Os Bastidores de Um Time Profissional Que Você Não Pode Perder!
Apesar de não praticar nenhum esporte e não entender nada da maioria deles eu sempre tive uma quedinha por filmes de esportes desde criança. Gosto da disciplina e força de vontade que os esportes exigem, principalmente nos esportes coletivos como basquete, futebol, rugby, beisebol...Talvez este drama possa não agradar ao público mais jovem mas se você gosta de um drama maduro, com um enredo envolvente, personagens interessantes e um ritmo consistente Stove League NÃO pode passar despercebido do seu radar, você precisa incluí-lo em sua lista e se deliciar com esta pérola de K-drama.
O que torna este drama tão peculiar é o seu foco, o ponto central não são os treinos e o jogo em si. A base de tudo aqui é a parte administrativa por trás do time, as questões políticas, aquele mecanismo escondido que poucas pessoas se ligam que existe. Afinal, por se tratar de um time profissional de beisebol isto também é um negócio. Achei genial este enfoque.
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Stove League conseguiu manter meu nível de interesse do começo ao fim sem me cansar, o enredo se desenrola de forma empolgante e os episódios são muito envolventes.
Sem fazer esforço para me conectar com a história eu já me encontrava ansiosa pelo próximo episódio e muito curiosa para saber qual seria o próximo passo deste novo gerente muito charmoso - que agora tem um espaço em meu coração. A maneira como ele trabalha é extraordinária, dedicado, inteligente e com um objetivo claro em alcançar suas metas foi super fácil gostar de seu personagem.
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Interessante como todos os personagens foram importantes para a trama, não teve nenhum personagem que estava ali só para preencher um espaço vazio, todos contribuíram para que a história se desenvolvesse bem. As atuações foram ótimas e a fotografia agradável de assistir.
Resumindo:
Não sei quanto a vocês, mas eu sinto saudades de alguns dramas...sinto saudade de acompanhar o desenvolvimento da história, o desenrolar dos relacionamentos e também de alguns personagens. Este K-drama com toda certeza é um desses, já me encontro com saudades desta equipe e do gerente encantador. Super apoio uma possível segunda temporada!
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Alguém deve ter me visto comentar por ai, que Janeiro foi um mês muito complicado na minha vida doramática. Parecia que nunca ia conseguir encontrar um drama que me agradasse para assistir, e olha que tentei muitos que estavam na minha listinha, mas infelizmente não conseguia "sobreviver" aos primeiros episódios deles por nº motivos.
No entanto, quando estava prestes a desistir dessa complicada procura, Stove League apareceu mais uma vez na minha frente e devo dizer que foi uma grata surpresa.
Me apaixonei desde o primeiro episódio e quando me dei conta, já tinha assistido todos os episódios lançados até aquele momento e entrei naquele clubinho dos que esperam ansiosamente a legenda sair.
Portanto, vou terminar essa introdução agradecendo imensamente por esse drama existir kkk.
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UMA CONVERSA SOBRE O DESENROLAR
Um drama já começa bem pra mim quando: além de achar a história muito interessante e os personagens muito legais, mal consigo esperar para ver o que irá acontecer a seguir.
Por isso, em termos de ritmo essa história se manteve muito boa durante todos os episódios, sem cair na mesmice ou reduzir meu interesse no meio do caminho.
E olha que isso tem se tornado cada vez mais raro de acontecer comigo, já perdi as contas que quantos dramas começaram bem e depois acabaram perdendo o sentido, reduzindo assim o meu interesse de continuar drasticamente, embora o abandono ainda seja raro no meu vocabulário.
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A TEMÁTICA
A temática de esportes sempre foi uma das minhas queridinhas, mas embora eu já tenha assistido muitos filmes desse gênero, não encontrei muitos dramas que tivessem esse foco específico, o que é uma pena!
Tem algo nos esportes que me cativa, talvez seja essa mensagem de superação pessoal que eles conseguem transmitir, algo que você alcança não só com talento, mas com muito esforço e dedicação contínuos.
