Dream Again

Japanese title: ドリーム☆アゲイン
Number of episodes: 10

Some info:
1) D-addicts Wiki
2) Official Site (Japanese)

Yeah, for those who have watched some Jap Drama should at least know the main actor of this show, for he’s so well known for his role as GTO (live-action of course) a decade ago. I haven’t watched many of his shows (actually only GTO prior to this), but Sorimachi Takashi does his job well again in this drama series, though it isn’t as impressionable as GTO.

He plays a baseball pro player who decided to retire after his shoulder injury caused him to lose an important match and being benched into 2nd team after that. Some 1 year later, he decides to pick up professional baseball again and had a quarrel with his fiancée, played by Kato Ai, and stormed off on a stormy night, which caused him to meet with a lightning strike, killing him in the process. Turns out his supposed death time isn’t up yet and the “Heaven Officials” got the wrong man due to similarity in name, hence is given a choice to be “reborn” in another (soon to die) person’s body and continue to live until his true death time is up.

The guide from Heaven didn’t really explain all of the “rules” to him, so our main lead ends up in some (filthy) rich man, who has an asset of 600 Billion Yen. Well, it’s one of the worst choices for him because this rich dude runs an asset fund management company (which of course a pro baseballer knows nuts about), and more importantly has a poor physique (which hinders the dream of taking the pro test).

So yeah well, enough of the introduction of the storyline (for one of the more rare times it’s more detailed than the wiki summary), the rest of the story mainly deals with the problems the main lead will face as he is “reborn” in a person living in a totally different world from this “previous life” and how he manages to overcome them one by one. At the beginning it seemed pretty interesting, but as episodes go along I guess the “refreshing meter” isn’t so high any more, so it kinda lost a little of its attractiveness. Heh.

Well, the story has to end somehow, but honestly the ending seemed a little weird to me. For one, when the main lead lets 2 people know of this true identity (which he isn’t supposed to, according to some rule) he doesn’t disappear as the Guide has mentioned in the earlier part of the series. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that he has made a “pact” to extend his “daughter”’s life so the rule doesn’t apply anymore, but it still feels weird lah, since no explanation whatsoever was given. Apparently, the Guide is touched by how this guy has overcome various problems he faced without running away from them, and trying to fulfill the dreams of both men, he decides to “reverse time” plus changing the course of events which we would have seen from the early part of the show. Not sure if it was a test for the main lead to begin with, or it’s an abuse of Guide’s power (an ordinary Guide is sure powerful huh), but it’s made such that the ending is kinda happy one with all the important characters who have appeared in the show getting decent/good endings too. Haha, I was kinda expecting him to really die for good, which isn’t exactly that sad an ending since it’s certainly very possible to expect that kind of ending. Ah wells.

On to some miscellaneous stuff, I see that Adidas has heavily sponsored all the sports-related stuff, at least I see it for most of his sports clothing and his baseball bats. Also noticed a Canon camera among the “press reporters”. Haha, I can do this even for dramas now eh? Lol. Also, need to give some credit for the directing and post-filming editing and stuff. Quite nicely done on most parts.

Overall a pretty nice show in my opinion, though the ratings aren’t that impressive/good anyways. =D