A school drama with a quite exciting and gripping premise. Unfortunately, the story became very quickly similar to a lot of Japanese school dramas which made the show overall very predictable. Almost all the plot twists were expected. It was also a bit too formulaic with each episode focusing on one healing moment for a given student, some catchphrase and one big speech. A few of the teaching moments were quite profound and could resonate well (especially with a teenage audience). However, there was as well a lot of weaker storylines resolving themselves a bit too easily given the topics treated by the series.

I had some real trouble getting attached to the characters (adults as well as the teenagers) and I think it might be linked to the writing. As explained above, the drama was a bit awkward in its approach trying to bring some good feels, to discuss absolution and to provide life-lesson talks. It was sometimes over simplistic and or/too quick to make it totally sensible. The ensemble cast was okay but there was no real stand-out. I also found the acting of the main lead unequal and over-the-top for some part.

Even if it does not revolution the genre, it is an easy watch with a nice pacing and actually taking on some important and societal issues (even if clumsily at some points).

I would recommend this to people that are looking for shows similar to Gokusen and Dragon Zakura as well as to the manga "Assassination Classroom" for example. However, if you have already seen quite a few Japanese school dramas, this might feel redundant.