E embora esse drama não tenha nos entregado muitas cenas do time de basebol jogando, conseguiu passar muito bem essa mensagem, através de todo o esforço que a equipe técnica teve para conseguir melhorar o time e resgatar sua péssima reputação com os fãs.
Esse era o principal foco do drama, e foi sem dúvidas muito interessante ver as coisas que acontecem "por trás das câmeras" em um time de basebol, os detalhes técnicos e como toda a equipe se esforçava para transformar o Dreams em algo melhor.
Sobre o enredo e o roteiro preciso dizer que a história foi muito bem contada, não existiram eventos sem sentido ou jogados por ai, e nada foi deixado de lado sem explicação. Os personagens em geral foram muito bem desenvolvidos e ganharam o destaque que mereciam. Tive a sensação de que mesmo os personagens de apoio tinham um motivo de estar ali.
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AQUELES QUE ME ENCANTARAM
Antes de falar do protagonista, quero falar sobre esses dois maravilhosos personagens que me encantaram: a Lee Se-Yeong e o Han Jae-Hu.
A personagem: Lee Se-Yeong é a líder de equipe de operações do Dreams, ela é a primeira mulher a liderar uma equipe de operações de beisebol profissional.
Ela é exatamente o tipo de personagem feminina que mais gosto de ver, isto é, uma mulher com uma personalidade muito forte e determinada que demostra a todo momento como ama sua profissão.
Gostei muito de ver como ela sabia lidar muito bem: com o temperamento frio do protagonista, com jogadores e o restante da equipe também.
Já o Han Jae-Hu é aquele menino fofíssimo que te faz amar desde o primeiro momento. Tem toda uma controvérsia por trás de sua contratação para a equipe de operações do time, por causa daquela velha história de conexões, mas o mais interessante de tudo isso é ver que ele soube contornar muito bem o preconceito inicial que a equipe tinha sobre ele.
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A ESTRELA DESSA FESTA
Preciso dizer que as atuações dos atores nesse drama estavam muito boas, não tenho do que reclamar. É "chover no molhado" dizer que o Namgung Min atuou muito bem em Stove League!
Afinal, esse monumento de homem sempre consegue a proeza de me fazer gostar de sua atuação e ficar cada vez mais apaixonada por ele mesmo que eu não goste do dorama em si. Por isso mesmo que ele está lá naquele meu rol de oppas que tem um lugar especial no meu coração de fã.
Voltando ao assunto, o protagonista Baek Seung-Soo foi um show a parte nesse Kdrama, eu amava seu jeito meio cínico e antissocial no trabalho, sua personalidade responsável e ao mesmo tempo super protetora com as pessoas que ele gosta, sua garra e determinação para transformar o time em algo melhor, e como ele mesmo diz: "faço o que for preciso, mas nunca venderei minha alma".
Além de ter toda uma filosofia sobre: "não trabalho com humanistas".
É sempre muito bom ver alguém com coragem o suficiente para pegar um time que está na lanterna do campeonato com o objetivo de transformá-lo em um time campeão e é justamente essa a proposta inicial do nosso querido protagonista.
Logo nos primeiros episódios, já conseguimos ver como ele demostra sua competência para com o Dreams, mesmo que não o basebol esteja fora de sua zona de conforto. Isso mesmo, ele foi contratado como gerente geral de um time de basebol, mesmo sem saber de todos os intermináveis detalhes técnicos sobre o esporte.
Mas, ficou evidente que sem dúvidas ele tinha muita experiência com o cargo de gerente-geral, pois que todos os times que pegou para gerenciar se tornaram campeões.
Seu currículo era muito diversificado, já que antes de trabalhar com basebol ele gerenciou esportes totalmente diferentes como: handebol, hoquei no gelo, luta profissional coreana.
E é nesse ponto que eu gostaria de chegar: fiquei muito curiosa e intrigada sobre o passado do protagonista, já que desde a sua apresentação, sabemos que ele conseguiu transformar times fracassados em campeões em pouco tempo.
