Sunday, May 9, 2010

Rookies -Sotsugyou-




Synopsis:
A year after the series, the team members are now in their graduation year. Together with their teacher, this is the last summer. Will they be able to realise their dream of Koshien? Will they be able to graduate with smile?

My opinion:
Considering how good the series is, my expectation is quite high for the movie. Sadly, it is somehow disappointing to me: the plot is rather weak, the match is not as exciting, and I never cry leh! Perhaps, it is just a good conclusion for the story and that's all.

Firstly, the plot is rather weak. There is not much storyline. The fact that the whole team is from the same year (and now they are in the final year) leaves a problem in the continuation of the baseball theme. The movie presents the search of the new members rather hastily and badly. To make things worse, the 2 new members feel like only outsiders. Not much interaction or friendship with the senpais etc. Even during the joyous after match celebration, they are somehow feel left out. The way how the 2 new members eventually join is also quite cliche.


This photo is put next to the photo of the school team which went to Koshien 40 years ago. But where are the newbies? In the match, one of the freshman actually contributes more than the seniors tsk tsk..

Secondly, the match is not as 'well-planned' as the matches in the TV series which are more touching etc. The idea of using injury (again!) is no longer that touching. Isn't there any other way to let the injured Mikoshiba able to play without making another person injured too? The feeling of desperation is not quite there when the team is trailing. That makes the comeback less touching. And the final ball is kinda expected. So no matter how dramatic the build-up leading the to it, it is a sure thing that Aniya will strike out the enemy. So yah I'm wondering how come for every match Nikogaku always plays first. If they play second, their comeback will be more last minute and would be more tear-jerking.

But still, it is good to see that finally these reformed delinquents are able to achive their dreams and graduate with a smile. I would still recommend the series ^^ It is quite rare to see a sport-themed story to have a lot of nice things to watch. Haha.. Usually sport-themed story will focus on winning and skills bla bla bla.

My afterthoughts:
The theme of chasing after dream may not be that realistic in real life after all. I am glad that here, the questions of "What are we gonna do after we achieve that dream?" and "What are we left with after we achieve that dream?" are raised. The answer given is "Our dream will never end" and "We will find a new dream to keep us going". Change the word 'dream' to 'purpose' and that works for everyone more or less.. Without purpose, people will be doing something without drive. People will just do it out of 'necessity' and life will just be a chore..

Another important thing raised up here is luck. Luck is something very important and makes a big difference. During the match, people try their best and sometimes they fail. The comeback is triggered by pure dumb luck. At first try, this player swings the bat too slowly. Thus his friends ask him to swing faster and he does it. However, the swing is too fast even before the ball is thrown. But the ball is somehow hit when the player is 'frozen' in the pose after he swings. Hmm, sounds to good to be true, but in real life luck is important. In real life, people have to work hard to create the opportunities for luck to come. Lazy me, I am only expecting luck.. Sigh.. to me luck is still the most important thing :(

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