Jdrama ‘Switched’ is a Gripping Mystery Thriller

Switched Review

Jdrama Switched is about Ayumi Kohinata, a popular high school girl whose body gets swapped with her unpopular classmate Umine Zenko mysteriously. Switched is adapted from the manga “Sora wo Kakeru Yodaka” by Kawabata Shiki. The series is written by Okada Michitaka and directed by Matsuyama Hiroaki.

Ayumi (Kiyohara Kaya) had a perfect life: rich parents, good friends and a boyfriend. Suddenly she finds herself in another person’s body and everything has changed. She soon realizes that it was the master plan of Umine Zenko (Tomita Miu), who was the outcast of the class. Her friend Kaga (Shigeoka Daiki) understands that it is Ayumi who is trapped in Umine’s body and both of them try to get her body back.

Switched is not just a typical body swapping drama, it has depth and intensity in its storyline. Each character is written as a whole especially the characters of Ayumi and Umine. Umine’s backstory is heartbreaking that at no point we can ‘not” sympathize with her. The performances of the actors were fantastic. Kiyohara Kaya and Tomita Miu who played Ayumi and Umine respectively were outstanding.

The major twist in the drama was how Koushirou’ s ( Ayumi’s boyfriend) character actually turned out, but to be honest, I would have preferred it without that twist.

The background score is terrific throughout the drama. It gives more depth to each scene. I also loved the sudden dramatic silences in the background in some intense scenes.

The drama also points out to the reality of people being treated according to their appearances. The major take away from the drama is also to treat people according to their personalities and not mere physical appearances.

I would say ‘Switched’ is a must watch to those who are interested in psychological and mystery thrillers