Finished watching this November 2024, as they aired it here in Japan on TVer (thank my lucky stars that they don't forget to show old dramas along with the new--except NHK and other non-commercial broadcasts) .

What I liked: The fact that this is an old-school drama, which means it has a long running time, and thus more time to flesh-out the characters and give them more time to interact with each other. The benefit for us viewers being that we can come to care more about them. And because this is an old drama (here in 2024), it's also a good chance to look at what life was like back in the early 90's. I also personally like the three mains- they are all not only great actors, but have long, successful careers. They are very appealing to me in different ways. And finally, I just love the ending theme song-sung by Miyazawa herself. I'm a softie for jazzy-pop songs. And the cream on the top is that along with the cool song are ending credits with cute puppies frolicking around a white backdrop! They're so adorable!

What I didn't like: Despite the great cast and their best efforts, the story unfolds like the petals of a flower in a game of he loves me he loves me not. Or to put in this drama's terms, an elevator of love continuously going up and down. Relationships just don't seem to get anywhere. It was frustrating at times watching this drama because of that. Also, the side stories aren't that interesting. As a result, there's not much desire to re-watch this drama, for me at least.