xploring

http://www.youtube.com/user/1991Miyakobito

For those who haven't seen it, this series basically involves the 8 main characters sitting around and discussing legal case studies. Those are the best parts IMO. I really enjoyed the intellectual discussions, people from different backgrounds sharing different viewpoints. The camaraderie and rapport, the re-enactments, ... and sometimes I could understand what the people involved in those cases felt, and see the dynamic appeal of legal studies, like in episode 3, these are the highlights for me.

Not much time was spent on the individual stories and backgrounds of the 8 main characters. The relationships between them were not developed very much either (no time), with the exception being Kitihara and Morino. While enjoyable, their friendship did not leave a particularly strong impression on me, and I did not wish for more time/explanation on these parts, other viewers may feel quite differently. Mimura, was quite good I thought. Her inexperience showed, but it suited her character. Matsuyuki Yasuko was probably the most convincing, though the Megumi's and the oldguys didn't have a lot to do.

I would recommend it. But the Chinese subtitles for this series was probably one of the most difficult to understand in my experience, so I guess only those fluent in Japanese can fully understand and appreciate this series.

For me, I like the first 2 episodes quite a lot, especially when it tackles society's expectations and the pressure Michi (or anyone of us) is under. Then, after Michi's courage rose to declare her love for Hikaru and they ran away together, I was a bit disappointed. Some of the minor characters' choices and actions just seemed too unbelieveable, the story seemed to meander without much focus, perhaps much like the characters themselves, and I couldn't really tell what they were thinking/going through. The best part of the story for me is at the end, where it rose above even the love story and really took some surprising directions to say things about how to live and carry on, and reasons to live. With this in mind, in hindsight, I think I missed quite a few things conveyed by the story and characters' transformation. I actually thought that Nanako's acting in some of early and middle parts was not that good, but now I think perhaps I really didn't understand what Michi was going through. Michi's transformation/growth throughout was really quite inspiring. I really like this jdorama a lot. I am going to rewatch this, probably another 2 or 3 times, to understand more about what the story and characters tries to convey.

For me: 9/10. at the moment, possibly more after rewatch

P.S. It didn't occur to me at all that the ending is up to intepretation. LOL
I thought Michi had really woken up. Still do actually.