1st, the content. For most people, a 26 year old policeman marrying a 16 year old girl is cringe worthy material. Obviously one is too immature for the other, and all the problems that come along with dating an older person, not to mention the problems in marriage itself. However, before anyone complains - you know what you are getting into with the story because the synopsis is clear as day. The content should not manipulate your rating because... if you don't like the story, don't watch it. Also, the movie is a Japanese production - this kind of relationship is common place in Japan and not just in Japanese manga. Maybe not marriage, but dating between a 25 year old and a 16-18 year old is normal. Keep the culture of the setting (Japan) in mind when watching.

Now, the story ... The story was definitely disjointed and I only understood and enjoyed it because I read the manga years ago. Large chunks of the story was missing but I was able to connect it together because I remembered what happened between scenes. The actual story (in the manga) is too large and detailed to fit into a movie like this. However, if they had added it into the movie, the movie would have been too boring.

In the manga, most of the story was about
1) Kouta marrying her because he's an officer so he doesn't want to just date a 16 year old girl. He wants to make it all legal.
2) Kako waiting around for Kouta
3) A triangle with Okami
4) Kouta avoiding Kako so as not to sleep with her.
Hence, boring material.

Music etc ... I don't notice those things.

Acting... Well, it was fairly good acting given the story and plot. Not extremely good, but fairly good.

End scene : Happy, but what the hell was that last few seconds?

Watch at your own risk. I won't really recommend it to anyone given the content. You have to decide if you want to get into this. Leave your western perceptions at the door and acknowledge you are looking into a different culture - as we always do when watching another country's production.

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A really nice series that I wished was a little longer.... i.e. full length. The actors and actresses made this show into a gem. I loved watching them all, especially the 2 young leads.

The subject matter dealt with... life, the uncertainty of the future, disability, friendship, accepting help, giving help, parent-child relationships, whether to stick to your talent or walk a more practical path... this drama was full of more and more good messages.

It helped that the drama was short and tight. There was no room to drag. The ending my not be for everybody. Some seemed to like it, some seemed to hate it. I didn't like it too much, but I didn't mind. It was practical and realistic. What wasn't realistic is that we never got to see the fall out from that big, abrupt finale. Also, who became the award winning pianist? Which one of them, or all 3 of them? The ending just left questions. There should have been at least a 5 minute epilogue (a real epilogue and not a recap of scenes as they like to do in kdrama) explaining what happened after. But I could also understand the way it ended. We saw a little glimpse into their lives and then we left it just as abruptly as we came in. Slice of life literally, I mean.

The music was wonderful to listen to, the acting was superb, the story was lovely.

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Miki as always, was adorable. She brings a life to Kotoko that is beautiful to watch, even while I shake my head and ask "Why, Kotoko, why?" I'm still in love with her character. Considering I borderline hated other versions of Kotoko, this speaks to the actress's skills.

Naoki... I still hated him. He seemed to revert from episode 16 to episode 6 in this one. I gave him props for the consummation scene though. ?

I like that Kotoko got fed up with his shit, but I was rooting for that Narita Rikon. I wanted Naoki to hurt.

The family... aww, they are so sweet. Intrusive and bad for the marriage, but still sweet. Especially Yuki.

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