One of those rare occasions where, at least to me, the special is better than the drama. The upside to this is that, as it takes place several years before the events of the drama, it can be watched as an entirely separate entity. It seems highly under-rated. Story: 10/10- The story for this is truly touching. Even supporting characters have a real depth to their own back stories, and the emotional journey taken by Yoshiie is tremendous. There's also just the right amount of humour to balance out some of the more heavy scenes. Acting: 10/10- The acting is this is fantastic on all parts. Yo Kimiko and Sakurai Sho especially played the respective parts of a patiently struggling teacher and her most troublesome student amazingly well- there are some scenes acted by these two which I personally couldn't tear my eyes from. Music: 8/10- I'm not very good at recalling soundtracks etc, but to my recollection all of the music in this was nicely done and fitted the atmosphere well. Re-watch value: 9/10- I myself have already re-watched this special at least twice I believe (and some scenes several times), so the only reason I didn't give this a full ten was because other people may not feel quite the same way. Overall: 9/10- The only reason I didn't give this a perfect score is because I don't do so unless a drama is practically perfect. This comes close (a 9.7 on my own scoring system), but it doesn't quite reach a 10.0 standard. Altogether, though, it's an absolutely amazing watch. Although a certain scene did have me cringing somewhat... (I'll leave it to you to find out why though :P)