This drama is so not what I was expecting when I started the first episode. I figured it would be your typical high-school drama love triangle. Sure, there may be some of that element - and you may even suffer a few moments of second-lead syndrome...but this story is so much more. I'm still new to dramas, and there are several that I've truly enjoyed - but even as I enjoy them they're kind of a guilty pleasure because they're tropey and contrived - kind of like that novel you take to the beach because you don't really want to think real hard while you're basking in the sun. This one is not that novel. Oh, sure, it sounds like it at first. How many times has Pygmalion been remade as a teen romance, after all? Hot boy turns nerdy girl into beautiful princess and falls in love in spite of himself, right? Wrong. I keep seeing people saying "the plot is cliche, very ordinary". The premise may be cliche. But I felt the way the premise was implemented in the story line isn't cliche at all. This story isn't really about Nobuta becoming pretty or popular. It's about three people who learn to open up with each other and develop one of the most beautiful friendships between them I've ever had the pleasure to watch. Honestly, I wasn't sure about it at first. One of the characters, Akira, was off-putting to me because his behavior is just bizarre - but he grows on you. And at first Shuji comes off as...kind of a jerk who hides behind a nice-guy facade, but as the story progresses you find out he's not, at all. He's just as scared and lonely and human as the other two, but they've each built their own armor to protect themselves. It's when the armor begins to crack that the story really gets good. Nobuta is your typical weird, loner girl...but even she turns out to have some hidden depths. The ending was amazing and left me teary-eyed, but in a good way for a change. I highly recommend watching this one, especially if you like high-school stories, or stories about a trio of friends. I don't think you'll be disappointed.