Review on Japanese Drama: Buzzer Beat (2009)

Title: Buzzer Beat

Genre: Action, Romance, Drama

Duration:  11 episodes

Cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa as Kamiya Naoki

Kitagawa Keiko as Shikawa Riko

Aibu Saki as Nanami Natsuki

Kanjiya Shihori as Ebina Mai

Mizobata Junpei as Hatano Shuji

Ito Hideaki as Kawasaki Tomoya

Synopsis:  It about dreaming and seriously pursuing that dream and in the process made stronger by love. 

Kamiya Naoki (Yamashita Tomohisa) is a professional basketball player who was once a lead star during his varsity years in the university.  However, since playing for the ARCS, he has long lost his drive and keeps telling himself that he is pursuing his dream of becoming a star in basketball and finally marrying the girl he has been with for two years, Nanami Natsuki.  He keeps telling himself that he is strong and gets shaky under pressure missing the shot that could have led the team to play in the finals. The truth however is that, he has already lost his confidence that he would be able to make his dream realized and all he’s harbouring are frustrations specially when his contract was renewed and his annual salary was lower.  He then promised to himself that he would definitely make a big difference in the league or he might actually be forced to resign so reluctantly deferred his plans for marriage until he is confident he can support his family.

Shikawa Riko (Kitagawa Keiko) is an aspiring musician who has a keen ear for sounds.  She has been struggling to pursue her dream of becoming a violinist but has failed to make significant progress in the two years that she has been actively pursuing her dream.

One night, the two of them meet at the court just below Riko’s apartment while she was playing the violin.  Naoki was haunted by the sound of her instrument and stayed until she finished her piece.  Riko was startled by his presence and was surprised to find that the sound she was looking for was actually Naoki playing basketball on court.  While watching him play, he told him that he has a beautiful form and beautiful rhythm so she believes he’s a really strong player. Naoki told her that he is really not good, that he doesn’t even have a single fan to which she retorts, “I’ll be your #1 fan!”  Naoki was pleased and was pleasantly uplifted by her encouragement that he promised to definitely become better.

In the meantime, Nanami Natsuki (Aibu Saki) has been wavering in her belief in Naoki.  She has seen how he has deteriorated in his performance and all she is hearing is about him pursuing his dream which she seriously doubts he can achieve.  It doesn’t help that one of the newest player seems to have set his eyes on her and in moments of weakness, she gives in to him.  It was not long before Naoki caught the two of them kissing in the locker room which led him to break-up with Natsuki.  It was too late when she realizes that she actually feels strongly about Naoki but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with her then.

In this whole process, Naoki and Riko have been constantly meeting on the basketball court and cheering each other on.  On one time however, Riko saw one of Naoki’s game and shouted at him for his worst performance, telling him he is stronger than what he’s showing and he can definitely make it.  Hearing this, Naoki’s game definitely improved and they were able to win the game.  Both of them has been telling themselves that they are only friends specially that Kawasaki Tomoya (Ito Hideaki), team’s captain, has been seriously pursuing Riko.  Naoki thought he could forsake his love in lieu of his camaraderie with the coach and his trust on him.  In the end however, both realized that they have become powerless to stop their feelings and it has become torture not to see each other.

Their love is put to test though when Riko received an offer to be part of an orchestra but she had to leave for atleast half a year and Naoki had to be on rehab after his ankle operation.  Riko is hesitant to leave knowing Natsuki is actively pursuing Naoki to come back to her side but Naoki felt that Riko has always been supporting him to pursue his dream that it’s time for him to support hers.  He encourages her to take the offer while she doubts if she can keep his heart even while she is away to go after her dreams.

The story goes on about the struggles and difficulties they have to face including inferiority complexes, confidence, trust issues and the pursuit of their dreams.  Would they be able to make it till the end or would they have to give up each other to realize their dreams?

Review: Kitagawa Keiko has a really beautiful face and figure that one can’t help but keep staring at the screen.  It helps that she is not too conscious on screen however, during the emotional scenes, I still felt her emotions lacking.

