This review may contain spoilers
Who's it gonna be - Oya's full-time Leader!
In the six episodes we are following the storyline in the Oya High School. The series begin with the introduction of new first year characters that admire to steal the position from Todoroki's hands, and become the school's leader for the full time students. This incident takes place, after the fight containers of the High & Low movie and during the Kuryu groups casino plan.
At the meantime, while the full-time first year students are trying to prove themselves, Murayama's group are betting who is gonna be this year's leader for the full-time students. Will someone win over Todoroki and be the next leader? Who has the highest changes of become the one to rule over the full-time students?
Todoroki (Maeda Goki) is in a position that he has to defend his position, from the people who want to take it, with every available tool. Nakagoshi (Kamio Fuju) is a first year who declares that he would become the new leader of Oya high school; while Yasushi (Sato Ryuji) and Kiyoshi (Uekiya Satoshi) are not only threatening that they would take the leader's position, but they also invited the potential candidates for the position to a fight. One of the people who are invited in this fight is Tsukasa (Yoshino Hokuto), however, this second-year student, has no interest in the position.
Even though, in general the plot is rather fast-forward, I have to admit that there were a lot of flashbacks from the main story. I do realise that we needed to establish the same timeframe between this series and the parent story, but we don't need to be introduced every time what SWORD is and is the current story.
I am not going to analyse their acting, as there are too many characters; I will say only two words: amazing acting. For the whole franchise, people with good acting skills and ability to express themselves through their emotions, were picked.
I know that I might be biased, as I said that I was not going to analyse their acting; but I have to point out how amazing Yamada Yuki was. In my humble opinion, he was the best actor in the series, as he was able to execute the peculiar character of Murayama and his questionable sanity. Hands down to his acting skills.
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This review may contain spoilers
I watched this little drama - 6 eps 20 or so mins each - mainly and mostly for Yamada Yuki as Murayama. Murayama is truly one of his best roles so far, hands down. Why? Because Murayama is so very multifaceted: dumb yet wise, ruthless yet caring and loyal to a fault. And then there's his obsession with - and devotion to - Cobra-chan!This drama is set during the 2nd and 3rd High & Low movies. And before High & Low: The Worst. It goes deeper into what had been happening in Ouya High at the time and it introduces many of the side-characters from The Worst. It's also interspersed with various flashbacks to the movies, all in the vein of "meanwhile in SWORD..." so that you can get a better idea of what's happening when.
Like I said, my favorite part was Murayama. His journey towards outgrowing them all. It was beautifully portrayed not just in scenes with Murayama himself but also through Todoroki who has always craved defeating Murayama - while Murayama never really cared. But here, you could see Todoroki realizing that Murayama was getting farther and farther ahead of him.
One of my favorite moments happened in ep 6, when all the other gang leaders talked in hushed, awed voices about SWORD going against Kuryu - together with Murayama and the part-timers. The moment they realized that this was completely out of their league.
Another great moment was when Murayama actually realized the same thing, that the full-timers were there, in Ouya High, to actually learn something and to graduate and that they could not do that if they meddled in SWORD's affairs. And thus he permanently divided the school into full-timers and part-timers who would, from that moment on, never cross lines. And he banned the full-timers from ever sticking their noses into SWORD's business again.
Not only did that prove that Murayama matured into a real leader, it also meant a clean cut for the future movies and dramas. From here on, even though those stories would be happening in the same universe as High & Low, they would follow their own line of storytelling.
Overall, a good series that became great whenever Yamada Yuki entered the screen. Goodness gracious, he's awesome!
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More than Just Attractive Guys Fighting
This series might not deserve a ten-star rating, but it is so incredibly entertaining and feel-good that I cannot give it a lower one. Just as its sequel, High&Low The Worst, it had me glued to the screen and smiling. It brims with so much action, bromance, friendship, and humor that it is difficult not to binge it. The action scenes are top-notch, and the characters are likeable. But what else makes it so special?I used to dislike action movies because those that I had seen were nothing but plotless violence. What distinguishes this series from movies of that kind is that its story has several different layers and is not only about groups of student delinquents fighting for the leadership position at Oya High.
Murayama, the eccentric but wise leader of the part-time students, is torn between his attachment to the school and his desire to open a new chapter in his life. His advice to younger and less experienced Tsukasa is one of the movie's most memorable quotes: "A man who stands around and says "I'll become number two" or a man who becomes number two after striving to be the best, but ultimately failing. Even an idiot would know which is better."
Fujio, Tsukasa's best friend, spends time with his grandfather in the countryside, learning valuable lessons about life. To live you have to fight against the obstacles that life throws at you, but not all fights are won with fists. Fujio and Grandpa's touching and thought-provoking conversations convey what being young means: "A frog in the well does not know how big the ocean is, but it knows how blue the sky is. Fujio, you know how blue and deep the sky is. I am not worried about anything."
Timid Jamuo faces the challenge of being the only weakling in a school in which your survival depends on how strong and precise your punches are and, against all odds, demonstrates that being a leader is not only about throwing fists.
Finally, Tsukasa, the sleeping lion of Oya High, struggles with a loss of confidence and purpose after his cru– best friend transfers to another school. The action aside, High&Low The Worst Episode 0 is essentially five episodes of Tsukasa pining after Fujio before finally reuniting with him in the sixth episode and fighting the built-up tension out under the rain as a ballad plays in the background. There is no heterosexual explanation for what Tsukasa has for Fujio in this series. Lines such as "I want to see that view with you" and "Fujio, I will be waiting for you. You can come back anytime," accompanied by fond looks and smiles, tell volumes. Who is open-minded enough to see will see it.
Each of these stories is interesting in its own right. It is up to the viewer to decide which one of them is the main one.
Overall, I think that if it does not interest you in the franchize, this series will at least entertain you a lot. It is also short enough not to take more than one afternoon of your time.
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