At times like that we need friends who help us, who'll reach their hand out, who'll walk the difficult and hard path towards that faraway dream. Because sometimes you simply can't do it alone. And why should you have to, if you have friends by your side who are willing to support you?
If you ask me that's the main thought of the whole drama. People aren't born strong. When they're alone they'll often feel insecure and won't be able to do what they truly want. People are able to get stronger when they have the unconditional support from friends though, people who'll stand by their side no matter what. People who'll fight for them. Who'll bring happiness but also lighten the pain and sadness.
But what Tumbling teaches you is that those people, your dear friends, are also only humans. They will also get hurt, feel insecure, get angry, lonely or frustrated. They're also capable of losing hope or making wrong choices. And just as they help you, you should support them when they need it.
Tumbling is a really amazing and very touching drama. I am simply yet madly in love with it.
At first I thought the drama would only be about Tumbling itself and bullying but it deals with so much more than that, it honestly surprised me, in a good way. In my opinion the actors are the ones who make the drama as great as it is, every character has it's own role within the story and gets the opportunity to grow and change slowly.
Tumbling sounds like a typical sport drama but it's so much more than that. Besides the sport itself it deals with your normal teenage problems, insecurity, loneliness, violence, sadness but mainly about hopes, dreams and above all; friendship.
It's really hard for me to explain what I love about the drama without spoiling too much but I guess it's the way the characters develop themselves. Even though Wataru starts off as your typical delinquent, he turns out to be so much more. And not only him, everyone in the drama gets a moment to shine.
Even though there are cheesy or cliché moments I think the drama pulled everything off perfectly fine, the story is simple yet really touching at moments and the actors are all simply amazing.
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This drama actually got me into the manga, which is rather backwards...
Story - Each character has a backstory and /grows/ throughout the series (except the background characters that only have 7 lines in the entire drama) in a way that reminds me of a novel, almost. It shows that they were developed, 3-dimentional characters that seem all the more real because of those facts. This is major kudos to the writers and original mangaka.
Music - I never focus much on the background music in movies or dramas unless it sticks me as wrong for that moment. I do know that they used the theme song throughout the story, which was interesting because it fit in every moment they used it in, even though they were vastly different. this part comes with a warning; you WILL have the song stuck in your head for a good while if you watch the episodes in a few (1-3) sittings. However it's a good song, so I didn't really mind.
Rewatch Value - I've already rewatched this drama once, my favorite parts about a million times, and created stories in my head for when I'm bored and want to play with ready-made characters. (Can't tell I'm a writer, huh?)
Acting/Cast - Yamamoto Yusuke is really just the cherry on top, in my opinion. His acting skills are so great, and he covers so many different rolls so efficiently and /well/ in different dramas that its just inspiring. He became an actor I follow after Tumbling and, after a few more of his dramas, he became my favorite actor. He's just amazing.
I feel I have to mention the others (that way it doesn't become another of my Yamamoto-ramblings). They cast this very well and everyone fit the part and acted their rolls naturally. Some of the actors were better than others (the Mizusawa character faded into the background too well and was rather emotionless unless the situation called for extreme emotion) but none of them were 'bad' actors, just differing styles.
Really, really worth the time to watch, rewatch, think about, and drive that damn song out of your head until the next watching!
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Story: It's based on a manga with the same name by Mizukami Wataru. But, even though it's based on a manga, I felt that it's original because I haven't seen any drama or movie with tumbling especially when it's about men tumbling. Some arcs are better than others, but not one of them was horrible.
Acting: The acting was amazing & top-notch. I was crying a least once in every episode. Everyone in the team have friendship chemistry. I've seen Seto Koji & Yamamoto Yusuke team up in Atashinchi no Danshi before this & they are great together. This would be a great bromance couple. In AND, they have comedic chemistry. In here, they still have that, but there are some scenes where they argued & I felt that. Some people acted better than others, but the plot saved that.
Music: I love the instrumentals. Not all the music was memorable, but it was still good.
Rewatch value: I have rewatched this drama 4 times already & I still love it.
Why watch?: the comedy, tumbling, the bromance galore & a heartfelt & feel good drama.
I have so many favorite scenes in this drama, but I can't spoil here, so this is where I stop. When you do watch it, you won't regret your tears or laughs or your time. It's one amazing Japanese drama.
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Rewatching this drama (and especially the last episode) countless times helped me through a really tough time and kept me motivated to fight and not just give up.
