Hachi-One Diver

Dive!

Japanese TV drama

Admittedly, I only followed this drama because of the lead. I was smitten by him acting all goofy and stupid. But hey, jdoramas are also viable media for fangirling right? Unlike Yamapi though, it was the first time I encountered Mizobata Junpei and checking on his wiki entry leads me to conclude that he’s relatively a new artist. He’s already earned a fan right here. Hehehe.

Hachi-One Diver is like an anime plucked from paper with real people acting the 2D characters. The title of the drama (which incidenatally is the a.k.a. of the lead) comes literally means 81 Diver. The name comes from the 81 squares of the Shogi gameboard and “Diver” comes from his game move. He, (figuratively and quite literally) dives in to Shogi and becomes one badass player. Shogi is like the Chess we know, only harder.

The plot is not that deep and well-thought out though it tries hard too. But this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t engaging. Nay, I was practically watching episodes one after the other because I was left hanging every time. If you know the anime Hikaru No Go, it is something similar to that. Interestingly, the elements of a tournament based anime has been successfully transposed into live-action format, complete with the amazing visual effects and exaggerated fits of passion to their game.

This drama is fascinating because it closely follows the genre of other highly successful anime series and the only difference is that there are real people here. Think Cooking Master Boy, think Prince of Tennis, think Slam Dunk, think Bey Blade. But this time, you can fangirl over a real boy. Get the drift?

Being a semi-otaku drama, moe moments were inevitable. Soyo’s Maid Version was intended. Moe moments: peek-a-boo of Mikuru’s cleavage, Sugata being smothered by Mukuru’s breasts, and everything Mikuru. If all countries had a Mikuru there would be no wars.

Of course, there were a lot times when I had to roll my eyes. Some embellishments were already over the top but hey, this is exactly the genre’s style.

I just found out that this is a midnight drama and not all midnight dramas are brilliant. But this one takes the cake, although a semi-sweet cake.

Verdict: If you want a taste of moe, go ahead and watch this. If you liked the animes I mentioned above then by all means watch this. But if you’re already tired of your childhood and hates nonsensical things, stay away from this drama.

Info
Leeched from: d-addicts
fansubs by SBK