Fan reviews: Wonderful Life

pash · 22 Aug 2011

Finished watching "Wonderful Life", it wasn't great nor anything new, but who cares, I liked it...Sorimachi was the same old self , Hasegawa was ages better (both in looks and in acting) than in "Boss 2", and among the supporting cast I will particularly mention Yashima Norito, imho he was great.

ffdarknight · 4 Aug 2008

For someone that doesn't like baseball, I enjoyed the whole series. Nothing much left to say as most of the reviews gave this drama high ratings. It was funny, inspiring, and heartwarming.

"Wait - we haven't done anything yet." - Funniest line.

Eve · 16 Feb 2008

Really enjoyed in this delightful story. Personal growth and a reevaluation of life's priorities go hand in hand with PeeWee baseball and the major leagues. Sorimachi is very well cast as an obnoxious star who needs a reality check.

slashersam016 · 13 Mar 2007

Starting Takashi Sorimachi again. this time he's a baseball player, the best baseball player in Japan. but some events turn that around. now he must deal the life without the fame. once again Sorimachi delivers a great performance in this drama and also Kyoko Hasegawa. nice chemistry between these two. im not into baseball but in this drama i appreciate it a little. Samuel Samaniego of Quezon City, Philippines.

noodlefreak · 16 May 2006

the little kids in this drama were just SOOO adorable! But that aside...I found this drama interesting. Sorimachi is one of my favorite actors and I was happy to watch him play in this...I loved the ending theme song.

kanshu · 15 May 2006

Baseball star Akira Kurishima seems to have it all - a 300-million Yen contract with the Pirates, a large appartment in a fancy skyscarper, wife and son, and the reputation to be the "man who creates miracles"...

However, Akira Kurishima doesn't live up to his image. He's an arrogant person who thinks mainly of himself. None of his team mates like him, he doesn't care if his team wins or loses as long a she can make a home run, his fan mail ends up unread in the garbage, he throws out money faster than he can earn it, and on top of it he cheats on his wife and he badly neglects his son.

On the other side, there's the boy Sho, who loves Baseball and is a huge fan of Kirishima. He and his older sister, teacher Mizuki, live with their aunt and uncle in Momonoki, a run-down shopping district somewhere in the outskirts of Tokyo.
Sho's playing for a mini-league team called "Momonoki Jaguars". They never won a single game, but play with enthusiasm. When their trainer dies of old age, Sho writes several letters to Kirishima to become their trainer...

Meanwhile, Kirishima gets caught in the act by his wife when he cheats on her at his son's birthday. She angrily chases him through the hotel room. By accident, Kirishima steps on a piece of soap and falls down hard, injuring his shoulder so badly that he's told to give up playing baseball. But that's not the end of it - his wife divorces him, his son refuses to ever see him again, and on top of it Kirishima's contract with the Pirates doesn't get renewed. Due to his selfish behaviour in the past and his reputation as a troublemaker, no other team will hire him, either.
Worse comes to worse when Kirishima learns that his ex-wife got all his financial assets and debt collectors from a club in Roppongi beat him up.

In this dire situation, Kirishima receives the letter by Mizuki, offering him 500.000 Yen to train the Jaguars. He takes the money to pay off his debts, rudely telling Mizuki that the money was his fee for just showing up. But when he learns that his appartment got sold, he accepts the position of a trainer. Still, Kirishima hasn't hit rock bottom yet...

Opinion: This drama is marked by an exellent performance of Takashi Sorimachi and the rest of the cast members. The characters are believable and the plot is aided by a lot of subtle details in the settings and the body language.
Especially the interaction between Kirishima and his manager are worth watching; the scenes are well played by Sorimachi and Yajima.
Wonderful Life keeps a good balance between humor and drama. It focusses on how circumstances chan change people, and that sometimes life is unfair and just sucks... but that it doesn't mean we can just give up.

angel_87 · 28 Sep 2005

this is the kind of drama i knew my whole family would enjoy.
it's just a light drama with few touching moments. sorimachi sure know how to act in this drama. watching him in this drama reminds me of him in 'overtime'.

momoechan · 25 Aug 2005

I think this is the kind of dorama where you either love it or hate it. I love it cos I'm a Sorimachi fan and I think he did well in this dorama and it's refreshing to see him act as a selfish and inconsiderate father/husband.

