In my 15+ years of J-dramophilia, you can rest assured I've seen my fair share of dramas based on the "Inspiring Teacher" trope and all its variations...to the point that I had approached this "Kasuka na Kanojo" with a bit of skepticism (you know how it is, right? Those dreadful "hmmm....another one of those, huh?" moments, LOL).
But guys, believe me: to say that this drama has surpassed my expectations would be an utter understatement; it's been a tremendously brilliant watch that I thoroughly enjoyed from its very first minute to the very last!!!
Fabulously written (you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll think, you'll smile....the whole nine yards, seriously!) and so aptly acted by the whole cast! Hard to choose only three "special mentions" among this star-studded cast, but I'll go with Katori Shingo (I'm normally no big fan of former SMAP members' acting, but he's the exception to this personal rule: always superb imho! BRAVO!), Maya Miki (again, always absolutely marvelous!) and Yahagi Honoka (the junior cast was also very good as a whole, with some better than others though, and imvho she simply was the best of the lot).
To complete the package, a beautiful OST (I particularly enjoyed the ending credits samba!) and a very good production value.
Perfect 10, as far as I'm concerned! ^______^