Fan reviews: Ikebukuro West Gate Park

mrsmith10 · 6 Nov 2011

This drama had some interesting and controversal material to work with, such as gangs, violence, and prostitution, but the writers were confused with what direction they wanted to take the show. The first two episodes were suppose to be about the murder of Makoto's friend, which leads you to believe that the main plot revolves around this storyline. Yet this plot is completely ignored until it's brung up again in the last episode. The writers also didn't do enough to explore the gang lifestyle. Along with poorly executed humor, this drama is boring most of the time.

As for the actors, Watanabe Ken's and Nagase Tomoya's talents aren't used to their full potential. Neither of them are bad in this drama, but both of them have put on much better performances in their careers. On top of that Kato Ai was annoying. Yamapi's character didn't require a lot of acting ability, and just relied on his "cuteness." Kubozuka put on the best performance in this drama, bringing his character to life and the only one who actually managed to be funny.

compaqmac321 · 21 Jan 2009

Hmmmm, this was the first show i saw with nagase tomoya in it, i saw it by chance, cuz yamapi was in it and i had just seen a great performance from him in nobuta wo produce...after i saw this i was happy, it had everything i could ask for a drama to have in it, nagase became my favorite actor after watching this, what happened in this show is still fresh on my mind and i saw this half a year ago......the fighting, the twist at the end, the acting the story line, if your not sure about jdramas, then make this the 1st one that you watch, after i saw this show my love affair with japanese dramas began....yosh!

Wynter · 23 Feb 2008

I thought this drama was great. It was so layered and I had a lot of fun wading through it all.

Ifm a fan of dark humour done well, and of storylines that play with your mind, and of raw characters, and of controversial themes in general. Hopefully this helps explain why I like this drama so much, because Ifm not quite sure I can justify it otherwise.

Nagase Tomoya was really in his element in this drama, and I can see how, through the experience with this role, he was able to play Tora in Tiger & Dragon to perfection. I found that nearly all actors/actresses cast for the secondary characters were perfect – a rarity. My favourite character by far was Takeshi, played by Kubozuka Yosuke. He was brilliant and I was amazed at how flawlessly his could manipulate his character. Kato Ai really made me shiver, which reveals just how well she played the part of Hikaru. A pleasant surprise was the appearance of Koyuki. Ifve never seen her in such a role before and I thought she was great. Sakaguchi Kenji was brilliant (and really creepy), as was Watanabe Ken, who really made it hard for me to sympathize with his character. I love that.

The drama was raw and I loved how the plot folded out smooth before me. The directing was interesting and appropriate. It seemed to be an extension of the theme and purpose of the show. Thatfs hard to do, and it was done well. I really felt for the characters and I found myself understanding how the minds of the characters worked. Even with the surprising deaths of certain character, I found myself accepting them and agreeing with the actions that were then inspired.

On the whole, excellent drama and highly recommended.

sword_of_heaven · 30 Sep 2007

Pretty interesting... the series seemed to be the work of a spaced out director at first, but got focus later... and hilarious a lot of times... definitely worth a watch - and made me a fan of Nagase Tomoya, because he's a pretty good actor - despite the unusual hairstyle.

Other cast was interesting as well - I especially liked that gang leader. Or maybe its just my natural affinity towards weird characters :D

But well, I wasn't entirely happy with the way people kept getting chopped off and the way the drama turned out wasn't what I quite expected. I will give it an 8 however, because the rest of the episodes make up for my disappointment with how they executed the last few episodes.

himitsu-kun · 14 Aug 2007

I finished watching this drama last week. I thought for the most part it was very funny and entertaining. Nagase Tomoya definitely does a good job. Though it was never really explained why he could only get hard with Kana. Anyway in terms of storyline and what not, the first few episodes set up for disappointment because they don't really talk about Rika's murder til the end. Watanabe Ken was also pretty good but practically bipolar. G-Boys too! They'll look for you if you've been kidnapped, otherwise they'll threaten to beat you up if you don't give them stuff.

What really bothered me was the ending. Why is it always like this? Who the hell waits around for a 5 yr old girl to walk 10 meters with her hand behind her back to approach Takashi and stab him? No one saw the big ass knife? Its half her size not to mention the fact where she got it and how she got to the fight. And Hikaru jumps off a building. I'm fine with Takashi living, but c'mon...who here thinks it made sense for Hikaru to still be alive? It would've been a pretty good ending had she actually died. Seriously. It sucked the Shun got killed. Didn't really expect that and I was kinda disappointed.