No entanto, por algum motivo que desconhecemos, logo depois todas as equipes que ele trabalhou eram dissolvidas, mas não vou contar o motivo para não soltar spoilers aqui.
A postura inicial dele foi totalmente diferente do que as pessoas esperavam. Ele já chegou fazendo todo tipo de mudança no time, trocando jogadores, expondo pessoas corruptas e demitindo funcionários incompetentes.
Além disso, preciso dizer que todos os embates que ele tinha com a equipe e com Kwon Kyung-Min, me deixavam estranhamente animada e empolgada e por quê?
A razão desse sentimento é que não eram discussões sem motivo, ele se mostrava sempre tão inteligente e nunca modificava nada sem uma razão específica.
Se eu pudesse resumir tudo isso em uma frase certamente diria que: Era como se ele estivesse jogando uma partida de xadrez, onde cada alteração no sistema do Dreams era o movimento de uma peça específica.
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O INIMIGO AO SEU LADO
Vou aproveitar que citei o diretor executivo do Dreams ,Kwon Kyung-Min, no tópico anterior para falar sobre ele aqui.
Tenho que dizer que ele era aquele tipo de personagem que me fazia sentir uma vontade incontrolável de bater nele.
Demorei um bom tempo para conseguir entender o que estava por trás das ações desse indivíduo, já que embora ele tenha contratado o Baek Seung-Soo para tornar o Dreams um time campeão todas as suas atitudes sempre iam na contramão disso.
A medida que a história avançava, comecei a pensar que ele era como: "um inimigo que morava ao lado", já que parecia que ele nunca gostou de basebol e que seu único objetivo de vida era: implodir o time, até que não restasse mais nada kkk?
É evidente que no final da história descobri o porquê de tudo isso e naquele momento percebi que na verdade, ele não passava de um pobre coitado que se sentia acoado e vulnerável diante de seu rico e inescrupuloso avó: Chairman Kwon Il-Do. Mas vocês descobrirão tudo isso assistindo, não vou me aprofundar nesse ponto...
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FINALIZAÇÃO
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Para finalizar preciso dizer que gostei muito do final da história e que esse foi um drama que me deu uma imensa dor no coração por ter terminado, é um daqueles dramas para ser apreciado e por isso mereceu toda a panfletagem que fiz nessa resenha.E ai ta esperando o que para ver essa maravilha de Kdrama? Assiste lá, depois volta aqui para me contar como foi sua experiência doramática.
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This drama.. Where do I begin? Phenomenal acting aside (which, I mean, look at that cast, they did fantastic), the story was amazing. I saw so many people saying that they knew nothing about baseball but were still enjoying the show. Why is that? Because the show isn't actually about the sport, it's about the people. What made this drama so great was that it was heavily character driven. You don't have to understand the mechanics behind baseball management because you understand the basics: if the characters get what they want, you're happy for them, and if something bad happens, you hurt for them. Each one of these characters were so special, and the writers--round of applause to the writers, folks--were able to take characters that you didn't care about or that you actually disliked and made you root for them. That is skill right there. The bond between the staff and the bond between the baseball team were addicting. And the twists and turns, and watching them build up this team from nothing was so thrilling! And to top it all off, there were some really great messages woven throughout the drama.
I'm going to miss these characters so much. I know it's a hopeless dream (pun intended lol), but I would love for them to make a season two.
10/10 would recommend.
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It has one of the best varieties of different characters representing different viewpoints. The supporting cast is not just a background for the main character to shine. They all have individual stories to tell that are well incorporated into the main plot. As much as they are shaped by Baek Seung Soo’s decisions and actions, he himself is also affected by people around him. It’s an amazing group dynamic that makes you care for every and each character.
For a drama focused on the sport, it deals with a lot of different, important topics like: women in positions of power and workplace, nepotism, disability, patriotism, family versus work. All in a really natural and not “in your face” manner. This way you can enjoy the depth of the story without feeling lectured and patronized.
