Oh Well I don't know where to start with this drama, I felt so many emotions like: happiness, sadness, fear, empathy, anger and the list is even longer. But yeah you can guess this drama left a big impact on me, Nankyoku Tairiku is the first one which made me cry from the beginning to the end. It's a drama about strong friendship I would dare say of strong relations between member of a same family, because we can definitely see the deep connections between each characters, as if they were brothers. A drama about human relationships indeed !!!! Here is the legend : I'm warning you because my reviews generally contain spoilers. [#] : spoiler alert so don't read if you plan on watching the drama. [%] end of spoiler As I said before nothing can beat Nankyoku Tairiku,I can't even count the tears I shed for this drama and I constantly felt like I was with all these characters and dogs. It was so hard for me to see them suffering: [#] seeing the dogs wandering all by themselves in Antarctica when the members of the 1st expedition had to leave the continent and prepare the 3rd expedition.[%] I felt so sad for the dogs, I so wanted to hug and comfort them because they are pure treasure, they deserved to be loved and taking cared of. They touched me on so many levels : 1| the way they helped each others, I, for example will never forget the scene when [#]Kuma saved Riki's life, and this was even more meaningful when one knows that they did not get along at the beginning [%]; so right at this moment I started to cry like I never did, I was not able to contain myself for 10 long minutes. 2|They dedicated their lives to the members and the success of the expedition, they were the ones which prevent[#] Kuromachi and Himuro from dying[%] 3|Their willing to survive, I was so proud to see them fighting for their lives and not give up even if food was lacking. To be honest I have/had a deep aversion towards dogs because I've always found them aggressive, I had been attacked years ago , it was not serious but still It was a bad experience and one thing is sure if they are hungry they can be very dangerous. However little by little I realized they are also living being and they need love like anybody else. I started to think diferently as I know they are the only ones that will save a human or non human life, furthermore they are the man's best friend, there's a reason for it right? Anyway I'll stop being off-topic, these dogs were for me the stars of the show, the actors were even overshaddowed by them ;D However one thing bothered me , beside Kuma, Riki, Taro, Jiro and Bekku all other dogs were set aside, I don't understand why because all the dogs were unique on their own way ;( And now it's finally time to talk about the actors, and what an amazing casting! I won't beat around the bush my fav character is Shirasaki sensei, I can't be objective as I'm big fan of Shibata Kyohei, you know he is the kind of person who radiates joy of living if he is sad he won't let others see this side of him , I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that way ?! I also love his interactions with other characters, how he always take their side and put himself at risk for them : A trustworthy Man! As I'm talking about Trustworthy Man, in this drama the male characters are all reliable, I was so impressed by Kuramochi and his devotion for the success of the expedition, he gave everything he had, his strenght ,his knowledge his time only for others's dreams he did not mind if he could not go in Antarctica as long as his friends have this opportunity. I also loved his approach with dogs and how he protected them even if it means to bring upon himself the danger. Then Himuro who was a real surpise, at first he was very disagreeable with others, but little by little he showed his true colors: he is a sensitive person like everyone and he was just more realist than his comrades because he did not want to see them being disappointed. When I saw him crying for the dogs I realized how much he cared for them, that was his most sincere feelings. And of course other characters were amazing, the kids they were the ray of sunshine of the show, the workers (Terajima san was so touching in this drama),Haruka and her deep love for Rikki, Natsuo,Hoshino San, the cook etc. There's only Ayase Haruka who did not leave an impression on me, she's good actress but her character was not enough developed or maybe that's just me who have a problem with Miyuki! I will stop here because my review is long enough, but this drama really deserves to be praised and watched by many people and I'll be honest, to me Kuramochi is the best character Kimura Takuya ever portrayed. Of course I did not see all of his dramas ( so my judgement is only based on: Pride, A Sleeping Forest, Long Vacation and Nankyoku ) but he did such a great job that now I'm seeing him differently ;) Last words? will be for the cinematography which was breathtaking, seriously this was one of the best I've ever seen in dramaland. I was already impressed by the amazing landscapes we could see in Japan , but Antarctica is such a beautiful place I'm not surprised because I've always found the snowy-land to be one of the most pleasing in the world ! Oh and there's something that truly annoyed me in this drama: The Narrator! I don't mind if there's a narrator to explain what will happen, but when it's so repetitive and only for telling about the coming unfortunate events , I simply disagree, because most of the time it ruined my mood + it was like real spoilers. I highly recommend this drama, not only for Slice of Life Lovers nor for Kimura San's lovers but to everyone because this drama is simply beautiful and totally worth of your time, you just need to be aware that the eps are around 55 min long.