At first I wasn't even sure, if I would make it to the second episode, because the first one is kind of slow. I also thought Wataru was a total jerk and I didn't like him one bit. I'm more than happy I stuck with it though, because this is a beautiful drama about friendship, how even idiots can turn out to be awesome people and how you can achieve even seemingly impossible things, if you're willing to work hard and fight for them.
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By the end of the drama Kiyama (Daito Shunsuke) was totally my favorite character! He doesn't really talk much,but you love his character anyway. Wataru (Yusuke) is really funny, he's loud and always says what he's thinking, but has a lot of heart and Yusuke played him well! And Koji plays Yutta the leader of the team, who keeps everyone together.
It's just a really touching drama, and BIG BONUS in my book is that it has a great theme song! I still love it and listen to it all the time.
You defiantly wont regret watching this drama. I've seen it from beginning to end about 3 or 4 times and re watched favorite scenes and episodes (like episode 4 and 11) more times then I can count!
Even if sport/team/friendship dramas aren't your thing you should at least give it a try anyway, you might surprise yourself.
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In the first few minutes I haven't expected much and I thought that Wataru is something like a producer. But after I saw that he is a more interesting character than I thought, I fast changed my mind.
Also Kiyama (my fav.) who doesn't seem to talk to the others . He looks like he has some secret.
Even Kaneko had an interesting story and Mizusawa who was just random in my eyeas had something I haven't expected at all.
There is also Satoshi, a nice guy who cheers everyone up, the amusing teacher Kashiwagi, and all the other great characters.
I just like the theme song: the music itself is great and the lyrics really match the story. The background music (Tumbling OST) is very good, it has sad and also funny melodies.
I never can see if the acting is good or bad but I suppose that it's also good.
Rewatch value: 10
I'm not the type who rewatches series but there are scenes I watch over and over, just like some episodes (the 1st and the 4th for example).
All in all it's a really good Drama and I highly recommend watching it. If you like romance you might be disappointed, BUT you can see the characters evolve, which is also very interesting.
I don't like giving a full score in all categories but I think I don't have a choice because in my opinion I admits it.
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The story - is great; ever since watching anime i`ve allways loved and admired guy`s bonds and loyalty towards friendship. I feel like they are more pure and honest than the girls. The fighting and the tumbling scenes where also good you can feel their feelings through them too. Acting/Cast - i liked the cast it really fit with the whole story and each of them played really good. The Music - it matched all the feelings they showed. I`m not the type to re-watch dramas but i have a feeling that this one i will. At the end i definitely recommend this to you guys.It`s a MUST see!! ^___^
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Though the plot seems kind of unrealistic I feel Yusuke and the other delinquents in the drama played their roles off well. I loved the whole cast. Especially Akira, though the story was mainly around the "kids" he played an important role as their mentor and I think he played it pretty well.
It was interesting seeing the actors actually attempting to do all the gymnastic moves. it showed how much effort they put into it. And they weren't half bad.
This is a fun but at times serious drama about teamwork, strength and friendship. It's one of those where you don't mind there being little to no romance if you love romance in dramas. I rewatch this drama from time to time and I never get tired of it.
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It made me cry, laugh and make me shout at my computer saying "SUGOI!"
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Just a premise here: I don’t even like sports stuff - even though I am super into dancing, so rhythmic gymnastic has a certain appeal to me - yet I still loved this dorama. I just loved the story and the characters too much.
Yes, certain things could have been developed better - I am looking at you, Mizusawa, Satoshi, Ryosuke... ok, let’s face it, any character but Wataru. I get that maybe they didn’t have the time to do that, still, you spend a whole episode on a certain character and their secret a/o backstory, and make a big deal out of it, and the next day is basically like NOTHING happened and it never gets mentioned again. It's a bit weird.
Anyway, while the plot feels rushed here and there, I still loved this series for the messages it conveyed. I love how the show it's about second chances. Wataru, Ryosuke, Nippori and Kiyama are "bad boys", each with a very interesting past that makes us understand why they are the way they are. On the other side, Yuta, Mizusawa, Kaneko, Hino and Satoshi are "normal guys" with dreams, disappointments and problems of their own. I love that we get to see inside their brain, pick their lives apart, while uncovering their feelings and motivations little by little. I feel like you can't help but love them all, in the end.
In my opinion, then, even with its rushed plot and its flaws, Tumbling is so good, so genuine: a great series about friendship and hard work that I would recommend to everyone, so grab the episodes and at least ten boxes of tissues and be ready to cry and laugh and let your heart be stolen by this show. You’ll thank me later.
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