The cast did an amazing job in bringing these characters to life. While I’m not the biggest fan of Nam Goong Min, I loved him in the role of Baek Seung Soo and I could not picture any other actor playing it. While at the beginning Seung Soo was a bit mysterious of a character, and it was not easy to figure out his motivation, as we progress more into the story, we can discover how gentle and simply good of a person he is.
I also truly enjoyed how much of a loser the main villain was. He was not this powerful, all knowing, smart and cunning mastermind. He was a power hungry man who was willing to give up his integrity to keep the social status he was able to achieve. Extremely scared, extremely cowardly, extremely desperate.
It had its fair share of character development, making me, by the end of the drama, love a character that I despised at the beginning. We see a truly natural and gradual change in our main character, as he slowly opens to people and is willing to let go of his fears and struggles.
Overall, I thought it would be a sure drop from me, and I gave it a chance only because I adore Park Eun Bi, and yet, I enjoyed every second of it. The strongest point of the drama is for sure the amazing cast and set of main and supporting characters. I fell for more than one character and will come back to at least rewatch some scenes from time to time.
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What else can I say about this drama? This drama was such a masterpiece. This was my first time watching a non-romance sports drama, which was probably my least-interested genre for a drama. I wasn’t that interested in watching this drama, but their achievement from winning the 56th Baeksang Awards as the ‘Best Drama’ made me more and more curious about what’s new and different from the rest of the nominated dramas. Most dramas I’ve finished watching has a rather boring first three until four episodes. But, Hot Stove League is different, the first three until four episodes were triggering, making us mlre and more interested in the upcoming episodes. The casts were awesome, their acting were all excellent. This drama mainly focuses on friendships and the management strategy for a losing baseball team, and by watching this drama, we could always learn to always strive for something eventhough it may seem impossible.
Overall, a 10/10 wouldn’t be enough to rate this drama. I’ve been blown away by amazing scenes and amazing acting that was shown in this drama. We hope to see Yoo Min Ho and other baseball players (with those awesome visuals hehe) again if possible. THANK YOU WRITER-NIM AND ALSO ALL OF THE CASTS FOR DELIVERING SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DRAMA. ⭐️
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A simple yet addictive drama
I never believed that I would love this series so much. Just started to watch this only because of Nam Goong Min and the first two episodes were never my cup of tea. As I'm not a baseball fan I thought this series would be too much for me. But I was wrong. This gave me a complete insight of what I'm seeing and never felt confused in any episode. At the same time, this is not a simple sports story where we would get to see the worst team winning the league miraculously with a single guy's effort. It dealt with everything that a manager needs to handle in a sports team but in an interesting way. The side story of the players, workers and the General Manager blended very well with the story and I love how each and every character is unique.After first few episodes, I doubted that this will deviate into what trauma that ML had and some office romance between ML and a colleague but this series never took that beaten track and gave a nail biting story in its own way. I love how it never felt episodic despite it has many side story lines.
The Main thing I loved in this series is how they explored most of the characters in this drama. They didn't simply explore the leads but also many side characters and I love each and every character development. Most importantly those character developments never felt preachy in any way. I began to understand the characters I hated at first and I loved the realistic choices that certain characters took.
Being a fan of Nam Goong Min, I will remember his role as Baek Manager for a long time. Though I started watching this for the sake of Nam Goong Min's acting, fell in love with the whole Dreams team. Seeing the entire Dreams team was surely a breeze.
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For those that prefer comedy to destress this may not be great but whenever the Dreams achieve a goal you feel like you have achieved one too. The greatest underdog story in a while.
Please give it a try Nam Goong Min never disappoints and this screenwriter is a gem (one to keep for the ages)! Lots of Love (just finished watching on V-Day).
DramamaRamama 35/35 on the MC scale.
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A hidden gem!