I liked the chemistry they had on screen and the story was so good that it was fun, light, lovely and very inspiring.  The story was not so tragic but felt more realistic.  It’s good that they were able to sacrifice their feelings in their pursuit for their dreams but I’m quite confused with the ending though.  Also, because he said he won’t let her go now which leads me to believe she has abandoned her dreams for him.  Though the story is fictional, I sincerely hope that this was not the case and that they continued to actively pursue their dreams, cheering each other in the process and becoming each other’s wings to fly.  That would have made it a beautiful love story...

I give this show 9 out of 10 stars because it has surprisingly and pleasantly exceeded my expectations.   

Review on Japanese Drama: Ohotorisama (2009)

Title: Ohitorisama or Single Person (2009)

Genre:  romance, comedy

Duration:  10 episodes

Cast:

Mizuki Alisa as Akiyama Satomi

Koike Teppei as Kamisaka Shinichi

Maya Miki as Principal Tajima Yoshie

Matsushita Nao as Sawai Kimika

Tachibana Keita as Harada Hiroyuki

Synopsis: Akiyama Satomi (Mizuki Alisa) is a 33-year old, successful, single history teacher at a prestigious all-girl school.  She has been used to living alone and doing things alone that when Kamisaka Shinichi (Koike Teppei) came along, her world got a drastic change.

He is an aimless, slightly unreliable guy who was hired as a substitute teacher in the same school she works in. She let him crash in her place until he can pay for his own room and she agreed to also mentor him at school which brought them a lot of encounters together.

She initially was irritated that he seems to have no ambition, no desire to improve himself and always seemed to get himself in trouble.  He is also very honest, loves to cook and showed her the nice side of living with someone.

There is a 10 year gap in their age so neither one has even considered the possibility of romance.  To Satomi’s credit, she is also actively pursued by two very successful men, one of which was her ex who proposed marriage to her.  To make matters more complicated, the Principal turns to be Shinichi’s long-lost mother.  Also, relationship between teachers is strictly prohibited.

From all sides, it seemed there is no chance for their relationship...or is there?

Review:

Satomi seemed to be a very capable teacher and Shinichi seemed to be a very awkward, confused youngster.  However, Shinichi was so adorable and unpretentious about his feelings that Satomi can’t help but be drawn to him.  Being always alone, Shinichi seemed to be a breath of fresh air for her and she lets go of her inhibitions before him.

Under the guidance of Satomi, Shinichi also seemed to find the desire to improve himself and to do his best at work.  Whenever he finds trouble, it seemed natural to ask her for help which further proves Satomi’s opinion that he is weak and useless.

But little by little both realizes that each has started playing a vital role in their lives that before they knew it, they have grown feelings for each other. However, I felt no chemistry between them and the romance seemed forced.  I wish there had been more sweet moments between them and maybe some realistic struggles due to their age gap and not just that relationship between teachers are prohibited.  I felt that the show could have explored the dilemma each has to face and maybe coming to a more meaningful conclusion.

Also, the show was not able to properly conclude on the story between mother and son.  I don’t know if they intended to leave viewers hanging but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I give this show 8 out of 10 stars because both leads are just adorable.

Review on Japanese Drama: Kimi Wa Petto or You're My Pet (2003)

Title: Kimi Wa Petto (2003)

Genre:  comedy, romance

Duration:  10 episodes
Cast:

Koyuki as Iwaya Sumire

Matsumoto Jun as Goda Takeshi/Momo

Tanabe Seiichi as Hasumi Shigehito

Suzuki Sarina as Shirotae Yuri

Synopsis: Iwaya Sumire (Koyuki) is a beautiful, independent, successful woman who works for a big newspaper.  However, she seems to be too independent and too cold that her boyfriend, who is inferior to her in a lot of areas, cheated on her and dumped her.  Her colleagues found it hard to sympathize with her and continue to view her as someone cold and scary.  As she is seen as someone who is always strong, she does not even shed a tear after the breakup which caused her to have constant headaches and to lose her temper on her boss and ultimately causes her transfer from the busy external affairs dept to lifestyle dept.

