Once the series hits the point where the first meeting between Kinshicho Dojo and Shirokane Gym takes place, this drama becomes interesting. Kinshicho Dojo, of course, gets owned by Shirokane Gym in their first matches against each other. While the action is short, you get previews of what is to come. There is the set up of several rivalries that bleed into what happens in the second half of this drama, and the groundwork is also laid for a heel turn from one of the Kinshicho Dojo members.
When the initial matches end, the drama fast forwards to where the Kinshicho Dojo members are integrated into W.I.P. programming. A tournament is held to crown a champion of the organization. The bracket includes several rematches from the first battle between the two dojos and a few new match-ups that introduce other roster members of the Shirokane Gym. This is probably where viewers patiently waiting for extended in-ring sequences will have their wishes finally granted.
As I stated earlier in this article, you probably won’t get any 5 to 6-star matches when watching Tofu Pro Wrestling. You might be lucky to get a 0.5 to 1.5-star match. The tournament portion of this drama starts out feeling fairly predictable, and it appears that the final two competitors are a lock right from the start. A monkey wrench is thrown into the entire competition, making viewers reconsider who might make it to the end. Well, at least for a little while.
I found the members chosen to be heels looked to have better characters and a somewhat decent grasp of making their performances believable. Most of the faces lacked personality and fit into the white meat, clean-cut role. In particular, one had a bad gimmick that would only fit in the campy pre-attitude era WWE world.
Of all the members involved in this drama, Shimada Haruka seemed to be the one who looked like a credible Joshi pro wrestler. Her mannerisms and surprisingly okay ring work made her fun to watch in and out of the ring. Her matches with Matsumura, Kinoshita and Matsui were somewhat watchable regarding the wrestling aspect. The quick cuts and editing didn’t do the girls any favours, but what was shown was decent.
The faction she is part of also had pretty good chemistry. Sadly I could not catch the group’s name, nor could I ever understand what Yamada was screaming about every time she spoke.
