# Pride (2004)

> A star ice-hockey captain and a woman waiting for her absent lover enter a relationship they both admit is only a game.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 11
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Network: Fuji TV
- Cast: Takuya Kimura, Yuko Takeuchi, Kenji Sakaguchi, Matsumoto Kōshirō X, Ryuta Sato, Saori Takizawa, Saburo Tokito, Yuriko Ishida
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416409/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, guarded, romantic, intimate

## Synopsis

Pride (2004) is a Japanese romance drama series created for Fuji TV, a single-season run of eleven hour-long episodes. Takuya Kimura plays Haru Satonaka, the captain of an ice-hockey team who treats hockey as the one thing he is willing to stake everything on, and who regards love as nothing more than a game. Yuko Takeuchi plays Aki Murase, a woman who has been waiting two years for a lover who went abroad. The two begin a relationship while openly admitting it is only a love game, and the story turns on the tension between that cool arrangement and the feelings it stirs. Supporting characters, including teammates and figures from each lead's past, are played by Kenji Sakaguchi as Yamato Hotta and Ryuta Sato as Makoto Shimamura, adding friction to the team and personal lives. Each episode is built from practice rinks, team rivalries, and quiet apartment conversations, with the drama growing out of people carrying their pasts and their individual pride into every encounter. The mood is wistful and emotionally guarded, with a romantic register that leans on restraint more than melodrama. Fans of Japanese romance dramas with sports settings, and viewers who like adult relationships built on pride and reluctance, will find resonance here.

## Shows like Pride

- [Love and Fortune (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/74338)
- [Good Luck!! (2003)](https://ember.film/tv/2035)
- [Sky of Love: Someone I love is there (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/8155)
- [Love Generation (1997)](https://ember.film/tv/4104)
- [Therapy Game (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/1105183)
- [MISS KING (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/201035)
- [Meet Me After School (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70977)
- [First Love (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/132434)
- [Matrimonial Chaos (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/44881)
- [Weakest Beast (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70711)

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