[Dorama introduction] Alice no Toge (Spring 2014)
Hello to everybody, today I have a day off and finally could finish another dorama introduction for you. This time I want to recommend to you another really good dorama of this season, which I already count as one of my Top 5 favorites!
Title: アリスの棘
Title (Romaji/English): Alice no Toge/ Alice's thorn
Format/Genre: Renzoku/Suspence, Medical
Episodes: TBA
Broadcasting station: TBS
Broadcasting period (Season): Spring 2014, since April 11, 2014. 22:00 Friday
Director: Tsukahara Ayuko, Watase Akihiko, Hirano Shunichi
Script: Takahashi Maki, Ikeda Natsuko
Themesong: „Taiyo to Hana” by Takahashi Yu
Cast: Ueno Juri (Mizuno Asumi), Kikuchi Asumi (young Asumi), Nakamura Aoi (Gendai Yuma), Odagiri Joe (Nishimon Yusuke), Tanaka Naoki (Chihara Junichi), Omi Toshinori (Hinata Makoto), Nakamura Baijaku (Mizuno Kazufumi), Fujiwara Norito (Date Risa), Musaka Naomasu (Ebisu Masahito), Iwaki Koichi (Gendai Shuichi), Kuriyama Chiaki (Hoshino Miwa), Kunimura Jun (Arima Tsuyoshi), Takeba Ryusei (Minegishi Kenta), Mashima Hidekazu (Osanai Takao),...
“Alice no Toge” in a nut shell:
To make it short, „Alice no Toge“ is a story revolving around Osanai Asumi, a young female new doctor at a university hospital who bears a secret and wants to take revenge. 15 years ago her father, a doctor at the hospital died during a surgery due to the mistakes of his colleagues. Instead of feeling sorry for their actions they just cover it up and even blame some shit that was going on in the hospital onto him. When Asumi, her name changed to Mizuno Asumi, joins the medical staff of the university hospital, she finds those doctors still following their self-orientated goals, treating patients as laboratory mice and that is when her long-planned revenge starts.
The plot in detail (watching status: 6 episodes, some SPOILERS included! (tried to keep them minor though)):
Even if Mizuno Asumi looks like a normal young doctor, maybe a bit shy because she's not talking that much, in reality she holds a deep grudge again certain people and is willing to do a lot in order to bring them down. Her real name is Osanai Asumi and her motive is the death of her father Osanai Takao, 15 years ago, who died from the failure of a surgery even if his physical condition didn't seem so bad in the beginning, which got covered up by the responsible doctors. Losing her father at a young age, the teenage girl had also to deal with the cold words of a doctor from back then who didn't even tell her a word of being sorry but when she asked for the reason of her father's death told her she could not file a complain without certain proof.
Shortly after her father's death, Asumi has got hold of certain proof when someone sent her two different medical reports dealing with her father's death. It's clear that the hospital had tried to hide the real circumstances about her father's death and later on, she finds out, that there seems to be even more behind the whole incident...
At the age of 29, Asumi becomes part of the medical stuff at the university hospital her father died at and starts to develop her revenge that she started planning already 15 years ago. In the meantime she got adopted by a friend of her family and with a false family name doesn't seem suspicious to the other doctors in the hospital, which she clearly uses for her advantage. We can see the depth of her grudge against the people involved in her father's death when we take a closer look at her apartment. She lives above the small restaurant of her adoptive father, an apartment divided into two spaces - a quite stoic, simple equipped living space and upstairs a working place that she created solely for her revenge, showing some computers, research material and as the personification of her grudge - a wall filled with the pictures of the people she wants to take revenge on.
I personally call this a „stalker wall“ - you may know that from other doramas already. (Just some (unnecessary) side information - alone in this dorama season we have at least three stalker walls - this impressive example in Alice no Toge, then there is one in Bitter Blood and another one (even if not revenge-related this time) in Gokuaku Ganbo.)
Her revenge first leads Asumi to the head of the nurses, Ebisu.
She threatens him and blackmails him so that he becomes her helping hand for her revenge plan.
