Wonderful Life

Cast:
Takashi Sorimachi - Arkira Kirishima
Kyoko Hasegawa - Mizuki

Fuji TV: 12 Episodes (2004)

Kirishima is one of the top baseball players in Japan. He is arrogant and irresponsible in both his professional and private lives. He is neither a good team player nor a good husband or father. He injures his shoulder in the bathroom of a hotel when his wife stomps in on one of his trysts.

News that he is no longer able to play gets out. His contract is not renewed and no other club would take him. The owner of his team, the Pirates, tells him that it is not because of his inability to play that they are not prepared to renew his contract, but that it is his attitude and inability to think and play as a team player that has done him in. His creditors are hounding him - as a last resort, he is forced to coach a team of school children from a small village to repay his creditors.

Mizuki is a small town girl who lives with her uncle, aunt and brother in a small teppanyaki shop. Her brother, Shou, plays with the Black Jaguars, a junior league team (well, more like a village team made up of the neighbourhood kids). The team is sponsored by the merchants in the neighbourhood. The team has never won a single game and the children are giving up hope (in a way, so are their parents). Mizuki sees Shou’s letter to Kirishima, hoping that he will agree to be their coach. Mizuki does not want to disappoint her brother and so writes to Kirishima to hire him to coach the team.

Kirishima is still as arrogant as ever but as his wife has taken all his belongings as well as sold his apartment, and Kirishima has no choice but to put up at Mizuki’s home.

The village association is vexed that they have to pay Kirishima ¥200000 a month to coach the children. They agree, however, that the team should be disbanded if they fail to win the next game.

Mizuki is well aware of Kirishima’s character and is concerned that he will not take his assignment seriously and dash the children’s hopes.

Kirishima helps the team win their first game by teaching them how to cheat! The team wins but the children are very disappointed with Kirishima and by how they won the game as this is not the spirit of baseball! Their impression of him as the great baseball player is dashed! Mizuki pays Kirishima and tells him that his services are no longer required. Kirishima regrets his actions when he realises that the children had a real passion. He remembers how it was for him when his father took him to his first baseball game. He resolves to live up to the children’s expectations.

Review

I enjoyed watching this series very much. It is a touching story about passion - how a broken man redeems himself by helping a bunch of misfits and rekindling their passion for baseball. In the end, Kirishima needs the children as much as they need him.

Kirishima finds redemption in helping others and in a sense, finds his own soul. As a mega baseball star, he did not understand the need to be a team player. He was arrogant and selfish and hurt a lot of people around him, including his teammates and family. He lost everything when he could not play ball anymore. The kids from the little league team, the Black Jaguars, teach him about humility, teamwork and resilience.

I felt that he really found his soul back when he reveals to Mizuki that he had kept her letter with him all this time - and is thankful that she had written to him. He may have started out with the wrong intention - coaching the children for the money, but he ends up realising what is important. At some point, he is offered the job of anchoring a sport program on television at the expense of an old teammate. He is wrought with guilt and in the end, he does the right thing. This would not have been the case with the old Kirishima.

I was especially touched by the scene of the team playing their first game after one of their teammates died. The little boy became part of the team even though he was sick. He had watched the team from his hospital room and kept every play and score (or non-score in their case!!!) they made. He was rejected by the team at first but Kirishima was able to show the kids how much a part of the team he was already even without stepping foot on the pitch! The boys slowly learn to respect his perspective on play and the team started to win! His last wish to his father the night before his untimely death was to ask for a baseball bat - he was hopeful that he would be able to join his team on the field! The team honours his memory and hits a homerun with his bat. His father was so touched by the genuine love showed by the team for his son that he changed his mind about turning the baseball field into a car park.

There is also a side story of how Kirishima's manager forsakes his family fortune to be with his true love. It is touching when a man realises that money cannot buy him true love or happiness. He is willing to give up everything and brave being with his true love even though she is a woman of ill-repute and who has a son. His courage in facing reality is an inspiration to Kirishima.

There isn't much of a love story going on in this series between Kirishima and Mizuki but the storyline is well-paced and there is always something happening to keep the story interesting and viewers interested.

It is definitely an upbeat and inspirational drama. Well worth watching.