Orgulho (2004)

This drama introduced me to Kimutaku

-- I found this drama by the luckiest chance, with good quality in kissasian.
-- Then I became one of millions of fans of the sexiest Japanese ever, imho
-- In Pride, the kisses are real, not primary-school-pecks.
-- The pace is fast. Great editing,
-- I loved the plot, including the side stories which I rarely enjoy.
-- Since it's a sport drama, the story centers around the team, the main lead,
and also two other members as side stories. The music was by Queen , it
matched the scenes perfectly. I also loved the other background music.
-- My hook factor: non-stop watching
If you haven't experience Kimura Takuya yet (nickname kimutaku), I recommend this drama, or Long Vacation or Love Generation. I became a true fan, read all about his influence in 1990s and 2000s pop culture. I plan to watch more of his works, including Ando LLoyd, Asunaro Hakusho, and his famous Hero drama although it's not a romance.

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Best of J-drama

I watched this show because it's one of my boyfriends favorites and I promised him I would give it a try. I haven't watched all that many Japanese shows. I usually watch school romance movies, short and sweet. I have to say I was quite apprehensive going into this because the characters are more mature and I often think dramas that have things happen because "life is like this and when you experience it you'll get it" are too pretentious for my taste, and that's what I usually feel when I watch more mature shows. But I was surprised this show isn't like that at all. It does take some maturity to understand the dialogue and the complex situations the characters were in, as well as their flawed personalities and ever-changing mind.
The characters and the acting made this show for me. I thought that Haru/Halu was just going to be the typical cold and cocky male lead but there was so much more to him. I know that when I rewatch this drama I will discover more layers to his character! So attractive, charming, flawed and sweet. And Aki is just lovely. She herself said she was a simple ordinary woman and that's what she was, and the most impressive thing is that she didn't need any exaggerate characteristics to be memorable. I could rant for hours about these two and their relationship. I loved the progression of all relationships in this drama (not just the romantic ones!). I cried at a few scenes and some just squeezed my heart so hard I had to pause the episode and turn my attention away for a while. All the dynamics in this show are so heartwarming and... sincere. It was like I was watching a real story on a screen, which I hadn't felt about a Japanese show before.
The soundtrack fit perfectly and got me in the mood every single episode! You can't really go wrong with Queen, can you?
Now, I have a confession to make. No one can fight me on this but... Everything about Kimura Takuya is 10000/10 stars but this man on hockey equipment is something else... out of this world... the most attractive thing in dramaland EVER... If I could only stare at one thing for the rest of my life it would be Kimura Takuya giving that side smile and winking his eye wearing that hockey equipment! I said what I said! Technically this show would be a 9.5 for me, because there were some things I felt were a bit rushed or just not talked about enough or weren't clear but I can't give it less than 10 stars because of Kimura Takuya on that hockey equipment. I can't. And if you decide to give this drama a try (please do yourself a favor and watch it) you'll understand what I mean.
Overall, this drama is insanely modest and straightforward, while being sensitive and emotional at the same time. It describes human feelings really well and it had me exercising my brain and heart to try to feel empathy for some characters whose actions I didn't understand. It throws things at you that you might get upset about and have to make an effort to put yourself in the characters' shoes BUT it will always give you answers, sometimes within the same episode, sometimes many episodes later, which seems pretty realistic to me.
This goes straight to my top 10 favorite dramas of all time list. I got too attached to it for someone who finished all 11 episodes in less than 48 hours.

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Began this drama post fellow MDL'er's listing. Since I am NOT a sports enthusiasts this put me off YET the storyline and the ever manly KT (Halu) kept me coming back for more. The hockey part of the drama served as the analogy of life and the complications of friendships & love. The entire cast was awesome depicting their roles, especially chemistry of leads was always set on simmer - nice. The story, not new just a well portrayal of growth- boys to men & girl to woman through angst, love, pain, and forgiveness. The music: QUEEN need I say more! Queen music was perfect for this drama, by aligning to the two leads personalities. Watch again? Hummmmmmmmmm so much drama to see, but KT is a draw! Caution, the music will brain worm you - I was born to love you!

