Unnatural features a skilled cast depicting intriguing characters with complex backstories and motives portrayed by Ishihara Satomi, Iura Arata and Kubota Masataka. This drama marks a reunion of Ishihara Satomi and Iura Arata. They were last in a drama together in 2012’s Rich Man, Poor Woman. It is remarkable the transformation Iura has made from the two roles. I only realized it was him after reading through the cast. Iura is such a skilled actor with amazing range. I will have to seek out more of his works.
I binged this drama in a couple days before the last episode aired and this drama is quite a ride. This drama is extremely well balanced and keeps its audience engaged from episode to episode. This drama does a very good job in introducing its characters backstories and delving into what makes them tick. While each episode typically offers a new case, it’s the overarching focus on its characters that kept me so engaged throughout. I’m typically pretty cautious when it comes to procedural dramas, but this drama is the perfect mix. If you are like me and hesitate about starting this drama, Don’t Be! Take the plunge! Trust me, you won’t regret it! Here’s to hoping there is a second season!!!
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There's some changes in my review
Let me be honest, the reason I've been looking forward for this drama is because of Kubota Masataka and Ishihara Satomi. They're both my favorite J actors. But as I finished this drama, I've fallen in love with all the actors from UDI. The acting is on point and all the characters are awesome, well except from the villains of course lol.Whenever I watched an investigation drama, I will mostly judge the drama based on the cases. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the case in episode 1 is quite boring BUT other than that, all the cases in this drama is very interesting and intriguing. There are few cases that touched my heart and make me shed tears because it's so touching and sad.
This is my first Asian drama about pathology and Unnatural certainly set the bar high for my next pathology drama. Watching the procedure and the conclusion is very fascinating. I learnt a lot from this drama.
I hope there will be season 2 will all the same cast because this drama is perfection and I totally recommend this!
------------------------------------------------------ UPDATE ------------------------------------------------------
Hello, this is me in the year 2021 and I want to share something.
Recently, I re-watched this drama and I noticed that I stated "the case in episode 1 is quite boring". I want to slap myself lol. With this pandemic that's happening all over the world for already 1 year, it made me appreciate the case in episode 1 when I re-watch this drama. It hit too close too comfort with the pandemic that we're all currently experiencing. I understand the panic and chaos that happened in the drama.
With my changed statement, I hereby announce that all the case in this drama is very interesting and intriguing lol.
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On paper, Unnatural is a case-of-the-week procedural about forensic pathologists but in reality it is masterfully crafted multi-layered show that it uniquely Japanese and has almost nothing in common with western shows like Bones. I believe that Unnatural could only ever be made in Japan, the same way Sherlock and Signal are unique products of the Great Britain and South Korea respectively.
One of the things J-dramas excel at is a workplace drama. These dramas focus on the life of everyday workers as they fight to achieve their goals and through that struggle find true belonging. There also must be a candid depiction of the work process for the additional educational value. One would think that the drama about forensic pathologists is very much in line with this genre. But it is not. Because in Japan pathologists (and any other workers that deal with dead bodies) are considered to be 'unclean'. This is also the reason the autopsies are almost never performed in Japan (because so few people agree to work in the unclean field).
On the other hand, Japan has a long tradition of dedicating dramas to social issues. And Unnatural bravely challenges the public perception of the profession and addresses the prejudices head on.
Thus, Unnatural is a 'punk' workplace drama with strong social message and a mystery plot. This is why it is made of so many different but complimentary ingredients that were handpicked by the show creator - the script writer Nogi Akiko. In fact it was her first original script; she wrote it after garnering success for her workplace dramas with strong female characters pursuing socially important missions (Nigeru wa Haji, Library Wars, Soratobu Kouhoushitsu).
Unnatural also features a female lead who is competent, emotionally distant, and has a considerable strength of character. She is a kind of hero that is very very rarely female. Moreover, she has a female colleague with whom she geeks over science and jokes about zombies.
