Disclaimer: I haven't read the manga or watched any other versions.

I must say, I went into this drama with high expectations. So far, I haven't been disappointed once, no matter what happened in a drama.
However, this is something that was reeeeally hard to finish watching. I was doing my best not to drop it midway.

1. The female lead is a plain maiden in distress. I don't know if it's intentional, but she is made out to be a literal lump of clay as a person. She has the emotional maturity of a 12 year old child, that level of intelligence and dresses the same way even though she's nearly 20 years old in the drama. I'd somehow get over that had it not been for the fact that her character doesn't grow AT ALL. Nothing. She never learns. Nothing is different about her in ep 1 and ep 16. I mean, really? That's the best you can do? She has no ambition, no dreams, no passion in regards to anything except getting a boyfriend. The central piece of her life is a man and nothing else. Not even being a housewife, just to be in love. I understand dramas go far beyond reality, but this is so far fetched it's hard to watch and not cringe every waking moment of it.

2. Yahagi Honoka (female lead) overplayed her role so much it was unbearable to watch. The facial expressions, the lack of grace, the voice, the gestures. Everything is so overplayed that it becomes grotesque. It's like watching someone try to act for the first time. I get there's the concept of "cute", but this goes far beyond that. It's just.... sad.

3. I've seen dramas normalize a lot of things, but when did it become cute to normalize obsessive, stalker like behavior? And to boot, hurting your friend so much? There are things in life which are meant to be hard and a heavy topic and this drama throws it out of the window. That's what makes it so hard to connect to characters.

4. Some roles were greatly done, were relatable and well portrayed. Male lead as well. But, sorry to say, since female lead is in the center, really brings the quality of drama down.

Overall, drama had great potential. The fact that female lead was made an absolute idiot that can't do anything herself is what killed it, alongside the fact that her character never develops. Imagine making a drama where a 16 year old and a 20 year old are exactly the same. Personal growth? Unheard of.