarily so. The characters who give the drama its light alleviate the pain of the circumstances forever falling upon them.

The acting is sublime, Kimura Takuya has not crafted such a reputation out of thin air after all, but for me it is Kitaoji Kinya's Manpyo Daisuke that steals the show, the nuances of his expression so readable whilst retaining the stone-faced airs of a powerful executive.

For me, whilst immediately impressed by the quality of the drama it needed an initial investment of time; I didn't feel compelled to watch episode after episode, although by episode 6 this feeling changed and I was very keen to progress with the story. Like all dramas that feel this way, the investment of time into a few well thought-out starting episodes, that do not spoil us with too much all at once and establish characters and circumstance evenly and with skill, is worth the payoff and more.
What's more, the social setting of 1960's Japan is interesting, a time of great transition for the country.

In regards to my average score for rewatch value, I hasten to add that my PTW is getting so long, it would have to be the most incredible drama for me to watch it again before deciding to watch anything else. Others may enjoy watching the same thing many times, but for me I am keen to try new things, so please don't let that put you off.
What's more, some scenes in this drama were so striking I am certain that they will be very clear in my memory for some time to come.
If I could give it a score out of 10 to recommend you watch it I'd give it a 10; it's good to see the serious and highly professional side of the drama world amongst all the dreamy good stuff that we all enjoy!

I urge you all to give this one a go!

Leggi di Più

I think it is safe to say that the audience expects certain things from a Zhang Yimou film; masterful direction of gorgeous visuals and deep characters who endure and survive, their struggles evoking the audience's empathy.
With such a high standard set by himself, sadly this particular offering doesn't satisfy and is in fact rather disappointing.

The characters, despite their troubles, remain vacant and unlikeable, their plight and the story seeming to come second to the aesthetics of the film. This film is certainly worth watching for the costume design alone, and although some elements were not period correct, artistic license is well permitted in this kind of feature. Unfortunately the glorious costume designs are somewhat overshadowed by the almost assailing barrage of colour throughout the picture, which would feel more like a carefully considered element were the whole picture not marred by moments of very poor CGI.

Furthermore, the pacing of the film felt unbalanced, the result being that by the end of film you felt like not much altogether had occurred, and what had happened was made irrelevant by the lack of compassion for the main characters and what happened to them.

Still, I'd say it's worth a watch, particularly for designers and fans of the cast, but I wouldn't give my time to watch it again.

Leggi di Più

Upon finishing the first episode of this drama I would not have been able to predict that I would be reviewing it with such a critical eye; once those end credits rolled I proclaimed, 'Wow, this one just might be the one'. I had that feeling, that I was at the beginning of something magical, starting 'a favourite'.
Now, my experience with dramas that I've rated really highly overall usually follows the pattern of being drawn in, context being established over a few average episodes and then by the fifth or sixth finding myself completely engrossed in the drama... usually ending on an emotional high, my face full of tears and the memory of what I've just watched poignantly lingering in my mind for days, sometimes weeks, after. That is the magic, where the emotional plight of the people of countries thousands of miles away from our own native land touch our hearts, unite us. Seeing the enthusiastic fanbase for Jin, I imagined myself feeling the same things, becoming engrossed in this drama's elaborate plot.
I decided I could suspend my disbelief, willingly accept the timeslip and travel back to Edo, and on that commitment I paid in full. The setting was never the issue; the viewer always mindful of the strong effort put into embellishing this premodern Japan with all the convincing articles, and the hospital setting within Tokyo felt authentic too.
No, my criticism of this drama lies predominantly in the emotional content, the acting, the melodrama.

Initially I felt overcome, not just by Minakata Jin's painful past, by his sudden departure to historic Edo, but more so by how the drama encouraged you to empathetically connect with the minds of the people who don't understand his methods, struggle to see the good in what appear to be wicked, vulgar and wholly unexplainable actions. For the first couple of episodes this was the most captivating aspect of the drama, but this was very quickly and negatively upstaged by excesses of emotion and enthusiasm. A once rallying "Hai!" rapidly became tedious, regardless of the circumstances. Rather than bringing me closer to the drama, the continuous tears, flashbacks and bowing, with such vehemence that I found myself wincing each time a head hit the floor, created an emotional disconnect.
Furthermore, I felt that the plot didn't actually go anywhere and found myself finishing episodes with no real idea of what the important issues of the coming episode would be. What's worse is I found myself willingly leaving my computer to do other things between the 15 minute parts when streaming the program.

So, to explain my ratings. The story I rated highly for it's cultural and historical content, the insight into premodern Japanese medicine, rituals and social behaviours; I'd also like to comment that despite the usual dodgy baldcaps, the costumes, make-up, special fx and settings were delightful and of a good standard for a television drama. The music was also pleasing, I liked the choice of song for the ending credits and the way it played over the last scenes of each episode and the OST was fitting.
The acting I rated as average since some performances were good, others excruciating, verging on embarrassing although I can't imagine trying to deliver such intensity of emotion allowed for nuance.
I wouldn't feel inclined to watch the drama again, and felt comfortable giving it a 6 overall as while I wouldn't say this drama was more than mediocre, it does at least merit watching for the historical setting if that's of interest to you.
Just my two pennies worth - many people feel differently, as reflected in other reviews and in the ratings overall =)

Leggi di Più