In my heart John stated that he was going to post a review so I’d love to get his thoughts but here’s my quick ones, which are not truly spoiler-heavy
It was a bit jarring at the pace of this series. It was VERY slow in the beginning with more focus on any other character possible than Dump.
The relationship between Dump and her mother ebbed and flowed and I guess could be portrayed as a real life relationship but also led to some plots that felt “fake”.
The relationship between Dump and her sister was the most jarring and far from ordinary. I understood it, but it quickly became a punch in the throat.
The relationship between Dump and Chigusa Nagayo felt a bit…manufactured and if that was a real-life event then damn, Dump should have opened her mouth early into her friendship.
The matches were all this weird haze of shoot-style matches where I feel they didn’t tell the viewer that it was known who was going to be the winner…except there were times in which the company seemed to be stumbling over their own feet and not discussing outcomes…and that there was this very weird crux of wanting to have “pure” wrestling while acknowleding that having TV slots were important. I understood it all but also didn’t understand it at all.
The “Dump” years were so damn jarring that it had me thinking I missed something important. Even her “debut” didn’t truly have any wink to the viewer that everyone was in on it. Especially going form weak and meager and unable to finish a match to literally THE FIEND. There were scenes where they wanted certain functions to be scripted but also many where it seems they were just “calling it on the fly” and that hurts my head as they also had many scenes in which they were smartening up the wrestlers in which they needed to work together. Just all over the place!
Final note: I just read that Jaguar Yokota is perceived to have been one of the greatest wrestlers of their era yet I feel they treated her like a scrub in the show…or more specifically a person who didn’t compare to the MAIN characters (though she was the champ). I wonder if they didn’t want to have too much focus on her.
Overall, I give this a 5/10 and think that they maybe had 1-2 too many episodes and treated it less as about Dump and more about the entire company. I understand the concept though: you never know if you’ll ever have another chance to discuss a topic in life so you just pile everyone into it. It truly weakened and convoluted the story though to me.
I’m only halfway through and am enjoying it thus far, but I definitely noticed your fifth point. There have now been several puro-themed media I’ve watched/played (the last Fire Pro story mode is a real example of this) where there’s a weird attempt to semi-keep kayfabe even while depicting the “real” training of a pro wrestler. You get weird half measure explanations like “you always give your opponent a chance to block a move because a serious injury could keep them off the road and losing money” or “being the best in-ring wrestler and always winning the match doesn’t make you as much money as being a star the company can’t live without”. It seems to match my (limited) understanding of the needle that Japanese wrestling media like Tokyo Sports tries to thread of acknowledging fans’ interest in legit, non-kayfabe elements of wrestlers’ lives, while never actually wholly breaking kayfabe as has long been normalised in US wrestling.
(Beyond this though, yes, the writing around the bookers often seems to totally mess this balance up and either gives the game away entirely or tries to do an eye-rolling worked-shoot thing.)
Appreciate the “light on spoilers” reviews. For some reason, I thought it was a documentary. Honestly, a little less interested now. But will still give it a try.
I’m doing a fair bit of research by going through some recent interviews with Chigusa Nagayo, Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano, to help sift through the lack of context or disjointed parts of the plot. Much like the Runaway Wrestler (about Mayu Iwatani), it’s more of a fictionalization of the life and times of the wresters, so while there are historical matches referenced in the series, there are some creative liberties, where it comes to timeline, order of events, addition of characters (like Lovely Yoneyama to address some of the more delicate issues like the hazing/bullying allegations from the time).
If viewers watch the credits far enough without skipping it clearly states: “This is a fictional story based on real people and real events,” which helps adjust the audience expectations. Unlike western films, where this would normally be displayed prior to the opening credits or cold open, JP formatting puts it at the end for both television series and movies-- and in the theaters no ones leaves until the credits are finished rolling.
Working on a stand alone video review for the site, it’s just taking some time to gather sources, watch/translate audio/video, and organize applicable cultural notes which will help make some of the points above make sense. Granted, I was born in 1979 and was in kindergarten/first grade when the bulk of this series was set. I just want to make sure I am doing my due diligence so I can do the review of the series justice.
Could you alert whenever you do review this? I’d love to hear your perspective. A chunk of me feels like this should have been a PBS series with historians instead of what is was as it just become so messy to me.
I was sort of looking forward to this cause I know nothing about these wrestlers or that era but when you hear that they are portraying the matches as shoots just roll your eyes and think you’re gonna waste your time watching nonsense
It is going to be announced on POST PURORESU next week, with recording currently scheduled the first weekend in October. On top of my NJPW review, PURO & Dream Slam Monthly-- next week was too busy and anything before that, didn’t allow for any time to research.
For now, try shutting off the wrestling fan part of the brain and try to view it through the lens of the casual wrestling fan or someone simply wanting to watch a historical drama. I think applying some suspension of disbelief might be warranted as it isn’t a PBS/BBC documentary, but an attempt to make a significant part of Japanese wrestling history accessible not only within Japan but internationally.
Think of it this way, the actresses trained at the MARVELOUS dojo alongside the rookies and wrestlers, so 99% of the stunts/in ring is performed by women who learned everything they could over the course of two years, while being trained by Chigusa Nagayo, who also consulted heavily on the show.
From what I’d heard/read/been able to find out-- some of the results were “unscheduled” or “open ended” to add to the drama when it actually happened. However, JP scene, especially at that that-- were seemingly more kayfabe that international promotions at time. I would recommend giving it a watch.
