lily_b:
I would definitely not call KKK03 realistic but I found if extremely captivating and some kind of wonderful. It can't be explained! But yeah, i suppose it was rather disturbing. If you don't like that, fair enough. :)
As for disturbing, Kanno Miho scared me as the wife in Mitsu no aji! But it was the third Asian drama I ever watched, so don't take it too seriously. (Kanno Miho really is lovely and a good actress and not scary! *lol*) I loved the drama. I could really feel the love between the characers and the heartache. I hope you'll try it. :)
Since you have not mentioned it, I assume you haven't seen the 1993 series.
Koukou Kyoushi 1993 --- is a lot darker and more disturbing , still teacher/student romance .... I believe the1993 & 2003 are meant to be in sequence, not adaptation ... The same script writer revisits some characters 10 yrs later and themes from the 1993 drama ... Although the 2003 had flashbacks to explain, watching them in sequence, gave a more complete picture .... Also, I think the writer had matured by 2003, so the character studies made better sense.