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The Great White Tower japanese drama review
Completed
The Great White Tower
2 people found this review helpful
by Sri
Jun 24, 2021
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10.0

I recognize your skills but not your views.

This line said by Dr. Satomi to Dr. Zaizen perfectly sums the relationship between the two protagonists of The Great White Tower and (imo) make the show the masterpiece it is considered to be.
While Shiroi Kyoto or The Great White Tower is often applauded for its portrayal of human desire/greed, ambitions, morals, ethics and ideals, it is the relation between the two polar opposites protagonists which makes this drama worth watching in my eyes.
It is tough to explain the what's between Zaizen and Satomi to anyone who has not watched the drama. It is not friendship or any sort of companionship. It is a sort of camaraderie between two people who respect each other and their talent even if their ideals and morals clash. Throughout the show, both are always in conflict with each other but still you can feel how much they actually value the presence of the other in their lives and watching them together was the best.

Talking about the writing, believe me when I say that it was perfect. Often shows like these can turn into cliche with an overly ambitious lead who only cares about power coupled with another lead who is the most morally upright individual who desires nothing but only the greater good. But as brilliant the plot is, this was not the case here. I never felt that I had to choose a side or assign the role of villains to any character. Everything was so thought provoking that you can't help but root for the characters and at the same time question their actions and decisions. The intricacy of the plot leaves so much on your own interpretation and values, which I honestly think is something not easily achieved by dramas.
Another instance of the brilliant writing is the suspense throughout the show. In both the arcs I sat with bated breath as to see what the outcome will be. Judging by the common drama formula, of course I predicted some obvious events but the whole process to reach the goals was very much engaging and interesting and kept my attention the whole time.
Both the internal power struggle and the external court case complimented each other really well and along with the equally well written characters make The Great White Tower actually great.

Now the drama is actually a 10/10 in my heart. But the 9.5 here is because of two issues I had. Firstly as I said above, I never considered Zaizen a character with negative traits. Ambitious he was but he still was a skillful doctor who wanted recognition in medical field both for himself and his patients. I actually wanted him to reach the top. So the course of events leading to the lawsuit seemed too much to me. It was almost like he didn't cared about the mistake on his part and it's future consequences on everyone around him. I get the issues which led Zaizen to behave that way but to me it felt a bit out of his character or maybe I read him the wrong way.
Second thing is Professor Azuma's dislike towards Zaizen. Honestly I never understood why he was so much against him apart from the whole 'Zaizen is not idealistic and only has skills thus he can't go far' issue and that he outshined him despite being his student. I know that it is realistic and this happens but since it formed the basis of the whole drama, I just can't seem to get it out of my mind and would have loved it if Professor Azuma's character was explained a bit more.

Apart from all this, a perfect show with great writing and amazing acting which was a delight to watch. The OST seemed a bit strange at first but I appreciated it more as the show progressed. Especially that little opening sequence with the white tower and the bgm always hyped me up and put me right into the mood.
I'll definitely rewatch it sometime in the future and hopefully I'll appreciate it the same or even more.
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