Buzzer Beat (2009)

I found Buzzer Beat to be a really enjoyable drama. I started watching it because I heard good things about it and Yamapi is the main lead here. The story is good - it's about chasing your dreams and finding love along the way. Like other reviewers have stated, it's not a story that focuses just on basketball, more on the romance and the friendship between the characters.



The acting was done really well, no complaints at all. It was nice seeing Yamapi in a different role. Kitagawa Keiko I've recently seen in Paradise Kiss and her character here is different and she did a good job in her role. The rest of the cast was great as well!



The music was good! I loved the main song, "Ichibu to Zenbu" by B'z, I still listen to it a lot. Also the instrumentals were nice and there was also some classical music.



I can see myself rewatching this series someday, not any time soon, but someday.



Overall I think this drama deserved all the awards it got. It was well acted and the story was really good and enjoyable. There were a few characters that got annoying, but most dramas have those. In the end you find yourself cheering on the main leads. Also the friends were really great as well!

Leggi di Più

Okay, so. I was a little reluctant when I started this series because I don't like sports doramas/animes/mangas/etc., but, if you're like me, you'll be happy to know that the basketball component makes up for only about the 10% of the whole thing. More often than not, you'll see Naoki (Yamapi) practising in the neighbourhood's field, but the actual matches? You only see them in a couple of episodes. Honest.

There's also a music component/storyline: Riko's (Kitagawa Keiko) dream is to be a violinist, so we often see/hear her play the violin, while her friend Mai (Kanjiya Shihori) plays the flute. I am still confused as to what Mai's ultimate dream is, though; she basically only talked about boys 100% of the time.

The show in general has many themes: friendship, love, dreams, betrayal, future, self-sacrifice. I just felt like it could be so much more, but it disappointed every expectations.

The way the story starts, I fell completely in love. The first half of the series (till about ep 06), is a crescendo. Those first episodes could have been the magnificent premise for a great character development that didn't come for (almost) any of them. Riko, especially, disappointed me so much that I'm still mad if I think about it. Overall, I also felt like the sexism is too unbearable even for a Japanese series.

The music was amazing, because the main theme was a B'z song, so everything was good. I was kinda bummed when they cut off the lyrics at times, though. Apart from that, I liked the way they stopped the (instrumental) music whenever there was a dramatic moment. 100% would advise to listen to the opening (and watch it, now that you're at it, because that shot at the beginning - YOU'LL KNOW WHICH ONE - is just ugh too much to take).

Leggi di Più

This series was a true Love-Ride of feelings and support towards each other,I actually finished these whole series in 1 long nigh of sitting in bed infront of my tv.

Its about a Guy named "Naoki" And A Female "Rikko" Who accidentially coming across each other like it seems some sort of fate.Naoki is a guy who loves Basketball and is trying his best to achieve his goals.While Rikko is trying to become a Female music artist with violins.They both are engulved in problems and issues in their personal life.Cant really tell allot whats goin on cause that would mean i would spoil allot of stuff.The chemistry between people is amazing and heartwarming at times.In these series you feel absolutely connected with the people involved inside and the Cuteness is undeniably good.While the series could have been a bit longer for my personal feelings since the time Flies! it seems.It just means it was so good and fun to watch this Love-Romance series.Its for sure one of the best japanese dramas ive ever seen and wont be forgotten quick.The theme song is still Running on my background from time to time and once you listen to it you get all those feelings back from when i was watching the series ^^.

Leggi di Più

There is always something good about Japanese drama, is that their plot is very unique and interesting. Especially, J-Drama never disappointed audience with their romance and love stories. Japanese Drama been the most popular drama in the entire Asia. Just recently, Korean Drama came in, with the romance and love stories.

Basically, this “Buzzer Beat”, shows the best interesting romance and love story, in Asia. J-Drama never drag too long with their plot, so it gives an unique beginning and ending. It is quite possible it allows the viewers to understand how the story develops and ends, and never lags too slowly.

Overall, I enjoyed this J-Drama very much and I do recommend it. I believe if you have not watched any Japanese Drama in the past yet, then this is the best drama to begin.

Leggi di Più

It’s been awhile since I watched this Jdrama, but since I’ve been mulling over some recent Jdramas (and their complete lack of credible romance stories), I’ve been thinking more and more about Buzzer Beat, and its extremely capable and compelling love story.

