Seemingly, 2013's top dramas in my opinions happened to be sequels to top hits from previous years. Three out of my top 5 happened to be sequels in fact! It was really difficult to rank them, however, so I decided that there will be just two places. Four of them will tie for 2nd place, while there will be one first place.
Now for the disclaimer. Once again, these are my opinions. I used to be a Japanese drama (or dorama) guru, but over this year, I've not had as much time as I would like to watch these wonderful series! Therefore, my choices will be from a small pool that I watched, but these five dramas are all MUST WATCH for young or old, newbie or veterans, boys or girls, etc.
As a note, all images were taken from wiki.d-addicts.com. It's also the place where I find my english subs, for there are hard to come by at times. I like to take the time to thank the subbers out there for their hard work! =D
And now, let's get started! In terms of the "starring" roles, I'll place the actors/actresses that I feel deserve to be in the spot due to the amount of "screen time" they get, or if it's obviously intended for them to be part of the MAIN cast. What I mean by MAIN cast, is those that I consider to play a really significant role to enhance the main character. I will post links to the wikia for those who want the complete list of actors/actresses.
WARNING: There will be spoilers in the following sections!! I'll try my best not to ruin too much of the plot.
#2: Doctor X-2
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Doctor_X_~_Gekai_Daimon_Michiko
I've just finished watching this series about a week ago. The first season was amazing: a lone wolf who goes through the "Ivory Towers" of the Japanese Medical system through the use of her prodigious medical skills. Essentially, she takes crap from no one, which includes higher up managers and directors. She lets her medical skills do the talking, in which she performs miraculous surgeries that no other doctors can perform. Due to these high risk surgeries, she's suspected of being Doctor X: a doctor that performs these unorthodox miracles.
The second season pretty much picks up from the end of the first season. Instead of working as a freelance surgeon in the third satellite hospital for Teito University, Daimon Sensei was sent to the main hospital! Once again, Yonekura picks up the role as the "surgery-crazed" surgeon who is addicted to performing surgery. (If she doesn't perform a surgery after a brief time period, she gets withdrawal symptoms!)
Throughout the entire series, Daimon Sensei continues to perform surgeries after surgeries, with of course the usual controversy as she goes against the high ups. As of course, she gets fired for finally defying her superiors to the point that they can't handle anymore. Unlike the first season, I felt that the second season touched on a much darker aspect of the political scenes behind the Japanese medical system. Now, I'm not claiming to be an expert on the system, so I cannot say how accurate the portrayal from the drama series is, but it does raise some issues like corruption.
Besides the darker side of politics, I felt that there were more character development in terms of the other surgeons beside Daimon Sensei. Take for example, Fujiki Naohito's role as Kondo Shinobu: a surgeon from a third-rate university trying to climb the Ivory Tower of a prestigious medical university. I had mixed feelings for his character throughout the series, for which I think the author/director intended to do so.
Overall, it's a great series, and one that you should watch if you're a big fan of medical dramas. Of course, it is not for the faint of heart for there are surgery scenes within in the show. My only complaint is that it doesn't feel like there was an ending. I hope that means we may see a Season 3? If shows like Kyumei Byoto can have 5 seasons, surely this one can to? =D
#2: Galileo 2
Starring: Fukuyama Masaharu as Yukawa Manabu and Yoshitaka Yuriko as Kishitani Misa
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Galileo
I remember how excited I was when I found out that they were going bring in a second season for Galileo. The first season, special episode and movie were absolutely ingenious. We have Fukuyama Masaharu playing the role of the eccentric genius "Galileo"/Professor Yukawa (or was it Assistant Professor... that I cannot remember). In the first season and movie, he teams up with Detective Utsumi Kaoru (Shibasaki Kou) to figure out weird/paranormal cases in perhaps one of the best team/pairings I've seen in detective dramas. When season 2 was announced and that Shibasaki was going to be replaced... I was initially heartbroken and worried who was going to replace her role. "How can they do this to the pair?!" I thought initially... But then I saw that Yoshitaka was going to replace Shibasaki, and all my anxiety went away.
And truth be told, Yoshitaka as Detective Kishitani, the young, inexperienced, but highly groomed detective, did an excellent job! Once again, we're facing a whole bunch of cases that seemed odd at first, but have a scientific explanation for how it occured (for most of them anyways... the Twin one was definitely a case that even stumped Yukawa).
Since I watched this drama a while back, I cannot remember the ending at all. It must go to show that it wasn't a memorable way to end the series. All in all though, Galileo 2 was a very solid sequel to a excellent first season, special and movie. I'm looking forward for another movie/special to come out! Which, come to think about it, has already happened or is planning to come out... I believe it'll involve both Utsumi and Kishitani...
#2: Legal High 2
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Legal_High
Ahhh... the series that reflect most of the troll/parodying anime series known as Gintama. I haven't finished this series yet, but I was surprised to see the references they made to some other drama series (ie: Galileo!!). Besides all the trolling (the ending of the first season was HILARIOUS), it has the touching aspects that Gintama had to offer.
Once again, Saki takes on the role of Komikado: the lawyer who will take any means to win a court case. Of course, Komikado is a genius as well. He may have some cards up his sleeves, but he can talk the talk, and manipulative the oppositional legal side to win a case. What was different about the start of this series however, was Komikado losing his first case! Technically, it's not a lost, since there's the appeal to the Supreme Court, but it really brought him down.
I have to say that the first episode of this season wasn't to my expectations, but the following episodes quickly reminded me of what made the first season so amazing: witty and silly humor for a law based drama. Perhaps Komikado is not Kimura Takuya's Kuryu in HERO, for he's a person you do not want to emulate... but like Mayuzumi's father said: "Thank you for showing my daughter what not to be" (loose quotes, since I don't remember the quote exactly).
