ザラ Notes: ルーキーズ－卒業－ Rookies －Sotsugyô

31 May 2009

ルーキーズ－卒業－ Rookies －Sotsugyô－

Title:

ルーキーズ Rūkīzu (Rookies)
ルーキーズ－卒業－ Rūkīzu (Rookies) －Sotsugyô－
Rｏｏｋｉｅｓ－卒業－ Sotsugyô

English Title:

Rookies
Rookies －Graduation－

Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2009
Cast:

佐藤隆太 Sato Ryuta
市原隼人 Ichihara Hayato
小出恵介 Koide Keisuke
中尾明慶 Nakao Akiyoshi
桐谷健太 Kiritani Kenta
城田優 Shirota Yu
高岡蒼佑 Takaoka Sōsuke
佐藤健 Sato Takeru
五十嵐隼士 Igarashi Shunji
川村陽介 Kawamura Yōsuke
吹石一恵 Fukīshi Kazue
能世あんな Nose Anna
尾上寛之 Onoue Hiroyuki
村川絵梨 Murakawa Eri
山本裕典 Yamamoto Yusuke
石田卓也 Ishida Yakuya
綾瀬はるか Ayase Haruka

SYNOPSIS

GReeeeN - 遥か Haruka (Far)

Kawato Kōichi is back at Futako Tamagawa High School after a short absence. He resumed his post as the coach of the school's baseball club, and he wholeheartedly supports a bunch of delinquent students as they try to make their dreams come true.

The original ten members of the Niko Gaku baseball club are in their senior year of high school, and they only have one last chance to make their dreams a reality. With two new recruits, a star player and a baseball rookie, the baseball club members are determined to find their way to glory and success.

REVIEW
Rookies is about figuring out your dreams and being brave enough to make your dreams come true despite the overwhelming odds. It is about working hard and giving it your all, despite knowing that you may possibly fail in realizing your dreams.

Rookies －Sotsugyô－follows the Niko Gaku baseball club as they try to make their dreams come true. These delinquent students are working hard so they can participate in the Kōshien tournament, and the baseball club's original ten members are in their senior year, with one last chance to succeed.

The movie also talks about what the students will do once the time is up; what happens afterwards, whether they make their dreams a reality or not. Of course, they couldn't really dwell on the future, as there are pressing matters in the here and now, but it's nice that the characters are shown to consider other possibilities.

I didn't like how the production consistently built up the tension until the Niko Gaku baseball club achieves their dreams, but everything gets glossed over when they finally get to the Kōshien tournament. I mean, the scene shows the baseball club standing in a bigger baseball stadium and then everything fades to black, and then the scene cuts to the graduation of the original ten members.

I would have preferred if the film ended when the Niko Gaku baseball club are preparing for more games, and the characters talked about how they achieved their dream of getting to the Kōshien tournament. They could then maybe talk about, perhaps, their new dream of winning the said prestigious event, because why not?

With the way that Rookies －Sotsugyô－ ended, skipping the end goal of the whole production, it felt as if I missed the most important parts. When I got to the ending scene of the original ten members of the Niko Gaku baseball club, I can't help but wonder about what happened to the characters during the Kōshien tournament; did they win in more games than they lost?

Anyway, Kawato Kōichi has his faults but I adore his tendency to quote proverbs and sayings, especially when he's teaching his students something important.

Kawato Kōichi: "If manners are a necessary tool for social interaction, the least one can do is to not take it lightly." by Fukuzawa Yukichi

I suppose it's weird to suddenly hear someone recite a proverb or a saying out of the blue, but I'm someone who likes quotes, so I don't really mind when Kōichi does it.