After that, she tries to get rid of one doctor after another, beginning with Date Risa, a female doctor who performed the surgery on her father years ago even if she was still a beginner at that time, not fit to handle a complicate surgery like she had to. Since then she has gained huge popularity with her „God hands“ and seems to be a decent woman and doctor but in reality all she cares about is her own reputation and success and she even calls her patients „mice“ who only serve the doctors to improve their own skills. A statement of hers is „If you don't kill at least three patients, you can't call yourself a real doctor“.
Not only this but also her actions as an inexperienced rookie are irresponsible and unforgivable in Asumi's eyes, wanting her to take revenge.
Asumi also tracks Chihara, who was the supervising doctor at the surgery of her father and was originally scheduled to perform the surgery but put that task onto the former rookie Date. His iresponsibility continues even until now and he focuses onto researching instead of treating patients properly and only puts his name onto surgery papers to prolong his permission to stay as a researcher at the hospital. Asumi, who did quite good research on all of her „victims“ found out that he actually suffers from an illness that makes it impossible for him to perform a proper surgery. Cornering him with blackmailing him with the kidnapping of his little daughter, Asumi wants to ruin his career.
Her revenge goes on when she gets her eyes onto the next target - the hospital's lawyer, Hyuga Makoto, who helped to cover up the incident of Osanai's death and now wants to run for political elections in town.
Another goals of Asumi's revenge plan is of course also one of the higher ups, Bandai Shuichi, who seemed deeper involved in the incident from 15 years ago as she first thought and even is one of those who definitely make use of the status of the hospital being an university hospital focusing on research. He doesn't even back off from using normal patients as test objects for new medical drugs in order to find a way to rescue „more valued people“.
During her revenge, Asumi even doesn't hold back from deceiving innocent, originally uninvolved people, like for example Bandai's son Yuma who is working as a doctor in the same hospital and seems to be interested in Asumi. Even if she first only seems to be nice to him, it seems to be just a question of time until she will make adventage of his connection to Bandai Shuichi...
...and she also doesn't seem to care about the feelings of nurse Hoshino Maki, who seems lo like Bandai Yuma and also tries to befriend with the introverted Asumi who does not really let people get close to her.
Asumi's only „real“ accomplice in her plan that she seems to trust a little, is Nishikado Yusuke, reporter for medical articles and childhood friend of Asumi. He got to know her back then when his little sister was in hospital and became friends with her until he got trapped by the hospital's doctors and actually became the one writing an article badmouthing her father, Osanai Takao.
After that, the two of them broke ties but Asumi immediately recognizes him, when she meets him at the hospital again. When he remembers her as well, he tells her that in the meantime he learned, that he received falsified information 15 years ago and that he wants to help her fulfill her revenge plan to make up for his mistake back then.
Another important character is Arima Tsuyoshi, another one of the high ups (I'm sorry, I didn't completely memorize the specific positions of the doctors). He seems to be the only reliable doctor at this hospital next to Asumi (who at least cares about her patiens, even if she has personal revenge plans against the doctors) or Yuma, who seems to be a good doctor as well. He offers Asumi his help when he finds out that she seems to be involved in some kind of trouble and tells her that he wants the strange things going on in the hospital to stop. I can't help but wonder if Asumi can really trust him and even if, it would be dangerous to show him her true identity, I guess...
The story around Asumi and her revenge get's accompanied by a lot of symbols and parallels from the famous story „Alice in Wonderland“, written by Lewis Carrol. It's not only a book that she got presented on her birthday by her father years ago to help her improver her English and to become a strong girl, just like Alice in the story written in the book, it also acts like some kind of example.
Asumi uses characters from the book to personify the sins of the respective doctors or to underline special characteristics. For example she compares nurse Ebisu, who acts like a simple henchman of the higher ups, with Humpty Dumpty, the always smiling Chikara as hiding behind his smile like the Cheershire Cat or Date Risa as the Queen of Hearts, making use of her high status to humiliate others. Later on also other symbols show up, like a pocket watch (imo a hint onto the white rabbit).
During the progress of the story, more and more people get involved deeper into Asumi's revenge, some of them vanish into thin air, some of them die (but never directly through Asumi's hands), some of them come back later, join forces with other people. The relationship between some characters becomes more intense, some relationships change and so on.
First impression:
I was looking forward to this dorama since it was announced and I have to say, I didn't get disappointed at all, it's even better than I expected! I really like doramas like this one! It's mysterious, thrilling, intense, touching, it makes you scared, it makes you sad but it also makes you think.
