Pride (TV series)

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Pride
Format Drama
Starring Takuya Kimura
Yūko Takeuchi
Country of origin Japan
No. of episodes 11
Production
Running time approx. 0:46
Broadcast
Original channel Fuji TV
Original run 12 January 2004 – 22 March 2004

Pride (プライド Puraido?) is a Japanese drama.

Contents

[edit] Basic plot

The show revolves around a coporate ice hockey team, the Blue Scorpions. The main character is Haru Satonaka (spelled Halu in the show), the captain of the team. Other team members are Yamato Hotta (the goalie), Makoto Shimaura (the rookie) and Tomonori Ikegami. In the first episode, we learn that Haru idolizes their coach, Anzai, who was a former hockey player. When he dies from an illness by the end of the first episode, Haru puts it upon himself to take care of his coach's widow, Yoko, and their young son, Wataru. The introduction of the team's new coach (Yuichiro Hyodo) does not go well, as Haru refuses to conform to the new methods, especially after Hyodo insults Ansai's way of coaching. This sets up a very antagonistic relationship between the two men. Aside from the hockey, another aspect of the show is the members' love life. Haru treats his relationships as games, refusing to fall in love. This is probably a result of his promise to Anzai to remain an "iceman", believing that a relationship, especially if children were born, would have a negative effect on his game. He believes he's found the perfect solution by starting a relationship with Aki Murase, an office lady from his team's corporation. Their "contracted" relationship is a game, as she is waiting for the return of her architech boyfriend in New York. However, she hasn't heard from him in 2 years, and she knows the relationship is over. Still, she goes every Sunday to a bridge to wait for him.

Yamato is in a conflicted relationship with Yuri Aizawa, a friend and fellow office lady of Aki. She is a self-confessed gold-digger, vowing never to live the same difficult life as her poor single mother. She believes that Yamato is from a rich family, as he was driving Tomo's car the night they met. He tries to tell her the truth, but she thinks he's only joking. He doesn't want to be in a relationship built on a lie.

Tomo is the playboy on the team. After finding out that he was the product of an affair, he rebelled, constantly throwing away the money his rich father gives him on friends and women. Usually staying with one night stands, he finds a possible partner in Chika Ishikawa, yet another of Aki's friends and co-workers.

[edit] Episode plots

[edit] Episode 1

The episode starts in the hockey arena at the start of a game. A group of office ladies (Aki, Chika and Yuri) are there to watch their corporation's ice hockey team. The captain of the team, Haru, is introduced as he talks with the other team's player before face off.
After the game, the office ladies, eager to meet guys, head to "Face Off", a bar where the team goes after games. Halu, Tomo, Makoto and Yamoto are there. We discover Tomo's playboy ways when a woman angrily confronts him. However, the boys quickly see the 3 office ladies at the bar. Tomo decides that Chika is his type, and Yamoto goes after Yuri. Halu is content to just watch at first, until he spots Aki. As she gets up to leave, he hurries over to some other team members, tells them the play and they rush after her. They pretend to beat him up, then leaves him in the alley alone with Aki. When she goes to check on him, he asks her for her email address.
The next day Halu visits his coach, Anzai, in the hospital. We are also introduced to Anzai's wife Yoko and his son Wataru. Coach asks Haru if he has a girlfriend. He seems worried that a girlfriend or starting a family would negatively affect his game. He quietly gives money to Yoko for the family, saying that she should tell Ansai it's from the company, to protect the coach's pride. After the visit, he sends an email from his car. We learn that he sent the email to Aki, asking her on a date. She is reluctant to go, as she already has a boyfriend,whom her friends believe will never come back. We learn that Yuri is waiting for a rich man, while Chika is more interested in having fun. During the conversation, Yuri replies to Haru's mail for Aki.
Meanwhile, the team meets their new coach, Hyodo, who used to coach in Canada. They get off to a rocky start when he criticizes the teams play, especially the way Ansai used to coach.
Haru and Aki go on their date, despite her trying to explain that her reply was a mistake. Haru points out their names, as Haru meets spring and Aki means autumn in Japanese. He takes her skating, where he ends up having to carry her. During dinner, Haru spots Yoko on what seems like a date with another man. He confronts her about it, and she says that it was her section boss and that she was having a difficult time coping with her husbands illness.
Aki and Chika are on a bridge. Aki has been going there every Sunday, waiting for her boyfriend to return. She reveals that she no longer believes he will come back, but goes there now out of habit. We learn why Yuri is only interested in wealthy men, and that Chika is aware that some people view her as "easy", but she says that you only get to live once. The girls then head off to the hockey game.
At the arena, Yuri is giving cookies to Yamato, much to the chagrin of his team mates. It seems that because he was driving Tomo's car the night they met, she has mistaken him for a wealthy man, but she leaves before he can explain. Tomo says that Yamato can borrow his car anytime.
Aki arrives at the game just in time to see Haru cross check another player from behind, resulting in a bench clearing brawl. That night, Aki goes to the rink to talk with Haru. He accuses her of being easy,like other girls. She shoots back that she has a boyfriend and that she was just worried because he looked like he was crying at the game. She storms off, dropping her company ID, which Haru finds.
The next day, Haru and Makoto go to visit the coach. Anzai convinces them to sneak out of the hospital to train. Anzai knows he is dying, and wants to spend his last moments with Haru. He dies watching Haru train.
After Anzai's funeral, Haru goes to Aki's apartment to return her ID card. She lets him stay after she sees that he's ill. He apologizes for his behavior the last time they met and says that he's sure that her boyfriend will come back, because he would, as it was hard to find a woman that let's you "recharge". He then spends the night on her sofa. The next day, on the bridge, Aki and Haru make a pact to have a no strings attached relationship, until Aki's boyfriend returns. He goes to kiss her, and when she winces, he kisses her on the eyelid.

