Original subtitles

[suspenseful music playing]

YUYA SHOZUI, 28 FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER

HOZUMI HASEGAWA, 43 FORMER BOXING WORLD CHAMPION

YOSHIO ITOI, 43 FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER

[music fades]

-[Goson] We're back. -[Yosuke] Déjà vu.

-[Goson] For sure. -Totally.

[dramatic music playing]

-[Yosuke] It's a little cold. -[Goson] It was warmer last time.

I wonder who's still in it. It's exciting, you know?

-Yeah, seriously. -So exciting.

This is gonna be intense, this battle.

-Right. -[Yu] Right.

-There were a lot of tough competitors. -[Goson] True.

[Yosuke] Oh! Who's this?

Hey there. Welcome.

-How are you doing? Been a while. -Long time no see.

[Tomoe] It really has been.

[Yosuke] Looks like we've got the soccer players and the ladies.

-[Eri] Right! -[Goson] All soccer players.

[Eri] Just the ladies and the soccer team.

-[Akira] Totally. -[Naoto] What?!

[Yoshito] Who is this?

Look who it is.

-How's it going? -Hey, everyone.

[Yoshito] None of us know who's coming.

[Yu] You didn't make it?

-The two of us left in a pretty sad way. -Yeah, it was rough.

[Eri] Really?

[Naoto] Honestly, it made sense.

[competitors exclaim]

[Yoshito] You were eliminated?

-[Yosuke] The studs! -[Naoto] The elite squad.

-You were favored to win. -That's insane.

-You were heavily favored. -[Akira] Look who it is.

-[Kazuhiro] Well, well. -Our team got beat.

-Our team lost. Yeah. -[Naoto] Your whole team?

I wonder who's gonna win this thing.

[Yoshito] Yeah, I don't know.

[pulsing beeping]

[female voice] Attention. We are about to begin the Red Stage.

-[Goson] I'm nervous just watching. -[Yosuke] Who'll it be?

[Sari] I'm feeling nervous.

Why are we the ones who are so anxious?

-Who is it? -I can't wait to find out.

-[Atsushi] Kenta. -[Akira] Yeah, or Itoi.

I really hope Kenta's in.

-[Ryosuke] There they are. -[Yu] They're here.

-[Atsushi] Wait, who is it? -[Yosuke] No idea.

-[Atsushi] Look! Hozumi! -[competitors cheering]

-[Eri] Who else? -[Kazuhiro] It's Shozui!

-Shozui! -[Kazuhiro] Shozui!

-Go, Shozui! -Look, there's Itoi!

[competitors] Itoi!

Let's go!!

[Kazuhiro] Crazy!

-[Masato] Really?! -[Naoto] Amazing!

-Hey, Kurihara's not there, is he? -[Kazuhiro] Yeah, Kurihara's gone!

[man] Come on.

[competitors exclaim in shock]

Oh man.

-[Sari] Takashi, what happened? -[Yu] He's injured.

-Nice. -Great job!

[Yoshito] Congrats.

Nice work!

-Thank you! -[Kazuhiro] Amazing job.

-[Akira] Well done. -[Kazuhiro] Is that a sprain?

-What happened? -A full sprain, yeah.

-[Akira] Oh man, that's rough. -It looks crazy, right?

This battle. All of them are absolutely insane.

-[competitors exclaim] -They overcame some crazy challenges.

[Akira] For real.

[dramatic music playing]

[music fades]

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] Attention. Round one will now begin.

[tense music playing]

Each round is 30 minutes.

Whoever pushes the goal button first will earn one point.

Each time a competitor earns a point,

their button will move one meter further away.

If the match ends without a winner,

everyone's goal buttons will move one meter closer.

The first competitor to earn two points will win.

The winner will claim 27 million yen in prize money.

At the sound of the buzzer,

begin Round 1.

[Yuya] One is a champion, the other superhuman.

Competing against these elite athletes

means that I must be more determined than ever,

even if I die trying.

[Hozumi] I wanna fight in a way that I can be proud of

and hold my head high.

Of course I'm confident.

I wanna give it everything I've got.

[music fades]

[beeping]

[buzzing]

[dramatic music playing]

[music intensifies]

[music stops]

[echoing drumbeat]

[dramatic music resumes]

-[music stops] -[Yoshio yells]

[Yoshio yells]

[dramatic music resumes]

[metallic impact]

[loud buzzing tone]

[competitors cheering]

-[Eri] Amazing! Unbelievable! -[Tomoe] That was incredible.

That was brutal.

[female voice] One point is awarded to Yoshio Itoi.

