alon-luna
I've seen several detective series and a handful of forensic science/medical mysteries. This is one of the few that had such a lighthearted atmosphere that I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. I'm thinking that I much prefer the tonal shifts in dramas like Signal and Tunnel where the environment changes from light to dark, from happy to suspenseful, etc., since these changes heighten viewer tensions and give a better sense of mood. Unnatural's constant, unchanging lightheartedness was a bit jarring in that it seemed to take away from the seriousness of what was happening. There were hardly any suspenseful scenes.
On the other hand, this 'flaw' did give it a certain distinction which alleviated the gruesomeness of the subject matter. Cutting up bodies and studying human parts isn't an easy watch but they made it easy. I guess that can also be seen as an advantage.
Unnatural is so bright and cheerful that it might as well be a slice of life drama. The upbeat characters and their constant banter also reminded me of a family get together. However, I liked this MUCH better than the last mystery jdrama I watched. Back then, Galileo (2007) was highly rated and recommended by a lot of people as the 'best mystery jdrama.' But I found it so boring that I gave up watching it after episodes 7 or 8- pretty much a waste, since there were only one or two more episodes to go before it reached the end. But there was no excitement in its mysteries, and the plot focused more on tactical methods rather than what made the individual cases interesting. Another disappointment was Shibasaki Kou's female lead (FL). While I like this actress, it was her character I took issue with. Had she been written as a civilian I would have been more forgiving but no...she was a police officer and extremely useless. Her presence only served to prop up the brilliant male lead and to make him look good. She behaved like a fan girl who fawned over him one moment, then she did the whole damsel-in-distress act in the next. Even those I could have tolerated, had she been able to help him in any way. But she didn't contribute anything* to the plot whatsoever.
Fast forward to 2018 where thankfully, Unnatural gave me the exact opposite scenario. Not only did it have an extremely capable FL in "Misumi" (played charmingly by Ishihara Satomi, despite her sometimes blank facial expressions :) ) it also had a competent secondary female lead in "Shoji."
Iura Arata's "Nakado" was a variation of the 'jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold' (or maybe, eccentric with a sad past is a better description?) but his character's attitude problem and the shit he gave his team members were thankfully addressed by the plot and called out in the most humorous of ways. The chemistry between Misumi and Nakado was great. It reminded me a bit of Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock and Lucy Liu's Watson from Elementary (2012). They got together to solve problems and the buddy-cop dynamic they had going on was a highlight of the drama. Kubota Masataka's "Kube" was a frustrating character but in the end, managed to come across as sympathetic. I was relieved that he evolved from being bumbling fool type (no one likes a clueless Jar Jar Binks) to a helpful contributor to the team.
One of the things I did not like in the drama however, were the times that the characters would talk at the same time and over one another.
I get that this sort of thing might happen in a busy work room but as a viewer, I found the experience irritating because I could not understand the conversations and had to rewind a couple of times. I don't know if they filmed it this way to give off a sense of heightened activity or to make the characters appear clever, but I felt that it was the wrong decision. I wanted to be able to absorb and appreciate all the medical jargon but I couldn't because they all seemed to be having a contest as to who could talk the fastest.
The production values also seemed outdated. Not just in Unnatural but in jdramas in general...the way the lighting effects, filters, etc looked didn't seem much different from what was in Hana Yori Dango, which came out more than ten years ago. As a result, they weren't able to recreate an atmosphere of tension during those scenes that were meant to look scary/suspenseful. Like I said earlier, shows like Signal and Tunnel did a better job of stirring emotions. Kdramas...and even Cdramas, have gone a long way in terms of production values/design. I can only hope that jdramas will follow suit. They do so well when it comes to anime/manga...but not much artistry is given to their dramas. It occurred to me that it could be a budget issue as they only provide for a short number of episodes.
The last criticism I have can either be counted as a flaw or as an advantage, depending on what type of characters one likes.
I couldn't help but notice that in a lot of jdramas...the actors/actresses always act cute. I noticed this in the Battle Royal movie and every other japanese production I've seen. No matter how old they are or what personality or temperament they have...they always act cute. I'm not talking about characters being presented in an exaggerated or idealized manner - kdramas and cdramas are also guilty of that, not to mention thai dramas which feature some of the most over-the-top-characters in fiction. But in jdramas it's almost as if the actors/actresses aren't really acting and that it's really just their manner and way of speaking. I'm not sure if it's their mannerisms or the sing-song way they talk but the results have me both utterly charmed but unable to take them seriously. I think that since jdramas are relatively realistic compared to other Asian shows - realistic in terms of their themes, events and characterizations, the 'kawai factor' that the characters (or actors?) have tends to stand out more.
