The third episode of the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "The Royal Family" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring Satoshi Tsumabuki, aired on October 26th. The story of the "backyard deal" between horse owner Sanno Kozo (Koichi Sato) and breeder Tsuyoshi (Kiba Katsumi) of Nozaki Farm, and the human drama that led to the deal, touched the hearts of viewers.
◇The following contains spoilers
The story is based on the novel of the same name by Kazuma Hayami. Eiji Kurisu (played by Tsumabuki) admired his father, who was a tax accountant, and followed in his footsteps, but he experienced setbacks and lost hope. However, his life takes a major turn when he meets Kozo Sanno, a horse owner.
Kurisu and Kozo approached Nozaki Farm, asking if they could entrust their broodmare Royal Happiness to them. Kanako (Wakana Matsumoto), who runs Nozaki Farm with her father, Takeshi, accepted the offer and expressed her gratitude. Kozo brought some alcohol and invited Takeshi to join him, saying, "I just felt like having a drink."
Tsuyoshi, who is particular about "front-door transactions" where he deals directly with horse owners without going through an auction, had set a bid of 100 million yen on a certain horse. He was so confident that he wanted to give the horse to someone who was truly determined to win that 100 million yen. "No matter what anyone says, my dream is to win a G1 race with a horse from this ranch," he said.
After hearing the story, Kozo revealed that he had the same dream and said, "What do you think? There is a horse owner here who has the same dream as you. And now I have another dream. I will make that dream come true with a horse from Hidaka. Let me ride it, make your dream come true."
Sensing Kozo's strong desire to win with the "Hidaka horses" bred by Nozaki Farm, Tsuyoshi burst into tears and said, "Please!" as they both drank their glasses of sake.
On social media, comments such as "I was moved to tears by the dreams of these stubborn fathers," "The scene where the deal was concluded on the premises brought me to tears," "This drama made me cry again. When their feelings came together and they acted to achieve their shared dream, I couldn't help but cry," and "They talked about their dreams and worked hard to make those dreams come true... this drama is really exciting."