On her way home, she finds an injured Goda Takeshi (Matsumoto Jun) in a big box in front of her apartment and takes him in.  He reminded her of the dog she had when she was young that she decides to take him as a “pet” and dubbed him as “Momo”.

During Momo’s stay with Sumire, he slowly affected her mood, her temperament.  Her expressionless face begun to change that she is now able to laugh and to cry.  With each passing day though, Momo finds it harder and harder to leave Sumire behind specially that he knows she can only be real when she’s with him.

To complicate matters, Hasumi Shigehito (Tanabe Shiichi), an outstanding journalist himself just came back from a foreign assignment.  He has always been Sumire’s long-time crush but she never got to confess her feelings for him.  When he begins to show interest on Sumire, this sparks jealousy from her female colleagues and more importantly, her pet started to get jealous.

Their story is definitely out of the ordinary but the emotions, struggles are like anyone else’s.  

Review:

It kind of freaked me out the first time I came across this show because of the concept of having a man-pet.  It was just too weird for me but I’m glad I gave it a chance because I fell in love with Matsumoto in this show.  He effectively portrayed a carefree, cheerful, and passionate “pet” that I can’t help falling for him.  He is just too adorable.

It’s very entertaining and you should give it a chance. I found it very hilarious at times and had a really good time. 

I’m giving this show 9 out of 10 stars. Really good show! 

Review on Japanese Drama: QUEEN'S CLASSROOM (2005)

Title: Queen's Classroom or Jyoou no Kyoushitsu (2005)

Genre: Drama

Duration: 11 episodes with 2 specials

Theme Song: Exile by Exit

Cast:

Shida Mirai as Kanda Kazumi

Amami Yuki as Akutsu Maya

Fukuda Mayuko as Shindo Hikaru

Kaho as Kanda Yu

Matsukawa Naruki as Manabe Yusuke

Synopsis:

It's the start of the new semester for the 12-year old Kanda Kazumi(Shida Mirai).  She was looking forward to making new friends and making a lot of memories of her last year in grade school. Although she's not so bright, she balances it by being cheerful and striving to make everyone like each other including her parents who seem to not really get along with each other very well, made obvious by their constant bickering whenever they are in the room together.  This year, Kazumi's class was assigned a teacher who has very rigid principles in her teachings and of life.  Akutsu Maya(Amami Yuki) values studying and intelligence above all else and believes that friendship and memories are trivial and non-essential. 

This comes a shock to Kazumi who wants nothing more than befriending everyone and enjoying her last year in grade school.  Adding to the pressure, her mom has been constantly nagging her to strive to get into a private high school which ultimately matches Maya's goal for her class. 

Maya comes to the class dressed in all black, hair pulled back, never smiles and shocks her class by showing just about how much she knows about them including their darkest secrets.  She gives much emphasis on studying that she does not even allow students to leave the room as soon as the class starts which causes Kazumi to get her second 0 in the exam and even worst, this ultimately leads her to pee on her pants.  The only reason she was allowed to leave class during exam is because her classmate, Shindo Hikaru(Fukuda Mayuko), one of the gifted ones, took pity on her and stood for Kazumi. 

Because of this outright defiance, Maya changes the rules to state that disobedient students will be the ones to do all the chores which are not limited to cleaning the classroom but other areas as well.  The students tried to get their parents to air their grievances however, this backfires as Maya wins them over to her side as most parents just want their kids to get high grades and get into private schools.  The principal and the vice principal also turns a blind eye to Maya's methodologies since they can only appreciate the so-called progress by Maya's class in terms of their lessons, their behavior towards teachers and their unceasing efforts to get into private schools.  To make matters worse, Maya also gets some students to spy for her since she anticipates that there would be students who would devise actions to defy her.  This creates more conflict in class and made it harder for students to trust their peers.

