I've compiled a list of latest Japanese sports dramas. These dramas were aired from Winter 2010 to Winter 2015. This is a pretty short list! I'm quite surprised, to be honest.
Please note
This list will only include dramas which are:
- concentrated on a person or a group/club trying to find motivation to work hard on their sports.
- series and not special dramas with only one or two episodes.
This will not include dramas which are:
- focused on romance, mystery, or any other genre more than sports.
- Asadora and Taiga dramas.
- SPs aired in a season.
And of course, I will only include dramas which piques my interest.
While I can promise that I'll do my best to categorize the dramas, I cannot promise that it'll be perfect as categorizing some of them can be really confusing. The dramas I haven't watched yet are even more confusing to categorize. I might edit this post if sometime in the future, I think a drama fits another genre more. If you would like to suggest that a drama fits a certain genre more than where I included it, feel free to comment so I can take it into consideration.
This list will only include dramas which are:
- concentrated on a person or a group/club trying to find motivation to work hard on their sports.
- series and not special dramas with only one or two episodes.
This will not include dramas which are:
- focused on romance, mystery, or any other genre more than sports.
- Asadora and Taiga dramas.
- SPs aired in a season.
And of course, I will only include dramas which piques my interest.
While I can promise that I'll do my best to categorize the dramas, I cannot promise that it'll be perfect as categorizing some of them can be really confusing. The dramas I haven't watched yet are even more confusing to categorize. I might edit this post if sometime in the future, I think a drama fits another genre more. If you would like to suggest that a drama fits a certain genre more than where I included it, feel free to comment so I can take it into consideration.
Japanese Sports Dramas
Tumbling! (Spring 2010)
"Azuma Wataru, a third-year student at Karasumori High School, is a devil who strikes fear in the hearts of people. One day, Azuma is told by his former teacher that he has to participate in a club activity in order to make up for the lack of second-year students. The short-tempered Azuma cannot last long in whatever he does. At that moment, he learns that Satonaka Mari, the beautiful transfer student in his class, has joined the female rhythmic sports gymnastics club. He joins the male rhythmic sports gymnastics club, a club activity with very few people under the captain, Takenaka Yuta. They are ridiculed by the coach of the female rhythmic sports gymnastics club, and others, and are also hardly allowed to use the gym. However, when a sixth boy joins the club, Yuta decides to take part in a team competition with his long-sought six members..." (from dramawiki)
The main members of the cast, who played the roles as the club members, are very much commendable on this one. Portraying as sports people must be hard, and what more it must be very hard for their bodies! It seems really tough, gymnastics! These are actors, you know! These aren't athletes! And they weren't a let down and they didn't forget the emotions they should convey even if they were already doing those difficult gymnast moves. I really love this one!
Yowakutemo Katemasu (Spring 2014)
"Tamo Aoshi (Ninomiya Kazunari) is a substitute teacher at his alma mater, a prestigious private high school which admits 200 students to Tokyo University every year. He becomes the coach of the weak baseball club which has only five members and has never won a game since it was established. The highest number of times they have thrown the ball back and forth without dropping it is nine. They have prefer the outfield because the infield is scary. Furthermore, they practice on the grounds only three hours a week. At other times, they study, study, and study. But they love baseball. Finding them interesting and strange creatures, Aoshi decides that he will give his charges victory, guided by his offbeat theory "triumph is possible even if weak". And then they seriously set their sights on the annual nationwide high school baseball championship witht heir brand of preposterous baseball." (from dramawiki)
I can kind of understand why this drama garnered quite low ratings. It's not because the actors are not competent enough, maybe it's because the series of events got boring sometimes. It was like that for me, but I would like to praise the actors for their acting. And if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't probably have the drive to finish this. The plot is interesting, the cast are good, it was probably the execution of the story. You might think that it's so bad, but actually it's not. I still like it, but I'm just trying to lay down some possible explanation why the ratings are lower than 10%. But c'mon, we have Ninomiya Kazunari, Yamazaki Kento, Hongo Kanata, Fukushi Sota, Nakajima Yuto, Mamiya Shotaro, and Arimura Kasuma here!
Suikyu Yankees (Summer 2014)
"Naoya Inaba (Nakajima Yuto) grew up abroad and from his childhood experience, he thought "yankees" were the strongest heroes (in Japan "yankee" refers to delinquent youths). He was influenced by Japanese yankee mangas while he was abroad and grew up to be always full of 'chivalrous' spirit, like how he sees his yankee heroes.
Naoya arrives to spend a year in a high school in Japan. He attends in a technical high school in which the location is famously known as the center for "water polo supremacy". His school, however, is the ridicule area and on the verge of closing down. Naoya loves the school because a yankee, whom he admired as a child, was only once a student there. However, he soon realized that there are no real yankees like hero figures, only students who spend their days meaninglessly. Naoya is disappointed and decided to do something about it." (from dramawiki)
The reunion of Nakajima Yuto and Yamazaki Kento (and Mamiya Shotaro) after Yowakutemo Katemasu isn't a let down at all. I think I even enjoyed this better than Yowakutemo Katemasu. I actually thought that it'll be boring when I saw the first scene because I thought there will be too much angst, which I don't quite prefer. It turns out I'm wrong with that impression. I love it that Takaki Yuya, Chiba Yudai, and Ohara Sakurako are also part of the cast. Shinkawa Yua and Hashimoto Kanna are discoveries for me. And oh, this drama is so pleasing to the eyes! If you know what I mean! Lol. You can understand with the photo above.
