Notes
Not out of the park, but good. Nothing was especially profound, just simple, honest, straightforward talk.
Romantic development was great, very believable. Character archs, however, always seemed an episode overdue, which caused some hiccups in the last half of the series. It was necessary conflict, but unnecessary rehashing.
Nice guy hero, happy heroine, the bitch, the older guy, the needy parents... had to double check and make sure I wasn't watching a K-drama. Everyone's very stock, but they were sufficiently credible, especially Riko, Mai, and Shuji. There were times when I thought Naoki was a little too stiff (Yamapi's acting), or Natsuki a little too aloof (Aibu Saki's acting).
Time jump was developed!
It seemed to end too early, like it was just content to ride on the high of winning the game. You never got to settle down from that and taper off the story nicely. No resolution, just feel-good fluff.
Standard with some good moving shots.
Most of the BGM is right on, lovely orchestrations and instrumentals of the official songs. The recurring violin in the slow themes is really beautiful.
F*cking awesome, like
damn. Yamapi and Keiko, victims of the sticker pic scandal themselves, delivered the kind of chemistry you can't
dream of. Their relationship grew so naturally, it reminded me a lot of Tsumabuki Satoshi and Shibasaki Kou in
Orange Days. They went full circle, from platonic friendship, to subtle crushing, to blazing passion, and I squeed my way through the whole damn thing. It's a cold day in hell when you find romance like this in an idol drama. Usually the leads are too awkward or inexperienced to achieve any real chemistry, but these two weren't afraid to own it, whether it was a simple conversation or a hot kiss. They did everything with FEELING! I really couldn't have asked for more.
Apple's Tier Ranking: 2nd