Kazumi, undaunted by the seeming helplessness of their case, strives to win her classmates over and struggles to prove Maya wrong with the help of 2 of her classmates.  However, Maya seems to always be two steps ahead of them, knowing everything they do and doing countermeasures to prevent them from achieving their goal. In the end, will the class unite and defeat Maya?  Will the class be able to make good memories before they graduate or will they just continue to live in hell?

Review:

I don't understand how some people could be unsatisfied with the ending to this drama.  I have seen shows with seemingly same plots with some varying twists (i.e. GTO,  Gokusen, etc) but this is the first show where I see the teacher who is excels in everything she does (including ballet and self-defense) but terrorizes and bullies her students to submission.  It is very evident though that the writer wanted, more than having a good show, to actually communicate a message in this show through the discussions during class. 

The reasons given behind Maya's outrageous methodologies makes one think twice whether she's wrong or not which I actually love most about this show.  I never grew to hate her character because however bad she was made to appear, it was obvious to me that she treats her job with much passion and dedication which can be easily misunderstood specially if she wants to be misunderstood. 

Maya talks about the 6% in society that is given special privileges that is beyond the imagination of the normal folks and applies the same principle in the class giving them their first taste of discrimination.  She continues that the reason why some people treat studying with nonchalance is because these people are sisies and cowards, refusing to aim for more because they fear failure thereby convincing themselves to aim for less and have more.  She bravely tackles about bullying and betrayal, which leads even the most indifferent student to participate in resolving the seemingly impossible class situation.  Her punishments include cleaning the gym, comfort rooms in school, shaming a person in front of the class, and the likes.  However, because of her unusual manner, it forces her students to re-evaluate themselves, to think on their own, meditate on their dreams and discover their strengths. 

At times, she is made to appear as the devil reincarnate but to me, she is just playing the devil's advocate.  However harsh the punishments are, if one is to evaluate objectively, you would understand that there may be a bigger picture than the one she presents.

For some reason, Kazumi seemed to always bear the brunt of Maya's ire but to her credit, she never once surrendered to Maya choosing to exert every effort to continue to trust and to win her classmates over. 

In the process, when everything was said and done, the parents finally clamouring to change the grade 6 teacher and board of education demanding her to resign, the students then realize the values that Maya has been inadvertently trying to teach them.  They realize that because they didn't want to lose to Maya, they have been improving themselves without even realizing it. 

In the end, it was revealed that Maya does not go to sleep in order to keep an eye on her students, to review their progress and to make sure that she is always prepared for her next class.  Her body ultimately gives up and she ends up in the hospital which is the first time she was portrayed as being human.

I could never be as passionate as she was about her job that she stays focused on her goal of improving her students no matter what the cost is to her which she achieves in the end at the cost of her job. 

This is definitely an "intelligent" drama and belongs to my top 10 list. I liked the characters in this drama and how it did not try to sugar-coat the harsh realities of life.  The show forced me to think objectively and to "open my eyes" (which is a fave phrase of Maya).

Queen's classroom gets 10 out of 10 for being an excellent show that is more than entertainment.  

Hataraki Man/Working Man

Title: Hataraki Man

Genre: comedy, drama

Duration: 11 episodes

Cast:

Kanno Miho as Matsukata Hiroko

Hayami Mokomichi as Tanaka Kunio

Yoshizawa Yuu as Yamashiro Shinji

Sawamura Ikki as Narita Kimio

Sada Mayumi as Araki Masami

Synopsis:

This story is about a 28-year magazine editor, Matsukata Hiroko (Kanno Miho) who is so devoted to her work she can completely forget everything else.  She has devoted her life to her work and aims to become the editor-in-chief of her magazine that she usually has to forsake her boyfriend in order to get the scoop.  She becomes so absorbed in her work that her colleagues have dubbed her as the Hatakari Man and loses her femininity in order to get the job done. 

