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We've seen her grow from a cute petite gamine (or maybe they were just the roles thrown at her) into a serious actor of real depth.

"These cards say that the person is quite dense and doesn't understand anything easily. I hope the person isn't too dense to read". I cracked up when I heard these lines. BTW, both of the teachers' actresses are trans women, aren't they? What an inclusive school S-TAR is!
This drama has its heart in the right place, although almost every aspect of it was amateurish and immature, starting with the script. The almost constant silly irrelevant background music almost ruined it, along with the cheesy comedy sound effects. But may the team keep getting their practice and hopefully some editing and mentoring, because these GL dramas are evidently entertaining many people as well as contributing to social and legal change,

Not meant seriously at all. But you're evidently more confident than I was about the content.

What a change in tone was episode five. Multiple characters, several mini-stories which were poignant rather than amusing. And a sad twist near the end. This episode is veering away from the manga and anime. The usual Japanese trope of people being incredibly nervous in their approaches to the opposite sex, although what makes this series unusual is that Takagi disguises her nerves by teasing. No role models provided here as to how to approach more comfortably.

Interesting way to put it and it makes sense. After all, that’s the fundamental challenge of parenting: to recognise and discard all of their own expectations, and to figure out how to nurture their child’s individual development.

We were all teens once and if we're enjoying identifying with the characters, rather than "shipping" them, that's OK by me and not creepy. I guess it depends on what happens in your mind when you're watching them.

Similar in which way? Another drama about a boy and girl having their own world at the back of the classroom is Tonari no Seki-Kun (2015). The mood is rather different - it's hilarious, not romantic. But well worth a watch. Each episode is paired with a different series ( Rumi-Chan no Jishou) which is completely crazy.

That's great news, thanks for letting me know. Although I know nothing whatsoever about baseball :-)

There must be so much child sexual abuse going on in Japan, and the vast majority of it unreported.

Thanks. Do you think you'll watch it? It doesn't appeal to me. Can't remember how I found myself on this page.

Interesting (am half-way through the 1st episode). I guess I was expecting something as hilarious as Tonari no Seki-kun, having seen the animes and read the mangas, but instead we have a gentle pace, gorgeous island town scenery, and the subtle romantic vibe which is much more evident than in the anime/manga. Which is probably necessary, because the teasing works as comedy in the anime/manga, but in a live-action would probably just look ridiculous or even cruel (if it was forefront like in the anime/manga). But I did end up laughing at how she keeps playing with him.
But it's hard to discern what she sees in him. She's cute and smart, and he's a bit of an awkward self-conscious dope. How did they cast this series? Got a lineup of boy actors and made them each embarrassed to see how awkward they looked?

Yes, people can fall for their friends, and often it works well because they've already got to know them, which has advantages over picking up someone based on superficial attraction. I was just questioning it as a worn-out cliche of drama scripts. And I agree with you about the enemies to lovers cliche. The problem is, as explained by the scriptwriting guru Robert McKee in "Story" is that love stories are plotted around the lovers having to surmount a series of obstacles. In the past the obstacles were external, such as social class, but these days people are generally free to pair up with whoever they like, so the obstacles have to be internal/psychological. An enemy is an extreme version of an obstacle!

You had the chance for someone to listen with interest to your opinions, instead you resorted to insult.

Farenheit or Celsius?

I suspect it may be that her overacting style worked in the past, because it put her in the centre of the scene even when she was younger and smaller, but maybe somehow the direction made it work well too.

Is the movie cheesy too?

Is it talk that would pass the Bechdel test, or ...?

Given that most of the world see this as abusive and a corruption of a power relationship, there must be a lot of abuse still going on in Japan.

Wow, I take note. The synopsis sounds interesting, and can I trust that it passes the Bechdel test?

Great work. It looks like you have listed Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san twice. The second entry has manga picture and synopsis from the later manga spin-off when they are adults. As far as I can tell, your first entry is the correct one and you could delete the second one.