Imagine having an ice-cream sundae with 8 different flavors. Each flavor has a different taste, texture sometimes even polar opposite to each other but the special thing about it is they compliment each other so well. It also has many delicious toppings... Crumbled cookies, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, tangy raspberry syrup, or if you prefer some caramel… and its unpredictableness it like the cherry on the top. This sounds like a whole mess right? But when you take one bite you’ll love it… and by the time of the last bite, it’s the tastiest ice-cream sundae you ever had.

The concept-the core of the plot is bizarre (not really surprising for jdramas), who would have thought it’ll work. Having 8 characters as main leads and as any normal Jdrama just 10 episodes, it’s worrisome: how can everything be managed?... The screentime, character-their relationship development. Without rushing anything everything fits very well. And it’s not regular rom-com too, handling some psychological stuff, with the portrayal of emotions and lives of adults as Jeanie and Amrita already said it’s grown up, and an adult drama but it doesn’t mean the only adults can enjoy (considering my experience). I would consider it as evergreen drama as even after 12 yrs it’s still refreshing!

The soundtrack is just awesome. With oldies from the 70s like ‘Eternal Flame’ by The Bangles, Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘Fantasy’ has that retro feel and vibe.

The most amazing part of it lies in its characters.
Ai-ai I would call her my first love here, I liked her from the moment I know her. She’s charming, smart, straightforward, she has a good sense of humor lol (I’m envious of such ladies) she isn’t perfect though, having some flaws too! but maybe she has everything that I try to find in female leads. As Ai-ai becomes my first love then O-chan would be love at first sight (ops technically second sight I loved him in Hana Yori Dango), not being shallow (?) but he just looks oo fine. And this isn’t just about looks he has that charisma in his character, his being imperfect would be my favorite thing about him. His personality has different shades some are hidden from the world. Ai-ai, O-chan were my favs from the very start, I even enjoyed their screentime together. But it wasn’t the case for everyone. Kei is who... I had the most complicated relationship lol, with many drama tropes: Hate-to-love, he had a bad first impression on me, I was even annoyed by his screentime... Then it turned into a slow burn, it took me a lot of time to understand him, how he does things, he just slowly grew upon me. Then at the end, I knew ah I love him (you can call it a rushed happy ending at the last minute). Masato-san maybe a roller coaster? there are many ups and downs I experienced with him, having that dark shade that makes his character appeal very mysterious… at one moment I felt I know him but in another, I never actually know who he is really.

Aside from liking them individually, what gave me the most pleasure was their friendship, the time they spend together.. the lounge time, and pajama parties.

It was unusual, bizarre, messy, and surprising… enjoyed every minute.
Yay! Panda

P.s: Sorry if I made you crave for ice-cream :')