Naomi Osaka (2021) User Reviews

What a Nasty Bunch Of Reviewers

[Mehki_Girl · 7/10 · 29 July 2021]

Wow, what a bunch of whining in the reviews.

One person goes on and on about what's lacking in this and then they say they're annoyed by her voice - she sounds like a child - and then takes a big,unfounded leap to babble she must have been sexually molested, because victims' voices stop maturing at the age of molestation.

WTH???

Did this person ever notice the way some Japanese women speak? Some of them talk in little girl voices. Duh. She speaks like the role models around her. Double duh. She's not American, where women are expected to run around with bass in their voices.

Then they whine about her introversion. Being introverted in an extroverted, opinionated, hostile, racist world with people coming at you, critizing you must be painful

Then everyone whines about the so-called BLM episode. She's half black and so's half her family. BLM to her. If you're so racist that someone says their and their families and friends matter in a country where it's never mattered, maybe you should check your racism. Whites lives mattering more than others didn't bother you one bit. White lives mattering was even written into the US Constitution and our laws. Again, didn't bother you. Hey over yourself. Change the channel.

No wonder this young woman had issues with so many vipers in the world.

Osaka, honey. You do you. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into her life.

A little too safe to avoid any controversies

[witra_as · 7/10 · 18 July 2021]

Adequate Netflix documentary mini series because we all know how introvert Naomi is. Garrett Bradley showed us a bit about her personal life and thoughts with certain career highlights to reach the top. Somehow it played a little too safe to avoid any controversies.

She should quit Tennis

[ryan-73340 · 5/10 · 31 July 2021]

How unbearable the high life must be! Here's a woman with no on screen / on court prescence and yet she winges about all her success. Imagine being an average Joe with everyday real problems. She complains about being in the spotlight and the 'mental health' issues that come with it. Then DON'T DO IT! Go work a 9-5!

Naomi Osaka is one of the most boring personalities out there.

Naomi Osaka, On Netflix, Is A Beguiling Marriage Of Tennis And Transition

[shefali-59244 · 17 July 2021]

In most documentaries, an individual finds redemption through a sport. The fragility of being human is accessed through the lens of winning and losing. But the most remarkable thing about Naomi Osaka is that, somewhere along the three-part docuseries, you can sense the sport seeking redemption - and evolving - through an individual. The futility of winning and losing is accessed through the lens of being human. This is the story of someone who hits the ball without playing the game. This is the story of the most important tennis player on the planet. This is also not a story, it's a state of mind.

Read the full review on Film Companion.

Her real self

[detail-98357 · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

This is a window for anyone to see what Naomi Osaka really thinks about herself and how she is struggling and doing to find her self. She was living under the shadow of expectations, but I believe in her and will be very happy to see her live, play and interact the way she really likes.

It was watchable

[bazookamouth-221-898097 · 6/10 · 17 July 2021]

She looks beautiful but kind of unusual being half black and Japanese. Doesn't seem to have to much charisma. Looked miserable a lot of the time. I bet her her parents were delighted when she hooked up with a broke unknown rapper. I had never heard of her. I know who she is now. All power to her. Hope she reigns supreme.

Not enough insight

[lindabrown-01437 · 2/10 · 8 August 2021]

I love documentaries on famous people. But not this one. There is very little insight into what makes Naomi tick, how her childhood might've impacted her feelings today and nothing on her feelings about anything that went down at the 2018 US Open. I want raw honesty and revealing true character showing through. This leaves more questions than answers. This was made too soon. It definitely needed to be made after the Olympics and possibly not for many more years - for the ups & downs of her life once she knows herself.

Good, but made too soon

[saesau · 8/10 · 18 July 2021]

I really liked this documentary. Definitely shows parts of Naomi's life we didn't know. Sure wish Kobe was around now to give her advice and support. I hope she's able to get back out on the courts regularly soon. She's an amazing talent. And the foundation she's built in Haiti could sure use her. Great to see her giving back at such a young age.