Her long-time boyfriend, Yamashiro Shinji (Yoshizawa Yuu) is a supervisor for a construction firm who dreams of being able to build bridges but instead makes condominiums for his firm.  He has always been patient and understanding towards Matsukata and always prioritized her over his job.  He struggles to understand his girlfriend and strives to be there for her when she needs him even at the expense of his job even though he knows that her work always comes first for her ...but lately, he has been wondering if she really still needs him.

Tanaka Kunio (Hayata Makomichi) is a young, dispassionate newbie who longs to work for men's fashion magazine and scorns the work done at the magazine as mere nonsensical and unimportant as they usually just deals with gossips and controversies.  He is indifferent to his work and believes that as long as he could deliver, it should be okay.  He also believes that work shouldn't govern his life as there should always be a balance between work and life which usually infuriates Hiroko as she always puts work first before her life.  However, Tanaka proves that he is more than capable to do the job if he only puts his heart into his job.  Later on, he becomes inspired by the dedication of Hiroko but still believes that his stay in the magazine is only an interim as he is still preparing to pursue his dream of becoming part of men's fashion magazine.

Together, they discover the values of life, love, work, sacrifices and facing the consequences of the choices they make.

Review:

This drama made me depressed.  I was hoping that it could show a positive light on how women can pursue their dreams and still manage to be happy with their love life.  However, this drama only proved that a successful career and love life cannot be pursued at the same time for women. 

I was hoping that Tanaka would be able to help her strike a balance between life and work but was sorely disappointed until the end.  There were hints of a budding romance but it was never pursued.  At the beginning of the series, I really wanted her to break up with her boyfriend so that her romance with Tanaka can be pursued and they can both influence each other positively.  However, towards the end of the drama, I felt that it would have been unfair if she ended up with Tanaka since she is completely devoted to her job that even when she becomes so sick, all she can think of is her work.  I began to appreciate the patience and dedication of Shinji.  He was just always there for her to listen, to encourage and to help her whenever she needs him.  Unfortunately though, Hiroko only remembers him whenever she needs him or whenever her best friend reminds her of her "obligations" towards Shinji.  More often than not, she would have to cancel on their date which they had to schedule since she is so busy. 

At the end of the series, I just wanted to shake her up and shout at her to ask what the hell is she thinking.  I think the portrayal of modern women here is so negative that it makes me want to rethink my options and my dreams as a woman.  I wanted to ask the character if she would not have regretted the choices she made if one day she discovers she is already old and alone and all she has to show for is her work.  Does it mean that women would have to set aside love and family just so they could pursue a successful career?

I guess I wanted a more humane and positive approach on women and their careers that's why I was disappointed and probably a more enthusiastic acting from Hayata Makomichi as I felt he was just a background for this drama until the end.

I give this drama 7 out of 10 stars.

Review on Japanese Drama: Sapuri/Suppli (2006)

Title: Sapuri/Suppli

Type: Japanese Drama

Duration: 11 episodes

Theme Song: You by Kat-Tun

Cast:

Itoh Misaki as Fuji Minami

Kamenashi Kazuya as Ishida Yuya

Eita as Ogiwara Satoshi

Sato Koichi as Imaoka Kyotaro

Shida Mirai as Konno Natsuki

 Synopsis:

Fuji Minami (Itoh Misaki) is a 28-year old workaholic which eventually drives her boyfriend to break-up with her when she can't even find time to meet with him on the night he initially planned to propose to her.  She's one of the leading creators in the advertising agency she works at and she usually loses herself in her work that she can't find time to do anything else.

Ishida Yuya ( Kamenashi Kazuya) is a carefree 19-year old college dropout who never stays on any job for long because he can't seem to find what he likes to do the most.  He is still very much a child since he hasn't really practiced tact and propriety and finds these stuffs bothersome. But when he met Fuji, he decided to take work more seriously because he found it satisfying that people listened to his ideas when he presented them.  More and more, he finds himself working harder and wanting to improve himself so that he could be worthy of being with Fuji.