If he reaches the goal again, he will be the winner.

[breathing heavily]

[Hozumi] Yeah, yeah. I could feel Itoi's power.

He's incredibly strong.

I thought I might be able to stabilize if I could reach the holds.

But I couldn't…even get that far,

and it made me realize how tough this challenge was going to be.

[panting]

[Yuya] I could feel the difference in strength between the three of us.

But there was no way I would let it end like that.

[poignant music playing]

I didn't experience closure as an athlete.

I want another chance to achieve greatness.

When you were cut from the team…

WIFE: HONAMI

…you weren't sure what you were going to do next.

I stayed in Sendai instead of going back to Osaka.

-[Honami] Yeah, yeah. -And I joined a sales company.

That was such a challenging phase for us.

During that time, so many things happened

that worried you or put you on edge.

Sure, but I knew that somehow it would all work out.

I know you so well, and I think you're someone who works incredibly hard.

If you decide that you're definitely going to win,

then I have no doubt that you will.

I have so much faith in you.

Do your best. Okay?

I'm definitely gonna win.

I'll reward your faith.

Oh!

[Shozui] I can't afford to lose this competition to Itoi.

I need to defeat the superhuman.

I'm excited to be in the same room as Itoi.

[yells triumphantly]

[yells triumphantly]

[both laughing]

-[Yoshio] Your swing is pretty good. -Yeah, but I couldn't hit.

[chuckling]

With that much potential, I think you definitely could have gone pretty far.

[Yuya] Obviously, Itoi is a well-known athlete,

but I have to defeat him.

[Yoshio] Shozui comes from a baseball background, just like me.

But I'm a veteran player,

so a lot of pride is at stake.

I can't afford to lose to him.

[Akira] From here on out, it's all about endurance.

-[Goson] This is where it starts. -[Kazuhiro] This is so insane.

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] We will now begin the second round.

One point has been awarded to Yoshio Itoi.

His goal button has been moved to a new position

one meter further away.

[Kazuhiro] Whoa, crazy. This is gonna be tough.

[female voice] If Yoshio Itoi wins this round,

he will be the Final Draft champion

and claim 27 million yen in prize money.

At the sound of the buzzer, begin Round 2.

-[beeping] -[exhales forcefully]

[buzzing]

[dramatic music playing]

Come on.

[music intensifies]

-[music stops] -[Yuya grunts]

[dramatic music resumes]

[strains, yells defiantly]

[grunts]

[music stops]

[dramatic music resumes]

[music fades]

[female voice] Five minutes have passed.

[all panting]

[competitors exclaim]

[Koji] Yoshio!

[grunting]

[Yuya] I was barely hanging on. My right arm was saving my life.

-Shozui's too far off the ground. -[Tomoe] He's too upright.

He has to get lower.

-[Goson] Itoi's making a move. -[Yoshito] He's locking his foot in.

[Goson] Yeah, to save energy.

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] Ten minutes have passed.

[Hozumi] The longer the battle goes on, the more tired they'll get,

and I've got better stamina.

[tense music playing]

[grunting]

[grunts]

[exhales forcefully]

[music fades]

-[Katsuma] Wow! -[Goson] A little more. Hook your foot!

-Wow! That's incredible! -[Atsushi] Itoi's unreal!

[Yuya, Yoshio straining]

[exhales forcefully]

[Goson] Nothing left to grab onto.

[Yu] Getting to that button is still a long way off.

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] Fifteen minutes have passed.

-[Sari] Fifteen minutes? -[Tomoe] What?

[Yu] It's become a standoff.

[Yoshito] This is insanely difficult.

Don't give up. You can do this.

Just don't quit.

[groans]

[Yoshio] No!

[Atsushi] Look at that! Shozui!

-[competitors yelling] -Come on! Let's go!

[tense music playing]

[music subsides]

[tense music resumes]

[Kazhiro] Man, this looks so hard.

[Atsushi] Endurance. That's what it's about.

That's how Shozui wins.

[music fades]

[female voice] Twenty minutes have passed.

[Koji] That's crazy!

[female voice] Ten minutes remaining.

[straining]

[panting]

[Atsushi] Shozui!

Come on, come on, get up!

-[Eri] Hang in there, you got this! -Go, Shozui!

[Yuya] Oh no, this is bad.

[echoing drumbeat]

[echoing drumbeat]

[suspenseful music playing]

[music building]

[music subsides]

[Yuya] Okay. Let's do this.

Let's go. You got this.

Here we go.

Keep going.

[dramatic music playing]

Just pull. Pull forward.