This drama hits all the right notes. Folks who trivialize saying 'this is Moneyball version of K-drama' are grossly downplaying the depth of this show. There is so much happening in each episode. The first episode instantly sets-up an intriguing plot and every episode unravels something interesting or tackles a deep rooted issue.Although its set against a Sports (Baseball) backdrop it isn't simply a Sports story. Please don't turn away thinking its a Sports drama. Infact there is hardly any on-field action through its 16 episodes length. It focuses more on the management side of the team and the problems that pop-up after years of under-performance. Along the way you may even pick up few useful tips on topics such as negotiation, presentation skills and general management.
What I loved:
- Great storyline (unusual and unlike anything I have seen before)
- Fantastic acting (Namkoong Min is a Korean treasure, however he was aptly supported by Eun-bin Park and others)
- Good explanation of important Baseball stats (on Viki) and not dumping lot of numbers on our face (easy to follow for a novice like me)
It's a pity so few people have watched this drama. It deserves much more recognition and love.
Go Dreams!
P.S. There is no romance in this drama. Just so you know ;)
It also won the Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Drama for the year 2020.
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At the surface the story seems very simple this failing baseball team gets a new manager that will help their performance, but it was so much more than that. We were introduced to a variety of topics that were dealt with in such a delicate and believable manner. All the adversities that this team went through, I felt so connected and like I was going through them as well. This story is told with a lot of small problems getting resolved with the overarching issue. This type of storytelling helped with the connection to the characters as the characters that I hated in the beginning I grew to love. There was a stretch of episodes that I cried for every time. I felt a strong connection with each character, while many dramas make it hard for you to even like the leads. The only thing that I would have liked to see more of in the story would be a deeper exploration of the women’s lenses in this drama. I do feel like we could’ve used a bit more cohesive development for our female lead.
The acting in this drama was very well done. Namgoong Min is a great actor. He does a really good job no matter the character. Pair that with a strong script and you really couldn’t go wrong. I decided to watch this drama initially for Park Eun Bin because she is someone who I enjoy a lot. I thought she did a good job with what she was given. Oh Jung Se was also quite believable with his character. I felt the range of the emotions that he gathered whether it be humiliation, shame or a bruised ego. The side characters all did their job very well, but naturally, my future baby daddy Chae Jong Hyeop, stole my heart with his dimples. I LOVE YOU BOO.
There is no romance in this drama. At least not in the traditional sense. So if you’re in the mood for something romantic, this is not the drama for you. Instead, if you want a truly heartwarming and diverse story that explores themes of nepotism, disability, loss of a child and more then give this a try.
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don't put Hot Stove League on the back burner
I seem to be on a Namkoong Min binge lately, as i just finished Chief Kim and watched his episode on I Live Alone not too long time ago. I can't help but to compare his character in Chief Kim and our GM Baek Seung Soo, who can't be anymore different but at the same time gives off those heartwarming vibes.As a non baseball fan, i literally know nothing about baseball and simply put my trust in Namkoong Min and decided to give Hot Stove League a shot, which I am definitely glad I did. There is a lot of baseball terminology thrown around but you don't really need to pay too much detail into it (i did google some out of pure curiosity though). The story follows the ups and downs of the back office of the worst pro baseball team in Korea, ironically called Dreams. Our new GM BSS has a golden thumb, who is able to bring various sports teams to first place, just to fall to their demise and disband. For this peculiar skill, he is hired by the parent company of Dreams, who has been wanting to dismantle this failing investment of theirs. For his tragic past and his peculiar career record, BSS believes his actions or simply, he, himself is the reason for the demise of everything he touches, whether it be personal or work related.
Going from Chief Kim to BSS, I just want to give BSS a giant hug. He carries the responsibility for everyone and everything on his shoulders, all alone. His time at Dreams, our lonely GM learns the importance of forgiveness, letting go, and second chances, and of course, the importance of a team. In our stove league world, i only hope BSS would be able to smile more going forward.
