Diary of a Surgical Resident: Madoka

A lighthearted and heartfelt diary of a young doctor choosing her path.

The story follows a young doctor who undergoes a two-year super rotation to explore different departments and decide on her specialty. It's exciting to watch Madoka move from one department to another, facing new challenges, learning new things, and meeting new people along the way! It feels like we're peeking into her personal diary as a young doctor.

At first Madoka was interested in becoming a surgical specialist, but after experiencing the rotation, she found herself in a dilemma. What she knows for sure is: she enjoys surgery, likes direct interaction with patients, wants to offer support from an internal medicine perspective, and wants to follow her patients’ progress to the end. These realizations eventually become the foundation of her decision.

What I love about Madoka 26-sai, Kenshui Yattemasu! is how light and easy the story is to follow, especially with the use of dolls and baby-talk-style explanations. This adds a unique charm compared to other medical dramas. Plus, there are no villains or hospital politics, just the honest life of a young doctor struggling to choose her path.

What I enjoyed the most was the friendship and sense of family among the doctors. I especially liked Madoka's bond with her classmates, and how the senior doctors in each department always offered valuable advice based on their specialties. Thanks to this drama, I also learned that each department has its own strengths and challenges. It even explores the reasons why each doctor chose their field.

As for the romance, I was skeptical at first, but luckily my ship kept sailing! Even though the romance is just a side plot, I really liked the way Madoka and Kanno’s relationship developed. They're adorable in their own way, especially because they both love the same cartoon, which also inspired them to become doctors. Their secret connection makes it even sweeter.

♡ Overall, I definitely recommend Madoka 26-sai, Kenshui Yattemasu! Especially if you're looking for a light medical drama that still captures the essence of the medical field with a good mix of friendship, teamwork, and a touch of romance! ♡

Read More

A Must Watch 2025 JDrama

I'm so glad I finally got to watch this. Though it was with AI translated subs I found on reddit, I was still able to understand everything with my basic knowledge in Japanese.

Anyways, I think this drama is perfect. As someone who loves character-driven stories, I'm so glad I got to see Madoka, her fellow residents, and even her senpai doctors go through character development.

Here's what I think about some of note-worthy characters:

• Madoka - She wasn't the stand out character for me, but with how relateable her character is, I do love how we get to see the entire story through her perspective.
• Igarashi - Ryuche is one of my kami oshis, so I watched this drama for him. This might have a tad bit of bias, but he's my fav character. He's kind of like the male version of Madoka, with how he is easy to getting along with, is kind, thinks of others before himself, and can be animated at times. But he does it differently from Madoka. Like how he's such a gossip, which is how he gets along with the people around him. And also his growth as a doctor is a whole 180°. One of the fav parts about the drama is how, in the latter parts, Igarashi kept facing signs about getting into ER as his specialty. And I'm so glad he did. The ER part in Madoka's rotation was my fav part. Anyways, I absolutely adore Igarashi. He is such a good person.
• Moe - Most of our first impression about her is that she's just a pretty girl who wants to take it easy. But as the show went on, her character grows and changes. This is evident during her rotation with cosmetology. Deep down, she's actually a hard working woman who wants to do what she can in her own way to help others. She's such a darling.
• Chifuyu - I felt like her character as a doctor wasn't given much attention during this drama. We got to see more of her relationship with Hongo-sensei than her growth as a professional just starting out. We don't even see how she got to decide on Breast Surgery as her specialty. Like, yes we know the reason. But I wanted to see how it progressed to that.
• Kanno - This is where I take the opportunity to talk about the romance aspect of the drama. Because, as a character, Konno felt too one dimensional for me. He's just your typical ikemen competent co worker that our beloved female lead ends up with. While he had a bit of spotlight during the last parts, it didn't do much for me. At first, we see him as this kind mentor to Madoka during her first rotation in Surgery. I honestly thought he would be this type of character that our main lead interacts a lot with during the first few episodes and then gradually see less of when said main lead finally grows as a character. I thought he felt too "established" as a character that I think it wasn't necessary to put him under the spotlight as our main lead's romantic end game. And I kind of wish Madoka didn't break up with Sunoda. With how different they are, it would have been more interesting to watch them navigate their relationship as Madoka becomes busier with her residency. Anyway, this is not to say that I didn't like Kanno's character, but I just think he shouldn't have been given that much screen time in order for the other interesting storylines to develop.
• Nishiyama - I'm glad they resolved his Showa-era way of thinking right off the bat in the first episode. And that he ended up becoming in charge of training young residents.

As for the storyline, I think it was well paced and interesting. There weren't a lot of subplots which made everything easy to follow. Though some minor parts did feel kind of cheesy. But as a feel-good drama overall, it did enough to not come across as corny. And it's because we get to relate to all these characters, with how they act and how they came about to all these decisions given their circumstances, their life experiences, and even their upbringing.