The plot of this dorama is thrilling from the beginning but I have the feeling that it's getting even more thrilling with each episode. This dorama may show some „typical“ features of a „revenge dorama“ but it also comes with surprises in my opinion.
The actors are doing a great job and I'm especially stunned by Ueno Juri (and she's so beautiful in this dorama! I want to have her haircut! But I guess it wouldn't fit me...), Odagiri Joe and some of the „bad“ characters. Ueno Juri portraes Asumi pretty well. Even if she looks innocent and shy, you can feel the hole in her heart and her hatred and desperation all the way. She does not show emotions often but when she does, it's intense and gives you the creeps, at least that's what I'm thinking. Btw, the soundtrack is really nice as well, not only the melancholic but intense Theme Song "Taiyo to Hana" by Takahashi Yu, also the insert songs fit the atmosphere really well.
Also the medical setting gives off a mysterious and scary vibe. I personally don't like hospitals, doctors and such, I'm not really phobic but close to because of various reasons. For someone like me it's not really helpful to watch such a dorama I have to admit, because it shows how doctors, hospitals and everything science related can turn from helpful for the humans' and their future to frightening because of the methods that are used to achieve some goals. The dorama shows topics like respect and missing respect for patients, the misuse of power and the tragic human stories that result from such behavior. It shows, what people are willing to do in order to get revenge and how the pure heart of an innocent young girl can turn into a cold, thorny heart that is even able to ruin other people's lives.
It's interesting to follow the plot as well as the character development, leaving you wonder how „bad“ the main person really is, even if you can understand her motive. Her acting might sound „fair“ sometimes, but you also might wonder, isn't she overdoing it? And how far is she really willing to go? Will she lose herself on the way of revenge and will become as evil as the people she's taking revenge on? All of those questions are what make such doramas interesting, I think. It's the depth of human's feelings and psyche that writes the most interesting stories after all.
Alright, I already spoilered quite a lot now I think so I'll stop here xD Just some last words for those who didn't watch it yet or still wonder, if they should try it: I think, if you liked doramas like „Maou“ or „Saki“ for example, you will love this one!
And at those of you who are already watching it - please share your opinion about the dorama with me!
Sky
♥
Title: アリスの棘
Title (Romaji/English): Alice no Toge/ Alice's thorn
Format/Genre: Renzoku/Suspence, Medical
Episodes: TBA
Broadcasting station: TBS
Broadcasting period (Season): Spring 2014, since April 11, 2014. 22:00 Friday
Director: Tsukahara Ayuko, Watase Akihiko, Hirano Shunichi
Script: Takahashi Maki, Ikeda Natsuko
Themesong: „Taiyo to Hana” by Takahashi Yu
Cast: Ueno Juri (Mizuno Asumi), Kikuchi Asumi (young Asumi), Nakamura Aoi (Gendai Yuma), Odagiri Joe (Nishimon Yusuke), Tanaka Naoki (Chihara Junichi), Omi Toshinori (Hinata Makoto), Nakamura Baijaku (Mizuno Kazufumi), Fujiwara Norito (Date Risa), Musaka Naomasu (Ebisu Masahito), Iwaki Koichi (Gendai Shuichi), Kuriyama Chiaki (Hoshino Miwa), Kunimura Jun (Arima Tsuyoshi), Takeba Ryusei (Minegishi Kenta), Mashima Hidekazu (Osanai Takao),...
“Alice no Toge” in a nut shell:
To make it short, „Alice no Toge“ is a story revolving around Osanai Asumi, a young female new doctor at a university hospital who bears a secret and wants to take revenge. 15 years ago her father, a doctor at the hospital died during a surgery due to the mistakes of his colleagues. Instead of feeling sorry for their actions they just cover it up and even blame some shit that was going on in the hospital onto him. When Asumi, her name changed to Mizuno Asumi, joins the medical staff of the university hospital, she finds those doctors still following their self-orientated goals, treating patients as laboratory mice and that is when her long-planned revenge starts.
