Juunen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite - 1st completed romance drama in 4 seasons

Let's see, I dropped Ohitorisama at episode 8, Tsuki no Koibito at episode 2, Sunao ni Narenakute at episode 3, Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku at episode 2 and Hotaru no Hikari 2 at episode 5. Think I've watched too many romance doramas to find myself with very low tolerance for anything too pedestrian. Unfortunately, this one isn't an exception. But I decided to give it a try anyway, seeing that NHK, Oomori Mika and Uchino Masaaki are involved in this.

As expected, most of it were pretty straightforward and run-of-the-mill. But there was something in the initial episodes that got me thinking about the underlying message of this drama. Which is, "if you knew that certain choices in life were going to result in repercussions, would you have avoided those paths?" I can't be certain for sure if the writer played on the predictability of the theme and build interest around that. But I think she has somewhat managed to get that message across.

Another thing worth mentioning is the actor behind the male lead, Uchino Masaaki. Think he did a good job differentiating his two chronological selves. Part of the portrayal came from the effort done to his visual appearances, so props to the wardrobe department for that. One thing though, they should've done away with the trenchcoat getup 'cos it's corny and purpose-defeating.

TBH, I only watched this to the end because I wanted to see how differently they'll conclude it. Pity that it went the expected way which I had hoped otherwise. Overall, this drama has done well up till the later half where it lost a little steam. A couple of shortcomings here and there but a decent watch least until the autumn dramas starts airing.

With the LC4, La Marie, Tina and Ero |s| fixed,
their love life sure didn't lack designer furniture.

Mr. Children's Simple would've been perfect for one of the theme songs IMO.