The dynamics are also a bit interesting, for there's a seemingly love triangle between Mayuzumi, Komikado and another prosecutor-turned-lawyer, Hanyu Haruki (Okada Masaki). It's a bit of a cringe to me because I really dislike love triangles. However, as the series is going so far, it's not playing a significant factor (yet).
And of course, Saki Masato's facial expressions is just priceless.
#2: Tonbi
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Tonbi_2013
The last drama in my 4-way tie for second: Tonbi. From what I recall, Tonbi stands for Kite in English. A kite (not the one that people fly) is a type of bird, similar to a hawk. Throughout the drama series, we see a hawk flying with a tonbi. The interpretation behind the two flying is to symbolize the relationship between the father (Uchino) and his son. (The drama goes deeper into the interpretation, so I won't ruin it if you do watch it. =) )
Essentially, the story of Tonbi is about a "dumb-witted" father raising his only son after his wife dies from an accident. The father, Ichikawa Yasuo, is considered dumb because he didn't do well in school, highly stubborn and can be easily fooled at times. Besides all his faults, Yasuo does have a kind heart. He takes care of his son with the help of his friends in the small town they live in.
I haven't been watching a lot of family dramas recently due to all the high action medical/detective stories that were out there for this year. Tonbi was quite the change of pace, for there was little action involved, save for the couple of cliff hangers near the end of the series. Instead, the drama opted to focus on the development of the son, Akira (played by numerous actors to portray the different ages) through Yasuo's interaction. And of course, there was lots of learning to for Yasuo as he struggles to accept the death of his beloved wife and raising of his only son.
To me, it was the simple-minded character of Yasuo, beautifully portrayed by award winning actor Uchino, that really hooked me to this drama. The viewers can obviously tell that he has much love for his son. Also, Yasuo's stubbornness can bring out laughs for you wonder how can somebody be so "old-fashioned". Yet Yasuo's character is one that I simply cannot dislike. There were hints from Uchino's Sakamoto Ryoma from Jin (another drama) being channeled into this role... but essentially what I'm saying is that one has empathy (not sympathy) with Yasuo's character. And that was perhaps the winning part of the series that was unlike most of the other dramas I watched in recent time.
Besides Yasuo's character, I was able to reflect much on the theme of a father and son's relationship. Granted, I'm fortunate to live with both parents, but there are scenes within the drama that I can relate to. Overall, Tonbi is a must watch. It was not the story that won it for me, rather the character of Ichikawa Yasuo. Even to this day, the ending still sticks out to me. It's perhaps one of the most heartwarming endings that I've seen in over the 100+ drama series I've watched to date.
#1: Hanzawa Naoki
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hanzawa_Naoki
It's highly unusual for drama series' episode to reach 40% viewership in recent times. The last time a drama episode reached 40% was 2011's Kaseifu no Mita. (And before that, I don't recall when a drama had a rating that high). When I heard that Hanzawa Naoki's last episode reached 42.2%, I knew I had to watch this series.
And I was definitely not disappointed. Hanzawa Naoki is my favorite drama for 2013, and definitely in my all time top 5 drama list (which will of course keep updating as I watch more and more series). It had an amazing cast, amazing theme song, amazing arcs (two of them) and just so much more. There isn't anything for me to criticize about this drama series. I even loved the ending, which was so ambiguous to me. (I doubt there will be a second season, but perhaps a movie to give it a sense of finality?)
What makes this drama so special? Perhaps it's due to the main and titled character: Hanzawa Naoki. After doing some research, I stumbled across an article written by Professor Usami Takeshi of Chuo University. You can read his article by clicking here. He's a professor of Modern Literature with a specialization on Modern Japanese Literature. Professor Usami speculates that Hanzawa Naoki sends a message of resilience as Japan recovers from the financial crisis of 2008 and the recent earthquake in 2011.
To me, it makes perfect sense. Like what Professor Usami says, a person probably doesn't get screwed over that badly from their superiors, but many people go through life working with certain individuals that give them grief. (For the record, I am NOT experiencing any particular grief at the moment from work, but I have experienced it before.) This drama offers them an escape, giving them something to perhaps fantasy about, as Hanzawa goes against the hierarchy within his bank to squash the corruption that puts his own job at jeopardy.
Essentially, Hanzawa Naoki is a drama about an investment banker (I believe that's his role... nevertheless he's a banker) who gets pinned for losing 500 million yen to a "reliable" company. At no fault of his own, Hanzawa has to retrieve the money back or risk losing his job. And the only way to do that, is for him to comply to such an outrageous task, but through his own means.
And that, was just the first arc. The second arc is similar, but on such a larger scale.
Overall, Hanzawa Naoki is a drama that has an intellectual, thrilling plot that keeps you riveted to the spot. The cast does a great job to move the storyline along, but I would say that Sakai's portrayal of Hanzawa takes the cake. (For those who are still awake from reading my blog may notice that Sakai Masato also plays the troll lawyer Komikado! Quite the shift of character!) He goes through such trials, even betrayals from his own close friend... but that doesn't stop him at all. (And the part where the two meet was greatly scripted!) I simply can't justify the series through my words. I know that I stated that you MUST watch all these dramas on my top 5 list, but if you only have time for one... this is the one. It's not only for those who enjoy thrillers, or salaryman type dramas... but it is for all to watch.
I don't think I'll ever see such another compelling drama for a long time to come.
***
And that marks the end of my review post! It took a lot longer than I thought it would take (I was working on this till almost 1 AM yesterday, thus I took a break and worked on it today for a good hour or more), but there you have it! I'm not sure what 2014 is offering in terms of dramas, but I will set aside time to watch for sure!
For everyone, I wish you well for 2014!
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