At the beginning, our strong minded operations manager, Lee Se Young, seemed to be the sole survivor that continues to work at Dreams with a burning passion. I love how she does not take any smack from anyone who reminds her that she is a female in this male concentrated workplace. Her fond childhood memories of spending time with her father watching the Dreams play is what keeps her going. To me, this was no surprise at all but for some reason was unspoken until the very last episode in the last 15 mins. There were many mother daughter scenes that I actually thought did not hold any importance. To me LSY did not have much of a character arc or story because from the very beginning, she was always very well rounded.
I think the character that had it a little too easy was the Head Coach. He is a man of very little words and if i may dare say, a coward. His inability to lead his very divided team of coaches was a major reason for the team's downfall from their glory days. Deep down I know the Head Coach is wise and has very good intensions, which you can see from how he was willing to blow the practice game in order to help Minho get over his slump. However that time at the police station and the trade situation, he chooses to simply keep quiet time and time again. At the same time, I understand very well that in life, the path less traveled by is definitely easier said than done but I hope he learns that there are many people who care and are willing to listen with open ears. Of course explaining your situation does not excuse your actions but it gives someone the chance to understand and possibly even forgive.
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It’s a homerun!
That’s exactly what happened - this drama knocked it out of the park! I might be 2 years late but better late than never. Being a fan of Nam Goong Min while recently having developed an admiration for Park Eun Bin following her dazzling performance in The King’s Affection, and coupled with the immensely positive feedback, reviews as well as recommendations of how good this is, it’s a no-brainer. What better way to kick-start the new year than with a justifiably top-rated production.In baseball terminology, the “hot stove” refers to the Major League Baseball offseason, particularly the time around the Winter Meetings when free-agent signings and trades are most prevalent. Hence the title Hot Stove League and the premise of the story, which takes viewers along an absorbing odyssey of redemption and glory with an underachieving South Korean pro-league basement team, the Dreams. Central to the narrative is the newly appointed General Manager, Baek Seung Soo, who has no prior playing or management experience in baseball. Assisting him in this capacity is the fiercely loyal and dedicated Operations Manager, Lee Se Young.
Directed by Jung Dong Yoon, who later garnered even wider acclaim for helming It’s Okay to Not Be Okay a year later, and based on an original screenplay by Lee Shin Hwa in what has been his only drama credit so far. Park Se Jun serves as music director. Principal photography took place in Incheon and Hawaii (for the California segment). The home stadium of real life pro-baseball team SK Wyverns, Munhak Baseball Stadium was used as the Dreamers homeground. Hot Stove League won best drama at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards while Nam Goong Min won the Daesang at the 28th SBS Drama Awards, among a host of accolades achieved by the production team and cast in 2020, particularly for the categories of direction and screenplay.
What I Loved
Truth be told, for me the initial 20 minutes or so of the first episode feels a little dry and less than captivating. It looks like the typical SBS TV production with the depiction of an ongoing baseball match that appears somewhat confusing, perhaps attributed to too many characters being introduced along with the sudden exposure to the technicalities of the game being played. HOWEVER, the story progressively builds and eventually gains enough momentum that by the second episode, I become completely and hopelessly hooked. Although not possessing extensive knowledge about baseball - the rules, technicalities, terminology and the context of the South Korean league- I do have a general awareness of the team management and business aspects of sports clubs in general, having followed many other international sports in competitive leagues. This definitely helps to reduce the initial culture shock and in enhancing my appreciation for the plot.
Hot Stove League is one of those rare dramas that is both character and plot driven. The plot isn’t merely about a team of underdogs “being saved”, in the mould of typical sports-related stories. There are countless details and sub-texts imbued in the storytelling that involve what happens behind the scenes of running a professional club or the wheel-and-deal nature of player trading. In addition to the sport itself is the business context that features numerous boardroom battles. The multifaceted power as well as team dynamics feature conflicts and rivalries in various forms - among players and the management team; between players, coaching staff and back-end operations staff; even among the owners themselves and finally between competing clubs. There is literally so much going on with a myriad of intriguingly complicated characters who demonstrate an abundance of unpredictability in their trajectory to the final outcome of the story. This drama certainly isn’t lacking in curve balls being pitched into the plotlines as well, pun intended.
