Top League is a 2019 jdorama that has been sitting on my HD for a long time and finally I have gotten around to watching. If the Journalist is about the important role that newspapers play in trying to keep politicians honest, Top League is about the symbiosis of the relationship and how the politicians manipulate the media especially in Japan.
There are two journalists in this story: Matsuoka who is transferred to the political section of Yamato newspaper and Sakai, Matsuoka's former colleague who now works for a weekly magazine and is chasing the story of a mysterious buried safe that was found with lots of money. Matsuoka discovers that reporters in Japan don't ask the politicians any hard hitting questions and only people in the 'Top League' are able to have access to politicians.
Matsuoka goes against the grain and asks some questions to Chief Cabinet Secretary Kondo. One thing leads to another and Matsuoka is promoted to the Top League and access to Kondo. Of course when good things happen to someone in a WOWOW show, there is usually a reason for it.
Top League is yet another solid WOWOW thriller about government corruption except this time it is about the give an take between politicians and reporters. Because reporters mostly throw softball questions they need to curry favour with the politicians for access and that means being their mouthpiece or spreading certain news. This is very relevant in today's media climate where certain media outlets exist to support certain political parties instead of reporting the truth.
The only thing I didn't like was how naive Matsuoka was but he had to be for the story to work. Love the cast especially Kobayashi Kaoru as Kondo. Top League has not been English subbed but the raws come with timed Japanese subs so it is easy to watch if you can read. Watchable and great job as usual by WOWOW.
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