Tomorrow(2008)

Dun talk with your mouth full, Dr Moriyama.

Like i mention, dorama season this year is pretty good in Japan. I have watched a few excellent ones this year. Well i am not complaining if there is such a windfall for me. I have been more of a japanese dorama fan than any other as you can see. Korean dramas are way to melodramatic for me and taiwanese - well i cannot really understand mandarin so i stick to my jdramas.

I was quite excited when YY said this drama was coming out. Reason being, i have not seen Yutaka Takenouchi in 2 years since his last show Kazoku. Which i think i reviewed before. Or did it. Here he plays a former doctor called Moriyama Kohei ( i so love the name - it sounds like those really traditional japanese names ) who left the profession due to a medical mistake. Moriyama decided to leave the city to forget about the medical profession and work as a civil servant in small town ( that looks like the town of Ise but actually filmed in Chiba prefecture )

The location of filming of the dorama.

Now, in japan medical mistakes are seriously taken ( unlike in malaysia ) where there is actually someone held responsible for the mistake. Sorry i find malaysia lacks a lot of things at times. And in this case, Moriyama took responsibilty of the death of a patient due to misdignosis of the condition. That was 8 years ago.

One day, a small accident in town makes Moriyama rethink his position as quiting. All this is due to the tenacity of a nurse Tanaka Aiko. Aiko works in small community hospital called Nishiyamamuro Hospital. It is a small somewhat run down hospital with many patients but few doctors or nurses. Yet the hospital serves this whole community whole heartedly regardless of this problems. Impending restructuring of the hospital sees that they need to turn away some patients but Aiko accepts them as the need to serve them is more. And Moriyama was impressed by her steadfastness.

A series of events leads to Moriyama finally donning the white doctor's coat where he had to save a pregnant woman from drowning in her own blood (SPOILER ) and he rethinks his decision to become back a doctor. Spurred by this event, he starts his part time job at Nishiyamamuro . But things don't end there so smoothly. Nurse Tanaka is connected to him in more than one ways. (SPOILER #2) and the arrival of a rather cold Endo Saya who is in charge of turning the hospital around to a more profitable enterprise.

Of course running a small town hospital means you have:
* Upstart young doctors trying to run the hosptial their way and privatise everything possible.
* Why so few doctors one?

I must say this story is a nailbitter. I sat through the show and could finish within 2-3 days. The story line intrigues you as it makes you fight for the underdogs in this show and there are many:

Underdogs:
* Moriyama Kohei himself- he struggles to gain confidence in himself and the people around him
* The hospital itself - it is such a stage of despair and lacking some human resources you feel for them
* The people of this small town itself - if the hospital goes bust they go bust!


The so- called challengers:

* Endo Saya

* The money eyed deputy mayor who cannot decide if he wants to be good or evil -:)

Now there is some truth in the show itself- alot of hospitals around Japan and around the world especially community hospital lack the funding that private hospitals has and it show cases problems faced by doctors and patients alike when money becomes a key factor in healing people.

What i like about this show:

I like this scene-part 1

I like this scene-part 2(spoiler!)

* Yutaka of course ! I must say i always prefer him short hair and clean shaven he looks very.. serious in this show but he is another one of the really great actors in Japan. Able to play many roles convincingly i find his role as Moriyama Kohei intense. You can see him struggle within himself - should he put his hand out to help or hide in his shell to avoid his own emotional lackings.

* Kanna Miho- superb actress here. Not the usual stricking beauty but her spunkiness in this show, challenging doctors and also her self to help people whom she sees is in need. I especially love 2 bits where 1) when her sister was seriously ill ( SPOILER #3) and her anguish was clearly written on her face. 2) when she fessed up she likes someone - hehehe -so sweet! This appears in the last bit but as you clearly know japanese dramas sometimes you can predict their ending.

* The small town feel. Call me old fashion but i love that feeling of being in a small time where you are quite close to everyone. Check out the bit where a major accident happened and there was not enough people to help out. I was like rooting for the poor doctors and nurses of the hospital.

* The show highlights common problems faced by a lot of people - many urgent and critical things with poor resources.

* Small touches like the sub story line on Endo Saya.

What i don't like about this show:
* Its too short- could have a run a few more episodes and this kitteh is happy.

* Quite a number of characters in the show that could be developed more. Of course this is only 10 episodes in shows so there is very little character development except for the leads.

* Kohei's character is something really too good. I won't be able to find any malaysian like him here. We unfortunately do not have such characteristics - and that sadly makes me think we don't have similar people in the world.

Those who are interested in medical dramas, do check out Tomorrow.

P/s: one more shot of Yutaka for the road - lol. Now, go back to work everyone.