Donno why my intial review was deleted

[futureOscarWinnerLol · 1/10 · 3 August 2021]

I went into this documentary as a tennis fan, I watch all the WTA (women's tennis association) events. I watched Osaka win her first, second and forth slam live. Despite me not being a fan of hers i went into this with an open mind and man it was disappointing.

It seems this documentary is here to sell Osaka as a product and not show her as a person. The heavy focus on the BLM protest, a whole chapter is dedicated to that. It got more attention than her tennis career. They didnt focus on her struggles within tennis. E.g the media hype wore her out for me, she was built up to the the next IT girl then after winning the AO in 2019 she fell off the map for a long while. That would be an interesting timeline to explore. What really happened with her and how she bounced back. Osaka struggles on clay and grass surfaces, only has hardcourt titles, the film doesn't explore those struggles. For tennis fans it brings nothing to the table.

It is painfully clear that the first two episodes were an after tought and the BLM episode was the real focus. I am referring to it as the BLM episode because really nothing else is explored. Osaka said she didn't want to follow anyone else's blueprint yet many atheletes, not in tennis, do the same for the movement. It is not really a risk when the media and millions of people agree. It is just came across as someone being edgy. She said she felt her black card was revoked when she chose to play for Japan, comes across like she did BLM to fit in with the black community. If they had shown other stuff she is doing, other areas where she has a new blue print then it would have been a different story. I digress. The episode is properly structured, narratively coherent and heartfelt (this is coming from someone who is very critical of the movement). The pacing is good too.

The first 2 eposides are just a bunch of random footage stiched together with voice overs. I doubt they planned to make this when she won the US Open for the first time, which fine, so the footage of put together is not coherent. You go from videos from TV networks, to a third party filming during intimate moments (Osaka looks uncomfortable most of the time) to her own cellphone footage. It all bounces around with no clear timeline established - one minute she is at fashion week and the next she's with a sister in a car, it is hard to understand when each of these happened. I am not even sure if those two scenes happened in the same episode or a different one, these scenes are so random and interchangeable.

Why i gave it 2 stars instead of zero is because of the quiet moments. There is a scene where Naomi is drinking champagne after fashion week and is talking about getting drunk, if she would get drunk from the alchohol. She smiled, it was so lovely and genuine. Those are the scenes needed in this documentary. Showing you Naomi is. They do not have enough footage of that and rely on voice overs which don't give anywhere near the same effect. The BLM episodes had very nice moments like that, her with her sister, the father narrating etc.

If you want to see extra footage of Naomi Osaka this is the product for you. Those who want an indepth look at tennis look elswhere. People who want a proper structured viewing or are just interested in BLM should just watch the last episode.

Mental Health Documentary, Naomi Osaka

[nrgigaba · 9/10 · 21 July 2021]

The negative reviews this documentary is receiving is because mental health discussions are still uncomfortable to have in our societies. Naomi Osaka opens up about her struggles with identity, fame and being a tennis Grand Slam champion.

Naomi is vulnerable and lays herself bare, shares intimate moments with her family, losing her mentor Kobe Bryant and why she felt obliged to lend her voice to the Black Lives Movement.

It's a quiet and timid documentary. Do not expect to be mind blown because that's not the intention. It serves to enlighten and educate.

Expecting a better depiction of Naomi Osaka

[putneychick · 4/10 · 18 July 2021]

