Golden Bowl / ゴールデンボウル

Title: ゴールデンボウル
English: Golden Bowl
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Sports, romance
Episodes: 11
Viewership rating: 12.5
Network: NTV
Period: 2002 - Apr to Jul

Stars Kaneshiro Takeshi as Akutagawa Makoto and Kuroki Hitomi as Sakura Hitomi.





It's a cute story, and like ALL Japanese dramas, it had plenty of meat on it's bones to keep me hooked for the duration.

Even as silly a premise as this story was (a flagging Bowling alley in need of customers, a lonely, young man with a natural talent for the sport, and a feisty, married woman with personal issues), there was not one dull moment in Golden Bowl.

Akutagawa is an excellent, amateur bowler who spends all of his spare time at the Golden Bowl, and then Sakura Hitomi shows up, taking his Lucky #13 locker, and this is how the story of a 40 year old housewife and a lonely, younger stock broker unfolds.

I wondered about that #13 throughout this 2002 drama, and I asked aloud about it as the ending credits rolled. My patience paid off, but not the way I had hoped when, after the credits ended, they returned to that #13 locker, but nothing was said or done to give us an answer.

Perhaps the screenwriter wanted to dispel any notions about it being an unlucky number, as Akutagawa was extremely lucky throughout this drama?

Knowing a teeny bit about the leading man, I wondered about TK's internal feelings, and if his oddly sad nature had anything to do with his real-life experience with heart-break at having fallen in love with an older, married woman.






Honestly, I'm not as crazy about Mr. Kaneshiro as one might think, but I do agree with the millions of women around the world that he is one GORGEOUS male.

Just looking at him makes me wonder about things like his kissing ability, what does he smell like, how soft is his skin, and could he make my knees weak if he gazed at me with those sexy, doe eyes that always seem to hint at laughter?




There are plenty of funny moments, typical but not groaning moments, and the ever-frustrating LACK of human TOUCH moments in Golden Bowl.

I know it's not in the Asian psyche to show affection in public OR on screen, but I continue to expect the characters to EMBRACE at some point in these shows, and I continue to be thoroughly disappointed, too.




Like other great Asian dramas, there are a half-dozen characters in Golden Bowl, and each with their own interesting story to tell . . . yet nothing gets tossed by the wayside or detracts from the point of the story, which fascinates and impresses the heck out of me.

And, the young bodyguard with long, black hair drove me WILD, so I liked it every time he rode that elevator with his boss & hefy side-kick.

He was HOT!!

Bowling never appealed to me, and when I played my first game in my 30's, I did extremely poorly, but it was still fascinating to watch all of the strikes, spares, and interesting splits that occurred throughout this drama.

I wonder if it helped to bring people back to the bowling alleys in Japan in 2002 or 2003?

Hey ... speaking of splits, check this out ...





I couldn't resist getting a screen shot of this. (he he he)

The story aside, I watch mainly for the eye-candy, and Golden Bowl gave plenty of opportunity to stare, trust me.
































I'm in lust with TK whenever I watch him on screen, and then I go back to daydreaming about guys like So Ji-sub, Hideaki Ito, and Kim Nam-jin the rest of the time.

Like I said, Kaneshiro isn't in my top-ten list of hunk-a-licious Asian heart throbs, but DAMN what a face!

Sexy voice, too.

He manages to make me wonder, and that's always a good thing.