Kimi ni Sasageru Emblem (2017)

I adore Sakurai Sho, so seeing for the first time in nearly two years return to acting a bit was a warm welcome for me personally in 2017. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't 100% pleased either.

The story itself, since it's based off a true story was really heartwarming. If you're familiar with the manga "Real" you'll get the same vibes. Additionally, the story portrayed the plight of those disabled in a wheelchair in Japan realistically. It even made the point of distinguishing there different levels of disability in Japan! This isn't the kind of story where everything is okay, despite the protagonist is now disabled. It's a noticeable part of life, with it's own ups and downs, and it was approached and produced with that in mind, in my opinion.

The acting, I was more impressed by the rest of the cast then I was with Sho to be honest. Masami was excellent in her role, 100% believable through and through. She balanced out and even at times made up for Sho throughout the special. Her motivations while a little strange, were honest and realistic. It was so much more then I hoped for. Hayato was stunning. 100% did not recognize him from his previous roles, and that was a good thing. He portrayed the pain of his character incredibly well to the point I did tear up a bit. Hayato was more my focus while watching, since he seemed to have the most immediate changes in character development.The rest of the side cast, while not developed as well as perhaps the main three, are all seasoned actors who brought a lot to the table and really balanced everything out.

Now to why I wasn't satisfied with the drama; Sho was type-casted/they suited the role to fit his personality. (Probably both) As much as Sho is my favorite member of Arashi; he always plays the asshole/tsundere/however you want to label it, character since he tends to have those qualities in real life. While Sho knows how to play the character vs. being himself, and played the character in this drama; it was boring to watch. I've seen too many Sho moments in previous works to know how his 'character' would respond. His character development was pretty thin in the plot (there were a ton of hints at how he should develop overtime, but no~) until literally the last 30-40 minutes of the special when everything rushed to end in time. The saving grace was that the relationships he portrayed were realistic, even if some details were rushed.

The music was alright. I honestly didn't notice it beyond it was there, and mood appropriate. My re-watch values are always low since I tend not to re-watch, but since this only two hours and just a special it might creep in there once in awhile.

Overall, this was a solid New Year's Special that I was glad to watch. Ironically, I watched it for Sho and ending up staying for everyone else.

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