If you've watched Hanzawa Naoki you can expect the same crisp narrative and well thought out plot. Heart palpitating moments highlighted by a fast tempo violin and survivor like goodness. Roosevelt is a story that features two perspectives. One being, the Aoshima company and another being the baseball club. They are related in that the company funds the baseball club and they are both struggling to survive, yet they also differ in the way the stories are told.
I want to get the unfortunates out of the way. As I pointed out with Hanzawa Naoki, theatrics are to be expected. Lofty declarations of friendship with some tear shedding moments and ferocious 1970s villain like roaring at the hero is to be expected 'I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!' *ROAR* . Does it make me cringe? Yes. Does it take away from the plot, not really... Can I do without it? Unfortunately, yes. I just can't get used to the whole eyeballs in your head roaring in an almost strange homoerotic fashion. A large portion of this is in the baseball story line so if manly tears and feel-good speeches aren’t your thing, this portion of the story may detract from the overall experience. It shouldn’t though as the baseball club provides some very heart palpitating and heart warming moments.
The story mainly follows Hosokawa, the not quite a hero in this story. He's the president of the Aoshima company who I must yet again steal the survivor logo, must outsmart, outplay and outlast. However, the baseball portion follows Okihara, a hard working pitcher with a killer arm. Unfortunately, I was more keen on the company storyline.
Ultimately, the script is freaking stellar and characters meld into their roles very well. You'll see a few familiar faces from Hanzawa Naoki, a big one being the son of a b**ch that is Kagawa Teruyuki. I say that affectionately as I really do like the guy and he really melds well into his villainous character well, eliciting plenty of curses from me. I can't help but despise yet be charmed by his character. However, he’s not the main antagonist in this bit. The antagonist in this case is the Utuwi company with their figurehead, Bando. He lusts after the highly skilled technology that Aoshima produces and will do anything in his power to ensure the Aoshima company is destroyed. Whether he succeeds or not is your key to embarking on this journey.
I proclaim that my review isn’t very strict because I had fun watching this drama. Often, well done dramas just let me relax and enjoy without strict criticism. I especially enjoyed the odd yet unnecessary little details like the president’s sweet tooth, the hardcore baseball fan who attends every game yet sits there jeering and the chairman’s relaxed attitude in all of this. I also constantly marveled at how the president doesn’t have ulcers from constantly being in a rock and a hard place. These little wonders brought me great joy as I good naturally cursed the characters “don’t trust that Son of a b**ch” “You brilliant son of a b**ch being a particular favorite.
The drama gets a favorable review for me for actually making me enjoy it.
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