I'm a bit concerned for the youth of Japan if Rookies is any indication of how they are today. Rookies in short is basically a what if GTO was a baseball coach except GTO in Rookies, Kawato is basically a bumbling teacher who talks more bullshit than a politician. When Sato Ryuta was announced as Kawato, I knew it was trouble. Most people probably remember him as Makoto from Pride or Croissant from Utahime or the police dude from Galcir. The common theme for all his characters? Bumbling character for comedy relief. In all the shows I've seen him in, there was no hint of him being able to play the main character.
Basically, he plays Kawato the same way. I've had a quick glance through a few chapters of the manga and (I could be wrong) it seems like Kawato in the manga is nowhere as extreme as in the dorama. Kawato in the dorama suffers the same problem as Yankumi in Gokusen, he is not kakoii. And unlike Yankumi, neither is he funny. All he does is scream and shout stupid slogans like a politician who does not know how to articulate himself properly.
He is like an idealistic dreamer who tells kids its ok to try to run before you can crawl. You see, Kawato has become the baseball coach of a bunch of so called delinquents. If these kids are actually representative of what being a bad kid in school in Japan is, I think Japan's future is in deep shit.
How I long for the days of GTO teenagers who don't trust adults. Now, we have a bunch of emo kids who wallow in self pity and cryas often as Korean doramas. Yes, I know Japanese love Korean doramas but wtf???? Aren't these kids suppose to be badass or something? They're like punks who act all high and mighty to hide the fact that they come to tears more easily than most girls. And all that bullcrap about friendship and stuff is so fake and empty. Back in the good old days, being masculine/macho in doramas was about being stoic. Being decisive. Being responsible. Rookies are about kids who think being men means making loud noises and being drowned in their emotions. These guys are about as pussified as Shinji Ikari.
And lets not forget all that stupid talk about Koshien. The basis of getting good at any sport is lots and lots of practice. Kawato and co are a lot of hot air. They spend more time making motivational speeches that don't make sense than putting in the effort. And Kawato's obsession with dreams. OMFG. He's like this religious zealot who thinks he can brainwash people by repeating the same bullshit again and again. There's a line by Shogo in Muri na Renai which completely owns the two hours that Kawato has rambled about yume that I've seen in five episodes.
That said, this is after all an underdog sports dorama so there is always some entertainment value. Its just that I can't support a bunch of emotionally unstable people who are more suited to be in a Korean dorama. And ffs, couldn't they have gotten a female teacher who actually looks hot to support Kawato?
I couldn't stand the first 2 episodes without fast forward.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, they were always screaming like a bunch of retards. And having stupid hair style doesn't turn someone into a punk. I skimmed trough the episodes, till episode 6, and I saw no sport action. There is nothing, no strategy, no tension, no good action, no turning point. They scream more than they play. These koshien dreamer got their asses kicked by the softball team, while their coach is sitting on his knees and shouting (If someone gave him a chair he may have shut up). It is a very bad baseball drama. Simply Unwatchable.
By the way, it is true that I haven't watched Korean Drama (at least not to the end), but I don't recall boys being such cry babies. Besides, (I am planning to see Coffee Prince this WE, I am hoping that it won't be so miserable).
When you spoke about lousy politician talk, did you have in mind some of the dummy speeches in Change?
I was referring to politicians from my home country, Malaysia. The amount of stuff they get away with makes politicians in Australia looks like angels.
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