There is not a boring moment in this dorama. Starts good, continues good, ends good. Not really a drama, since nothing dramatic happens. Just a slice of life, people becoming friends, their day by day (my type of story), with a hint of romance and lots of funny moments.
No doubt Abe Hiroshi is a wonderful actor. He is funny without overacting, he really WAS Kuwano Shinsuke: his slouching posture, his funny expressions. In every one of his scenes, he attracts the eye of the audience. Although it may also be because he is so tall and has such a nice figure.
Hayasaka Natsumi, as Dr. Natsukawa, was as good as Abe Hiroshi was. Both of them were amazing together, and they had a nice chemistry. I love her smile (two dimples!), she was a very simple woman in terms of clothes and haircut, but I found her lovely and very pretty. I love when she forced herself to keep smiling when Kuwano has been mean to her.
One of the reasons I decided to watch this dorama was because the plot seemed similar to "As good as it gets", one of my favorite movies. And it was in some ways, but again, completely different. Yes, Kuwano is a kind of grumpy man who does not like people. Yes, there is a dog. But that's it. Kuwano is sarcastic and tends to hurt people's feelings without meaning to, he is more sympathetic. He has OCD but not too extreme. He smiles more than Jack Nicholson's character; he socializes more too. He is likeable; so likeable that two pretty women fall for him eventually.
The dog, Ken-chan, has a minor role for 7 episodes; in Episode 8 is where they get closer. I wanted Kuwano to be more affectionate (like, more petting than glances and smiles), but it was cute nevertheless.
His owner, Michiru, played by Kuninaka Ryoko was cute but I think she overacted a little bit here. She is better in "Hotaru no Hikari". And her falling for Kuwano was a bit out of nowhere. For 10 episodes she finds him rude and tries to avoid him if possible, and then, one good action and it is all "oh no, I've fallen for him".
The soundtrack was OK, the OP was OK, nothing outstanding. The whistling whenever Kuwano was doing something very-him, was funny, and it suited him perfectly.
I love to learn more about Japanese society, and this dorama taught me a great deal about its food, the pressure to single people to get married (not very much unlike my own country anyway). Poor Kuwano, he really was not interested in marriage and people keep nagging him, specially his mother. But he was never upset about it, he only made sarcastic comments and ignore them later.
So it is a funny dorama, very recommended. Light, no misunderstandings (not annoying at least, cuz when people thinks that Kuwano had a girlfriend was hilarious), cute, a bit romantic (without being really romantic. I love to read people getting to know each other, making a bong, before starting a relationship), and the end was perfect.
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