Review of JIN (Autumn 2009)

This review should have been done much earlier but I have just finished watching this series last week so this explains why the post is up now. Being the first review which I'm writing for this year, I hope that things get off to a good start and I'll be able to keep up with the momentum and post at least 2 reviews per month. During the autumn drama season, I was pretty much caught up with work and studies so I didn't have the time to sit through this. After hearing so much about this No.1 drama from last season, I finally have a chance to see if it is as good as what others have said.

I'm glad to say that this is pretty good. Despite some flaws and a hurried ending, I feel that this was one of the most gratifying dramas which I've seen in recent years. Although it is still not considered a classic in my opinion, this is definitely better than most of the drama offerings these days.

First, let's get started on the good points. One of the main reasons why I was very excited about this drama pre-season was the combination of Osawa Takao and Nakatani Miki. The two of them have been largely involved in movies only for a long time so it is indeed good news to see them in a drama. I have been wanting to see their move "Shichigatsu Nijuuyokka no Christmas" for ages but haven't been able to find it. I eagerly anticipated their collaboration this time because they both happen to be among my favourite actors and actresses. Years ago when I was watching Hoshi no Kinka (Heaven's Coins), it was Osawa who caught my eye rather than Takenouchi Yutaka (although I grew to like the latter over the years). As for Nakatani, her performances in dramas like Keizoku, Jou-i and Renai Hensachi were simply stunning. The last movie I saw her in was Kiraware Matsuko no Issho which was 4 years ago. As such, it feels as if I'm reuniting with long-lost friends when I watch this drama.

True to my expectations, these two did very well in the drama and showed what they are capable of. Through the character Minakata Jin, Osawa displayed the internal struggles of Jin to the fullest. On one hand, Jin wants to go back to the modern era and see his fiancee Miki (Nakatani) again. On the other hand, he starts to feel worried about the effects it will have on Bakumatsu-period Edo if he is gone. There is a growing emotional attachment to Edo although he did not feel it consciously in the beginning. Another highlight in his performance was when Jin faced a difficult decision as to whether he should save Nokaze (Nakatani). Osawa really conveyed a strong message of "it's human nature to think of ourselves" through his acting. i really like his farewell scene with Nokaze at the end. It was simply emotional, touching and had a lot of impact. Besides the emotionally-heavy developments, light-hearted humour e.g. through his interaction with Sakamoto Ryoma (Uchino Masaaki) gives a more well-rounded potrayal of Jin rather than showing him to be in a dilemma and thinking about serious issues all the time.

As for Nakatani Miki, her appearance was largely restricted in the first few episodes because her character Miki was still in a coma while Nokaze had yet to be featured prominently in the storyline. However, she was indeed eye-catching whenever she appeared. Most of the time, Nokaze was cynical and showed a tough side but she started to show the softer side to her character as she came into contact with Jin. On the other hand, although the character Miki always appeared in flashbacks, we do get a pretty clear picture of who she was i.e. her vivacious and never-give-up character. Although I thought the makeup for Nokaze was kinda overboard at times, I feel that Nakatani did well to show the differences between her two characters. Her chemistry on screen with Osawa whenever their characters met were very intense. Look out for the scene where Nokaze tried to offer herself to Jin before she gets redeemed by a rich man. That is solid proof of their acting skills.

Other than the leads who ignited my interest in the drama, the supporting cast was also brilliant. In fact, it is rare to find a drama these days filled with people who can really act. They also played a pivotal role in JIN's success.

First up, Ayase Haruka. After the very disappointing Mr.Brain, she finally showed her mettle again like how she impressed me during Byakuyakou. I love her performance as Saki. Although I thought that her character might suffer from neglect due to the star-studded cast, she stood firmly against the veterans and made Saki a character who is unforgettable. It was good that the feelings she had for Jin were not depicted in such a manner that made Saki look like a total bimbo. Coupled with the fact that Saki's strong character permeates through the plot, she became one of my most favourite characters. I tend to like female characters in dramas who can think on their own and have the strength to overcome problems so it is very obvious that I can't stand characters who only sit around to wait for Prince Charming to do everything for them. Luckily, Saki wasn't one of this type.

Another character who I really like is Ogata Kouan played by Takeda Tetsuya. Although his character died in the middle of the series, Ogata was indeed a charismatic leader who would not find it a disgrace to learn from Jin who was way younger than him. His humble attitude and steadfast attitude towards medicine were admirable. He had very good chemistry with Osawa Takao as well and I especially liked the scene when Ogata was asking Jin about his origins before he passed away. The dialogue showed that Ogata and Jin truly admired each other for their knowledge, skills and mindsets towards curing people. Although the men didn't sob in a exaggerated manner, the emotion was touching enough to bring people to tears.

