Title: Buzzer Beat
Genre: Action, Romance, Drama
Duration: 11 episodes
Cast:
Yamashita Tomohisa as Kamiya Naoki
Kitagawa Keiko as Shikawa Riko
Aibu Saki as Nanami Natsuki
Kanjiya Shihori as Ebina Mai
Mizobata Junpei as Hatano Shuji
Ito Hideaki as Kawasaki Tomoya
Synopsis: It about dreaming and seriously pursuing that dream and in the process made stronger by love.
Kamiya Naoki (Yamashita Tomohisa) is a professional basketball player who was once a lead star during his varsity years in the university. However, since playing for the ARCS, he has long lost his drive and keeps telling himself that he is pursuing his dream of becoming a star in basketball and finally marrying the girl he has been with for two years, Nanami Natsuki. He keeps telling himself that he is strong and gets shaky under pressure missing the shot that could have led the team to play in the finals. The truth however is that, he has already lost his confidence that he would be able to make his dream realized and all he’s harbouring are frustrations specially when his contract was renewed and his annual salary was lower. He then promised to himself that he would definitely make a big difference in the league or he might actually be forced to resign so reluctantly deferred his plans for marriage until he is confident he can support his family.
Shikawa Riko (Kitagawa Keiko) is an aspiring musician who has a keen ear for sounds. She has been struggling to pursue her dream of becoming a violinist but has failed to make significant progress in the two years that she has been actively pursuing her dream.
One night, the two of them meet at the court just below Riko’s apartment while she was playing the violin. Naoki was haunted by the sound of her instrument and stayed until she finished her piece. Riko was startled by his presence and was surprised to find that the sound she was looking for was actually Naoki playing basketball on court. While watching him play, he told him that he has a beautiful form and beautiful rhythm so she believes he’s a really strong player. Naoki told her that he is really not good, that he doesn’t even have a single fan to which she retorts, “I’ll be your #1 fan!” Naoki was pleased and was pleasantly uplifted by her encouragement that he promised to definitely become better.
In the meantime, Nanami Natsuki (Aibu Saki) has been wavering in her belief in Naoki. She has seen how he has deteriorated in his performance and all she is hearing is about him pursuing his dream which she seriously doubts he can achieve. It doesn’t help that one of the newest player seems to have set his eyes on her and in moments of weakness, she gives in to him. It was not long before Naoki caught the two of them kissing in the locker room which led him to break-up with Natsuki. It was too late when she realizes that she actually feels strongly about Naoki but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her then.
In this whole process, Naoki and Riko have been constantly meeting on the basketball court and cheering each other on. On one time however, Riko saw one of Naoki’s game and shouted at him for his worst performance, telling him he is stronger than what he’s showing and he can definitely make it. Hearing this, Naoki’s game definitely improved and they were able to win the game. Both of them has been telling themselves that they are only friends specially that Kawasaki Tomoya (Ito Hideaki), team’s captain, has been seriously pursuing Riko. Naoki thought he could forsake his love in lieu of his camaraderie with the coach and his trust on him. In the end however, both realized that they have become powerless to stop their feelings and it has become torture not to see each other.
Their love is put to test though when Riko received an offer to be part of an orchestra but she had to leave for atleast half a year and Naoki had to be on rehab after his ankle operation. Riko is hesitant to leave knowing Natsuki is actively pursuing Naoki to come back to her side but Naoki felt that Riko has always been supporting him to pursue his dream that it’s time for him to support hers. He encourages her to take the offer while she doubts if she can keep his heart even while she is away to go after her dreams.
The story goes on about the struggles and difficulties they have to face including inferiority complexes, confidence, trust issues and the pursuit of their dreams. Would they be able to make it till the end or would they have to give up each other to realize their dreams?
Review: Kitagawa Keiko has a really beautiful face and figure that one can’t help but keep staring at the screen. It helps that she is not too conscious on screen however, during the emotional scenes, I still felt her emotions lacking.
I liked the chemistry they had on screen and the story was so good that it was fun, light, lovely and very inspiring. The story was not so tragic but felt more realistic. It’s good that they were able to sacrifice their feelings in their pursuit for their dreams but I’m quite confused with the ending though. Also, because he said he won’t let her go now which leads me to believe she has abandoned her dreams for him. Though the story is fictional, I sincerely hope that this was not the case and that they continued to actively pursue their dreams, cheering each other in the process and becoming each other’s wings to fly. That would have made it a beautiful love story...
I give this show 9 out of 10 stars because it has surprisingly and pleasantly exceeded my expectations.
