This is not only one of the best J dramas, but one of the best TV series period that I've ever seen. It's so classy, humane, unsentimental, and absorbing. The child actors are so important to the show, and they're excellent. Hotaru is such a lovable and perfect daughter. Jun, on the other hand, has his weaknesses and flaws, and often annoyed me, but he's very relatable, and a more realistic character than Hotaru. But Tanaka Kunie's performance as the dad stood out among an outstanding cast. And the writing was excellent. For example, Jun's voiceover narration to Keiko was just perfectly written and was a nice touch. And the dialog and plot developments all felt natural and realistic - something that's very difficult to pull off.

The only minor flaws in my opinion were the bizarre UFO subplot, the death of Shokichi's grandfather after selling his horse (which I thought was a little too much), and the unsatisfying last episode (which is hopefully compensated for by the specials that follow). I also wasn't a huge fan of Sota and Yukiko's relationship because I thought both of them were being really irresponsible, but it was a realistic situation. Lastly, even though Tanaka Kunie had the perfect look and feel of this man who's rough around the edges but has a good heart, but I thought that it was unrealistic that he would be surrounded by so many beautiful women like his ex-wife, Yukiko, Kogomi, and Ryoko. It might have been a little more realistic to cast more normal-looking actresses in those roles. But they all did a great job acting.

I was so surprised that a drama from 1981 could be so high-quality, comparable to the best Japanese movies of that time.