My Favorite JDrama - Unnatural (2018) - Jdrama Review
-May contain major spoilers-
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| Photo source: TBS |
Unnatural (アンナチュラル) is a 10-episode TBS forensic drama starring Ishihara Satomi with Iura Arata, Kubota Masataka, Ichikawa Mikako and Matsushige Yutaka.
Summary
Misumi Mikoto (Ishihara Satomi) works at the UDI Lab (Unnatural Death Investigation Laboratory) as a forensic pathology doctor. Mikoto seems to have a mysterious past that hinders her private life, but she is very hard-working and will not stop until she discovers the truth about the victim's cause of unnatural death.
Nakado Kei, Shoji Yuko, Kamikura Yasuo and Kube Rokuro also work with her at UDI.
Nakado Kei (Iura Arata) is also a forensic doctor, he swears a lot and is always in a bad mood. Like Mikoto, he also has a mysterious past.
Shoji Yuko (Ichikawa Mikako) is a forensic lab technician, she is friends with Mikoto and is always interested in going to group dates or, as she calls them, "intersexual social gatherings".
Kamikura Yasuo (Matsushige Yutaka) is the director of UDI and worked for the Ministry of Health before the (recent) creation of the lab.
Kube Rokuro (Kubota Masataka) is the newbie of the group, he is a part-time recorder (or photographer) he also works writing articles for a magazine. He comes from a family of doctors and used to study medicine.
The UDI works together to resolve an array of complex cases...
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Thoughts
Unnatural is truly an outstanding drama and unlike my favorite Kdrama (The Moon Embracing the Sun [Review]) I don't feel like I have to keep on watching after a certain point just for the sake of it (that it being Kim Soo-Hyun)
Unnatural was written by Nogi Akiko, most of her dramas are a hit with my heart and my previous favorite Jdrama was also written by her (Public Affairs Office in the Sky [2013]), but this drama quickly replaced it. By the way, Unnatural won every award it was nominated for (crazy...).
I actually started watching this drama in 2020 (late, I know...) and quit in the first episode, but I was so curious about Mikoto's story and the second episode is so good that I got hooked and couldn't stop watching. SPOILER the cause of death in the first episode was Covid SPOILER ENDS
The cinematography is really good. One of my favorite moments is the ending of episode of episode 5, which was my favorite episode.
The acting was fantastic and felt really natural. I like how normal the flow of conversations felt and how the characters kept talking to each other in the background. I liked every character, but if I had to choose just one favorite it was Nakado Kei, Iura Arata is a fantastic actor. Confession time: even if this drama has no romance, I ship Misumi Mikoto with Nakado Kei.
The theme song is「Lemon」by Yonezu Kenshi, the lyrics of the song are quite sad but the song works great with any mood, whether happy or sad. Lemon is the most viewed Japanese music video and it was the #1 song of 2018 and 2019.
I recommend this drama if you like watching (mentally) strong female characters, forensic TV shows, captivating cases and good writing.
If you're a squeamish person (?) and you're worried that they show bad stuff, don't worry, they even censor some things in episode 8.
Rating
Acting - 10/10
Plot - 10/10
Soundtrack - 10/10
Cinematography - 10/10
Overall Rating - 10/10
Extended Drama Info.
Quantity of Episodes: 10.
Run Time: 54min/each.
Release Date: January 12, 2018.
Network: TBS.
Directed by: Tsukahara Ayuko, Takemura Kentaro and Murao Yoshiaki.
Written by: Nogi Akiko.
Music by: Tokuda Masahiro.
Starring: Ishihara Satomi, Iura Arata, Kubota Masataka, Ichikawa Mikako and Matsushige Yutaka.
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