The most important ingredient of the drama and the key factor that holds all these elements together is the ML himself. Everything revolves around him where he is the true catalyst that sparks the entire drama to life. From the nuanced characterisation to the inner workings of his shrewd and strategic thought process in reviving a failing franchise and attempts at resolving neverending crises, while struggling with personal turmoil from the demons of the past that continue to torment him. The elaborate storytelling is utterly fascinating and riveting!
Nam Goong Min. What a sublime and exceptional actor he is and his performance here is nothing short of a tour de force of what we have come to expect of him yet incredibly never ceases to amaze me. I’ve always enjoyed his captivating roles over the years but his portrayal of the Dreams General Manager, Baek Seung Soo shall no doubt leave an everlasting impression on me. His qualities have always been a bit of a trademark that only he can project - that languid style of speech, the mannerisms and body language, the conviction of the acting, the artistry in his extensive range. All the hallmarks are apparent even in his recent transformation for the spy drama, The Veil. This is an extremely hardworking, intense and extraordinarily talented actor. Despite the entire cast doing well in their respective roles, Hot Stove League wouldn’t be the same without NGM at the forefront.
Park Eun Bin is my second reason for watching this and she doesn’t disappoint. Although no one can take away the plaudits for NGM’s leading role, she holds her own quite well as a supporting character that very much contrasts her take on a crossdressing monarch in The King’s Affection. Energetic and inspired as the first female Operations Manager in the baseball industry, Lee Se Young. This is a remarkably versatile actress who convinces every time in varied portrayals and settings. Also deserving of mention is Oh Jung Se who appears again on my watch list after last year’s Jirisan. His role as club chairman Kwon Gyung Min is compelling indeed and his approach for tackling one of the more complex characters in the drama is one aspect that I truly enjoy, in addition to the rather tempestuous nature of his interactions with NGM’s Baek Seung Soo.
The drama features countless familiar faces littered throughout either in minor supporting roles or guest appearances. The more impactful presence comprise Jo Han Sun as Im Dong Gyu, Ha Do Gwon as Kang Du Gi, Yoon Sun Woo as Baek Young Soo, and Lee Yong Woo as Robert Gil. There is even time for a surprising cameo from Lee Je Hoon in the last episode.
The production quality is quite decent where the camerawork and editing for the baseball games sequences are well executed. Hawaii provided more than a few breathtaking vistas during the California scouting arc, particularly through the use of aerial cinematography for a sweeping shot of the countryside. The soundtrack features five tracks ranging from the upbeat intro theme to melancholic vibes.
Lee Won Suk 이원석 - Cue Sign 큐사인
Kevin Oh 케빈오 - Mind
Oliver 올리버 - As the Cold Wind Passes 찬바람이 스쳐가며
Kim Tae Hyun 김태현 - Another Day is Passing 하루가 저물어 간다
Savina and Drones 사비나앤드론즈 - DOWN
Final Thoughts
There is much to love about Hot Stove League. Regardless of what I would consider as minor flaws in production quality which could have been better executed, there is no detracting from what has been truly justified plaudits for this drama. Now that I’ve seen it in its entirety for myself, I absolutely concur with the majority of the mainly positive reviews. It may not be a masterpiece, but it certainly is very close to being one. What a great start to the year with a fantastic drama!
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Honestly, stove league was not for me. I didn't get entertained, and a few of the stories kept me interested. However, taken in consideration that maybe it wasn't my cup of tea, I'll review it without taking that factor in mind.
So, the story was interesting, as they presented the way the team was trying to get the Dreams, aka their baseball team. The stories were mostly humane, and the fact that they didn't add any unnecessary romance to it was a delight. The performances were really good too from all actors and actresses of the cast. The pace, presentation of the sports and training process, as well as the poster, were nailed to perfection.
So, seven out of ten.
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