JAPANESE DRAMA DATABASE: Fire Boys

Fire Boys

[Synopsis from Fuji TV): Daigo has survived six months of hard training to become a firefighter. Right after his graduation ceremony, he rushes to Medaka-ga-oka High School, because he can't wait to tell Shizuka, his former homeroom teacher, that he has finally become a firefighter.

It was Shizuka who recommended that Daigo become a firefighter. When Daigo was still small, he was miraculously rescued from a disastrous fire. Since then, it had always been Daigo's dream to become a firefighter. However, in high school, he had forgotten all about his dream and had no idea of what he wanted to be when he grew up. That was when Shizuka reminded Daigo of his dream.
Daigo gets assigned to Medaka-ga-oka Fire Department, which is located in his hometown. He heads to work with great expectations, but what Daigo sees is far from what he had in mind. The Fire Chief Hajime Gomi, and the rest of the crew seem to be far too undisciplined for firefighters.

As a rookie firefighter, Daigo gets dispatched to put out fires at schools, houses, and save cats stuck on roofs. Working with Hajime and others, Daigo acquires the knowledge and skills necessary for the job. He also learns about teamwork and how difficult it is to save a person's life. Daigo's colleagues are the rookie Shiro, fire truck driver Mahiru, Mitsuru, Hikosuke, Hiroshi, and paramedic Jun. At first, Daigo acts alone without thinking, and is seen as a trouble-maker. However, his instincts as a firefighter are exceptionally sharp, and he soon gains the recognition of his fellow firefighters.

Fire is not the only thing challenging Daigo in this story. While he still has feelings for his first love Shizuka, Mahiru and Jun are also on his mind. Daigo's rival Shiro seems to be after these women too

[Excerpt from Daily Yomiuri, Wm. Penn, January 15, 2004]: Even Fire Boys was not as bad as expected, although it will be of sustained interest only to those who have never seen a "konjo" drama before. This genre has been absent for a few seasons, but it features a dedicated young person displaying fighting spirit, grit, determination and tenacity as they persevere to overcome all sorts of adversity and hazing in pursuit of their goal.

In this case, Daigo Asahina (Takayuki Yamada, recently of Water Boys) is initiated into the world of firefighting and struggles to achieve his long-cherished dream of becoming a top-rank firefighter. There is some interesting background info on the profession here such as the fact that women are not allowed to carry loads of more than 30 kilograms nor can they go into burning buildings as Daigo does in his first professional firefighting venture. Supposedly, real fires were set for these scenes but
they were very well-controlled and they may dangerously mislead the public.
If anyone thinks they could scamper through the flames for as long as Daigo
did in episode one without severe injury, they are in for big trouble. But if you have never seen a konjo drama, Fire Boys will be a good introduction
to the genre.

CAST: Uchiyama Rina, Yamada Takayuki
THEME SONG:
STATION: Fuji TV
DURATION: January through March 2004
REVIEWS:

Recommendation needed