I am 2 years late for this masterpiece due to the fact that this drama's 156 eps scares me and also it is not available on free streaming sites that time ( i have slow internet so torrent is a no no) so thank you goodrama.net jeje.

Some may say that this drama is not lengthy because its only 15 minutes each eps but even that it is freaking long, I feel like I became part of someones life(aki) lol. I'm not complaining here in fact i did enjoy this drama even its a long show it is addicting like chocolates. One more bite, one more episodes then I forgot what hour it is, I even forgot one the the biggest reasons why i watched this show which is ryuhei matsuda and mayu matsuoka. If I am not a busy guy i'm sure i will finish this 3 days minimum, but cause i have work it took me 2 weeks but its worth it.

To me it is basically a coming of age/slice of life/family drama with matching great scenery of countryside japan. In this story you will follow the main character aki and cheer her on whatever goal she has from catching sea urchins to becoming a nanbu diver and becoming an idol (whatever enters her mind). But the main point of the drama is how her character affects other people lives living with her. Its also one of the most complete drama that i have seen from comedy, drama, romance, achieving dreams, family conflicts etc. It was like an emotional roller coaster to me...at one point I was laughing then after I just realize that one scene touch me and i became sad. It is one of those drama that I highly recommend specially if your into japanese culture. Although I can't explain it but it has this feel good ambiance its easy watch..maybe the color, the music, the narration and the pacing have something to do with that i don't know.



script

I just cant believe how the story develops the script is freaking epic kudo kankuro is a genius. From catching sea urchin to becoming and idol then that tsunami then the home...I didn't see that coming specially that idol part. I just don't know how he created that world with that fun characters and how he make it appears real by having real events and real people affect the story. The dialogues were great too from comedy to when they have conflict part, aki's grandma speaks with sense all the time. I love how kankuro handles both over the top comedy part and serious part well..his trademark is when an emotional thing happen he inserts a WTF moment at the end the greatest example is during aki's first heartache. Aki was crying riding her bicycle with all her might with matching great music what a great scene that was then suddenly aki's bike fly then she dropped from the ocean, I was like what in the hell happen I don't know if he used it as a metaphor or what but its freaking epic kinda reminds me of the
"I CAN FLY" scene from ping pong in which he also did the script.

music

the music great too they have different music that suit different scenes, situations and emotions. Because its a long drama to make the music not become too repetitive they made different version of it. I love that opening jazzy pop music but my favorite is that violin theme they used on sad moments...that theme will be added to my list of my why-japan-your-drama/movie-ost-is-hard-to-find list..jeje. They used great songs too and even composed like shiosai no memories, gmt song, and the december caledar thingy( the dance routine of that song is so adorable kawaii).


the acting

I don't know who to praise the guys who cast rena nounen or rena nounen herself, her presence is the biggest reason why this show is huge phenomenon. She is like a kid in a teenagers body I love the way she suddenly cries when her mom hits her LMAO. In my books she became the most adorable kawaii character i watch on tv knocking satomi ishihara's koga haruka in h2. Kirsten stewart should study on how she shows different emotions on screen from sad, over the top sad, happy, over the top happy, curious, jealous, anger, dumb look etc. its too many. But i wont call her great actress yet cause it might become too hard for her to get out from this type of character I just can't imagine her doing serial killer, obsessed lover, rape victim, single mother role. But her role here is one of the most effective roles i have ever seen.

Ai hashimoto is a hit or miss actress in my opinion but she really nailed her character here. I feel the determination I feel the passion I feel the anger. I love how her characters develops and how she handles the change effectively but not losing the core of true yui. I am not surprised on how many people relates to her cause of Ai hashimoto spot on performance.


Koizumi kyoko the one who play aki's mom played the best performance imo. This is the first time i saw her or probably she was cast in drama's that I watched before just like did not standout but nevermind that here she plays that tough mother effectively. I also see that her performance here is one of the reasons why rena nounen is that adorable in this drama. The confrontation between her and aki, confrontation between her mom, her confrontation with futomaki those moments where key in this story and she really nailed that parts convincingly.


Ryuhei matsuda who wears that I don't give a f*ck face proves to me why he is one of the best in showing emotions without saying a single word or even moving a single muscle on his face. I love how he attacks his character and risk the danger of him becoming boring. Tho he made the character invisible you also can feel his passion on his work. I also love the relationship of him and ben-san..you can feel his respect towards his master, I love how they connect the polishing of stone to become a gem to his work on nurturing idols.

If we have villain in this drama then the closest would become furuta arata's futomaki...that actor always put on the spot acting he never disappoints me from simple mannerisms of putting his both hands under his armpits or that annoying laugh. He may appear a comic relief character here but you can feel the human side of his character.


there's plenty of side characters here too but most of them are accomplished actors like ex. taki pierre, denden, omi toshinori, fukikoshi mitsuru, yakushimaru hiroko with some great comedians all of them are memorable even ben-san which they describe as invisible character in the drama.


I also want to say I love the contrast between aki(the one with accent) and yui(the cute one) I think that contrast is the key for their chemistry. The sun and moon represention i think is the right way to describe them.



some performance changed my mind on some actors too..

Arimura kasumi - I thought she is just your girl next door kawaii face and thats it, but her performance here proves she can really act. Yes...she also did her trademark "surpise-kawaii-look" ( if you watch her in some shows you know what i mean) but she really nailed the dramatic part and I can really see the essence of her character.

Among the gmt members my favorite is mayu matsuoka, I find the one who played onodera the cutest but acting wise i will give this to that girl who played kyan eren. I even search about her and found out that she only did 2 movies and 1 drama she, probably she falls in this category of forgotten actress with potential but not given a break cause she is not that cute...jejejeje.

Next is the 2nd best performance IMO tetta sugimotto.....yes I know this character actor is great and capable but he is a real revelation here Just like furuta arata it looks like he is a comic relief character the GHOstBUSTERs part is really epic LMAO THAT FACE, but i can definitely feel his loved on this town and his work. Sugimotto put a memorable excellent performance in that tsunami episode...that moment got me teary eyed cause of the way they did that episode with no background music you really feel the emotions but the FINAL KICK that makes me cry is when sugimotto resurfaced from that tunnel that look in his face damn you can feel the pain I can't help but cry with him.


The negative things i can say in this drama is that the jeje thing becomes annoying at times and the story becomes less interesting specially before the homecoming part but nonetheless I still give this a 10 cause I have 2 more factors to consider in rating dramas which is how I enjoy it and how it affects me.

I knocks my boss, my hero out as my top 5 dramas of all time.

Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/