Fan reviews: Konna koi no hanashi

MonsterZero65 · 18 Aug 2010

I was so impressed by this drama. I knew it was something special from the first episode. A very moving story full of friendship, love, sadness, and hope.

MonsterZero-65 · 26 Oct 2009

Sanada Hiroyuki, Tamaki Koji and Matsushima Nanako were all amazing in this. A very powerful and moving drama from start to finish. Friendship, Romance, Love and Hate it has elements of all in it. I was not bored for one single moment and recommend this highly.

bettebogart · 7 Nov 2008

A rich businessman has just learned he is dying, a poor man has just learned his condition is ok. Their chance meeting in a doctor's office changes the course of both their lives and the lives of their friends. This drama deals with life, death, love, pain, greed, ruthlessness, mercy, grace, trust, faith and the gamut in between, but most of all friendship. I can't recommend this drama any more highly. Wonderful acting, fantastic theme song, a great story, what more can you ask for? Also, it's handled in a way that isn't morbid or horribly sad. Tamaki Koji is amazing as well as the lead actor and all the supporting cast. Top notch drama!

Sophie-Lou · 24 Dec 2005

"A Story of Love" is a story that millions can relate to, and is defiantly one of the best. With it's touching story line and great actors, this story is sure to break your heart as well as leave you with the memory of it's tale years after seeing it. The tale is about how a cold rich business man is transformed with the friendship of an honest man and the love of a kind hearted girl.

Harashima (Hiroyuki Sanada) is successful, wealthy, handsome and president of Harashima Enterprise, who is planning to build a new link on a housing site. He finds out he has only six months to live, and from then on is pulled into the world of the "little guys" by the poor and giving Konosuke (Koji Tamaki) and the beautiful and loving Kaori (Nanako Matsushima), who Harashima falls in love with almost instantly. Thus begins the roller coaster romance and drama.

Watch the drama, you won't regret it! This is not your classic "Pretty Woman" storyline of a rich man and the poor girl who captures his heart, it's so much more. The acting is top notch, and the three leads Hiroyuki Sanada, Koji Tamaki and Nanako Matsushima are all just wonderful in their roles. Harashima (Sanada) just had the most beautiful way of showing emotion, love and despair through his eyes. The look on his face when Konosuke tells him never to speak to Kaori again just broke my heart. He treated Kaori with utter love, respect and devotion, and he never tried to seduce her like most men in Japanese TV dramas seem to. Not only was Sanada amazing, but Nanako Matsushima is such a graceful actress and she really portrayed the young, naive and sweet girl Kaori. Like a breath of fresh air, her presence in this drama is so refreshing and you just have to adore her. Most of the scenes between Harashima and Kaori were so romantic and watching them together causes a pull on your heart strings. You truly have the feeling that these two people are real and that Harashima and Kaori are truly, deeply in love with each other.

The theme song, "Mr Lonely" was sung by Koji Tamaki himself, and the drama was inspired by the song. It a great song and it really makes you want to start swaying in your chair. Koji Tamaki is great as Konosuke and brought *many* laughs to the screen from the very first moment we see him. The over-trusting and warmhearted fellow is the perfect friend. Konosuke has some of the best lines, a favorite being when he said that Harashima and the man who lent him 30 yen aren't the same people. Though some might find him annoying, others find him a much needed comic in such a tense, romantic and depressing drama.

It wasn't cheesy and boring and it wasn't a run-of-the-mill drama. It's a masterpiece! You will be in tears when Harashima finally dies, not because he died, but because you feel you yourself have lost someone you love. Either way, whether you like a tragic yet funny and tense romance or not, 'A Story of Love' has a clever storyline and the best view of Tokyo you'll ever see. If not for the story, watch it for the wide location shooting. This drama is very underrated and I advice you to track this down and watch it. You owe it to yourself to see this drama.

kawaii_kinki · 8 Nov 2005

(BEWARE My review contains SPOILERS)

i watched this drama long time ago, and really liked it. specially the ending! DONT get me wrong people!! i meant, it was only realistic that he would die. i liked each episode of this drama and when Kaori (Nanako Matsushima) character was looking through medical books for a cure for Harashima (Hiroyuki Sanada) i thought oh man, dont screw the story by keeping him alive at the end, then it will turn into a real cheesy drama! dont you think so? but the fact that he dies at the end was more appealing and realistic.
not so dramatic death, and i liked that fact too, since the drama gives us a nice feeling they didnt want to bother us with a sad dramatic ending!
i like Konosuke (Tamaki kouji) character, it was the first time for me seeing him acting, i knew him as a singer only. i thought he did a great job! and his role was so important!
everything in this drama was nice and touchy. how the main character changed by time was something noticable. i would go and watch this drama again soon!

ladyelf · 30 Dec 2003

very heartwarming, sad, bitter sweet... but I was surprised the ending was not very dramatically tear jerking, i was waiting to watch Hirashima die and cry my heart out. Sanada is very charming. The plot is one that will leave a deep impression. I watched it few years back and could still remember.