To sum it all up, this is probably my favorite drama of 2025. I hope this will be on an international streaming platform soon because it's what this drama deserves.

Read More

Les deux mois de la marmotte

Grey’s Anatomy vous manque ? En particulier les premières saisons où l’on découvrait l’innocence et l’incompétence de jeunes étudiants fraîchement débarqués dans un hôpital ? Vous preniez plaisir à les voir gaffer en apprenant leur métier, tout en explorant intensément leurs relations sentimentales – pour ne pas dire sexuelles ?

Si c’est le cas, Madoka, 26 ans, vous replongera dans cette ambiance, que vous ayez déjà vécu ces moments avec Ellen Pompeo et ses camarades, ou que vous les découvriez pour la première fois (même si j’en doute). Ce drama pousse d’ailleurs la réflexion plus loin en s’adressant à plusieurs générations, voire en tentant de les réconcilier, à travers l’opposition entre les médecins issus de l’ère Shōwa et la nouvelle génération « 9h-17h ».

Ce que l’Occident nomme la génération Z est souvent assimilée, au Japon, aux jeunes diplômés de l’ère Heisei (20 à 30 ans), qui revendiquent désormais des horaires de fonctionnaires (je suis fonctionnaire). Finies les heures supplémentaires interminables et les appels professionnels impromptus le dimanche ! Même les futurs chirurgiens comptent désormais leurs heures, au grand dam de leurs aînés. Une tension qui se cristallise particulièrement lorsque ces derniers deviennent les tuteurs des nouvelles recrues, ne tolérant aucun faux pas et imposant une rigueur à laquelle les jeunes semblent moins habitués.

Ces thématiques sont au cœur du drama. Yoshine Kyoko, notre héroïne, semble avoir dû ingurgiter un bon nombre d’épisodes de Grey’s Anatomy pour incarner avec justesse l’inexpérience des jeunes internes. Le doute, l’incompétence – réelle ou ressentie – et les choix cruciaux de vie et de carrière résonnent avec ces stages enjoints de rotation tous les deux mois. On ne peut rien reprocher à la qualité de la série, qui reprend tous les codes des bons dramas médicaux : un casting intergénérationnel au sommet, une mise en scène efficace et, malgré son énième rôle de médecin, Suzuki Nobuyuki charme toujours autant sans en faire trop.

Cependant, bien que la série mette en avant l’émancipation des « 9h-17h » face à leurs aînés, elle n’échappe pas à une vision paternaliste du rôle des anciens, omniprésente. Je pense notamment au directeur de l’hôpital, figure du vieux sage, ou, pire encore, à l’ascendance excessive de Suzuki Nobuyuki sur Madoka dès le premier épisode. Bien sûr, on cherche à souligner le côté romantique de leur relation, mais, comme souvent, notre frêle héroïne ne réalise pas l’amour et la protection que lui prodigue cet homme, viril et mystérieux. Une dynamique de domination masculine sur une femme jugée vulnérable refait ainsi surface. Sans parler du comportement étrange du petit ami officiel de Madoka, qui renforce encore cette impression d’emprise.

La série pourrait s’adresser à un public en quête d’identité et de reconnaissance dans la société, mais, à l’image d’une marmotte sortant timidement de son terrier, le vieux monde résiste, et l’aspect romantique vient légèrement gâcher le dépassement de soi. Madoka a 26 ans et doit encore suivre deux années de formation en rotation, ce qui, si mes calculs sont bons, représente 12 épisodes et autant d’histoires parallèles vite oubliées une fois visionnées. Pourvu que la conclusion ne s’arrête pas sur la fameuse date de péremption des 30 ans ! J'essaye de faire de l'humour, tout comme les auteurs si sont attelés avec une certaine réussite, car au final, c'est ce qui va me faire continuer le visionnage de la série.

Mais ça risque d'être insuffisant, pour finir les deux années et valider mes 12 UV. J’attends du développement, des intrigues solides, des changements radicaux qui ravivent l’intérêt. Introduire comme point essentiel l’incompétence et la supposée paresse de la jeune génération pourrait donner lieu à des moments forts pas seulement dans l'humour, , mais je crains que l’on reste cantonné au déroulement classique des dramas à mission éducative, voire moralisatrice. Dépasse-toi, car tu deviendras la meilleure... Espérons que la série nous surprenne en allant au-delà de ce schéma trop convenu. Je raviserai ma chronique dans ce sens, mais je n'ai à ce jour fait mon stage que dans 3 épisodes. Et tout comme Madoka, je ne suis pas sortie indem de ce dernier.

Read More