L13

I'm still far behind on this version and I fast-forwarded through 80% of the Taiwanese original, but the one thing that keeps bugging me about this drama so far is that these people only have 45 min every night, but somehow they manage to travel to their friends' houses and apartments, go to restaurants and spas, have dinner/long conversations out of the house, go from one place to another place and then to a third location, etc. in that span. 45 min is sometimes not enough for me to make a roundtrip to the neighbourhood supermarket! And Shanghai is massive! There's no way all these characters live and work within like 10 min of each other (which is what their travel times come out to).

This could have easily been solved by making the time travel window 2 or 3 hours long, which would have still been short, but at least it wouldn't have been so glaringly unrealistic.

This is one of the best romantic cdramas I've watched in terms of characterisation and relationship dynamics; I love both main leads, who fit into two cringeworthy stereotypes on paper (top student who's handsome and good at everything but doesn't date vs cute and girly famous actress) but are actually made nuanced and human here. Yu Tu, the ML, is not your typical 'unemotional' ML for all that he can be a bit obtuse and uncommunicative but is actually quite introspective and sensitive. And Qiao Jingjing, the FL, is not childish and self-absorbed even though she has a high opinion of herself; she's actually a genuinely witty, charming woman who knows where she's going in life and cares for the people around her.

(Plus unlike in every other drama about celebrities I can think of, here the leads think about and discuss the class difference between them like real adults, so there's some commentary on celebrity culture/wealth here and there that is nice to see. Yu Tu's thoughts about his career choices, his social position relative to his classmates' and his ability to provide for his family in the first half of the drama were quite realistic and sympathetic.)

I was quite impressed by both Yang Yang and Dilraba's acting, especially Dilraba's. She's very natural in this role and gives QJJ a distinctive personality. I think QJJ's character is weaker than YT's (in the sense of being less well developed by the scriptwriter), but Dilraba's interpretation of it and all the flourishes she adds by way of mannerisms elevate the role.

And the leads' relationship is remarkably nice and mature compared to the cdrama average; they have conversations about important things (!), don't misunderstand each other, hold on to their love and gradually learn more about each other's personalities and become more comfortable together. And they both turned down their exes when their exes begged them to take them back! They did NOT go out with other people in an attempt to get over each other even when they were having issues! Wow, such maturity for a cdrama.

ALL THAT SAID, as good as the leads and their relationship are, there's actually no plot at all after they get together. I did finish the drama for them, but ten episodes of pointless fluff felt quite egregious and I had to fast-forward through some stuff. So much time was eaten up by random characters talking about how handsome Yu Tu is, for example. And the first 2/3rds of the drama had a lot of filler too (basically all the gaming stuff).

Again, I did love the main couple, but the drama was seriously twice as long as it should have been and the longer it went on the more I forgot why I was watching in the first place. I guess the search for the perfect romantic cdrama continues.

I mean, of course she loves him? He's her long-term boyfriend. There are still seven episodes to go and that's plenty for her relationship with Sou to develop.

This was a really great drama! There were some minor plot points that felt a bit too convenient and I strongly suspect real-life forensic pathologists don't do quite as much criminal investigating as the characters here, but these are minor complaints. Every case was well put together and showcased different characters and their personal stories in a way few dramas achieve.

And indeed the characters were the main strength of the drama; Mikoto made for a truly admirable protagonist while remaining human (I loved how she dealt with her tragic backstory and that it actually never came up at UDI--though I wouldn't mind seeing that happen in a potential second season) and Nakado-san had his moments too (with minimal spoilers, although I'm not usually a fan of vigilante justice in dramas, I thought his calm, frigidly angry determination to get revenge was really cool). Shoji was relatable yet strong and Kube-kun was in many ways the hidden protagonist of the drama; after all, his character development and personal dilemmas framed the entire story. I loved Mikoto's family too, and the surprise reveal of a certain member of it in the later episodes was quite funny. And Kamikura-san was a star as well!

Every episode had an emotional arc to it, but the drama rarely tipped into sentimentality and moralising the way, say, a Korean show with the same premise might have done.

In conclusion, I think what really sets this drama apart from most other medical/crime procedurals and makes it so watchable is that it spends a lot of time on its characters' personalities and lives. They're not just there to run DNA tests and catch criminals but also to banter about their love lives, philosophise over drinks, work out their family and career issues, etc. And they grow on you like real people.

I hope there's going to be a second season, but it's been 4 years now, so I guess this will have to do. Funnily enough, the one subplot I most want to see picked up again is Kube-kun's growth into a doctor with a sense of purpose. In fact, now that I think about it, if they can't get the whole cast back together for a proper S2 (didn't Ishihara Satomi give birth recently? I'm not sure when she plans to return to the screen), I think a spinoff about Kube Rokuro's first steps as a forensic pathologist with cameos from other characters from Unnatural might also be interesting? Who knows.

Yes, from different mothers.

Thanks for reading my comment carefully and taking the time to clarify it!

They will absolutely switch the main actress. The premise of the drama (switching bodies) was known from episode 1. It will still be fine.