Overall, while I don't think Unnatural is as good as my other favorites, it's definitely a step in the right direction and an improvement in jdrama mysteries. It was a fun watch, with likable characters and interesting cases. Compared to Galileo, there wasn't a single time I was bored. I liked the pacing of the story and the way the mysteries balanced out with the technical aspects. I hope this gets a second season because I will be one of those looking forward to it.
On the other hand, this 'flaw' did give it a certain distinction which alleviated the gruesomeness of the subject matter. Cutting up bodies and studying human parts isn't an easy watch but they made it easy. I guess that can also be seen as an advantage.
Unnatural is so bright and cheerful that it might as well be a slice of life drama. The upbeat characters and their constant banter also reminded me of a family get together. However, I liked this MUCH better than the last mystery jdrama I watched. Back then, Galileo (2007) was highly rated and recommended by a lot of people as the 'best mystery jdrama.' But I found it so boring that I gave up watching it after episodes 7 or 8- pretty much a waste, since there were only one or two more episodes to go before it reached the end. But there was no excitement in its mysteries, and the plot focused more on tactical methods rather than what made the individual cases interesting. Another disappointment was Shibasaki Kou's female lead (FL). While I like this actress, it was her character I took issue with. Had she been written as a civilian I would have been more forgiving but no...she was a police officer and extremely useless. Her presence only served to prop up the brilliant male lead and to make him look good. She behaved like a fan girl who fawned over him one moment, then she did the whole damsel-in-distress act in the next. Even those I could have tolerated, had she been able to help him in any way. But she didn't contribute anything* to the plot whatsoever.
Fast forward to 2018 where thankfully, Unnatural gave me the exact opposite scenario. Not only did it have an extremely capable FL in "Misumi" (played charmingly by Ishihara Satomi, despite her sometimes blank facial expressions :) ) it also had a competent secondary female lead in "Shoji."
Iura Arata's "Nakado" was a variation of the 'jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold' (or maybe, eccentric with a sad past is a better description?) but his character's attitude problem and the shit he gave his team members were thankfully addressed by the plot and called out in the most humorous of ways. The chemistry between Misumi and Nakado was great. It reminded me a bit of Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock and Lucy Liu's Watson from Elementary (2012). They got together to solve problems and the buddy-cop dynamic they had going on was a highlight of the drama. Kubota Masataka's "Kube" was a frustrating character but in the end, managed to come across as sympathetic. I was relieved that he evolved from being bumbling fool type (no one likes a clueless Jar Jar Binks) to a helpful contributor to the team.
One of the things I did not like in the drama however, were the times that the characters would talk at the same time and over one another.
I get that this sort of thing might happen in a busy work room but as a viewer, I found the experience irritating because I could not understand the conversations and had to rewind a couple of times. I don't know if they filmed it this way to give off a sense of heightened activity or to make the characters appear clever, but I felt that it was the wrong decision. I wanted to be able to absorb and appreciate all the medical jargon but I couldn't because they all seemed to be having a contest as to who could talk the fastest.
The production values also seemed outdated. Not just in Unnatural but in jdramas in general...the way the lighting effects, filters, etc looked didn't seem much different from what was in Hana Yori Dango, which came out more than ten years ago. As a result, they weren't able to recreate an atmosphere of tension during those scenes that were meant to look scary/suspenseful. Like I said earlier, shows like Signal and Tunnel did a better job of stirring emotions. Kdramas...and even Cdramas, have gone a long way in terms of production values/design. I can only hope that jdramas will follow suit. They do so well when it comes to anime/manga...but not much artistry is given to their dramas. It occurred to me that it could be a budget issue as they only provide for a short number of episodes.
The last criticism I have can either be counted as a flaw or as an advantage, depending on what type of characters one likes.
I couldn't help but notice that in a lot of jdramas...the actors/actresses always act cute. I noticed this in the Battle Royal movie and every other japanese production I've seen. No matter how old they are or what personality or temperament they have...they always act cute. I'm not talking about characters being presented in an exaggerated or idealized manner - kdramas and cdramas are also guilty of that, not to mention thai dramas which feature some of the most over-the-top-characters in fiction. But in jdramas it's almost as if the actors/actresses aren't really acting and that it's really just their manner and way of speaking. I'm not sure if it's their mannerisms or the sing-song way they talk but the results have me both utterly charmed but unable to take them seriously. I think that since jdramas are relatively realistic compared to other Asian shows - realistic in terms of their themes, events and characterizations, the 'kawai factor' that the characters (or actors?) have tends to stand out more.
Overall, while I don't think Unnatural is as good as my other favorites, it's definitely a step in the right direction and an improvement in jdrama mysteries. It was a fun watch, with likable characters and interesting cases. Compared to Galileo, there wasn't a single time I was bored. I liked the pacing of the story and the way the mysteries balanced out with the technical aspects. I hope this gets a second season because I will be one of those looking forward to it.
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