Title: No Side Game / ノーサイド・ゲーム
Rating: 8 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who like inspirational sport-themed stories mixed with some corporate rivalry and are fans of Ooizumi Yo
Liked:
- Due to the fact that I know little about rugby and have very little or rather no interest in this sport, I wasn't keen to check out this drama when it was first aired despite the cast lineup being quite attractive. It was only when this surfaced on Netflix's recommendation list recently so I decided to give it a shot. While I would say that my interest and knowledge in the sport has not increased dramatically after watching this drama, the story was very successful in illustrating the theme of tackling challenges and difficulties head-on with courage through rugby which requires both physical strength and agility as well as the bravery needed to face off with your opponents despite the high risk of injury. It was indeed as inspirational and passionate as described in the recommendation but the good thing was that it wasn't so cliched nor overly emotional than what would be common in many Japanese dramas of the same genre.
- This being an Ikeido Jun story, there were similarities between this drama and other corporate-style stories being dramatised by TBS in the same Sunday timeslot. For example, the practice of having a showdown in front of the board of directors in a huge meeting room (seems to be the same as the one in Hanzawa Naoki) could be seen here. However, the saving grace was that this drama didn't go too overboard in being overly dramatic so these scenes were still palatable and didn't seem unrealistic.
- Ooizumi Yo was truly fantastic here and really led everyone from start to finish just like the GM in the drama. I also liked his interaction with Matsu Takako as husband-and-wife where their friendly banter helped to liven up the mood and also provided much-needed encouragement to the lead character Kimishima when he was facing setbacks. Even the villain played by Kamikawa Takaya was such a joy to watch.
Equally impressive, if not more, were the actors who played members of the Astros rugby team. I only found out later that everyone except for one had experience playing rugby and some were even former players from the national team. No wonder the rugby scenes were so realistic and engaging to watch. It's not that actors with no experience couldn't get to this level after some training. However, given that rugby is a team sport and requires great teamwork to execute those scenes in the drama, it would take lots of experience and technique to be able to play at that standard while making sure that the players/actors don't get injured in the process.
Disliked:
- Since the drama was heavily skewed towards rugby, the corporate rivalry and infighting part may pale in comparison. If you have watched enough dramas based on Ikeido Jun's novels, there is a somewhat unspoken SOP or flow that you can see so this also reduces the surprise factor in a sense because you probably can guess what's coming next. While I appreciated that this drama did not go to the extreme like "Hanzawa Naoki" in terms of "shouting at each other and making people kneel down to repent", the corporate aspect of the story may seem to be quite lukewarm and half-hearted when compared to the effort put in for the rugby aspect of the story.
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