 However, Fuji was attracted to a more mature and has a very promising career, Ogiwara Satoshi (Eita).  Satoshi was initially attracted to a married woman and seems to have overlooked Fuji's feelings for him but later on realizes his mistake.

In the midst of all the love triangles that seem to expand as the story moves on, the story also showed how as little as 15seconds can alter your life through the advertisements we usually see every day.  It shows how these "creations" are made and how they struggle to go beyond themselves and the challenges they meet with each project.

Review:

I would have to say that the story was initially very promising with very attractive leads and interesting setup.  I just wished that there were more stories about the advertisement and the hardships and setbacks they meet.  I definitely liked the father-daughter story but I wish they showed more of how the father realized the bond between them and how he got used to her presence in his life.

I truly liked the refreshing way and very innocent approach Kazuya tackled his character and I felt his devotion to Fuji. Unfortunately, although I found Misaki very beautiful, I found her acting very wooden and stale, as if she was only going through the motions.  Her eyes weren't that expressive and I can't seem to sympathize with her character.  If she wasn't the lead here, I would say her acting was very forgettable.

I was kind of hoping they would show the challenges their relationship would face in their work setup or the advantages of having a May-December love affair in an environment that you need to be creative and always inspired. 

Kamenashi Kazuya and Shida Mirai kept me hooked with this drama until the end.  I somewhat enjoyed myself with this drama but I wouldn't say it's a must-see drama.

I give this show 6 out of 10 stars.

Review on Japanese Drama: Great Teacher Onizuka (2007)

Title: Great Teacher  Onizuka /GTO

Type: Japanese Drama

Duration: 12 episodes
Theme Song: Poison

Cast:

Sorimachi Takeshi as Eikichi Onuzuka
Mutsushima Nanako as  Fuyutsuki Azusa

Kubozura Yosuke as Kikuchi Yoshito

Kirari  as Mizuki Nanako

Ikeuchi Hiroyuki as Murai Kunio

Nakamura Aimi as Aizawa Miyabi

Synopsis: Eikichi Onizuka (Sorimachi Takeshi)is a previously delinquent student, ex-leader of a biker gang, foul-mouthed, crude, pervert but still a virgin wanted to become a teacher and to affect changes to his students. Teachers have always called him “trash”, and they always assume he’s good for nothing and not serious about anything. He wanted to be a teacher so that students like him could have a chance and to believe in themselves.  The director of the academy decided to give him a chance when he defended some students who were expelled from the school by the head teacher because he believed they were just trash.
Fuyutsuki Azusa(Matsushima Nanako) is a mild-mannered teacher, people-pleaser who dreams of becoming a stewardess and treats her profession as a teacher as nothing but an interim because she failed the entrance examination for stewardess.  She believes that Onizuka is just a crude person who does not deserve to become a teacher since he does things in the most unconventional way.
Onizuka was given the most delinquent class which scared away a few teachers but he decided to meet the challenge head on since he was a problem student before.  At first, his class hates him because they believe that he is just the same with the other teachers and would not last long.  They device a series of pranks to get rid of him including involving the PTA President in the matter.  He refuses to give-up and deals with every situation with his own method which to others may seem extreme but eventually earns the respect of his class and forces them to end their class boycott and even unites the class to protect him when everyone else called for him to resign.
Review: 

I have watched many shows like this before but somehow, I really like the casting of this drama. Initially, Fuyutsuki kind of irritated me because her acting at first wasn't that good and she seemed forced in liking Onizuka.  Eventually though, she softened up and I could even say I watched her develop true feelings for Onizuka on screen which led the two to get married in real life and have kids. 

