elalendi

I didn't expect to enjoy this but it came out as a pleasant surprise. Basically, the drama's about two people who eventually become best friends - the kind who understand everything about each other - while parallel subplots go on about the people they are currently dating. Then, at about 3-quarters into the story you get that "sliding" into should-we-be-more-than-friends territory. Someone else here has said that the drama makes you think about the fact that maybe sometimes you don't end up marrying your soul mate.... your soul mate just remains your friend. And yes, this drama does center around that. And it's a very nice message about how life works. The acting and script delivers well with really cute chemistry between the two leads.

Still, like another reviewer said, the ending was disappointing only because I can't understand why the lead girl made the decision that she did. She made it clear that she loves the doctor very much, but it's just so hard to believe that she loves him more than Soichiro who's you know her best friend and soul mate. And she knows Soichiro loves her. Speaking of, he let her go because he believes she would be miserable with him. Well, I can't see why he should think that because she seemed much happier when she hung out with him. So, although I like that it wasn't fairy-tale, the bittersweet ending was just lacking because I couldn't completely empathize with the characters. Either Soichiro should never have fallen in love with her - so that both best friends can mutually think of each other as friends - or there should have been a better, more powerful reason for them to stray apart. Or, you know, they could've have just chosen each other.

I also felt that this some minor characters were just so random. Like, Kobayashi-kun. I thought he might end up with Nozana but it seemed like Nozana still likes Soichiro. What was his point in the story? I don't know.

Anyway, I would recommend this. It's slow-paced but in a good way. It makes you warm inside and gives you hope of finding a friendship as strong as Soichiro and Natsuki's. :)

great cast, really unique (in a good way) camerawork and style, overall refreshing and just FUNNY (like surprisingly so). It's a drama based on subtlety, which I like. No outright romance but I still find the interactions between Kuryu x Amamiya cute!! And the supporting characters... OH GOD. They are superb. the fast-paced dialogue adds a great energy.

I'm kind of a sucker for father-daughter relationships and cheesy family stuff like that. So that's why I was sucked in by the first (sweet and touching) episode... but I didn't expect it to be anything more than a heartwarming romantic thing. Boy was i wrong.

The twists and turns really surprised me, since from the summary I had no idea. It's not purely romantic, angsty, funny, or moving, it's a mixture of all of those. The balance between humor (and I just loved the supporting cast, they were so great) and serious/emotional parts was so perfect. I don't think anyone here over-acted at all. The music, the camera shots, all suited the story so well... multiple scenes brought tears to my eyes and are still so vividly memorable. This made me love Takeuchi Yuko even more, and Matsuda Shota quite impressed me (I never liked him before this drama, but now I do). Shingo, the leading man, was good too, especially at the end. Master, the bar guy, is one of my favorite characters here and so underrated. Every expression of his and his mannerisms cracked me up.

I don't care, I think the fact that it's a happy ending made it all the better. I'm tired of sad endings. This one wrapped everything up nicely and had a lot of hope in it. I was happy that Shizuku stayed with her grandfather, because this way nobody would be lonely. The little girl actress was amazing, I can't believe she was only 7 when they filmed this.

Anyway, great script, great actors, I didn't find it slow-paced personally. Recommended!