After having a burnout in his office job in Tokyo, 30-year old Akira Minato returns to his hometown by the sea and runs a laundromat that he inherited from his grandfather. Life is quiet and Akira is happy. That is, until 17-year old student Shintaro shows up. Not only is Akira's life and feelings turned upside down, he also begins to realize that he has been running away from himself and his feelings for too long. Will he finally face his past?
Oh boy, is this one about crushes. We have teenagers crushing on adults, students on teachers and colleagues on ... well, colleagues.
But what I found intriguing was the unusual constellation of the two main couples: Usually, and that would have made me so uncomfortable that I probably would have quit the series in episode one, it is the older part pursuing the younger. The responsible adult grooms and seduces the inexperienced teenager.
But. This is not Lolita and thank God.
Instead, in both main couples, the younger part is the pursuer (and quite an aggressive pursuer for his young age sometimes, something which I haven't seen yet), and the adult pursued behaves like a kid.
Akira behaves and screams around like a 5-year old (which, I must admit, was a tad annoying sometimes). He runs away from his feelings, from his past and from his responsibilities. The other adult in the side couple, SEEMS like a responsible adult, but he lives in his own world and is, in every way, innocent. It is, again, the younger half of the couple that awakens new feelings and an outlook on reality in him.
The teenagers, on the other hand, are more mature and serious. Or so it seems. Thank God, the script lets them also be teenagers inbetween. They are overemotional sometimes, letting their feelings and first love consume them completely.
I know, some viewers have a problem with the age gap, or more specifically the ages of the age gap. In the end, Shin is 13 years younger than Akira, and just turns 18 in the run of the series. And I do agree. 17 and 30 are like different worlds. I recall that when I was 17, I was a completely different person than I am now. Like Shin, I used to have a crush on a much older man and today, in retrospective, I am glad he didn't act on it.
What makes it different here, is that Akira tries not to encourage the crush too much. He is instantly drawn to Shin, because Shin is his type (not because he is a teenager), but he at least tries to keep his distance. It is already a big deal when Shin simply wants to hold Akira's hand and their first kiss happens when Shin is over 18.
It is just that in the end, both men have gone through development, Akira was finally able to confront the one he had been running from since he was a teenager, realizing that he is finally over him, and Shin is on the verge of entering university, a new chapter in his life, an important step into adulthood. Still, Akira always supports him, does not force him into anything (it is rather SHIN who constantly tries to seduce him), and says that he will wait for him no matter how long it takes.
That was what drew me to this couple and made me root for them until the beautiful end. That there is always a mutual respect and cautious tenderness.
Okay, enough with the analysis, let's face the facts: Both main actors are fantastic, especially Sho in the role of Shin has impressed me. He shows wonderful depths for his age (23 during production), but Takuya can easily hold his own. Both show emotions wonderfully and naturally and when they cry, it breaks your heart.
The production is absolutely lovely and heartwarming and I especially loved the effects when there was a flashback. Also, you will fall in love with the whole cast, who are just adorable.
What can I say? I laughed, I cried (or rather bawled my eyes out, when you see the scene in question, you will understand) and I had a good time watching the show. I give it a 9/10 because of some lengths and repetitions, but overall it's a must watch that I would absolutely recommend. And I am hoping for a second season, I'd love to see how Akira's and Shin's story goes on.
Oh boy, is this one about crushes. We have teenagers crushing on adults, students on teachers and colleagues on ... well, colleagues.
But what I found intriguing was the unusual constellation of the two main couples: Usually, and that would have made me so uncomfortable that I probably would have quit the series in episode one, it is the older part pursuing the younger. The responsible adult grooms and seduces the inexperienced teenager.
But. This is not Lolita and thank God.
Instead, in both main couples, the younger part is the pursuer (and quite an aggressive pursuer for his young age sometimes, something which I haven't seen yet), and the adult pursued behaves like a kid.
Akira behaves and screams around like a 5-year old (which, I must admit, was a tad annoying sometimes). He runs away from his feelings, from his past and from his responsibilities. The other adult in the side couple, SEEMS like a responsible adult, but he lives in his own world and is, in every way, innocent. It is, again, the younger half of the couple that awakens new feelings and an outlook on reality in him.
The teenagers, on the other hand, are more mature and serious. Or so it seems. Thank God, the script lets them also be teenagers inbetween. They are overemotional sometimes, letting their feelings and first love consume them completely.
I know, some viewers have a problem with the age gap, or more specifically the ages of the age gap. In the end, Shin is 13 years younger than Akira, and just turns 18 in the run of the series. And I do agree. 17 and 30 are like different worlds. I recall that when I was 17, I was a completely different person than I am now. Like Shin, I used to have a crush on a much older man and today, in retrospective, I am glad he didn't act on it.
What makes it different here, is that Akira tries not to encourage the crush too much. He is instantly drawn to Shin, because Shin is his type (not because he is a teenager), but he at least tries to keep his distance. It is already a big deal when Shin simply wants to hold Akira's hand and their first kiss happens when Shin is over 18.
It is just that in the end, both men have gone through development, Akira was finally able to confront the one he had been running from since he was a teenager, realizing that he is finally over him, and Shin is on the verge of entering university, a new chapter in his life, an important step into adulthood. Still, Akira always supports him, does not force him into anything (it is rather SHIN who constantly tries to seduce him), and says that he will wait for him no matter how long it takes.
That was what drew me to this couple and made me root for them until the beautiful end. That there is always a mutual respect and cautious tenderness.
Okay, enough with the analysis, let's face the facts: Both main actors are fantastic, especially Sho in the role of Shin has impressed me. He shows wonderful depths for his age (23 during production), but Takuya can easily hold his own. Both show emotions wonderfully and naturally and when they cry, it breaks your heart.
The production is absolutely lovely and heartwarming and I especially loved the effects when there was a flashback. Also, you will fall in love with the whole cast, who are just adorable.
What can I say? I laughed, I cried (or rather bawled my eyes out, when you see the scene in question, you will understand) and I had a good time watching the show. I give it a 9/10 because of some lengths and repetitions, but overall it's a must watch that I would absolutely recommend. And I am hoping for a second season, I'd love to see how Akira's and Shin's story goes on.