I watched this documentary hoping to gain a better insight to a young tennis player who is so successful and yet seems to display a lot of insecurities, that appears to make her miserable most of the time. Quite an enigma. Unfortunately, the documentary did not seem to provide a clear answer to why she is who she is today. Was hoping to see more of her family upbringing, talks with her mom, dad and sister but there was very little of that which could have helped to provide some understanding of Naomi's character and behaviour. A lot of scenes did not flow nicely and I was quite confused with what I was watching, for example, doing video shoots - for who, when? Osaka Foundation - that could have been dealt a bit more with her talking about this school for young Haitian kids learning tennis. The two coaches were interviewed. Why not Sascha Bajin , the coach that she was under when she won her first two Grand Slams which could shed a bit about her start in training for the Grand Slams? Maybe there was a real falling out which could explain his exclusion in this documentary. Nevertheless this could have provided some idea of why Naomi made that decision instead of putting out a statement that she cared more about her happiness above everything else, which in all honesty, does not say anything about the termination per se. Here I think there could be some more elaboration of why she did what she did as it was a decision that shocked the tennis world and it would show us who she is really right from the beginning of her tennis career. I loved the scenes of BLM protests - that was long enough to understand why Naomi did what she had to do. The last episode ended quite abruptly and I thought it was getting off to a good start in knowing more about her but I guess we will have to wait for season 2 then. Overall, I expected a more transparent documentary of who she is but it was merely snippets of a lot of many things put together, some nicely done ( love the videos when the sisters were playing tennis, BLM protest, Osaka foundation), some quite incoherently ( model shoots, advertisements, fashion show, scenes of her and her therapist done repeatedly while the TV is on), painting only a superficial picture of her whom we or maybe just me already knew right from the beginning when I started following her tennis career. I think this documentary in my personal view has not helped me in understanding who she is really. And maybe that is the question and answer.. she is on her own journey of finding herself and discovering her own identity.

Shows the stresses of pro tennis

[mikey79 · 3/10 · 31 July 2021]

Starts off quite interesting as it shows the stresses of playing top level tennis (or any sport really) but after a while, and this sounds terrible, but Naomi herself comes across rather difficult to watch - she's like a child almost and is incredibly insecure. Of course this isn't a criticism of her, and who knows why, perhaps something in her childhood which isn't properly explored. But it becomes a hard watch.

Great Documentary

[thenerdykid · 10/10 · 16 July 2021]

I think a lot of the user reviews are negative (rated a 1), when they clearly haven't watched it at all and just aren't a fan of Naomi. I saw one of the comments about this being a BLM documentary, but I think they failed to acknowledge that the episode containing the protests are more than that; it's a display of her finding her voice and courage, while also being proud of her heritage when she was viewed as a follower. I think this documentary shows strength and perseverance and how the relationships in her life, especially with Kobe, impacted her. Great documentary, and I'm glad that Netflix told the incredible and inspirational story of an even more exceptionally talented athlete. Even as a fan of Osaka, this is genuinely a good documentary and disregard all the negative reviews (reviewers are entitled to do so though); if anything, they are inaccurate.

Skates, Glosses thru-People magazine style.

[latindanceparty · 3/10 · 17 July 2021]

It says not too much about any real part of her life. The Serena debacle? Says nothing about. Even though she used this match to explain all her depression troubles. Don't want to offend another woman of color. That's says it all.

Why the negative reviews , this is her life story ?

[kenneth-butler-338-596453 · 10/10 · 19 July 2021]

The behind the scenes viewpoint was great , love this from Netflix and we know the story has not finished. Plenty more to come with more episodes in the future.

s.o...s.l.o.w

[rasketeer · 3/10 · 24 July 2021]

I don't know her but I wanted see her experience in her carrier and exploring her roots.

But i stopped after the first few minutes.

There is one spoken sentence every couple of seconds And it is not like something interesting is happening. I could watch her fingers while she was having a massage.

Naomi Osaka is a politician, not a sportswoman

[Binecunoscutul · 1/10 · 19 July 2021]

Naomi Osaka is a politician, not an athlete, a person with an oversized ego who does not accept the slightest criticism, she is a negative example for any young woman who wants to start a career in tennis.

What an amazing athlete at leader!

[katbkaliski · 10/10 · 18 July 2021]

This was such a great, in-depth look into her life. I felt like a fly on the wall. It is so personal and raw, and I even wanted another episode if they could have squeezed one out. I find her fascinating, and I like her even more after having watched this. Thank you for letting us in!

Naomi being depressed...

[gwensherman · 3/10 · 18 July 2021]

She said she was depressed since winning first US Open. That's most of this series. And why so few interviews with her team or other players? Can't Naomi be criticized at all?