And it is hard not to geek over science while watching this show because the autopsies are performed at the state-of-art laboratories using cutting edge technologies. It is no Mr Brain or Galileo with their fake science that breaks suspension of disbelief.
Apart from inspiring message, touching human drama, exploration of social issues (like various types of discrimination, bullying, and exploitation), cheeky humour, and science, Unnatural has plenty of other entertainment to offer.
Firstly, the cases are very unique and unpredictable. The characters are not actual law enforcers which allows for some grey morale leeway. There is also a love triangle (with the caveat that one must be well-versed in Japanese romance tropes to spot it) and unbelievable ensemble chemistry as in every given pair of characters has engaging interactions. There is no drop-dead-gorgeous people in the cast (except for Ichihara Satomi) or larger than life charismatic characters but, over all, the ensemble is so well balanced you can't pick a single uninteresting supportive character.
It should also be mentioned that Kubota Masataka was so unexpectedly cute in this show and his character so sympathetic that he was instantly casted in Radiation House (in a similar role) and in the upcoming 'asadora', a marker of a true mainstream recognition.
Finally, Unnatural has an enormous luxury of using Lemon by Yonezu Kenshi as its main theme which is a track that's been on top of the charts for two(!) years in a row.
Now let's list what one may not enjoy about this show. Unnatural deals with death and while it is not a dark show one would be hard-pressed not to cry at some scenes. There are also scenes where the characters extricate various fluids form dead bodies that are not graphic but are still mildly revolting. The show is dialogue heavy and the dialogues are medical jargon heavy so one needs to pay attention to get the plot and the jokes. One episode focuses on gender discrimination and has arguably unsatisfying resolution.
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What a gem.
I had actually started watching the first ep when it was an on-going drama, but when I realized it was about forensic pathology, I got sort of creeped out and dropped it, so glad I listened to one of the recent reviews that was left on here. I was looking for something to watch and so I restarted watching it.I BINGED IT FROM LATE NIGHT TO EARLY MORNING.
Each episode literally got better and better, and the cast lineup was amazing.
Satomi Ishihara and Kubota Masataka were originally what pulled me in. Those two together had great chemistry. I hope they work together in the future again!
Supposedly there's a second season coming because the last episode said that their journey was to be continued. So super excited to watch that whenever it airs.
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''Live like you deserve to live.''
''Unnatural'' managed to touch my heart many times and this is why I love and appreciate it so much. Hidden gem, truly. Dramas like this one should be more popular.Honestly I loved everything about it. The story was well-paced, the script was brilliantly written, the characters were endearing (except for the bad ones, they were disgusting as they should be), the cast did their job perfectly and the music was on point and made me cry a lot of times. Each case was very interesting but my favourite ones are the one with the suffocation and the school bullies (episode 6&7 I think?). They made me cry the most. I think the first two cases weren't that fascinating, but from episode 3 everything got better and I started enjoying it completely.
I adore everyone from UDI Lab. They were all amazing! Misumi Mikoto was a strong female lead and I appreciated her braveness and her way of thinking. Ishihara Satomi did a brilliant job here! Nakado had a cold appearance but with the time I was able to understand him and his pain. Kube was the cuuuuutest! Kubota stole my heart once again, he is adorable! And here comes my favourite character - Shouji Yuko! She was funny, strong, lovable and I love the intreactions between her and Misumi. What a great team the UDI lab workers were!
Honestly I don't even know what more to say. I highly recommend this to everyone. But prepare your tissues, ''Unnatural'' will play with your emotions, it hits quite hard at times.
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I don't recall seeing such a wonderful cast of diverse talents working together so well. Everyone fit together within their scenes it felt like I was watching a documentary or reality television stories of forensic pathology instead of a scripted television drama. From the emotions, characters, plotline(s), forensic/medical terminology... Not one point was lost or disappeared within the fast pace of the show. I do feel like they could have stretched it out, maybe 15 episodes or even a season two instead of completely ending the show.
