Sorakazu
A very realistic drama on the hardships of a national team ping pong player
To be very honest I did not enjoy this drama so much and I might be just a minority. I don't want to discourage others in not watching this drama, but I feel like this is not for everyone, but you can give it a try if you'll proceed or not. If it weren't for my love for Bai Jingting, Xu Wei Zhou and my interest of seeing the journey to reach a certain part in episode 1; I would have dropped the series. I'll try to make my main review spoiler free, and I'll just voice out all my frustrations with spoilers in the comment section (will put a spoiler tag on it).
For a sports drama and a drama that was for a 70th year celebration, I was expecting the drama to be light-hearted or more uplifting; but in my opinion the drama wasn't. The drama really focused on the hardships, struggles, and real life choices and goals that a national ping pong player goes through; it is very realistic. By the time the drama comes around near the 30 episode mark, I felt so frustrated, upset and depressed on what was happening to the main character Xu Tan.
Every end of the drama, there will always be a ping pong trivia that will be shown before the end credits, it was a nice touch to get information from the said sport. Though I kind of felt off with the trivia as the drama progresses, the main part of the drama would sometimes force a situation on the main characters, so you can relate to the trivia that they'll show at the end of the series. There are a lot of characters in the drama, and how I wish that the situation was not forced just only to the main characters.
Bai Jingting did a wonderful job portraying Xu Tan (the actual main character of the drama). We were able to see him portray such a warm, passive and wimpy innocent boy from the start of the series, then change to a cold and calculative ping pong player later on in the series. I was actually amazed when I saw the behind the scenes for this drama, the actor really undergo body training throughout the drama; that you'll see a drastic change in his physique as the drama goes by. Now for the character, I have to admit there were several times that I have been frustrated on his character's choices in the drama and really dislike how so many characters around him look down on him and push him around throughout the series. But I really do root for him until the end, and really love the character change and growth throughout the drama.
Let me just say, Xu Wei Zhou, really nailed his role as Yu Ke Nan (the second main character) in this series. I just love how he was able to portray such a complex character and bring that character to life in the series. His character is very arrogant but he knew what he wanted ever since from the start of the series and see him struggling to get to his goal. Though I felt his character could be a bit too much and dragging poor Xu Tan with him due to his actions in the series.
Something I have noticed in the drama, is that there were unnecessary character arcs or drama that did not tie into the main plot and were just fillers. I felt like the episode number should have been shortened to 24-30 episodes. As mentioned earlier, that there are a lot of characters with different personalities. Though I was able to appreciate some of the characters (esp. Liu Shi, the bestie of the two main characters). Unfortunately for me, I felt a lot of the characters were just annoying or irritating. Just to let you know, there is also a villain in this drama.
Another thing, the romance was actually not needed in this drama. I would understand if they just made one of the main character with a romance plot to show the struggle and decisions of a ping pong player, and how they try to juggle out a relationship along with their commitment to the team. But they apply this romance to three characters, two of them being with the main characters.
Overall:
I've enjoyed some parts of the drama, the beginning and especially the last several episodes that lead to the ending. But as mentioned, I didn't really enjoy this drama as a whole and gotten upset on how the story turns out especially towards the middle to 3/4th part of the story. I wouldn't re-watch this series as a whole, but I would like to re-watch the last few episodes and the ending as this was really my favorite part out of the series.
A lot of other people have enjoyed it, and their opinions/reviews on this drama are valid as well. So if you're curious, you may try and maybe it'll be your cup of tea.
Now I may vent out my frustrations with spoilers in the comment section. If you have not watched this, you can skip that but if you would want to see it... please proceed with caution.
For a sports drama and a drama that was for a 70th year celebration, I was expecting the drama to be light-hearted or more uplifting; but in my opinion the drama wasn't. The drama really focused on the hardships, struggles, and real life choices and goals that a national ping pong player goes through; it is very realistic. By the time the drama comes around near the 30 episode mark, I felt so frustrated, upset and depressed on what was happening to the main character Xu Tan.
Every end of the drama, there will always be a ping pong trivia that will be shown before the end credits, it was a nice touch to get information from the said sport. Though I kind of felt off with the trivia as the drama progresses, the main part of the drama would sometimes force a situation on the main characters, so you can relate to the trivia that they'll show at the end of the series. There are a lot of characters in the drama, and how I wish that the situation was not forced just only to the main characters.
Bai Jingting did a wonderful job portraying Xu Tan (the actual main character of the drama). We were able to see him portray such a warm, passive and wimpy innocent boy from the start of the series, then change to a cold and calculative ping pong player later on in the series. I was actually amazed when I saw the behind the scenes for this drama, the actor really undergo body training throughout the drama; that you'll see a drastic change in his physique as the drama goes by. Now for the character, I have to admit there were several times that I have been frustrated on his character's choices in the drama and really dislike how so many characters around him look down on him and push him around throughout the series. But I really do root for him until the end, and really love the character change and growth throughout the drama.
Let me just say, Xu Wei Zhou, really nailed his role as Yu Ke Nan (the second main character) in this series. I just love how he was able to portray such a complex character and bring that character to life in the series. His character is very arrogant but he knew what he wanted ever since from the start of the series and see him struggling to get to his goal. Though I felt his character could be a bit too much and dragging poor Xu Tan with him due to his actions in the series.
Something I have noticed in the drama, is that there were unnecessary character arcs or drama that did not tie into the main plot and were just fillers. I felt like the episode number should have been shortened to 24-30 episodes. As mentioned earlier, that there are a lot of characters with different personalities. Though I was able to appreciate some of the characters (esp. Liu Shi, the bestie of the two main characters). Unfortunately for me, I felt a lot of the characters were just annoying or irritating. Just to let you know, there is also a villain in this drama.
Another thing, the romance was actually not needed in this drama. I would understand if they just made one of the main character with a romance plot to show the struggle and decisions of a ping pong player, and how they try to juggle out a relationship along with their commitment to the team. But they apply this romance to three characters, two of them being with the main characters.
Overall:
I've enjoyed some parts of the drama, the beginning and especially the last several episodes that lead to the ending. But as mentioned, I didn't really enjoy this drama as a whole and gotten upset on how the story turns out especially towards the middle to 3/4th part of the story. I wouldn't re-watch this series as a whole, but I would like to re-watch the last few episodes and the ending as this was really my favorite part out of the series.
A lot of other people have enjoyed it, and their opinions/reviews on this drama are valid as well. So if you're curious, you may try and maybe it'll be your cup of tea.
Now I may vent out my frustrations with spoilers in the comment section. If you have not watched this, you can skip that but if you would want to see it... please proceed with caution.
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