Title: Mikami-sensei / 御上先生
Rating: 9 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who want to watch an unconventional school drama with suspense elements and great acting from both the adults and "students"
* Potential spoilers ahead!
Liked:
- Unlike many school dramas to date, this story stood out for its unconventional and brutally honest take on various issues - some longstanding while others were more recent ones in this current age. Honestly speaking, there were quite a number of times when I wondered if TBS would get into trouble for being so point blank and critical with these viewpoints. At the same time, I also chuckled at how it poked fun at itself and others at times e.g. the Kinpachi-sensei style of passionate teacher being not so suitable for the current era. For the first time in a long while, there were no raised voices, incessant preaching or shouting matches and physical clashes between teachers and students but this didn't mean that there were no sparks flying within the classroom. Most importantly, the drama did not try to shove standard, right or single answers down the viewers' throats and kept emphasizing how important it was for us to think about issues and decide for ourselves only after knowing or finding out more about these topics. As such, this was reflective of how life should be - there are no best or single answers, what's good for you may not be for me and that we can all make informed decisions by not relying on others to think on our behalf or simply relying on groupthink.
- With regard to the suspense element, I thought that the story was pretty good at weaving seemingly unrelated events together to form a grand scheme of things naturally. Frankly speaking, while I thought that the bribery-rigged entry into Rintoku part was kind of predictable and a bit underwhelming towards the end, the other elements such as how one's action gave rise to unexpected events e.g. Kanzaki's "harmless and self-righteous reporting" setting off a fatal stabbing incident unwittingly were comparatively gripping and very engaging to watch.
- Another thing which sets this drama differently from many of its predecessors was the positioning of Mikami-sensei (Matsuzaka Toori). While the drama's title was as such and that you couldn't ignore the fact that his presence was a huge factor in setting things into motion, he was never hogging the limelight and the people around him actually all had their moments to shine. As such, nobody really felt like an outsider or afterthought as the story progressed and really brought home the message that nobody and nothing is unimportant. One line that appeared in the drama had a similar nuance with this - "even though you said that now is an important period of life, is there really a period of time in life which is unimportant?".
Many a times, school dramas tend to focus a lot on the adults or teachers rather than the students especially for stories like this which dabble in revenge and revamp of the school or education system. However, I felt that the actors who played the students this time actually stood out more than initially expected and gave their seniors a run for their money. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that their popularity and name value were secondary in the selection process which was done via auditions and their suitability for their roles was the key deciding factor. As such, it felt like some of them were especially fitting for their characters and really brought their roles to life - my favourites were Okudaira Daiken, Makita Aju, Kubozuka Airu, Kiryu Sakura and Kageyama Yuka. On the adults' side, Okada Masaki, Yoshioka Riho, Tokiwa Takako and Hotta Mayu were really brilliant in their acting alongside Matsuzaka.
Disliked:
- Perhaps the biggest issue with this drama was how emotionally charged and heavy the story was. As I outlined above, while the drama may not have very dramatic moments like shouting, raised voices, passionate expressions and the like, there were a lot of undercurrents and emotions boiling underneath the calm facade. This made me feel quite drained emotionally after each episode and certainly not the kind of mood I would like to be in on a Sunday evening with a new week ahead.
Likewise, the huge number of lines and a lot of content to consider and think about in the story created much work and overloaded my brain. I think you really need to be in the mood to savour the good things in this drama and pace yourself rather than attempt to binge-watch this.
No comments:
Post a Comment