Yes, you heard it right. This drama brings out all the stops – or at least most of them – with romance, hugging, kissing, cuddling, and a million other “awww”-worthy moments. Also, there’s some basketball. I actually like basketball, so this drama is pretty well set in my books. Minus a few irritations, side characters, and cliché plot holes, Buzzer Beat seems well worth the time.

Buzzer Beat stars Yamapi and Shirakawa Riko give this drama its main charm. Both are struggling to stay confident about their sport/art when circumstances throw them together. What follows is a halfway original story of personal growth as the two develop a sincere friendship with one another, and perhaps the chance of something more.

Up even past the halfway mark, both the story and the romance (aka ‘Total Cuteness-ity’) are riveting. Unfortunately, the show’s failings lay in the last few episodes, where the writers throw on heavy doses of angst and lost almost all of my attention. I mean, I figured there would be a nice sweet ending, but must it really be necessary to suffer so much to get there? It’s a little sad that a perfectly wonderful show was ruined by Kdrama-esque plot holes and noble idiots pandering about in circles, but overall the strength of the earlier episodes (at least 82% of the drama) were fine and dandy. Buzzer Beat even does a good job at not turning every side character into an exact stereotype, a feat for which I am I always grateful.

My vote is that you watch it for the leads, and turn your brain off by episode 9. That should make things all better.

Leggi di Più

There was nothing unique or original in the storyline except that it featured a basketball star as the main character. I've seen a lot of college basketball, so that did not excite me. Rather, I was hoping for some witty dialogue or something interesting. There were the typical love triangles, but nothing to shed a tear over.

Here's how I felt about the Coach who was vying for Riko's love. Did you ever go out with a good looking guy and he turned out to be disappointing, unimaginative, and boring. That's how I felt about Coach. He just didn't draw out sympathy from the viewer with his plight. And not to be too critical, but I just didn't care for Naoki's wild hair. He looks better with dark, straight hair.

The music was so, so. In summary, it wasn't stirring enough to watch or rewatch.

Leggi di Più

IT ENDED TOO SOON. I usually think that the allotted time for most dramas is appropriate, but in this case, it ended too soon. I thought the story was too good to be told only in 11 episodes. Buzzer Beat is a drama that deserved to have more too it. It needed more time, so the audience could see the characters develop better, and see the romance between the two leads progress slower. The acting was great. I really loved the acting. Yamapi is already one of my favorite actors, so of course, immediately, because of him, the acting was going to be great. I have only seen the lead actress in Paradise Kiss, and didn't care for her character all that much in the movie, but after seeing Buzzer Beat, I am truly impressed with her acting ability. I loved her character, and especially the character that's Riko's best friend. The theme song had a great melody, beat,rhythm, and was really catchy, except, I didn't care for the singing at all. I didn't think that the singer's voice fit in well with the concept of the drama. I would rewatch this drama, because it was just too good! Overall, I give it an 8. It scores an 8 because I didn't think there was enough time to develop the character's and relationship between the two leads to the point it should have been.

Leggi di Più

Entertaining, great visual element and uplifting soundtrack.

The story is not new because there are a lot of dramas/movies/mangas about love, dream and friendship already. However, Buzzer Beat portrays all of these aspects at an age that the characters had first tasted the harsh reality and thus struggle to live with their maybe too quixotic dream and mending their own wounds suffered from fail relationships. I think this is Buzzer Beat’s unique side.

I like that the characters came to realisations about their feeling fairly quickly, almost no self-denial and also very decisive about their path in relationships as well as life. This is very interesting because it almost felt like the characters know what path they should take because they have became more mature but the youth spirit inside of them kept urging them to not give up to the practical reality.

About the acting, I think both leads have great chemistry together. While I love Yamashita Tomohisa’s acting in Kurosagi and Nobuta Wo Produce, I have to say he didn’t impress me here. Sometimes I feel his character a bit plain and uninteresting. But I think Kitagawa Keiko really suit her role all the side actors have done a great job as well.

The music is very uplifting and fun although I would love to hear more classical soundtrack.

Well the drama is entertaining to watch it for the first time. I would not re-watch it personally.

Leggi di Più

Another sports drama but surprisingly it focused more on the dreams/romance part than playing the sport. It's not that of a great story for me even the acting though there's chemistry between Keiko and Yamapi. They look good together but the story could've been better. The music was just average. Story could be inspiring and more focused on pursuing dreams so it's also inspirational. I recommend this to Yamapi and Keiko fans. It's not my priority for re-watch but generally it's an average drama you can watch if you want a sports-themed/romance/inspirational drama in one.

Leggi di Più