EXCELLENT story. EXCELLENT castings. EXCELLENT directing. EXCELLENT cinematography and sceneries. EXCELLENT ending titleback. EXCELLENT music. EXCELLENT themesong. Overall, I give this 12 out of 10, lol! For me... its THAT GOOD. I never seen a drama as beautiful as this one, after Sleeping Forest and Shiroi Kage.

Let me elaborate this one by one...

EXCELLENT story:
Really no kidding about the surprising development! On a certain scene, where it revealed a BIG SECRET, I was like "heeeeeh????". And I couldn't even concentrate to the next scene, coz that one simple yet particular scene forced me to think about SO MANY possibilities.
Once I get that one particular scene, the whole image of the story has suddenly changed alot from the image the first time I read summaries about this story.
I mean, the first time I read the summary of this drama when it was first announced, I thought, "Omg, its gonna be sooooo boring,". But they proved me wrong BIG TIME.
Nojima Shinji really DID IT this time. This is definitely my most favorite piece by Nojima Shinji, right now. Yes, I can tell even from the first episode... that the next episodes won't be a letdown.

EXCELLENT castings:
I kinda "eek" the first time I know Katori Shingo will act in a love story drama. He's my ichiban and I'm a big fan, but I have to admit he was BAD in love scenes. He's just so awkward and uncomfortable in love scenes that I've seen, so far. So all these time, I thought he's better off to play comical roles. But surprisingly, Shingo acted so natural in the romantic scene in the first episode. The way he recited the lines, made me in awe O_O And one good thing is, he has very good chemistry with Takeuchi Yuko, their scenes were so natural, it didn't feel like this is the first time they act together.

Takeuchi Yuko's character is hard to comment, coz it'll spoil alot of the plot, if I comment on her acting xD Let's just say, she was great as always.

Matsuda Shota was grrreaatt!! I never think he's that good of an actor, compared to his brother. But he is GOOD in this drama! He acts a character totally opposite with his real personality, and he nailed the role! Sugoi!

Yagi Yuki, the child actress playing as Shingo's daughter. She's unbelievable O_o Omg, not even many adult actress can make their tears come out like that. Another excellent child actress has been born!!


EXCELLENT directing:
The directing of some scenes was really superb. I especially love the last scene, Shingo-Yuko's scene in the middle of the rain, the turning point of their feelings.... sugoi~ The dialogues and the acting were also perfect. And how they formed the umbrella's form into a flower's form... wow~

EXCELLENT ending titleback:
The titleback only involved Shingo and Yuko on the snowy mountain, in a slow motion and artistic way, with white roses graphics around. They run, and falls. They were trying to reach each other's hands, but before their hands meet, they fall and separated. They once again run, and try to search for each other, they finally meet, face to face.... but suddenly, on the next cut, they're already lying on the snowy ground, looked unconcious.
I never seen such a beautiful titleback as beautiful as this one since Sleeping Forest, 10 years ago!!

EXCELLENT music & themesong:
The musics are so beautiful as well. Sounds like a music composed by Senju Akira, but I don't know. The themesong... wah, Yamashita Tatsuro-san really nailed it again! He never failed in making an EXCELLENT themesong! I love his unique singing voice, and it fits the drama alot!

The minus points of the drama? I haven't find one yet. BUT, if you don't like this kind of drama... then you just won't like it. It'll be only a matter of taste^^

I RECOMMEND this drama very much!! Even if you HATE the casts in this drama, it'll be enough if you just watch it for the story^^ (although maybe it'll be better if you wait for the drama to finish in another 3 months^^)
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OMG yanie!!!! reading your review made me really excited!

I haven't watched jdramas for ages. So this will be my come back

another good review for this drama..i hope i will like it, well ill watch any drama starring Shingo or Takeuchi Yuko.

even the people in 2ch gave rave reviews for this drama..it must really be good..i cant wait to see it!

yanie_chan wrote:

EXCELLENT story. EXCELLENT castings. EXCELLENT directing. EXCELLENT cinematography and sceneries. EXCELLENT ending titleback. EXCELLENT music. EXCELLENT themesong. Overall, I give this 12 out of 10, lol! For me... its THAT GOOD. I never seen a drama as beautiful as this one, after Sleeping Forest and Shiroi Kage. Let me elaborate this one by one... EXCELLENT story: Really no kidding about the surprising development! On a certain scene, where it revealed a BIG SECRET, I was like "heeeeeh????". And I couldn't even concentrate to the next scene, coz that one simple yet particular scene forced me to think about SO MANY possibilities. Once I get that one particular scene, the whole image of the story has suddenly changed alot from the image the first time I read summaries about this story. I mean, the first time I read the summary of this drama when it was first announced, I thought, "Omg, its gonna be sooooo boring,". But they proved me wrong BIG TIME. Nojima Shinji really DID IT this time. This is definitely my most favorite piece by Nojima Shinji, right now. Yes, I can tell even from the first episode... that the next episodes won't be a letdown. EXCELLENT castings: I kinda "eek" the first time I know Katori Shingo will act in a love story drama. He's my ichiban and I'm a big fan, but I have to admit he was BAD in love scenes. He's just so awkward and uncomfortable in love scenes that I've seen, so far. So all these time, I thought he's better off to play comical roles. But surprisingly, Shingo acted so natural in the romantic scene in the first episode. The way he recited the lines, made me in awe O_O And one good thing is, he has very good chemistry with Takeuchi Yuko, their scenes were so natural, it didn't feel like this is the first time they act together. Takeuchi Yuko's character is hard to comment, coz it'll spoil alot of the plot, if I comment on her acting xD Let's just say, she was great as always. Matsuda Shota was grrreaatt!! I never think he's that good of an actor, compared to his brother. But he is GOOD in this drama! He acts a character totally opposite with his real personality, and he nailed the role! Sugoi! Yagi Yuki, the child actress playing as Shingo's daughter. She's unbelievable O_o Omg, not even many adult actress can make their tears come out like that. Another excellent child actress has been born!! EXCELLENT directing: The directing of some scenes was really superb. I especially love the last scene, Shingo-Yuko's scene in the middle of the rain, the turning point of their feelings.... sugoi~ The dialogues and the acting were also perfect. And how they formed the umbrella's form into a flower's form... wow~ EXCELLENT ending titleback: The titleback only involved Shingo and Yuko on the snowy mountain, in a slow motion and artistic way, with white roses graphics around. They run, and falls. They were trying to reach each other's hands, but before their hands meet, they fall and separated. They once again run, and try to search for each other, they finally meet, face to face.... but suddenly, on the next cut, they're already lying on the snowy ground, looked unconcious. I never seen such a beautiful titleback as beautiful as this one since Sleeping Forest, 10 years ago!! EXCELLENT music & themesong: The musics are so beautiful as well. Sounds like a music composed by Senju Akira, but I don't know. The themesong... wah, Yamashita Tatsuro-san really nailed it again! He never failed in making an EXCELLENT themesong! I love his unique singing voice, and it fits the drama alot! The minus points of the drama? I haven't find one yet. BUT, if you don't like this kind of drama... then you just won't like it. It'll be only a matter of taste^^ I RECOMMEND this drama very much!! Even if you HATE the casts in this drama, it'll be enough if you just watch it for the story^^ (although maybe it'll be better if you wait for the drama to finish in another 3 months^^)

after read it, i can't wait for this drama!!!!
yanie-chan, patience is virtue...

I can't even wait to watch!
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Rating for 1st episode: 22.4%
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WD wrote:

Rating for 1st episode: 22.4%

wow..it's quite good for the start...

whoaa! 22.4%! Shingo's power now expand just in one night

yanie..thanks for the review. I know I can hope on you about this.

reading the things about the first episode really makes me look forward to the drama...plus i'm a huge fan of matsuda shota ever since i watched hanadan...hope someone would sub it soon

yep, just finished watching the 1st episode. interesting plot, indeed. I usually pick out the weakest character/scene then decide to ditch the entire series - but couldn't find one - i tried very hard.

my first time watching Takeuchi and Shingo.

Motokariya Yuika (�{�������C�J) scenes were short, but i hope they show more in the coming episodes.

first impressions brings back good memories of Over Time and Beautiful Life (haven't seen Pride yet) my classic favorites back in the late 90s and early 2000s.
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wow.....sounds interesting
maybe i'll give a try

Anybody know if any fansubbers have announced that they're subbing this drama?

Tu_triky wrote:

Anybody know if any fansubbers have announced that they're subbing this drama?

Love Song will release it as hard sub
http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jdrama_Fansub_Map_2008#Winter_2008

Orion wrote:

Love Song will release it as hard sub http://fansub.d-addicts.com/Jdrama_Fansub_Map_2008#Winter_2008

Thanks for the quick reply! ^_^ They have make good translations and subs...based on what I've seen thus far of their work...Haikei Chichiue-sama and Akihabara@deep, for example.

Looks interesting.... maybe I will watch this... i like light-hearted shows... this looks rather light-hearted...
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Er~~ I dun really understand why the little girl wanna cover her face...

Shingo is great btw,, still watching..
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this drama look like very heart-warming..i like it, especially shingo as papa's role . btw, why his daughter face wearing mask all the time??

So, you've watched, beatsin??

beatnsin83 wrote:

btw, why his daughter face wearing mask all the time??

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

If I remember correctly, the old lady told Eiji the reason already. That Shizuku (Eiji's daughter) made her own conclusion the reason why her father always looks sad and lonely, is because she resembles her mother. So if Eiji look at Shizuku's face it must've remind him of her mother, and makes Eiji feels sad. So Shizuku decided to hide her face, so Eiji won't be sad anymore. But at the park, during sunset, Eiji explained how much Shizuku means to him, and there's no way he'd feel sad just because he sees her face.

Heart-warming?? hehe... that's so naive of you...=P This is NOJIMA SHINJI's work. There will be many unexpected developments in the next episodes. And although Eiji looks like an angel... he might had a very dark past (I've been reading too many mag articles on this drama that gave out hints, lol!)
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"Let's create a world without war together"

Quote:

The musics are so beautiful as well. Sounds like a music composed by Senju Akira, but I don't know.

Music is composed by Yoshimata Ryo, who also composed the score for this year's taiga drama Atsu-hime. OST will be out on 2/20 according to CDJapan.

concertmaster wrote:

Music is composed by Yoshimata Ryo, who also composed the score for this year's taiga drama Atsu-hime. OST will be out on 2/20 according to CDJapan.

Ah, thank you so much for that info! Yoshimata Ryo was the soundtrack composer for Sleeping Forest, too. And this drama also have the same director as Sleeping Forest. Then the singer of Sleeping Forest's themesong is this drama themesong's singer's wife, lol!
No wonder the feel of the titleback resembles Sleeping Forest alot. Kimura Takuya was running, searching for Nakayama Miho, in the forest, a green atmosphere (it was autumn). Katori Shingo was running, searching for Takeuchi Yuko, in the snowy mountain, a white-blueish atmosphere (in winter)^^

I loved Sleeping Forest's music too!
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"Let's create a world without war together"