[edit] Episode 2

The girls arrive to watch another hockey game, just as a player is taken away by ambulance. They are relived that its not Yamato or Haru. Aki watches the game in horror, and eventually shuts her eyes to the violence. After Haru scores, he spots her in the crowd. After the game, everyone heads to Face Off. Chika runs into Tomo and assures him that she's fine with their one night stand. Haru is being interviewed for a sports documentary, and when asked about his personal life, he introduces a shocked Aki as his mother. Meanwhile, Yuri and Yamato are in Tomo's car. He once again tries to tell her the truth about the car, but she interrupts by kissing him. Haru drives Aki home, where he explains that he was in a corner when the interviewer asked about a girlfriend and she was the only one there he could tease. Aki begins to doubt the wisdom of her agreement with Haru. He asks her to watch him next time, without closing her eyes, that it will give him strength. Then, he gives her his molar that was knocked out in that night's game.
Haru goes to visit Wataru and Yoko. He finds Coach Hyodo at their apartment. He is there paying his respects to Anzai. He used to know Anzai and Yoko, as he played with Ansai in university. Haru says he will look after Yoko and Wataru, because he doesn't want her to get involved with another man.
Aki bumps into Yamato at a cheap restaurant, and they end up having lunch together. He ends up lying to her too about his financial situation. Yamato asks why she's agreed to see Haru, even though she already has a boyfriend. Aki responds by quoting Haru, that he'd never been lonely. Yamato explains that Haru's mother left the family when he was young. Maybe because of being abandoned by his mother, his heart is frozen, an "iceman". Therefore, he treats love as a game.
At practice, Haru butts head again with Hyodo, who wants him to change his style of play. Haru attacks Hyodo, saying Hyodo was jealous of Anzai and warns him to stay away from Yoko.
Haru meets Aki at a video store after practice. Aki points out that all of the movies he's chosen have the same type of heroine, waiting patiently for their lovers to return. (Haru incorrectly describes the plot of Gone with the Wind here.) He also reveals that he's never allowed a woman to enter his apartment.
Yamato and Yuri are on a date at an expensive restaurant. She explains to him why she is so concerned with money.
Aki tells Haru about her conversation with Yamato. Haru denies it, and says he made up that story. He becomes a bit angry when Aki persists, reminding her that their relationship is only a game. They question each other about why they're attracted to each other. Aki worries it's because Haru sees her as one of the movie heroines, or as a replacement for his mother. Haru worries that she's like the other groupies. But, it seems Aki has struck a nerve, as Haru leaves her, saying he's not in the mood to watch them anymore.
Yamato and Haru are both breaking their self-imposed no alcohol during hockey season rule, as they nurse their wounds. Yamato is almost broke after his date with Yuri, and he's lied to her yet again. The two of them get into an argument and end up challenging each other to arm wrestle. Tomo shows up with Chika, as it seems the two are now dating. Yamato and Haru end up breaking the table, promptly spot Tomo, and ask him to pay for the table as they make up. Meanwhile, Aki spends the evening alone watching the movies she and Haru rented.
At the hockey game, Haru is doing as Hyodo instructed, but Hyodo seems disappointed. Yamato is injured when the other team charges his goal. While waiting for the doctor, he bumps into Aki who is rushing to the game. She explains to a confused Yamato, that while watching the videos she realized that she when she first started waiting for boyfriend to return, she was confident in herself, but as time wore on, she started to doubt herself. The videos made her remember her inner strength. While he didn't understand what she was saying, he tells the manager that he was sure they would win the game. Aki arrives as Haru is trying to break through a 2 on 1 defense. He spots her, and at first she looks away, but then she remembered what he said about her watching him play, forces herself to watch him play. He sees, forces his way pass the defense and scores the winning goal. As he thanks her for watching, she reveals she's holding his molar. She then beats him in to his "maybe" catch phrase.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Theme songs

Almost all of the songs in this drama were by Queen. "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions", "Radio Ga-Ga", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "Let Me Live" etc were used in this drama.

[edit] External links