Quick Review #10: Old Rookie (Summer 2022)

Title: Old Rookie (オールドルーキー)

Season: Summer 2022

Broadcast by: TBS

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Recommended for: sports fans who know a lot of Japanese athletes, those who are interested to find out more about sports management and keen on stories about people moving on to second careers

Liked:

- Some of the TBS Sunday 9pm dramas can be a bit overboard in terms of acting and story especially if there is an emphasis of how passion, enthusiasm and perseverance can overcome almost all the obstacles in life. This drama was fairly toned-down in terms of its messaging so it didn't come across as hard-sell and was comparatively easier to watch. Coupled with the heartwarming interpersonal relationships among the characters, there were quite a number of touching parts which made me smile and cry along with them.

- The acting of the cast was pretty good on the whole and most of the characters were presented in a multi-dimensional manner which made them easier to relate to and like. Ayano Go stood out for his subtle emotional acting and I have to admit, his portrayal of Shinmachi was much better than I expected initially. I also liked the fact that the scriptwriter chose to make Kanako somewhat different from the other wives in the Sunday 9pm dramas to date. Usually, the wives play a supporting role to the husbands and hardly have much airtime in the dramas. However, Kanako was hardly someone who stayed in the background and was definitely not passive at all. She could take charge of the situation, give her husband a good shake-up when he was in denial and self-doubting himself, offer him comfort and support at the right time and not wait around for solutions but took the initiative to solve problems. As such, I really like the relationship dynamics between this couple which came across as both cool and very heartwarming. Likewise, I also thought that Umeyashiki and Fukazawa were quite a cute couple although it was too late for them to develop their relationship further in the drama.

- The sports management aspect of the story was interesting at times. Prior to watching this drama, I thought that it was just about managing the athlete's career, both in the sporting arena and outside e.g. CM and sponsorship deals, TV appearances, media engagements. However, there was more to that because the manager has to take care of things such as arranging for training venues, training partners, resources, equipment, negotiate for transfers to other teams, medical care, physiotherapy, mental care. As such, the parts when Shinmachi was still trying to learn the ropes were an eye-opener because a lot of time was spent on explaining the workflow. It would have been good if this continued in the second arc but I guess building up to the conflict of ideals vs. reality demanded more airtime so it couldn't be helped.

Disliked: 

- Compared to the first arc which took great pains to illustrate the internal turmoil that Shinmachi was experiencing after his professional career as a soccer player was ended prematurely, the second arc of the drama seemed to be wrapped up in a great hurry. Just when the conflict between Takayanagi and Shinmachi in the second last episode marked a climax which could be explored a bit longer and in depth, the resolution felt like a rollercoaster ride heading downwards. I thought that was a bit wasted so the pacing of the story could be improved in this aspect.

- For sports fans familiar with Japanese sports stars, this drama would probably make them quite excited to see these athletes make guest appearances. However, for the viewers who don't know them well, the excitement would be lost on them. I have to admit, I could only recognise a handful of them. This is more of a personal problem but for the benefit of viewers like me, it might be good to have a line or two to "introduce" these stars as seen in a couple of episodes when the athletes' names were mentioned.

- The part about how Igaki managed to overcome his nerves and deliver a stellar performance on the pitch was a tad too unrealistic. In fact, this was a common issue as seen in some of the featured athletes' stories which were wrapped up in a similar fashion. While the overall storyline was largely believable and realistic, the same level of detail and attention probably wasn't extended evenly to these subplots.