Team Batista no Eiko (2008)

Team Batista no Eiko, based on a best-seller by Takeru Kaido, is a strange little experience. This is a medical drama that is also part detective mystery; before seeing this, I would have told you the combination couldn't work. But work it did, and in compelling fashion. The outcome genuinely surprised me, and I find it rare to be surprised by a TV mystery nowadays. I couldn't speak for the veracity of the medical science used in this drama, but the actual mystery and characters are rock solid. Any shakiness in the hospital atmosphere is washed away by the pace of the story; it's fast and keeps you guessing. My highest praise goes to the cast, however. Though the plot calls for an ensemble to fill out the wide range of suspects, each character gets a large amount of face time. There isn't intense development for most of the characters outside Ito Atsushi's Taguchi-san, but there is still joy at getting to know the suspects and their various motivations. A notable performance is given by Miyagawa Daisuke, who I was shocked to learn is a comedian in real life. He was delightfully mysterious and creepy in this! For fans of musicals, former Tenimyu cast members Shirota Yu and Suzuki Hiroki also play memorable parts. The only real problem with this drama is that you can't really watch it again and again. It's fun twice: once on your own, and another to show to a friend so you can see their reaction to the big reveals!

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