The little children in this dorama are very adorable too. Watch it if you're a Sorimachi fan.

Lynn9 · 18 Jul 2005

can be considered as a good drama too..especially when Kirishima has transformed himself to be a better man...man with a heart..

kindoichi85 · 12 Jul 2005

Wonderful performances from Kyoko Hasegawa and Takeshi Sorimachi! Not to forget abt the young actors in the Jaguar Baseball team.. especially shou! Definitely a worthwhile watch!

Hiro Toyo · 31 Dec 2004

This is a typical dream come true type of drama. Kinishima, the main character, sets out on a journey towards discovery, whch leads to inner change, and he becomes a new self and changes the lives of the people around him in one way or another. It's fun and entertaining to watch, and I like the way the writers took this simple and fun concept and made the entire drama that way. There were issues and obstacles to conquer, but they never got tied down to it or let things drag. Kinishima is the typical male lead, with the girl liking him but he never lets it get to him or maybe he never noticed it, until the end, that is.
I think everyone did a great job here. I can see why viewers would make comparisons of previous dramas they've seen with these actors. But these are actors portraying these roles, and most of the time they're different roles, so it's unfair to compare them to past dramas. It's a totally different case, different directing, different settings, storylines, everything. Sometimes a role is a hit, sometimes it's a miss. Either way, it's the story and the roles that they play and weather they can play that role well or not that is important.
I admit however, there were times where I felt like Kinishima was Onizuka in GTO, although I am not sure if that was intentional or not!
Also, the drama got better and better towards the end, which made this drama better than expected.

pandora · 19 Dec 2004

A great baseball star suffers an enjury and can't play professionaly, a little boy writes to him to come coach their elementary baseball team, and his sister helps to make hetr little brother dream come true.

Great baseball dorama. Sorimachi overdoes it as usual at times, but Haegawa kyoko makes up for that. I find that you don't have to be really into baseball to be into this dorama. Its funny and endearing and a recommended watch.

chep ammar · 15 Nov 2004

i love this drama especially kyoko hasegawa. she make me eat my heart out.

juliana_phang · 13 Oct 2004

need not say much, this is 1 good drama.
worth the time, energy and money

takim · 26 Aug 2004

intresting.cool man

takim · 26 Aug 2004

I didn't finish yet.but best of dramas

Zie75 · 23 Aug 2004

I like drama that hero will not dominant everything. In this drama the lead actor have bad attitude but he change because of people around him, because he have no choice and he learn that famous without people respect is nothing and need to be a good team member to others. In real life the hero not necessary an angel...they might have a bad and good site of them. Love is not the main plot for this drama so if you kind a romantic viewer this is not suitable for you. I like the way leading actress fall in love with the lead actor...she like the brand new of Kirishima and she believe he can change his bad attitude...and she trust him. I wonder why Kirishima character did not try to see his son...such a waste...hope this drama will have 2nd session which stress more on his relationship with his son through his career. The other actors also give good peformance especially the childrens..they can act..not bad....I recomended if you like the motivational kind of drama...worth it to watch.

Kirari Ililah · 28 Jun 2004

I liked it because it showed a little team (Jaguars) earn help from a hero and became the best team in their city....I wish I knew the names of the actors who played elementary school baseball team, they're so ADORABLE!!! Sorimachi Takashi, was a good actor to play this role, seeing as he plays a stuck up baseball player well....

I LOVED Hirai Ken's theme to this dorama, it also would add the sorrow for the certain sad parts within the movie, as they're being played or re-shown in the ending credits....

Very funny at some point and then very sad on others...I CRIED....