The plot in detail (watching status: 6 episodes, some SPOILERS included! (tried to keep them minor though)):
Even if Mizuno Asumi looks like a normal young doctor, maybe a bit shy because she's not talking that much, in reality she holds a deep grudge again certain people and is willing to do a lot in order to bring them down. Her real name is Osanai Asumi and her motive is the death of her father Osanai Takao, 15 years ago, who died from the failure of a surgery even if his physical condition didn't seem so bad in the beginning, which got covered up by the responsible doctors. Losing her father at a young age, the teenage girl had also to deal with the cold words of a doctor from back then who didn't even tell her a word of being sorry but when she asked for the reason of her father's death told her she could not file a complain without certain proof.
Shortly after her father's death, Asumi has got hold of certain proof when someone sent her two different medical reports dealing with her father's death. It's clear that the hospital had tried to hide the real circumstances about her father's death and later on, she finds out, that there seems to be even more behind the whole incident...
At the age of 29, Asumi becomes part of the medical stuff at the university hospital her father died at and starts to develop her revenge that she started planning already 15 years ago. In the meantime she got adopted by a friend of her family and with a false family name doesn't seem suspicious to the other doctors in the hospital, which she clearly uses for her advantage. We can see the depth of her grudge against the people involved in her father's death when we take a closer look at her apartment. She lives above the small restaurant of her adoptive father, an apartment divided into two spaces - a quite stoic, simple equipped living space and upstairs a working place that she created solely for her revenge, showing some computers, research material and as the personification of her grudge - a wall filled with the pictures of the people she wants to take revenge on.
I personally call this a „stalker wall“ - you may know that from other doramas already. (Just some (unnecessary) side information - alone in this dorama season we have at least three stalker walls - this impressive example in Alice no Toge, then there is one in Bitter Blood and another one (even if not revenge-related this time) in Gokuaku Ganbo.)
Her revenge first leads Asumi to the head of the nurses, Ebisu.
She threatens him and blackmails him so that he becomes her helping hand for her revenge plan.
After that, she tries to get rid of one doctor after another, beginning with Date Risa, a female doctor who performed the surgery on her father years ago even if she was still a beginner at that time, not fit to handle a complicate surgery like she had to. Since then she has gained huge popularity with her „God hands“ and seems to be a decent woman and doctor but in reality all she cares about is her own reputation and success and she even calls her patients „mice“ who only serve the doctors to improve their own skills. A statement of hers is „If you don't kill at least three patients, you can't call yourself a real doctor“.
Not only this but also her actions as an inexperienced rookie are irresponsible and unforgivable in Asumi's eyes, wanting her to take revenge.
Asumi also tracks Chihara, who was the supervising doctor at the surgery of her father and was originally scheduled to perform the surgery but put that task onto the former rookie Date. His iresponsibility continues even until now and he focuses onto researching instead of treating patients properly and only puts his name onto surgery papers to prolong his permission to stay as a researcher at the hospital. Asumi, who did quite good research on all of her „victims“ found out that he actually suffers from an illness that makes it impossible for him to perform a proper surgery. Cornering him with blackmailing him with the kidnapping of his little daughter, Asumi wants to ruin his career.
Her revenge goes on when she gets her eyes onto the next target - the hospital's lawyer, Hyuga Makoto, who helped to cover up the incident of Osanai's death and now wants to run for political elections in town.
Another goals of Asumi's revenge plan is of course also one of the higher ups, Bandai Shuichi, who seemed deeper involved in the incident from 15 years ago as she first thought and even is one of those who definitely make use of the status of the hospital being an university hospital focusing on research. He doesn't even back off from using normal patients as test objects for new medical drugs in order to find a way to rescue „more valued people“.
During her revenge, Asumi even doesn't hold back from deceiving innocent, originally uninvolved people, like for example Bandai's son Yuma who is working as a doctor in the same hospital and seems to be interested in Asumi. Even if she first only seems to be nice to him, it seems to be just a question of time until she will make adventage of his connection to Bandai Shuichi...
...and she also doesn't seem to care about the feelings of nurse Hoshino Maki, who seems lo like Bandai Yuma and also tries to befriend with the introverted Asumi who does not really let people get close to her.
Asumi's only „real“ accomplice in her plan that she seems to trust a little, is Nishikado Yusuke, reporter for medical articles and childhood friend of Asumi. He got to know her back then when his little sister was in hospital and became friends with her until he got trapped by the hospital's doctors and actually became the one writing an article badmouthing her father, Osanai Takao.
