Good Luck!!

I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting much from this show at first. I was just scrolling through Netflix and wondered what the show would be like so I decided to check it out. Boy am I glad I did!

I had no idea what to expect at first but I was hooked by the end of the first episode. The characters are fantastic. Even the ones you don't think you like end up growing on you. In a way the show kind of feels like a live action anime in all the right ways.

The show also does a great job of showcasing Japanese culture and the different way they look at work. It's quite interesting to watch from that perspective too.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this show but I will say if you aren't interested in the show after the first episode, you probably won't be interested in the rest of it. That said, if you are interested, you're going to be in for a treat.

Having achieved his life-long dream of being a pilot, Hajime is first officer on an international jetliner and is now working to become a captain. But he can't seem to please Captain Mizushima, who has become an exacting taskmaster since an air incident many years ago. To complicate matters, he begins a relationship with stubborn and straight-talking mechanic, Ayumi, whose parents died many years ago in the plane crash for which Captain Mizushima feels he is responsible. What follows is a story of 21st century love, dreams and passion. This is a very good drama and is on the top ten J-dramas on Jdorama.com At the moment it is number 6. This was the first J-drama I've seen and one of the best!

This was a much better drama than I first thought. With its vintage video patina, it presented almost as a cheesy, daytime soap. However, the quality of the cast soon dismissed such a notion. Takuya Kimura in the lead had a lot of presence. It was an underplayed performance but that leant it its credibility. The biggest role went really to ANA ... All Nippon Airways. A ten hour commercial (!) but the producers got such a good deal with incredible access to the maintenance hangars. If you're an aviation geek you'll get a great kick out of stripped down engines, close-ups on landing gear and even an exposed APU!

Apparently this originally was a TV series in Japan and was set in a time before smoking was banned in public places, so it makes it a little dated. But the story grips you from the beginning with the dour, bullying Auditor, Kodak, giving young trainee pilot Shinkai a hard time and being very petty. The story develops from there and is very much a tribute to its strong cast - with excellent acting across the board. The plot engages you from the beginning and the storyline is strong and even tense sometimes. Very occasionally it shows its TV series origins and strays into being a little soapish, but never for long and is quickly rescued by the strong acting. You will grow to love all the characters and girls will undoubtedly swoon over Shinkai (who is rather a hunk - and I'm a feller! 😁). Definitely worth a watch and a rare 10/10 from me.

One thing that is left after the credit title of "Good Luck" fades is that a great popular entertainment does not depend on the popularity of the stars. A 'feel good' series, despite the fact that it starred some of the most popular names in J-dramas, "Good Luck" demonstrates a great ensemble of all elements of 'good movie' working in harmony.

Takuya Kimura – iconic as he is in the landscape of J-entertainment- is a genuinely talented actor oozing with potentials. Although Hajime Shinkai – his character – is not what you would call a 'multi-layered' character, his portrayal of this highly spirited aspiring young co-pilot is genuine and credible. Kimura was able to avoid the pitfall of portraying this straightforward character as a comical, two dimensional character, instead, Shinkai is presented to the audience as a genuine, credible and quite honestly, lovable person.

Kimura's co-star – veteran stage actor Shinichi Tsutsumi (One Missed Call, Drive) only adds more credits to this series. Tsutsumi's character – Captain Kazuki Koda – a too serious senior pilot and eventually Shinkai's mentor – is a more complex character. There are more layers to Koda's character than Shinkai's character and as Kimura was able to add more depth to his two-dimensional character, Tsutsumi was able to portray perfectly all of Koda's multi-layered character. I would say that if Kimura was excellent in his role, Tsutsumi – almost stealing the show – was outstanding. He communicated Koda's grief, fear and shame through his eyes and facial expression – just enough, not exaggerated but very effective. I would say pay attention to Tsutsumi's facial expression while he was talking to Shinkai in the last cockpit scene of the final flight.

The pairing of Kimura and Kou Shibasaki as Ayumi is quite striking. At first I thought that the two does not have enough chemistry on screen, especially because being familiar with Shibasaki's cult movies record (Battle Royale, Kakashi, One Missed Call) I ridiculously thought that she was 'too mean' looking for Kimura. It turns out that she was perfect as Ayumi, a girl character that is refreshingly not the so-typical 'submissive office lady' type of J-doramas. Although I still think that she has more on-screen chemistry with Tsutsumi, probably because both have worked together previously.

Hitomi Kuroki is casted as senior Cabin Attendant Noriko Togashi, Koda's ex girlfriend. While her character is not really prominent, Kuroki is also fun to watch, at first I did not really recognize her as Yoshimi Matsubara, the distressed mother from Dark Water.

"Good Luck" might be supported by great names of J-movies, but its success as the best dorama in 2003 is not because of its stars, but because the stars were really able to show their star quality in working together to make this an effective, fun, interesting, worth-watching after hour fun.