Mr. Rookie (2002)
"Misutâ rûkî" (original title)

Director:

Satoshi Isaka

Writers:

Satoshi Isaka, Takashi Suzuki

Stars:

Kazushige Nagashima, Mayu Tsuruta, Mitsuru Fukikoshi

3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kazushige Nagashima	...	Koji Ohara
Mayu Tsuruta	...	Yuko Ohara
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...	Yabe
Isao Hashizume	...	Segawa, Manager
Jun Kunimura	...	Yang
Shigeru Kôyama	...	Narita
Seiji Miyane	...	Junko's boss
Takeo Nakahara	...	Hiramatsu, Coach
Tadao Sato
Tamao Satô	...	Junko
Naoto Takenaka	...	Kazuo Koga
Shin Takuma	...	Egawa
Mirai Yamamoto	...	Noriko Kojima

Storyline

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

23 March 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Mr. Rookie

Box Office

Budget:

$4,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asahi Broadcasting, Dentsu Osaka, Descente

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Ad exec by day, baseball player by night.

Charming baseball movie - not unlike 2002's "The Rookie" in both feel and main character -- a promising pitcher who gave up on his dream of playing pro ball because of an injury. Ohara Koji is given a second chance at baseball and becomes the Hanshin Tigers' secret weapon out of the pen. He is dubbed "Mr. Rookie" by the team's manager and wears a spandex tiger mask to hide his identity - he still has his day job and family to think of. He soon becomes a media sensation, as he continues to win and the media try to find out his identity.

You'll root for Ohara and the Tigers, boo his arch-rival, laugh at the baseball in-jokes, and wish for a happy ending. The only nit to pick is that even for this baseball lover, some of the baseball scenes went on a little too long. (viewed at Cinequest - the San Jose Film Festival)