Well, this is another of my long overdue reviews. There are more to come so please do keep coming back for more.I'm just glad that I finally got the time to write the review for Kiina and explain why I like this much better than Voice. Although both dramas are from different viewpoints i.e. the police officer vs. a pathologist, both have a major similarity i.e. trying to use scientific logic and facts to resolve things which seem impossible to happen in real life. However, Kiina handles this in a better way. Why is that so? The key lies in the central theme i.e. "this drama is made from true facts このドラマは“事実”から生まれた". If not for this, I believe Kiina might have gone out of focus in the middle of the season. At least, this guiding principle helped them to stay grounded and ensured that they did not deviate too much from the theme.
As such, we get this drama which is very factual. Everything has a clear explanation with examples and historical facts to back up. And they do not do it in a boring manner. Kiina's narration and explanations are usually peppered with humour points e.g. using words to express uncertainty when asked about the legitimacy of her arguments. It never fails to tickle me when she says words like "tabun" or "kamo" which both mean "maybe". It is not done in the same way as Voice where Eita's character, Daiki suddenly thinks of something and says that the truth should be as what he said. I wasn't too convinced by Voice's approach. On the other hand, Kiina does it slowly and nicely. For example, they would not shove the facts in your face right at the end and expect the viewers to take it at point level. Instead, they give you some insights into the issue at various intervals of the story and then tie up the loose ends nicely at the end. And I prefer that they do less lecturing as compared to Voice i.e. saying all those beautiful theories about what is best for the deceased or what the people involved should do which sound really jarring to me. Those lines are too old-fashioned and should not appear anymore. I really don't need an ethics lesson every time I watch a drama. However, it doesn't mean that Kiina doesn't do this too for dramatic effects. My point is how to handle it in such a way that it does not go overboard and feels like something which is forced upon the viewer.
It also helps a lot that Kiina is a better developed character as compared to the lead character in Voice who strikes me as a busybody. There are lots of conflicting traits about Kiina which makes her personality stand out. She's cute and sweet in terms of appearance but is seen as an eccentric weirdo especially from her colleagues' viewpoints. Although people would assume that Kiina will be popular with guys, she keeps getting dumped by guys who are put off by her personality of putting work first and the nature of her job. To top off the list of ironies, she is still pining for a man widely viewed as unattractive in the eyes of everyone. The multi-dimensional view of Kiina makes her more endearing to viewers rather than showing a single facade of a character. It also helps that Kanno Miho brought out the essence in Kiina especially when it comes to balancing the logical and ditzy sides of her character. Even though she's already in her early thirties, she doesn't go overboard with her ditzy performance of Kiina. Some actresses try too hard and it really gets on my nerves all the time. Thus, it is no wonder that she won the title of Best Actress for the winter season.
As for her buddy Yamazaki played by Hiraoka Yuuta, I think he did a decent job but the sparks between Yamazaki and Kiina were kinda weak. It is hard to find actors of a similar level of calibre to be buddies or enemies in a drama or movie. Given Hiraoka's inexperience, he seemed to be pulled along by Kanno just like what Yamazaki had been subjected to during the drama. As such, the bantering between Yamazaki and Kiina could have been more interesting if Hiraoka could be on par with Kanno in terms of acting skills. Nonetheless, I still think he did an acceptable job and has room for improvement.
On the other hand, I thought Kanno had great chemistry with Tsukaji Muga instead. Tsukaji played the role of Kudo, the researcher who always helped Kiina with her investigations and was her ex-boyfriend. The two of them were really hillarious on screen and it was a joy to see them. No doubt Tsukaji is not the typical handsome guy in dramas, his acting was good enough to create sparks with Kanno whenever their characters meet.
On the whole, I think that this is a drama not to be missed by the following groups of people:
1) Those who derive joy from watching investigative dramas based on facts rather than shaky guesswork
2) Those who like Kanno Miho (she's brilliant in this drama)
3) Those who are of the practical type and never believes in the supernatural (this drama will show you why some things happen even though they are said to be unbelievable)
And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 9.5 out of 10 (I like it for the fact that it stays true to its theme and presents logical explanations to everything)
Acting: 8 out of 10 (This is largely for Kanno and Tsukaji. The rest of the supporting cast didn't get too much time to show off their mettle which I felt was a bit of a pity. Kiina is simply too outstanding to be overshone by anybody.)
Theme song: 4 out of 10 (The theme song didn't leave a deep impression on me. I don't even remember the melody to date.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 6.5 out of 10 (Generally nothing special to speak of because there were quite a lot of indoor shots. I like some of the studio sets though.)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 7 out of 10 (Although Hiraoka Yuuta was supposed to be Kanno Miho's partner, I thought Kanno had better chemistry with Tsukaji. Nonetheless, it was a good effort by Hiraoka, considering his inexperience.)
Total: 34 out of 50
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