Keep pulling.

Pull forward.

Damn it.

[music builds]

[music stops]

[inspirational music playing]

[female voice] Twenty-five minutes have passed.

Five minutes remaining.

[Sari] Hang in there, Hozumi!

-Hozumi's holding up pretty well. -[Yoshito] Most people would be spent.

[Eri] Hozumi's holding strong with these guys pulling.

[Hozumi] I thought they might be tired, so I tried to pull, but I couldn't move.

[Yoshio] I just couldn't move anymore.

It's so far.

There's so much ground to cover.

[female voice] Thirty seconds remaining.

[watching competitors exclaim excitedly]

Damn it.

He's so strong.

Seriously.

[female voice] Ten seconds remaining.

[Yuya straining]

[music fades]

[loud buzzing tone]

[female voice] The second round is a draw.

At this time, we will take a 30-minute break to rest.

What a battle.

-[exclaims quietly] -[woman sighs]

[Yoshio] This was the hardest by far.

I mean, the first day up the mountain was tough, too,

but for me, this was way more challenging.

I never imagined it would last 30 minutes.

[uneasy music playing]

[Yuya] I'm not sure how, but I managed to maintain my grip.

I wanted to reach it.

The button was close, but still so far away.

There were a few times I almost gave up.

But Kurihara fought through worse.

Compared to what he went through, this was nothing.

Ah, that hurts!

So painful.

-[Koji] Oh man. -[Kazuhiro] That's incredible.

[music builds, stops]

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] We will now begin Round 3.

Since no one reached their goals in Round 2,

everyone's buttons were moved one meter closer.

[Yuya] The only thing I'm thinking about is winning.

-[Kazuhiro] Shozui! -[Koji] Hang in there!

-[Akira] Come on, Hozumi, let's go! -[Takashi] Yeah, you got this, Hasegawa.

-Good luck, Itoi. -[Eri] You got this!

[female voice] At the sound of the buzzer, begin Round 3.

[beeping]

[buzzing]

[dramatic music playing]

-[metallic impact] -[loud buzzing tone]

[Atsushi] Wow, Shozui!

-[Ryudai] No way! -[Yoshito] So fast!

[Kazuhiro] Shozui!

[female voice] Yuya Shozui has now earned one point.

[Yuya] I kept my hope alive.

[female voice] Yoshio Itoi or Yuya Shozui

will become the Final Draft champion

and claim 27 million yen if they win again.

[Yoshio groans]

I can't run anymore.

We had a short break,

but afterwards I felt like my legs were completely spent.

I might be reaching my limit.

I can't run.

I mean, he's young, so I'm sure he recovers faster.

Come on, don't let this slip away.

It's victory or death.

I must win this.

-[sweeping music playing] -[Kazuhiro] Ready, up!

[Yuya] I see myself fighting for my teammates

who ultimately lost.

I fought my way here.

[Yuya yells triumphantly]

-[loud buzzing tone] -[competitors applaud]

-Nice! -Nice!

I'm not just competing for myself

but for all the other athletes here.

I'll do my best.

I'll win it all.

Thanks so much.

-Okay. -Nice!

Nice, Shozui! I'm counting on you to win.

[Yuya] I have to give it everything I've got and claim victory.

[Akira] This is a great match.

[Katsuma] I bet the match will go a lot faster this time around.

[Yoshio] It's incredibly tough.

It takes a toll, both mentally and physically.

I think this is where I have to push past my limits.

[music fades]

[echoing drumbeat]

[female voice] We will now begin the fourth round.

I'm definitely gonna win this.

[female voice] One point has been awarded to Yuya Shozui.

As a result,

his goal button has been moved one meter further away.

[suspenseful music playing]

[grunts]

[music fades]

[female voice] At the sound of the buzzer, begin Round 4.

[echoing drumbeat]

[echoing drumbeat]

[echoing drumbeat]

[beeping]

[buzzing]

[straining]

[straining]

[Yoshio grunts]

-[yells triumphantly] -[metallic impact]

-[loud buzzing tone] -[watching competitors cheering]

[cheering]

-[Yoshito] Amazing! -[Ryudai] Itoi!

-[Yoshito] Amazing! -[Akira] This is incredible!

[sucks air through teeth]

-[Hozumi] He was strong. -Yeah.

-[Yoshio] Thank you. -Great job. Seriously.

[Yoshio] Thanks.

-Thank you. -Great job.

[female voice] The champion of Final Draft

is Yoshio Itoi.

-[Takashi] Great job. -[competitors applaud]

Thanks.

[emotional music playing]

Look at everyone.

