I watched this solely for Sugino, but I wouldn’t say this is his best performance especially coming from Barakamon. But it’s not completely his fault because his character is written in a manner that felt rather one-dimensional (I can’t really see what is his personality besides being someone who loves the mountain and someone who is hard on himself). But there were other characters who definitely nailed their performances, such as the evil mother and the government official. I hate them to pieces.

Plot wise - it goes deep into the issues that plagued Mountain doctors, which is refreshing as it is rather a niche career. But because it’s so focus on showing the action of the career that it affects the many characters’ characterization and development. For example, Emori is just a bitter doctor. The episodes also tend to be rather formulaic as each dealt with different cases and catastrophe. Music is the weakest here as they were just very forgettable. Overall, good cast, good subject matter but poor storytelling.