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This drama is my first time watching Kimura Takuya and definitely not the last since i became an instant fan! I like the premise of the drama: two people get into a contract that they will be lovers until the boyfriend of the girl comes back and game over to them! It is kind of a risky game but i admit i like the plot and how th egame has been played in the drama. I love as well that this is a sport drama where we find the lead guy wearing a jersey amd playing ice hockey as he leads Kimura Takuya is cute, angsty, hot, cold, kind, frank, tactless sportsman who just fell in love with an ordinary but smart, loving and caring girl! I love his glances and gazes, hie eyes speaks volume!

I love how the character of the leads progresses as well as the loveline. I love how they become friends at the start of their contract and then become so comfy until they realize they are falling in lvoe already. The chemistry is amazing. I guess they are comfortable with each other! They act so maturely!

The music is surprisingly great! Really going back to my teenaged years! It was so nostalgic to hear Queen's 8os song!

This is rewatchable, i actually re watch some of my fave scenes and episodes!

Overall this is something light to watch but it will surely entertain you.

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WHAT I LIKED

I KNOW ZERO ABOUT HOCKEY BUT IT WAS REALISTIC ENOUGH to make me cheer and it was very very entertaining !
I ENJOYED THE SIDE STORIES (it's a Hockey Team). I never skipped over any of them like I usually do :) Each tale/pairing had enough of a bite to hold my interest though I may have gently tapped the FF just to jog things along in places ;)

THE MAIN LOVE STORY was impressive. An Office Lady and A Pro-Hockey Star played out the angst and fear of falling in love at first sight when all the reasons why they can't and shouldn't have been a part of their personal circumstances for ages. If/When love happens, you really have no say in the matter right? This idea was portrayed very believably here.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
I would definitely give this an 8 if I hadn't found the ending to be a bit too crispy for my taste - Not saying crispy is bad - just saying too crispy makes it just that little bit stiffer, harder to bite into and takes away just that teeny bit from the overall enjoyment.

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Pride is considered to be one of the best Japanese sports based romantic drama. And, believe me, it really is that good to be praised so highly by dorama fans. The show feels like a 90’s Hollywood film, probably because of Freddie Mercury’s ‘I Was Born To Love You’, which is the show’s theme song. Since I have always enjoyed watching 90’s Hollywood films so for me this show was like a trip down the memory lane when life was less about text messages and chats and more about meeting people personally and spending time with them. So, let’s have a look at what makes this dorama so special and praiseworthy.

Good Weights
Plot: The plot revolves around a man’s Pride. Halu is a man who has had a tough life and has nothing but his pride to cling on. Hardships have hardened Halu so much that now he only aims for the best and despises anything that isn’t up to his standards. Throughout the show, Halu is shown to pick his pride over everything else. Even when he knows that he can stop the woman he loves from going to back to her boyfriend, he doesn’t do so because begging for love would amount to crushing his pride. He financially supports the coach’s family after his death only to keep his wife from marrying another man. He wants the coach’s wife to spend the rest of her life as a widow mourning the death of her husband since he knew how much the coach loved her.
I personally do not support such traditional thoughts. It is just that the dorama has beautifully depicted the importance of pride to a man.
 
Back-stories: Each of the important side-character has a back-story that explains his or her behaviour and choices in the show. For instance, Halu’s teammate Ikegawa Tomonori is a good-looking rich brat who lives life recklessly. He throws away money (literally too) on women and booze. People only know him as the rich playboy, who has no care in the world and will one day inherit his father’s business when in reality he is actually an illegitimate child of his father’s mistress and his father is ashamed of acknowledging his mother and him. To compensate for the lack of father’s love his mother gives him a lot of money to live a lavish life. He, however, is shattered by the reality of his birth and splurges money looking for happiness.
Every episode touches the life of one character and explains the reason why they are so passionate about ice hockey and how Halu plays an important role in their lives.
 