It was really nice to discover new actors to follow and to see some familiar actors in roles I'm not used to seeing them play; this show was quite the adventure! I binged this series all in one day (it's currently 2:00am where i am lol)
The twists and turns within this show are amazingly portrayed. Each time I thought I had something pegged or knew some medical information, I was completely blown off my feet and learned something new. I sympathized a lot with a few of the stories and characters, too. The cast and director and writer(s) made this show perfectly human.
I would absolutely recommend this show to anyone who is a fan of thrillers, suspense, detective, comedy, slice-of-life, medical dramas. Of course, people like me who aren't so good with scary things could like this show too! It isn't as scary as I thought it would be at first; quite the opposite... I really learned a lot, and I absolutely fell in love with this show!
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Story
The story of this drama is a one week story that might be common in dorama-land but the whole events of the drama is written accordingly and it's a pleasure to me. The forensic-related matters are shown perfectly with details that can be understood by commoners. Unlike other forensic dramas, this drama also tackle on several issues emerging in society, such as gender equality with a good proportion. This drama did not exaggerate everything. All are good in a perfect measure. Honestly, a drama which is written this well is hard to come by
Acting
Ishihara Satomi has never failed to impress me. She nailed every character that she play. She's a great actress. Other casts have also done such terrific job. Simply to say, the acting of the casts are extremely good.
Music
I love the music, especially the song titled lemon. When i listen to it, it stuck in my ears
This drama is hard to come by. Decent writing, terrific acting and good music is a perfect combination. You must watch it
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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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Intriguing (and sad) storyline
Synopsis caught my eye as the drama surrounds an interesting topic which is not often seen (other than those in police dramas).The drama is made up a couple of individual stories which ended at solving the biggest mystery in the show. All individual stories are memorable and never fails to tug at my heartstrings...
It is filled with suspense, a little humour, lots of secrets and heartbreaking stories that surfaced from the performing of autopsies and the lead's quest to search for the truth behind each death.
Highly recommended for those of you who love suspense, detective or mystery genre. I definitely enjoyed the show as well as the awesome OST - Lemon from Yonezu Kenshi. I love the song so much that I'm able to follow and sing almost the full song without looking at the lyrics haha.
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Randomly picked it up and ended up obsessed
I randomly picked it up thinking it was just going to fill my time and I ended up binge watching it cause I was so captivated. I developed a new found respect for the profession and I loved how the main leads were really complexed which made me root for them wholeheartedly.The fl determination and love for her job was so refreshing and I loved how it one of the episode they discussed discrimation of women in profession judged too harsh.
Eacg episode followed a different cases but they were all interlinked somewhat and somewhat acted as a critism and prevention for society (for example episode 1)
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Forensic pathology is work for the future!
As a newcomer to Japanese dramas, Unnatural was definitely worth a try. It doesn't just get into the medical and forensic stuff but also digs into mystery and investigation.Being a medical drama addict, I found the abundance of information fascinating. Were they asking me to take notes, cuz I was about to do it!! This was my first experience with a forensic-focused show, and I was genuinely amazed. It went beyond just determining the cause of death; each episode presented a standalone story about the victims and their lives, making it emotionally moving.
The cast was refreshingly portrayed, with Dr. Mikoto Misumi laughing off everything, emphasizing that there's no time to despair. I admired her intelligence.
Nakado-sensei, always wearing the 'Don't speak to me' face, investigating his girlfriend case, with the mysterious killer and the surprising resolution, had me hooked. Kube, the part-timer always ready to help, Shoji, the crazy friend, and Director Kamikura, always supportive, formed a cohesive team thriving in UDI, which felt like their home.
In fact, I believe the series left me wanting more. I truly hope for a second season or perhaps they could turn it into a saga, as unnatural deaths just don't seem to end.
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One of her best dramas in a leading role. Never lost interest throughout the story. So happy to have been able to catch this drama. Lots of interesting info for the viewer to absorb. Strongly recommend it to all.
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