What I like most about this drama is that unlike the others, Onizuka never pretended to be anything he’s not.  He does not compromise his principles and does not believe in backing down no matter what situation he is facing.  He says what he means and means what he says although it gets him to a lot of trouble later on.  He refuses to conform to what everyone is saying a teacher should be but rather, he follows his heart.  This in turn leads him to be in hot water in more than one occasion which leads his co-teachers even more frustrated that they couldn't get rid of him.
I guess the only aspect I didn't like in this show is the character of Miyabi. Every time she's on screen, I find myself cringing because of poor acting.  She lacks the emotions and the charisma to make me sympathize with her character...I felt her acting was totally lacking in conviction which is a pity because her part could have been really good.

What made the show a success is that Takeshi was able to fit the bill of Onizuka perfectly.
I give this show a 9 out of 10 stars...a must see :)

Review on Japanese Drama: PRIDE (2004)

Title: Pride
Type: Japanese Drama
Duration : 11 episodes
Theme Song: Born to Love You
Cast:
Kimura Takuya as Satonaka Halu
Takeuchi Yuko as Murase Aki
Sakaguchi Kenji as Hotta Yamato
Ichikawa Somegoro as Ikegawa Tomonori
Sato Koichi as Hyodo Yuichiro

Synopsis:
Halu ( Kimura Takuya) is the captain and the star player of an ice hockey team who has nothing on his mind but playing hockey.  He treats love as a game and believes women can't be trusted.  He also was advised by coach Anzai, that he should never love a woman to continue being an iceman.  His coach was hospitalized though and was replaced by a rival coach, Hyodo Ruichiro, who has trained overseas. Halu is not receptive to the new coach and refused to accept his criticisms. 
Aki (Takeuchi Yuko) is a naive office girl who has been patiently waiting for her architect boyfriend although he has not contacted her for the whole 2 years he was abroad.  Her friends have been urging her to forget about her boyfriend since he obviously has forgotten about her already.  They watched a hockey game and there she sees Halu for the first time.
After the game, they went to the bar to look for cute guys and end up with the hockey team players.  Aki wasn’t so enthusiastic about it and decides to go home but not before Halu sees her. He decides to go after her and asks his teammates help to beat him up. This gets the attention of Aki and amused her that he will go to that extent just to get her email address (although it’s actually to send text messages through his phone). 

With the aid of her friend, Aki reluctantly goes on a date with Halu and it became obvious that there was mutual attraction between them.  Halu was attracted to her because he sees her as the girl of the last century and Aki was drawn to him because she could feel that Halu has a lot of pain that he hides behind the facade his overflowing self-confidence.

Thereafter, they agreed to have a relationship but it will all be a game which both of them can’t be serious about the relationship. Halu will be Aki’s temporary lover until such time that her boyfriend comes back for her and then it will be bye-bye for both of them...

Review: (major spoilers!!!)

So I might be biased but I am completely lost in Takuya’s eyes specially when he gives you that devilish grin and winks (drools). His gaze is just too intense I get lost in them (hehehe). When I started this series, I didn’t expect much and thought I would just be forwarding the show as I do the others but I was really surprised it hooked me in.  Halu plays a surprisingly warm iceman.  He draws me in with the raw emotions of his character that I can’t help wanting to rush to his side and give him a warm hug.  Yuko also played her part so well that I can understand why Halu would be attracted to her kind of girl. 
I love how their love affair slowly developed that I fell in love with both characters. The only thing I didn’t like about the story was when the long-lost boyfriend came back, Aki wavered and decided to go to his side despite telling everyone she has definitely forgotten about him. But maybe that’s what a girl of the last century is like...habits are hard to break.

I didn't understand though when Aki decided to marry the ex-boyfriend and Halu decides to go to Canada to pursue a professional career in the NHL.  This despite it being obvious that they both feel strongly for each other but just have too much PRIDE to admit it to each other.  

Overall, it was a story of romance, sacrifice, friendship and PRIDE.
Until now, I can still hear the theme song playing so for that, I wilI give this show 8.5 stars out of 10. If you watch this show, you just might fall in love...beware :)