Yay for Pride! It’s a first-rate steamy romance; no wait, it’s a first-rate inspirational sports drama. No wait, it’s a bit of both and somewhere in the combination is a half-hearted attempt to tell a new and unique story… no wait, there’s nothing new or unique. But if you A) Like a decently spun romance, or B) like Japanese hockey, then this is the drama for you. Pride sets off with some pretty decent story-telling, and a couple of nicely charismatic actors. Initially I was watching this thing for Kimura Takuya, who plays hockey-player extraordinaire Satonaka Halu. He’s your standard rom-com lead, romantic yet insecure, and to cover up his insecurities, he hides behind the ‘Pride of the Iceman.’ I think that has something to do with being awesome on skates, padded up like an Eskimo, and generally being able (and allowed) to bowl over any man who gets in your way. Equally impressive as an acting force, however, is Takeuchi Yuko playing Murase Aki as the girl left behind… by another guy/jerk introduced halfway through drama. Here’s the rub: Halu was warned never to sincerely love a woman, lest it interfere with his career; Aki is technically still waiting for her boyfriend to return (after a two year hiatus – and these people obviously don’t believe in phones). So in the meantime, to stave off loneliness and generally have fun, they’ve agreed to date until Aki’s boyfriend returns, and then they’ll part amicably as friends. Maybe… As a sports drama it’s honestly not too bad. Keep in mind, I’m not a huge sports junkie and I’m not generally fond of the genre, but I’m also not completely averse to seeing hot guys working out. Did I have any genuine anxiety that maybe the team wouldn’t play well in the finals, or that every player would become injured and remain crippled? Not really. Were the slow-motion sequences of pucks magically sliding towards the goal net cheesy? Yes, sort of. Did I really care one way or the other? Nope. As a romance story, it’s above average with a touch of good chemistry, some fairly hot kiss scenes, and then some… And really up through the halfway mark, I had nothing too bad to say about the development of the couple. Unfortunately then we’re hit with your typical dose of angst, stupidity, and a serious lack of communication. I give a pass on this, ignoring the random bits of ridiculousness. (For a more indepth analysis, you can visit my blog). I watched this mostly for the romance and for Kimura and I was not terribly disappointed with either. I’d also like to see more of this guy in the future, so I think Pride was far from being a waste of time.