I give it a 6, meaning its decent enough to take the time to watch. Its good enough til the last few episodes.

dekatrain · 14 Jul 2007

Personally, I believe this drama should be up in the top 10 dramas list, because it is a hard, no-balls type of drama which profoundly exceeded my original expectations of it. It is an excellent drama that combines a strong plot, with an excellent, star-studded young cast including nagase, kubozuka, kato ai, sato ryuta (who is a seriously underrated actor) - all of which can be seen here during the early part of their careers. This drama is never boring, and although some of the middle episode may seem like fillers, the end of the story is satisfying and realistic.

ninjavsself · 30 May 2007

This is definitely one of my fave doramas because it does not feel like any dorama I've ever seen. It does not feature any stilted romantic leads, terminally ill lovers nor any other cliche bullshit. It's just great characters and great acting and a fantastic directing style that fits the story oh so perfectly.

johnjeon · 5 May 2007

This just did not click with me. I enjoyed the direction and cinematography but the writing was very weak. Some of the characters were interesting and some of the humor worked nicely but the general plot made little sense. I guess I was expecting a bit more realism but much of the story seemed to take place in an alternate reality. Too many overly dramatic moments with no purpose; mostly a bunch of immature guys trying to act manly. I just couldn't much care about the characters and I really hope the police in Japan aren't as pathetic as they are portrayed here.

Tokumei · 23 Mar 2007

Some viewers seem to believe this is a gang drama, but actually this is an anti-gang drama. The leading character, Makoto, refuses to be a gang member despite threats and invitations. Makoto is not particularly smart (some viewers wrote he is gcool headedh), but his innate warmth and curiosity lead him into numerous gang-related troubles. The theme is serious (murders, gangs, extortion, drug, incest, poverty, sex industry, etc), but hilarious at the same time. Kudo-Kanfs multi-layering technique of comedy and tragedy works very well here too.
One translation error I noticed was in the scene where the young gang head, Takeshi, explains that his nickname gKingh was taken from gthe Reverend King (King Bokushi).h This is translated as gthe King of Boxing.h

Shindou · 3 Feb 2007

this was a very interesting dorama done very similarly in style to tiger & dragon and kisarazu cats eye. tomoya nagase definitely excelled in this role although i still prefer his performance in tiger & dragon over this one. the supporting characters, while endearing, don't really allow for much in terms of developing a real attachment for them. while the dorama had a single storyline tying the series together, each episode very much had an independent feel to it. overall, IWGP is a fun and decent dorama.

sucigam · 1 Feb 2007

Kudo Kankuro written dramas have always been fun to watch but I have also always felt that they lacked some focus. This being due to him making his stories creative above anything else. IWGP has been the first exception from this where you feel like the story is kind of all over the place and then the last couple episodes bring everything together BEAUTIFULLY, really it was incredible to see it all come together.

The drama was original from the direction to the music to the casting(amazed Sakaguchi Kenji could pull his role off, didn't know he had that in him). Although it stars a couple very popular Johnny's members, don't let that turn you off(or on if you are a fangirl) as this is totally a drama catered to guys with some brutal violence and crude humor(nothing beats seeing Koyuki participate in the sick fantasies of a gang leader).

This is the kind of show you need to watch once in awhile to realize why you started watching dramas in the first place, fantastic.

oberon · 16 Aug 2006

nagase tomoya, kato ai, yamapi, kubozuka yosuke, watanabe ken, morishita aiko, koyuki, satoshi tsumabuki, sato ryuta, oguri shun and many more. BTW is also a cool drama

G-coy · 29 Jan 2004

1st to last episodes,but the last i diden't even blink beleve it!

ladyelf · 17 Dec 2003

A very creative drama, with unusual plot and good acting. Some parts are also funny. I should have rated it 9, but on a personal level, I did not enjoy watching the show because it is too bloody to my liking. I have a hard time finishing it. I also want to comment that Yosuke's acting is fantastic, he is a very versatile actor.

Hiro Toyo · 14 Dec 2003

This drama is unlike the rest in it's storytelling format as well as its directing style. Definitely geared towards a younger audience. The direction of the story takes on turns as well. Creatively entertaining to watch. Although it appears to be headed in no particular direction, there is actually a well planned plot in all of this, and doesn't escape from the usual dramas of providing viewers with some form of morale issues and/or life lessons. Does a really good job of capturing today's youth in parts of Japan

cola_cherry · 17 Nov 2003

the issues in this dorama were very violent but very much real. the cast in this was incredible and most of the scenes were HILARIOUS. this dorama is not going to make you forget it very easily and i also would like to reccommend the special. VERY NICE......the cast in this were very well chosen

ahochaude · 17 Nov 2003

Very good drama! One of my favorites! Great pick of actors/actress' to portray the characters!

eirias · 21 Jun 2003

By far the best drama at my video store, IWGP was apparently so influential on youth culture that they were unable to make a sequel due to the massive number of gangs that sprang up modeled on the color gangs in the series. The source novels are fine, but don't hold up to the drama; credit must be given to directors Tsutsumi Yukihiko and (uh, I so can't find his name, but he later directed Kisarazu Cat's Eye) and screenwriter Kudoh Kankurou, who also wrote the movies Go and PingPong.

princess · 14 Jul 2002

I totally love dis drama, eventhough it is quite violent, wiv blood abd stuff, but i hav 2 admit dat the storyline is veri gd... there's a little bit bout love, friendship , basically a bit of everything... it bases on the teenagers nowadays...totally recommend!!