Last but not least, Sakamoto Ryoma played by Uchino Masaaki is another outstanding character to be highlighted for mention. I am not too familiar with Sakamoto's background other than the facts that he played a pivotal role in the modernisation of Japan, he was assasinated at a young age, he was well-known for thinking out of the box. When I watched Uchino's past roles, he was usually quite serious but he was really good as Sakamoto. It is hard for anyone to dislike Uchino's potrayal of Sakamoto unless you want to find fault with the fact that he behaves like a mad man at times. My interpretation of that is when someone is behaving in an unconventional way, we usually categorise that as crazy behaviour. When you look at Sakamoto's mindset from the eyes of our modern era, we can safely say that if not for people who dare to dream, society would never evolve. As Uchino has enjoyed a lot of accolades for his performance, this would no doubt place additional pressure on Fukuyama Masaharu who plays the same character in this year's Taiga. Then again, many people have played Sakamoto before so it will probably be difficult to judge who is better. The unfortunate timing is probably what will cause the continuous comparison between Uchino and Fukuyama since the Taiga drama Ryomaden followed hot on the heels of JIN's success.

Of course, the rest of the supporting cast were also good in their own ways. However, if I were to go into detail for everyone, this post would probably stretch to such a length that most readers would not be patient enough to finish reading.

Coming to the story, this is where views will likely be divided. Frankly speaking, the story began with a bang. In fact, a BIG bang! Although the first episode was supposed to be a 2-hour SP, time flew by so quickly and before you knew it, it was over. There were lots of background filling typical in debut episodes but they managed to cram some humour and a lot of tense scenes to build up the suspense. That part where Jin was trying to make do with limited tools to perform a brain surgery was simply superb. As the story progressed, I was enthralled by the medical developments in Edo during that turbulent period and very touched by the relationships between some of the characters. The dialogue was straight to the point but also retained the subtleness in the spoken language of people in that era. As such, understanding the story wasn't that difficult even though there were lots of medical-related information to digest.

However, the story ending was a total letdown. After building up so much expectation, the finale fizzled. There were at least four main issues which were not explained and I'm sure everyone will feel bewildered by the lack of answers:
1) What was the significance of the foetus tumour?
2) Who was the injured man in the modern era?
3) How and why did Jin go back to the Edo era?
4) Was there a link between Nokaze and Miki?
5) Where did Jin and Miki's photo go? Why were there changes in the photo everytime something happened to Nokaze?
I assume that the lack of a conclusive ending has much to do with the manga which is still in progress so there is a likelihood that we may see a SP or movie. However, TBS had denied that there is something being planned. It's too early to say if TBS will go back on its word but I think most of us would feel very dissatisfied with how the drama ended.

Another point to note is that JIN ended in a similar fashion like Maou so I'm quite concerned whether TBS is intending to do the same thing again. Maou had some material to add in its DVD box thus it means that those who don't buy the DVD don't get to see the complete ending. I certainly hope that they don't spoil JIN's reputation with such a marketing gimmick.

With regards to the theme song by MISIA, I think it's quite good but the problem is whenever she gets to the chorus, it startles me at times. I literally jump when she starts singing "ima aitai ~ ". :-p Maybe the song is like this originally (the climax portion is supposed to be much louder than the rest of the song) but I suspect that the sound engineer may not have fine-tuned the volume balance so it's extremely jarring to the ears at the ending credits section.

In conclusion, this drama is a pretty good offering from TBS in a very long time. Although there are flaws, I feel that it is still worth watching, at least for the good acting and strong story (minus the hazy ending). Maybe the TV station should avoid using unfinished novels or manga in future to avoid such a problem. And we can then have a perfect and complete ending.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 9.5 out of 10 (It could have been a perfect 10 if the ending was complete)
Acting: 9 out of 10 (Everyone did well especially Osawa, Nakatani, Ayase, Uchino and Takeda. Even Koide Keisuke who had a small role did pretty OK. I'm still trying to reconcile the fact that Kyoutaro and Masumi-chan in Nodame Cantabile are played by the same person. Goes to show how versatile he can be.)
Theme song: 7.5 out of 10 (It's been a long time since I heard a MISIA song. And I think the message of the song seems to relate to Jin's feelings of longing to see Miki again.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 8 out of 10 (Not so much of visual effects but rather I like the nostalgic feel of Edo and the serene atmosphere for some of the scenes.)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 9 out of 10 (This is for the following pairings - Jin x Nokaze, Jin x Miki, Jin x Saki, Ryoma x Nokaze, Jin x Ogata, Hatsune x Kyoutaro and Jin x Ryoma. Watching these groupings talk is enjoyable especially the Jin x Ogata and Nokaze x Ryoma combinations.)

Total: 43 out of 50 - It's been ages since I rated a drama so highly i.e. above 40 marks. I can't remember when I last did that.