like many others i watched the "first" season before starting this one. i wanted to give up after the first episode - lack of Maki., plus I dislike both the "main" female character/actor's child-like voice (what's with japanese idealizing childish features in women. eww)

i am glad i persevere. here's why.

1. we get to see more of Kurosawa. I always thought him underappreciated and deserving more screen time when I was watching the first season. I guess I tend to be easily impressed by theatrical actors (even without reading up on them, one can easily sport which j-actors have been/are active in theater or Takarazuka. There is something different in their gestures and intonation compared to actors who never do live shows).

2. after episode 4 or so, i began to appreciate an actor whom I have unfairly judged as poor man's Hayashi Kento. Chiba Yudai is a talented actor in his own right, though I still think that his range is more limited than Hayashi's (who can play both scummy and cute characters with ease. I think Chiba is stuck and in danger of being cast as cute twinks even well into his 40s)