Shiroi Kyoto eps 1-10

This being a very bad season of jdoramas, its time to dig into my stash of doramas to watch if only I had time. Shiroi Kyoto is a twenty two episode dorama that came out in 2003 and garnered good ratings and awards. Shiroi Kyoto is a hospital political dorama about two very different doctors Zaizen Goro (Karasawa Toshiaki aka Kenji from 20thCB) and Satomi Shuji (Eguchi Yosuke aka An-chan from Hitotsu Yane no Shita).


Zaizen sensei is an assistant professor in surgery and is a very pragmatic person. He is aware of the politics and is bidding his time to become a professor. He is always in control, saying and doing the right things. Satomi sensei is of course, the idealistic internal medicine doctor. One would say too idealistic. It was hard in the beginning to emphatise with him because there are always reasons why certain policies are implemented in hospitals and Satomi sensei seems to see the world in too much black and white like when he put Zaizen sensei's career in jeopardy just because he didn't like secret surgeries.

How could the perfect actress at playing innocent girls end up with an idiot like Oshio Manabu?

Zaizen sensei is the more likable character. He is flawed but his pragmaticism makes him fun to watch and the audience can discern the motives behind his decisions unlike Iki in Fumo Chitai. I guess it is a necessary evil that they be slightly extreme opposites of each other to contrast their personalities.


For the first ten episodes, who have two story threads, Zaizen sensei's fight to become the professor of the first surgical department and Satomi sensei's idealism in the workplace. The hospital politics part is fun to watch. Its even better than Fumo Chitai. Everyone's sending messages by saying not what they want to say, money is thrown around and alliances are made and broken. There's no good or bad guy. Its all grey area characters though Azuma sensei is default villain I guess for not being able to admit that he has no rational reason for hating Zaisen sensei.

I want to remember Kuroki Hitomi for roles like this instead of boring stuff like Real Clothes.

Zaizen's bid for presidency is supported by his very entertaining father in law Matachi who throws his power and money behind the politically inexperienced Goro and helps him recruit allies to their camp. The first two episodes of Shiroi Kyoto is basically and election dorama and the price that must be paid in order to win. Democracy may give everyone a voice but there is a huge cost involved in getting enough votes to win. Its like a promotion is something that must be bought instead of earned.

Do you honestly need any more reasons to watch Shiroi Kyoto?

Satomi sensei's story isn't that exciting since he's Mr Nice Guy except his got two bijin ladies in his perfect wife Michiyo (the lovely Mizuno Maki) and Azuma sensei's daughter Saeko (Yada Akiko) who may have a thing for Satomi. Here's hoping something happens with Saeko later because it would be such a freaking waste. I'm not referring to Yada Akiko's loveliness but rather the time spent on her character. She's like this innocent ojousan who has no idea what the outside world is like. I liked what Kikukawa said to her about her being old fashioned in that she is too dependent on her parents.

Lucky bastard.

Actually, all the characters in the show have no life outside of hospital politics. Even Satomi's wife Michiyo doesn't seem to have any friends and the less said about the professors' wives club the better. A bunch of middle aged women having fake conversations and associating with other all in the name of protecting their husbands' positions. Its even scarier than suburban housewife politics and really made me cringe. I just don't see this professor wives thing as work but rather women leeching on their husband's success.

Come to think of it, the two main characters have two girls in their respective lives.

His role is to serve a reminder of what Zaizen sensei was or could have been since they were once close friends. Though they can never see eye to eye, Satomi sensei respects Zaizen sensei and Satomi sensei is Zaizen sensei's real friend. After all, every relationship and act that Zaizen sensei has, has been all for the purpose of becoming a professor. The mamasan Keiko (Kuroki Hitomi) is his only other real relationship except he only uses her to escape from his reality and rarely shows her his true face.

I wonder who'll be the first one to get them to do a menage toi?

So far, Shiroi Kyoto has been awesome and helps eases the pain of only having two shows to watch this season. Definitely a must watch show.