Ride Ride Ride (Summer 2014)
The Tochigi Prefecture is setting up Japan's first professional road bicycle racing team "Nasu Bengazu". The sponsoring is planned to be taken over by the small companies and stores from Nasu-machi, in hope to soon being able to get regional sponsors in the boat as well. But soon financial problems arise and the 28-year-old Hirai Mamoru (Seto Koji) of a local credit bank is sent in as manager for restructuring, but he only has 2 month time. Therefore, Mamoru is putting his marriage with his 29-year old fiancee Miyako (Usuda Asami) on hold and eagerly plunges himself into work. He meets with the team captain Toyama Kazushige (Hakamada Yoshihiko), the 39-year old ace is working since 20 years towards his goal to win. However, while the two month time for management reorganization expire, the captain is making a weighty decision, resulting in a violent clash between Mamoru and him." (from dramawiki)
I really want to watch this one but sadly, resources are hard to come by. :( Seto Koji deserves more love, people!!! Teen Court isn't even subbed yet. If only I have money to enroll to Japanese classes, but I don't. :( Anyway, I'll wait until I can watch this one, I really hope I would be able to in the future.
I don't know when I'll be able to write my commentaries, but hopefully within this week! Commentaries done! :)
"Azuma Wataru, a third-year student at Karasumori High School, is a devil who strikes fear in the hearts of people. One day, Azuma is told by his former teacher that he has to participate in a club activity in order to make up for the lack of second-year students. The short-tempered Azuma cannot last long in whatever he does. At that moment, he learns that Satonaka Mari, the beautiful transfer student in his class, has joined the female rhythmic sports gymnastics club. He joins the male rhythmic sports gymnastics club, a club activity with very few people under the captain, Takenaka Yuta. They are ridiculed by the coach of the female rhythmic sports gymnastics club, and others, and are also hardly allowed to use the gym. However, when a sixth boy joins the club, Yuta decides to take part in a team competition with his long-sought six members..." (from dramawiki)The main members of the cast, who played the roles as the club members, are very much commendable on this one. Portraying as sports people must be hard, and what more it must be very hard for their bodies! It seems really tough, gymnastics! These are actors, you know! These aren't athletes! And they weren't a let down and they didn't forget the emotions they should convey even if they were already doing those difficult gymnast moves. I really love this one!
Yowakutemo Katemasu (Spring 2014)
"Tamo Aoshi (Ninomiya Kazunari) is a substitute teacher at his alma mater, a prestigious private high school which admits 200 students to Tokyo University every year. He becomes the coach of the weak baseball club which has only five members and has never won a game since it was established. The highest number of times they have thrown the ball back and forth without dropping it is nine. They have prefer the outfield because the infield is scary. Furthermore, they practice on the grounds only three hours a week. At other times, they study, study, and study. But they love baseball. Finding them interesting and strange creatures, Aoshi decides that he will give his charges victory, guided by his offbeat theory "triumph is possible even if weak". And then they seriously set their sights on the annual nationwide high school baseball championship witht heir brand of preposterous baseball." (from dramawiki)I can kind of understand why this drama garnered quite low ratings. It's not because the actors are not competent enough, maybe it's because the series of events got boring sometimes. It was like that for me, but I would like to praise the actors for their acting. And if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't probably have the drive to finish this. The plot is interesting, the cast are good, it was probably the execution of the story. You might think that it's so bad, but actually it's not. I still like it, but I'm just trying to lay down some possible explanation why the ratings are lower than 10%. But c'mon, we have Ninomiya Kazunari, Yamazaki Kento, Hongo Kanata, Fukushi Sota, Nakajima Yuto, Mamiya Shotaro, and Arimura Kasuma here!
Suikyu Yankees (Summer 2014)
Naoya arrives to spend a year in a high school in Japan. He attends in a technical high school in which the location is famously known as the center for "water polo supremacy". His school, however, is the ridicule area and on the verge of closing down. Naoya loves the school because a yankee, whom he admired as a child, was only once a student there. However, he soon realized that there are no real yankees like hero figures, only students who spend their days meaninglessly. Naoya is disappointed and decided to do something about it." (from dramawiki)
The reunion of Nakajima Yuto and Yamazaki Kento (and Mamiya Shotaro) after Yowakutemo Katemasu isn't a let down at all. I think I even enjoyed this better than Yowakutemo Katemasu. I actually thought that it'll be boring when I saw the first scene because I thought there will be too much angst, which I don't quite prefer. It turns out I'm wrong with that impression. I love it that Takaki Yuya, Chiba Yudai, and Ohara Sakurako are also part of the cast. Shinkawa Yua and Hashimoto Kanna are discoveries for me. And oh, this drama is so pleasing to the eyes! If you know what I mean! Lol. You can understand with the photo above.
Ride Ride Ride (Summer 2014)
The Tochigi Prefecture is setting up Japan's first professional road bicycle racing team "Nasu Bengazu". The sponsoring is planned to be taken over by the small companies and stores from Nasu-machi, in hope to soon being able to get regional sponsors in the boat as well. But soon financial problems arise and the 28-year-old Hirai Mamoru (Seto Koji) of a local credit bank is sent in as manager for restructuring, but he only has 2 month time. Therefore, Mamoru is putting his marriage with his 29-year old fiancee Miyako (Usuda Asami) on hold and eagerly plunges himself into work. He meets with the team captain Toyama Kazushige (Hakamada Yoshihiko), the 39-year old ace is working since 20 years towards his goal to win. However, while the two month time for management reorganization expire, the captain is making a weighty decision, resulting in a violent clash between Mamoru and him." (from dramawiki)I really want to watch this one but sadly, resources are hard to come by. :( Seto Koji deserves more love, people!!! Teen Court isn't even subbed yet. If only I have money to enroll to Japanese classes, but I don't. :( Anyway, I'll wait until I can watch this one, I really hope I would be able to in the future.
