Quick Review #129: Kounodori 1 - Autumn 2015

Title: Kounodori 1 / コウノドリ １　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

For those who want to watch a no-frills realistic take on the issues surrounding pregnancy and childbirth with a star-studded cast and/or are fans of the MIU404 duo i.e. Ayano Go and Hoshino Gen in a hospital setting

* Potential spoilers ahead!

* Currently showing on Netflix (availability subject to geographical location)

* I have not read the original manga.

Liked:

- Unlike a lot of medical dramas which tend to make the lead character-doctor appear to be almighty and can cure anyone or all medical complications/issues can be resolved no matter what happens, this drama came across as pretty down-to-earth and largely realistic because it showed both the positive and negative sides for issues raised. While there were some regretful developments which may be sad, the imperfection portrayed here mirrors how life is really like so I thought it was good that the drama did not try to gloss over things and push for a all-ends-well-eventually vibe throughout.

There was also a lot of useful and hardly-known information about pregnancy, childbirth and social support for childcare which I think would be beneficial for anyone to know and to understand that having a child safely and successfully is not a given. Most importantly, I think the story did not try to give a best or only answer for the topics raised and left that judgement to the viewers because we would probably think differently based on our circumstances and experience to date. As such, it didn't feel like the drama was trying to push for a single outcome or most acceptable solution to viewers.

- The drama boasted of a star-studded line-up with the regulars being all leading-actors level by now so if you are fans of them, you will probably enjoy watching this at least for the sake of seeing how they used to act 10 years ago. I also liked the bickering young doctors played by Matsuoka Mayu and Sakaguchi Kentaro. What was also good was that the drama didn't try too hard in making the characters look like super beings who could do everything so everyone was endearing and relatable in their own right especially the parts where their vulnerabilities were displayed.

- Among the guests, I would say that Oguri Shun and Yamaguchi Mayu left the strongest impression on me. Well, in Oguri's case, you can consider him to be somewhat like a sub-regular member of the cast because he appeared quite a number of times across multiple episodes despite being a guest. Not that I mind though because I really enjoyed his performance as a single father who had to take care of his baby daughter on his own after his wife passed away due to an accident. As for Yamaguchi, her scene as a teenage mother who had to give up her baby for adoption as soon as she had given birth - I thought her acting was really heart-wrenching and convincing despite her being a teenager as well at that time. Although the drama featured quite a number of sad moments, hers was the only one which really moved me.

Disliked: 

- Perhaps this might be more of an issue for people like me who watched "MIU404" first before the "Kounodori" series but I felt that the character setting for Ayano and Hoshino's characters was somewhat identical i.e. one hot and one cold. As such, there were quite a lot of times when I felt that I was watching "MIU404" in a hospital setting and I had to keep reminding myself that I was watching a different drama. Given that the gap between both dramas was a good 5 years and that "MIU404" did not have original content to be based on, I just found that the overlap in their character settings somehow gave a been-there-done-that vibe so the novelty factor in that sense was somewhat lacking. I wonder if I might have felt the same way about "MIU404" if I had watched "Kounodori" first.

- Much as I said above that the story was largely rooted in reality and didn't try to be too dramatic, I found the ending a bit too idealistic and seemingly in a hurry to wrap up everything nicely. Perhaps it might be better to maintain the imperfection e.g. how Arai (Yamaguchi Sayaka) did not return to work as she was taking a break due to burnout rather than try to make everything look so hopeful and positive such as the couple taking their baby home after being unable to accept him for a long time.