I'll start with a standing ovation for Kimura Takuya.
And given how I've never been a big fan of his, I honestly think this carries a lot more weight than otherwise.
He was simply superb here, period. Well done, man! Chapeau!
But then again, the *whole* cast did marvelously. And what a fantastic cast, by the way! Okamoto Aya, Koyuki, Sakai Masato, Izumiya Shigeru...and then again, Ueno Juri, Kaho, Toda Erika, Oohira Natsumi...wow, just wow!
Of course a big role in this overall superb performance was played by the script, which was basically perfect and worked like a clockwork: *every single character* was tridimensional, *every scene* well thought and well written. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll think...the whole nine yards, seriously!
Some *great* music and a pretty high production value complete the package.
If you're in for a masterpiece from the "Golden Era" (early 90s to late Aughts) of Japanese Drama, give this title a chance. You might end up *loving* it just as I did! ^___-