Ghil04 · 21 Oct 2003

I'm surprised that some people thought the series was kind of boring. I was completely spellbound till the end. Nanako and Sanada were incredible, and the story was woven so perfectly.... This is the most touching and romantic dorama I've come across.

ct_subang · 10 May 2003

I liked this one….sanada was so cold-hearted!!the theme song was haunting as well..tamaki koji was good also…nanako..wat can I say..splendid performance…the story…was great…and sad as well...

jane5 · 12 Feb 2003

I really like this drama, 27 June 2001
Reviewer: TVbuff from Australia
I personally think this is a great drama. Although the story is a bit slow at times but I really love the acting of all the characters. The title song "Mr Lonely" really brings out the mood of this drama. Very well made overall.

aleen84 · 10 Jan 2003

This drama was given to me by my japanese friend. At first, I'm not even interested to watch it (due to the very unattractive VCD package).As I'm a fan of Nanako, I decided to watch it and oh boy... I wasn't really glued to the screen all the time but I must say the story is very good. I love the character portrayed by Sanada. He was such a cold and reserved person. Eventhough he knew he was going to die,he kept the secret by himself and worked harder to improve his company. But, we can sense how his friendship with konosuke slowly changes him and how he was in love with Kaori but didn't feel that he deserve to do so. His transformation was also believable. We get to see how he was changed bit by bit. I love his acting!! How he was such a gentleman,eventhough konosuke can be quite irritating at times. When he finally smile a true, genuine smile not his usual cynical one, it was very beautiful.We really get to know him personally and I have to admit that I cried until my eyes were swollen when he finally died. I cried not because the way he died. It was not tragic, in fact they didn't even show it. I cried because the loss of someone who was so strong, who finally found his happiness and the loss of someone I felt that I knew personally.Few stories ever moved me that much and for those fan of a good tearjerkers out there, I highly recommended this.

jdfan · 27 Jun 2002

Sanada is a very good actor and quite a supporting cast. This is a good story about love, friendship and money.

piglet44 · 15 Apr 2002

Won't regret watching this drama. Nanako's performance is good. First time watching Tamaki acting and thought his performance is good.

Nanako fan · 17 Oct 2001

A touching story that describes the value of friendship, money and love, and fight against politics in senior management of a giant corporate world in this drama. Truly recommend this show!

jane5 · 4 Sep 2001

Sanada's well known drama work was in 1997 with Fujisankei's -Konna koi no hanashi, which was the intellectual and spiritual gem of the year. It's more cerebral than your average trendy Fuji offering, but also less cliche. It has some great comments on life and living. The message is propelled by the real-life friendship between Sanada and Tamaki Koji, who plays draws out the humanity in Sanada's character. by
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jane5 · 4 Sep 2001

singapore

Date: 1 April 2001
Summary: one of the best tv drama I have ever watched

This is a drama worth watching. The story line was good, the actors (especially Sanada Hiroyuki and Tamaki Koji) really put in a marvelous performance. I would say the way the whole show was directed from start to end really glued the viewers to the tv screen, and the music too really is effective in setting the moods, funny, in suspence, hearbreaking and...romantic... I especially like the main track "Mr. lonely" (sang and composed by Tamaki koji).

After watching this show, I was so fasinated by both the main actors in this show that I start to search for more information on this two actors...new series, movies,fan page etc etc. Now I am a great fan of both of them. "Mr. lonely" too sets me off to be a music fan of Tamaki Koji!

jane5 · 4 Sep 2001

Singapore

Date: 9 May 2000
Summary: One of the best Japanese show I ever seen

The english name of the show is Rich Man Poor Man. The story is about a ruthless businessman whose motive is only to make money when he find out he has only half a year to live. Through fate, he bump into a man who is a total oppsite of him, a penniless man whose life is to gain happiness through helping people even he has no money. Slowly, the businessman changes his attiude towards life. The lead role Shuichiro Harashima is marvelessly played by Hiroyuki Sanada. His looks and acting skill make the character comes alive. He is cold yet not proud, 100% meeting the character's requirement. I will strongly recommend this show to everybody. For those who do not understand Japanese, try getting those with sub-titles.