Bromance: Since this is a sports drama, there is plenty of bromance. You get to see the camaraderie that sportsmen share with their team. Actually, the one thing common in most sports drama is the bro code of ‘bros over hoes’. And it feels nice to watch men share such a bond with their friends.  

Romance: Halu is the man with a painful past and Aki is a sweet naive woman looking for love. He brings love like a challenge in her monotonous life while she brings warmth in his life. They complete each other and even when they do not acknowledge it, people around them can clearly see how perfect they are for each other. Takuya’s chiselled face and a muscular body make him the perfect iceman. While Takeuchi’s innocent face and soft voice make her the very lovable Aki. They effortlessly bring their characters to life. Together they share great onscreen chemistry.

 
Bad Weights
Slow Paced: The story progresses slightly slowly. Some scenes are dragged unnecessarily. But that is just a handful of them. The show is otherwise quite engaging.
The show has enough of good weights to be called a good dorama. I wanted a good romantic drama to keep me entertained over a rather boring weekend and Pride had me involved a 100%. Its soundtracks, story and cast were all put beautifully together. I enjoyed every episode of this classic Japanese dorama.

If you want to start watching Japanese drama’s do start with this one as its video quality and dubbing is much better than most other J-dramas. If you are looking for a good sports/romantic drama then Pride should be your pick as it seamlessly combines the two and brings you an almost flawless drama.

Originally posted on ww.alphagirl.in

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Me encanto!

Realmente comencé a ver doramas Japoneses porque estaba aburrida de los coreanos , busque y busque y no pude encontrar alguno que me convenciera , termine por elegir este pero pensando que lo iba a quitar al primer capitulo y vaya que me he equivocado . Fue tan bueno de ver , me sentí realmente emocionada capitulo tras capitulo , sentía una conexión con los personajes , como si no fuera una actuación , como si realmente estuviera viendo la historia de amor de un jugador de hockey . Las actuaciones enormes de los protas y la química que mantenían realmente me impresiono , sentí como si realmente se gustaran ,como si ni siquiera tuvieran que fingir la atracción .Estoy cautivada por este dorama ,y oh! ,su música mas que estupenda (escuchar ice man me encanta). Justo acababa de verla cuando a los 4 días apareció la noticia de que había muerto la actriz principal ,quede con un vacío porque era la primera actriz de la que me había enamorado por su sonrisa , espero y descanse en paz . Solo me falta decir que pasara mucho tiempo para que pueda superar este dorama . Gracias .

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[WARNING: the rating and review I give have the possibility to be subjective due to my preference for the genres, scenes or casts]

This is indeed an old dorama, but I still melted with KimuTaku's acting no matter how many times I've watched this ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ For me, this is the best dorama of him (^_^) MUST BE! ヽ(*⌒▽⌒*)ﾉ

The story is mostly about the ice hockey. I never familiar with that sport, so this dorama really interesting for me. The romance part tell how jerk (at first) Haru is and how naïve Aki is. Although they start their relationship in a weird and wrong way, but in the middle Haru is so sweet to Aki and open up himself to her.

The conflict came from Haru and Aki side, and quite complicated in my opinion. The solution, on the other hand, made complicated by themselves. But don’t you worry, in the end they all feel the happiness.

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Решила я отдохнуть от кавайной японской молодежи и посмотреть дораму со зрелыми актерами, тем более много слышала о Кимура Такуя. Плюс - здесь играет актриса, которая мне очень понравилась в Королеве ланча - Юко Такеучи.
Оказался очень нежный и трогательный фильм о любви. О такой любви, о которой мечтают многие и не побоюсь этого слова - вместе навсегда. Хотя поначалу и ничего не предвещало: ведь она ждет парня, он не "умеет" любить. Но мы снесем все преграды. Не об этом ли надо снимать кино.
Бонусом спасибо за саундтрек от Queen-ов, они были очень к месту.

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