I am judging this drama harshly because of a thing I utterly hate: a bad ending. And this one has it in the title and in the last episode. Fortunately, the manga author drew a special episode which actually gives us the ending any good BL should have!

I hate the end of the world trope: it is too depressing and it is giving me nightmares. Ever since I saw that Keira Knightly movie about it, I cannot watch anything dealing with the subject. But I have(almost) run out of BLs to watch and as I was looking for a short one, it was between this one and Kinou Nani Tabeta? Since I found that couple lacking any credibility in the romance department, I went with this one after making sure that the world does not actually end!

I also hate unclear endings. So did the end of the world happen or did a miracle happen like they showed in a ridiculous animation which looks like a 10 yr old did on his parents' computer! Fortunately, the manga author posted an extra episode of the manga as a direct continuation of the drama giving us the very much needed happy ending! Thank you!

And even though this drama comes highly recommanded (deservedly so) I wish the mangaka had found another reason for the plot to move in the desired direction. With the world coming to the end in 10 days, Misumi decides to spend it in the library, reading. But he bumps into Ritsu there. They used to date ten years earlier but they broke up because Ritsu cheated and Misumi never recovered from that. Ritsu asks him for help in disposing of a dead body in exchange for a pill of death. But the dead body turns out not to be dead but a strange highschool boy. The men decide to take the boy home to his parents and a road movie starts. Along the way they pick up another person.

This drama is a road movie. The characters reveal themselves, grow and mature as they travel. The story of two main characters is told through a series of flashbacks from their childhood onwards. Their relationship while they were students was doomed from the start since they were both damaged individuals: one shy and unassuming the other one flamboyant, cocky and irresponsibly superficial but hiding deep wounds. Neither is likeable but one makes you feel pity and the other rage and disgust. Time apart let them grow. Again, differently: while the first one remained stuck in time, hidden in his shell, the other one realized the error of his way, regretted his behaviour but continued on the self-destructive path he was put on by life circumstances.

I like the story a lot. They take their time to get to know and trust each other again which is a bit nerve wrecking because of all the world ending thing and not really having any time left! But on the other hand, they are very much aware of the urgency of the situation so even though they take their time, they do not waste it on unnecessary misunderstandings and jealousies. Was the end of the world as a premise really necessary?

There is a bit of fantasy here as well with the high school kid he seems to have some special powers or abilities or everything is just a coincidence? Freak weather or Divine powers? Who knows? The mystery remains....

One thing was surprising for me in any case: with the world coming to the end, the people are rather well-behaved, polite, the looting and destruction are minimal. Or at least they did not show much: but there were no burned or abandoned cars, no houses broken into...you'd expect people to go crazy knowing they were going to die soon. Not so much!

The drama is well written: in spite of frequent flashbacks, there is no confusion about the timeline. The acting is superb. The cinematography standard and nature pretty. The song is amazing: Futatabi by Hiroba. I have found my latest favourite song!

This should have been a 10/10 drama if it had not been for the end of the world !