I mean, it seems pretty obvious to me from the premise of the drama that she'll be forced out of her comfort zone and will have to adapt to harsh circumstances under which her housewife training will be useless and she'll have to take charge of her own life.

So not sure this will be the trad wife drama you've been waiting for.

Yes, they end up together.

The actress playing Yamano-san in ep. 1 is really pretty!

Also what are the odds the guy with the sprained leg has a connection to Ryota? Also is his father really dead?

Thanks a bunch to Windflows for subbing this drama!

So you think they're dead? The final scene seemed to leave the door open for a fakeout.

Neechan no Koibito, Nagareboshi & Long Vacation are all good slice-of-life romances about real people struggling through life.

Soratobu Kouhoushitsu and Good Luck!! too, and they both have disability themes (though not to the same extent as Silent—they're both primarily about aviation, which is another popular theme in jdramas).

Try Love That Makes You Cry as well.

There are a lot of great jdramas in other genres, but I don't know what you would like.

Haemi and Sejoon are cast in stereotypically antagonistic roles (the ML's clingy would-be fiancée with a vulgar social climber for a mother and the ML's ambitious half-brother whose scheming mother hates the ML and wants to oust him from the company), but they don't seem like evil people so far. Sejoon in particular seems nice. I admit Haemi is annoying as of now.

I hope they'll start their own romance soon and won't try to sabotage the main leads.

Youngyi's in-laws are absolutely hateful except for the grandma and the sister-in-law, who seems immature but generally well-meaning. The brother-in-law is a total waste of space and keeps causing bigger and bigger financial disasters, but I can tell the drama is setting him up with Youngyi's best friend, who seems smart and capable. She's way too good for him at the moment, so I hope to see some character development from him.

(If I have to guess, I'll say they'll have a drunken one-night stand down the road, the friend will get pregnant & Dosik will suddenly develop a sense of responsibility and become a different person while his mother has a breakdown over Youngyi's friend ruining her precious son's future.)

The mother-in-law is obviously worse than Hitler and I hope Youngyi cuts her off forever at some point, but we all know that's not how daily dramas work.

Reading back my comment, I'm struck by the sheer number of awful mothers in this drama, which has to be some sort of record even for a makjang. I wish for once kdramas would make the father the irrational, selfish & malicious parent; I'm starting to get offended by all these characters as a woman.

Okay, I like the main couple and I’m rooting for them, but Prince Ning is a great villain and the actor who plays him is doing a great job making him seem human and even sympathetic.

Yeah, he's lowkey weaselly. He encouraged Tsumugi to contact Sou, he gave Sou her contact details instead of pretending he didn't know them (after all, Sou doesn't know they're dating at this point, so Minato could have lied), he asked Sou why he left Tsumugi after Sou disappeared from their lives, he gave Tsumugi the sign language course flyer... sure. All these things make him seem like he's secure in his relationship with Tsumugi and a good friend to Sou... but I just can't see him in that light.

The way he showed up at Sou's place and manipulated Sou's sister into giving him information, the way he didn't say anything when his friend was like ~don't worry, Tsumugi wouldn't pick a disabled guy over you~, the way he was desperately looking up Sou but didn't tell Tsumugi, the condescending "I didn't tell you about Sou's disability because I thought it would make you emotionally unstable"... Yikes, man.

Yeah, I think as Tsumugi and Sou get closer Minato will gradually become bitterer and more unpleasant about Sou's disability.

I think the friend said what he did mostly because he wanted to reassure Minato, but yeah, it was an awful thing to say AND Minato didn't check him at all. This may foreshadow his behaviour for the bulk of the drama; he'll appear compassionate, accepting and chill on the surface, but he'll rely on ableism and his status as a more desirable prospect in society's eyes to pressure Tsumugi to choose him without appearing like the bad guy. I'm guessing Tsumugi's family will also want her to be with him for the same reason.

Hmm, nowhere did I say he's the devil incarnate, and also yes, the romance is absolutely the main point of the drama. Check the poster, summary, genres & cast billing order if you don't believe me.

I had some sympathy for Minato in ep. 1, but he's really getting on my nerves with his stupid mind games in ep. 2.

The one thing I don't want that I'm scared may happen is the drama waiting for 10 episodes until Minato gets over his issues and officially allows Tsumugi to be with Sou in the last 20 minutes of the finale. Jdramas loooooove to resolve love triangles by having the third-wheel SML cling on and on, guilt-trip the FL into, like, getting engaged and then finally realise at the last possible moment that he's not going to be happy with her because she doesn't love him and tell her to go be with the ML.

I want Tsumugi to go after what she wants and fight for her love instead of staying in a lifeless relationship with Minato out of obligation until he dumps her (and is treated like a noble hero for it).

Also Tsumugi's brother needs to mind his own business. If I had a little brother who kept telling me my BF was too good for me and tried to tell me who to be in a relationship with, he'd be catching these hands. Go do your homework!

I don't think saying someone doesn't have the right body type to be convincing in a particular role is bodyshaming.

(I also don't agree with the OP because I'm sure there are some skinny first responders out there; it's a wide world! But their point is not a criticism of the actor.)

I don't think saying someone doesn't have the right body type to be convincing in a particular role is bodyshaming.