Nagareboši

I remember Kitano Kii from Life and it seems to me that she hasn't moved on much acting-wise, but it doesn't matter because she played what she was supposed to. Ueto Aya, on the other hand, has grown quite a bit since Azumi (in 7 or so years, it would be silly if she hadn't) and she played alongside Takenouchi, which I haven't seen from her before. Well, I'd seen Takenouchi in Drop-out Teacher Returns to School and I already liked him there – here my fondness only deepened. The two of them were really good together, it was really nice to watch them together and suddenly, without noticing when it happened, you knew that the two of them really liked each other. Their relationship was really well portrayed. Plus, it avoids all manner of clichés that we usually see in high school romances (or some Korean doramas where the main characters are the same age), so that made me very happy. I figured I'd give it one episode and go to bed. Like hell. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen, kept wanting to know about all the characters, so I ended up on episode 8 at 6 am, unable to keep my eyes open properly. I finished the other two episodes as soon as I woke up. They just grew on me. It's really such a nice dorama where it's not overacted by the adults. It all felt really real to me. I'm just a little sad about the typically Japanese ending, but I can't complain that much since it's jdorama :-)) It didn't have to get dragged out like that. I also have to mention the doctor character played by Matsuda Shōta – he kind of caught my eye (like Erika Toda did in the previous dorama), so I decided I had to check out Liar Game :-D Another one who surprised me was Inagaki Gorô – the guy really played quite the psycho brat. I kept looking for a reason why he was doing what he was doing, for what, exactly. I think I figured it out at the end, but you never know. His poker face... What adds to the pluses is that there was no problem here with a man and a woman being friends: no one was jealous, no one saw it as anything more – just friends. Period. Just like normal life. It was so refreshing. :-) And I have to mention the storyline that took place in the hospital Maria x Ryota x (sensei) – the series has its touching moments too. ~~~ So if you're in the mood for that kind of slice of life, adult romance, and a story that doesn't cut corners, and has s a very nice song, Nagareboshi might be just the ticket. P.S.: I was dying from the weather; it totally fit and I just so happen to love this time of year ^^ After a second viewing, I'm upping it to 5 stars. (09.01.2011)