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"The patterns you see may be different but the beads inside never change"
Jin is a 2009 time travel drama that has held up surprisingly well. The acting, sets, and music do not seem out of step fifteen years later. Set during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate there was plenty of political turmoil roiling around the main characters as Jin sought to train medical students and tend to patients while trying not to obliterate the timeline.
Dr. Minakata Jin has been treading water as a surgeon ever since his failed surgery on his fiancé ended with her languishing in a coma. After performing an emergency surgery on a patient with a brain tumor, he removes the tumor that has the appearance of a fetus. Later, the patient steals a medical bag and the tumor, attempting to run away. In his efforts to stop him, Jin falls down the stairs and into 1862 Edo. He becomes involved with the family of a young samurai who saves his life. From there he makes the acquaintance of Sakamoto Ryoma and later the famous courtesan Nokaze. Gradually, he sees more patients and becomes more involved with the people and politics of the time. He’s determined to expand Japan’s medical field hoping it will save Miki in the future and that he can return to his time period and her.
Despite the political upheaval and Jin pretty much dropping from the sky, nearly everyone was accepting of him. It helped when the doctor had seemingly godlike powers compared to their current medicine. Jin’s fish out of water concerns were largely minimized and enemies often became friends rather quickly. Much of the conflict dwelled on Jin worrying that his actions would change history detrimentally, especially for Miki. Young Saki hero worshipped Jin and determined to be a doctor herself, much to her mother’s chagrin. Another woman fell for Jin, but the doctor only had eyes for his fading Miki and improving the medical procedures and medications for the day.
Season 1 was largely a feel-good drama with Jin saving people who were usually neglected. The comradery continued to build with other doctors and leaders as well as the reckless Ryoma (with actor Uchino Seiyou channeling his best Mifune Toshiro impression). The biggest complaint I had was that the drama had trouble nailing down their time travel rules and Jin’s motivation. Other than that, I found it to be quite enjoyable.
27 July 2025
8.25 rounded down to an 8.0
Trigger warning: Graphic surgery scenes if you are sensitive. They also faced a cholera outbreak which meant diarrhea and vomiting scenes.
Funny note: the characters run a lot. I found myself going, “Run, Sensei, run!” as the drama progressed.
Dr. Minakata Jin has been treading water as a surgeon ever since his failed surgery on his fiancé ended with her languishing in a coma. After performing an emergency surgery on a patient with a brain tumor, he removes the tumor that has the appearance of a fetus. Later, the patient steals a medical bag and the tumor, attempting to run away. In his efforts to stop him, Jin falls down the stairs and into 1862 Edo. He becomes involved with the family of a young samurai who saves his life. From there he makes the acquaintance of Sakamoto Ryoma and later the famous courtesan Nokaze. Gradually, he sees more patients and becomes more involved with the people and politics of the time. He’s determined to expand Japan’s medical field hoping it will save Miki in the future and that he can return to his time period and her.
Despite the political upheaval and Jin pretty much dropping from the sky, nearly everyone was accepting of him. It helped when the doctor had seemingly godlike powers compared to their current medicine. Jin’s fish out of water concerns were largely minimized and enemies often became friends rather quickly. Much of the conflict dwelled on Jin worrying that his actions would change history detrimentally, especially for Miki. Young Saki hero worshipped Jin and determined to be a doctor herself, much to her mother’s chagrin. Another woman fell for Jin, but the doctor only had eyes for his fading Miki and improving the medical procedures and medications for the day.
Season 1 was largely a feel-good drama with Jin saving people who were usually neglected. The comradery continued to build with other doctors and leaders as well as the reckless Ryoma (with actor Uchino Seiyou channeling his best Mifune Toshiro impression). The biggest complaint I had was that the drama had trouble nailing down their time travel rules and Jin’s motivation. Other than that, I found it to be quite enjoyable.
27 July 2025
8.25 rounded down to an 8.0
Trigger warning: Graphic surgery scenes if you are sensitive. They also faced a cholera outbreak which meant diarrhea and vomiting scenes.
Funny note: the characters run a lot. I found myself going, “Run, Sensei, run!” as the drama progressed.
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