This review may contain spoilers
Watched for the cast, stayed for the story
I started this drama for the cast, mainly honda kyoya, but stayed for the story. The highlight of this show is the characters and thier growing teamwork / relationships and the heart wrenching episodes. I would say the first 2 episodes did not hook me, but by ep. 3 I was all in, so it takes a bit of time to get started. Once it does, the storyline starts to piece together and you see how the characters all relate to each other. Overall a very enjoyable drama that i wouldn't skip out on. If you want to cry buckets of happy and sad tears, well this is the sports drama for you.!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!
first off because this is a drama with wheelchair users, i love that it never made you feel bad for them and thier disabilities. Every character in this drama has thier own agency. One character gets married, another talks about wanting to get pregnant with a child. It was very interesting to watch cause i do think it was trying to educate people on these social issues (which is common in jdramas) but it didn't feel preachy. I will say at times it felt cheesy. But that's par the course especially for a tbs jdrama lol.
I did not expect this sports drama to be a lot about fatherhood and family overall, but it was a welcome surprise. I love the idea of exploring what dynamics of family especially when the children are adults. In this aspect, I felt like all of the relationships were very realistic.
The standout episodes to me were 5 and 6, and of course 9 and 10, they all made me cry. Some of the storyline in the episodes were hit and miss but I enjoyed BT's arch. He was a clear standout, the actor, Koshiyama Keitatsu, did incredible.
!!BIG SPOILER!!! DONT READ!!
Ryo dieing i almost didnt believe it till episode 10. It really did not hit me until they played the finale match. I personally dont mind main character deaths cause it shows they were willing to tell an interstersing story, and in this instance, i thought it fit. I was under the impression that somehow his heart condition would get better, but that obviously was never going to be the case. I am sad though that the romance did not happen because I was gunning for it!
One thing about sports jdramas they don't let them win the last match and i'm always angry, because I want them to!! In the end it's fine cause it made sense with them loosing ryo as a player.
The main criticism i have is the obvious AI used in this drama, Especially in the first episode, so that's very annoying, because it's actually a good show. I think tbs is useing it quite often.. sigh.
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