-Look, they're all here. -[Hozumi] What's this?

-[competitors cheer, applaud] -Wow.

-Congrats! -Great work!

[Akira] You killed it!

[Yoshio] Yeah!

-[Kazuhiro] That was amazing. Great work! -[Akira] That was amazing, man!

That was a real gift to watch.

-Incredible. -[Goson] Amazing. For real.

-[Masayuki] Congratulations! -[Ryosuke] That was just insane.

-Thank you. -[Masato] You gave it everything.

-I tried. -Hozumi, you did a great job.

Ah, thanks so much.

-[Katsuma] Great job. Thank you for that. -I did my best.

-Oh man, I'm so sorry. -Shozui.

Man, I felt for you. Great fight. So moving.

[Kazuhiro] You did great.

-[Naoto] That was amazing. -[Masato] Great job.

-Thank you. -[Goson] Hey, Shozui.

Nice work. That was so close!

-[Masato] You were awesome. -I came up short.

-[Ryudai] Great work. -[Yuya] Sorry.

-[Kazuhiro] Let's go. -[Atsushi] That was so cool.

I'm so sorry.

Well, of course, in the end, I couldn't win it,

but honestly, I have no regrets.

I still think it matters whether you win or lose,

but this reminded me again

that what matters most is accepting the challenge.

So I will continue to challenge myself in all areas of my life.

Thank you all so much.

Uh,

I mean, I lost the first time during the team battle,

and I tried to carry the hopes of those who wouldn't return.

I truly wanted to win.

And I wanted to say to you all, "This win was for you."

But… I came up short and couldn't win it.

Still, I gave it everything, and I'm happy with that.

I'm grateful for this experience. Thank you all.

[female voice] Will the Final Draft champion,

Yoshio Itoi,

please open the box in front of him?

-The box? -[Takashi] No way.

It's all in there?

[Yoshio] Here I go.

[competitors cheering]

[Yoshio] Real money!

[female voice] The Final Draft prize, 27 million yen, is yours.

This is insane.

Thank you.

I mean it.

I was able to meet some amazing athletes.

And, ever since I retired,

it's been rare to feel what I felt when I competed with you all.

I don't think there are too many people that can inspire others

with their physical abilities.

Everyone here is capable of doing that.

Seriously, I was so moved.

I got goosebumps competing against you all.

So I am extremely grateful to this competition,

because it reminded me what it feels like to be an athlete.

Thank you all so much.

-[Hozumi] Congrats! -[Sari] Such a great speech!

-Shall we lift him? -[competitors exclaim]

Hold on. I'm heavy!

What?! You're saying we're not strong enough?

[Yoshio] What?

[dramatic music playing]

-Are you okay to be the base? -I'll be fine!

Ready, lift!

[competitors cheering]

So heavy!

I got to meet a bunch of athletes from a lot of sports and other disciplines

that I wouldn't have met otherwise, and I'm grateful for that.

You could hit a homer with that branch, yeah?

Yeah, definitely.

The experience was invaluable.

Thanks to Final Draft,

I let go of some feelings I'd held onto from my professional days,

frustration about not achieving my dreams.

Even though I couldn't claim victory,

I never imagined I'd end up feeling so at peace.

So now

I can step away from sports with no regrets.

Thank you so much.

At first, I really hated the crew,

and I hated the other athletes too. I didn't wanna talk to them

and certainly didn't wanna live under the same roof.

But in the end, we became friends.

And for that, I'm grateful.

I think one of the great things about this competition

is how it gives the spotlight to some less popular sports.

And maybe people saw those athletes and thought, "I wanna try that."

So I hope this competition reaches people all over the world.

You know that tension before a match or that emotional high,

it was so great to experience that again.

In the end, I'm just so grateful.

I agreed to join this competition for redemption after the Olympics.

And if I'm being honest, I didn't quite achieve that.

But it really inspired me

to keep moving forward with the work I'm doing right now.

Getting to compete against elite athletes in this kind of competition

feels like a dream, even now.

You know, I chose a totally new line of work,

but this reminded me how great sports are.

Yeah, I just had a ton of fun.

It was great.

Now that I've retired and become a mother,

it felt good to return to a competitive environment

and be an athlete again.

My child might grow up and watch this and think "Wow, Mom is amazing."

That would be so great.

I'd love that. I told myself I wasn't gonna cry!

Athletes are incredible.

I realized just how pure-hearted we truly are.

I gotta say, I don't think I've ever formed

such strong bonds with people so quickly in my life.

As fellow athletes, they were irreplaceable.

[music stops]