⭐️⭐️1/2
This was an interesting drama at the start. I enjoyed the details and curious mystery, and it was slow but thought-provoking. It was nice to see Sakiko and Itsuki getting along together, as fellow people who have lost their spouses.
But, as the story progresses, it became blander and blander. The group conversations were as if the actors were reading off a script, and the dialogues were all over the place. It felt strange. It felt like the screenwriter was trying to hard. To be like Sakamoto Yuji. But his style can never be replicated.
That's why I got annoyed watching the show.
And then this annoyance followed me to the last episode. Not only did I find Mitsuru annoying, I also started to dislike Sakiko, which was unexpected. I'm not sure why the screenwriter decided to kind of "destroy" Sakiko by suddenly giving her some weird past about having divorced 4 times and so, when there were no hints about it before. And we never knew that Sakiko was so attached to Mitsuru. She managed to stay calm for an entire year without Mitsuru, but suddenly she cannot live without him?? It didn't make sense to me.
In the end, I was not sure what was the point of this drama. It felt like the drama was trying to reason out Mitsuru's actions, and making it seem like it is okay to just accept his flaws, when no, there should have been better communication all along.
I felt that Azusa's story should have been fleshed out more. There was so much focus on Mitsuru and Sakiko later on, that the grief of Azusa was no longer shown much. Then I question, what was the point of making her die? It felt like some convenient tool just to make Sakiko get along well with Itsuki. Which is quite sad to see.
And anyway, Itsuki won't end up with Sakiko, because he got "female friendzoned" 😆
And that was sad because I believe he really did have feelings for Sakiko.
To me, Sakiko and Mitsuru are weird. They have strange policies and spout nonsense sometimes. Itsuki is normal and have to face all these strange neighbours. Azusa is also strange because she's just so random.
Basically, it's a strange show. I think this screenwriter's shows are no longer my type after Silent.