After that, the two of them broke ties but Asumi immediately recognizes him, when she meets him at the hospital again. When he remembers her as well, he tells her that in the meantime he learned, that he received falsified information 15 years ago and that he wants to help her fulfill her revenge plan to make up for his mistake back then.
Another important character is Arima Tsuyoshi, another one of the high ups (I'm sorry, I didn't completely memorize the specific positions of the doctors). He seems to be the only reliable doctor at this hospital next to Asumi (who at least cares about her patiens, even if she has personal revenge plans against the doctors) or Yuma, who seems to be a good doctor as well. He offers Asumi his help when he finds out that she seems to be involved in some kind of trouble and tells her that he wants the strange things going on in the hospital to stop. I can't help but wonder if Asumi can really trust him and even if, it would be dangerous to show him her true identity, I guess...
The story around Asumi and her revenge get's accompanied by a lot of symbols and parallels from the famous story „Alice in Wonderland“, written by Lewis Carrol. It's not only a book that she got presented on her birthday by her father years ago to help her improver her English and to become a strong girl, just like Alice in the story written in the book, it also acts like some kind of example.
Asumi uses characters from the book to personify the sins of the respective doctors or to underline special characteristics. For example she compares nurse Ebisu, who acts like a simple henchman of the higher ups, with Humpty Dumpty, the always smiling Chikara as hiding behind his smile like the Cheershire Cat or Date Risa as the Queen of Hearts, making use of her high status to humiliate others. Later on also other symbols show up, like a pocket watch (imo a hint onto the white rabbit).
During the progress of the story, more and more people get involved deeper into Asumi's revenge, some of them vanish into thin air, some of them die (but never directly through Asumi's hands), some of them come back later, join forces with other people. The relationship between some characters becomes more intense, some relationships change and so on.
First impression:
I was looking forward to this dorama since it was announced and I have to say, I didn't get disappointed at all, it's even better than I expected! I really like doramas like this one! It's mysterious, thrilling, intense, touching, it makes you scared, it makes you sad but it also makes you think.
The plot of this dorama is thrilling from the beginning but I have the feeling that it's getting even more thrilling with each episode. This dorama may show some „typical“ features of a „revenge dorama“ but it also comes with surprises in my opinion.
The actors are doing a great job and I'm especially stunned by Ueno Juri (and she's so beautiful in this dorama! I want to have her haircut! But I guess it wouldn't fit me...), Odagiri Joe and some of the „bad“ characters. Ueno Juri portraes Asumi pretty well. Even if she looks innocent and shy, you can feel the hole in her heart and her hatred and desperation all the way. She does not show emotions often but when she does, it's intense and gives you the creeps, at least that's what I'm thinking. Btw, the soundtrack is really nice as well, not only the melancholic but intense Theme Song "Taiyo to Hana" by Takahashi Yu, also the insert songs fit the atmosphere really well.
Also the medical setting gives off a mysterious and scary vibe. I personally don't like hospitals, doctors and such, I'm not really phobic but close to because of various reasons. For someone like me it's not really helpful to watch such a dorama I have to admit, because it shows how doctors, hospitals and everything science related can turn from helpful for the humans' and their future to frightening because of the methods that are used to achieve some goals. The dorama shows topics like respect and missing respect for patients, the misuse of power and the tragic human stories that result from such behavior. It shows, what people are willing to do in order to get revenge and how the pure heart of an innocent young girl can turn into a cold, thorny heart that is even able to ruin other people's lives.
It's interesting to follow the plot as well as the character development, leaving you wonder how „bad“ the main person really is, even if you can understand her motive. Her acting might sound „fair“ sometimes, but you also might wonder, isn't she overdoing it? And how far is she really willing to go? Will she lose herself on the way of revenge and will become as evil as the people she's taking revenge on? All of those questions are what make such doramas interesting, I think. It's the depth of human's feelings and psyche that writes the most interesting stories after all.
Alright, I already spoilered quite a lot now I think so I'll stop here xD Just some last words for those who didn't watch it yet or still wonder, if they should try it: I think, if you liked doramas like „Maou“ or „Saki“ for example, you will love this one!
And at those of you who are already watching it - please share your opinion about the dorama with me!
Sky
♥