I was extremely invested in the characters, but not nearly enough in the plot. I was not that interested in the events themselves, nor the past crimes and investigation, but I did care how they affect the characters. With that, I have mixed feelings.

There is no denying that the core of the plot are the characters and their relationships. How far can you go for people you care about? What are you willing to sacrifice? What kind of person will you become by the end? All these questions have been asked countless times in the span of these 10 episodes. I did not quite like all the answers, but that’s life - some things work out, some don’t.

For a show that tries to link a few cases and stories from different timelines in a one cohesive story - they did quite a good job. The plot was not hard to follow, I could clearly see how seemingly unrelated situations were in fact the aftermath of a larger problem. The drama even managed to deliver quite a plot twist/revelation in the last episode that I did not predict - maybe I just stopped my brain from even going in that direction?

Saiai has an amazing cast of characters played by skilled actors, who were able to portray them in an engaging and convincing manner. I might be playing favorites, but I’m totally in love with Kase Kenichiro. This character truly stole the whole show for me.

What’s also worth mentioning is the soundtrack. When the Saiai theme song starts, you know shit is about to hit the fan. I’ve gotten chills quite a few times when the first few notes started.

Overall, it’s a truly solid drama that is carried by the characters. It does not necessarily mean the plot and investigation itself was bad, it was just not as gripping as the relationships presented. I don’t even know when, but the characters creeped into my heart and at some point I stopped caring about the plot and just wanted to see them safe and happy.