Netflix's catalogue and TV and movies have declined over the past few years. With many of the current entries being produced by Netflix themselves and varying in drastic quality, and other problems that plague the streaming platform, it's hard to find good things that are worth watching.
This was the situation I found myself in September 2024, looking out for the new weekly releases and the gems that leave Netflix by the months. Most of the titles I tended to click had loud and interesting thumbnails, which never really brought me anywhere, but not this one.
Its title is Shinjuku Field Hospital. Directed by Yusuke Noda, the comedy drama follows Yoko Nishi Freeman, a Japanese-American army doctor who joins a mismatched cast of healthcare workers in the financially failing hospital of St Magokoro. Situated in the heart of Kabukicho, they take in people that most hospitals wouldn't: illegal refugees, the homeless, runaway girls, you name it.
Genuinely life changing piece of media. Stole 11 hours of my life and I would let it do it to me again and again. The characters drip with contradictions and bizarre personalities that make their quick-witted interactions hilarious. Coupled with heartfelt stories about the margins of Tokyo society, really bad Engrish, and an unfolding tension with Yoko at the center, it makes for a compelling and humorous story that got me crying at times and laughing out loud a lot. It was a one-of-a-kind show, one that I had never seen before. Who could have created such a thing?
Introduce Kankuro Kudo. Director and actor, but most importantly known for his writing in screenplays for both movies and TV. His best known award was for his 2001 film Go for best screenplay, but I would argue there are more works by him that deserve a similar credit.
Shows like Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, and Tiger and Dragon have so much soul in them. The settings are absurd, and yet it still feels grounded. The characters are weird and larger than life, and yet the world around them feels so real with just how the plot pushes against them, the consequences of their actions creeping up after them, whether intentional or unintentional. I wish I could stop time just to digest all of what Kudo had cooking up these past years, because almost every synopsis with his hand in stops me dead in my tracks to wonder what could it really be about.
Hopefully I can really do that one day, without the time-stopping aspect. And I hope more people get to watch. It's definitely not perfect, but they're written with love.
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