Dislike tennis. Loved this story.

[dpoland-76589 · 10/10 · 21 July 2021]

I am appalled at some of these reviews and scores. It's a well done documentary that engages even me, an avid non-watcher and non-player of tennis. I was totally engaged and am a fan of the person Naomi. Watched the whole thing in about me sitting.

Pretentious!

[TruthSeeker4Life · 1/10 · 17 July 2021]

She gets paid millions of dollars, gets to travel the world, people adore her, and yet, she complains about how hard she has it, and refuses to do press conferences! Totally absurd! She is totally selfish and doesn't; think about her fans or the people who know about her, especially the kids! She sends the wrong message to the youth because they see her complaining about being famous, and having to do interviews, so if that is so bad, then it must be HELL for all the kids who don't have her wealth, fame, talent, etc etc etc! If she is so miserable being FAMOUS, and CHOOSING to documentaries like this one, but cannot answer a few questions to reporters, then it sure seems to me that we have quickly created a SUPER Diva out of thin air! She is not all that either, and she has a long way to go to be given so much attention for such a short period of success!

clay and grass season is over Osaka is magically not depressed

[SamuraiJackIsBack · 1/10 · 20 July 2021]

Just saw her cover for sports illustrated. Like it is the 3rd shoot she did after claiming to be depressed by the media. Even people who bought into her "it is the media's fault I am depressed' story are not believing her.

I didn't doubt she was depressed she just lied about why. Osaka sucks on clay and grass. Every year she performs poorly, although she was getting better. Seems fame got to her head as last year she didn't even bother to play the Roland Garros, French Open, or any clay tournaments. This year she skipped Stuttgart to "relax" even though she didn't play the middle eastern tournament, she had a whole month off... She had early exists in 2 tournaments before the FO. It is not surprising that when someone doesn't put in the hard work they produce poor results. She didn't want to hear from the press that she did poorly, didn't want to deal with the criticism so she said no to press. Now that hardcourt season is back she can do press and is no longer depressed.

Her team is a bunch of yes people. It's probably why she fired the German coach Sasch, because he wanted discipline and focus and she couldn't be bothered. It's not just her results on clay and grass that have suffered, her game overall has gone down. Eg her first serve percentage is worse, her movement hasn't improved, she doesn't use dropshots or come to the net. Just stays in her comfort zone. Won't be surprised if she won't win another slam, with players like Barty and Swiatek at the power is becoming less effective, they have to think and have variety.

It is really disappointing from Osaka, used to be such a fan of hers.

PS; the documentary sucks, couldn't get through five minutes of the each of the first episodes. Shallow and vapid with no substance.

This was the most uniquely tailored Doc/series I have ever seen!

[mastersoftheuniversealex · 10/10 · 5 November 2022]

In my opinion this was a hugely successful documentary on all fronts the story unfolds in an unusually organic way that is a unique and creative approach to a unique and creative athlete. They are both genre shaping and curious in this way elevating each other. Just the shear pressure and commitment of these two great black women and their contributions is enough for me. Glad to know them through this. The negative reviews seem mostly baseless as a few of them I read indicate the reviewer didn't even watch the whole doc. I could understand wanting to leave a review after spending time with a piece, just seems like they want to throw shade on this unconventionally stirring and elegant doc that seems to take on the shape of Naomi herself, in my opinion. I am very grateful to be alive to witness Naomi Osaka and the work of Garrett Bradley.

Woke Trash

[Gswillis · 2/10 · 18 July 2021]

Above average tennis player, adult child who pouts & throws a temper tantrum when things get uncomfortable. But in keeping with the vapid & empty character heroes of today's "worst generation" she will blame her failures on others and then proclaim from the mountains that she "overcame".

Loved watching it

[novamundo · 9/10 · 13 February 2022]

I think she is a very interesting character. She is shy at times, very smart, chooses her words with precision and is an absolute force on the field. I loved watching this documentary, which was really well made, and I am not even a great fan of the sport, so that says enough.