I couldn't help comparing this "Itoshi no Nina" with "Kakafukaka", given how both dramas belong to the "romance" genre and (sort of) deal with the (very difficult) topic of sexual assaults; whereas "Kakafukaka" (which I tend to call "Kakà, fa kakà" in my head - Italians will get the pun better, it roughly translates as "It Sucks") did the most idiotic thing possible, that is, glamourized the whole thing, at least "Itoshi no Nina" attempted to face the topic more seriously, and managed to be a lot deeper - not such a feat per se, as the other one had been the paragon of shallowness!
Unfortunately, the result is still a bit half-baked, imho mostly due to the fact that it's not so easy to treat such a topic, within such a genre, in such a short series. And indeed, the characters' development often felt way too fast and abrupt; had the writer had more room to work with, she might have accomplished it better. As is, we have a very solidly written ML and a mostly well written FL, with the other characters being only roughly sketched and therefore often behaving inconsistently. Thusly, the story barely manages to get the passing grade, imho.
The cast did very well though, particularly the two leads, Hotta Mayu and Okada Kenshi, both delivering a very good and touching performance! Standing ovation for both!
A pretty high production value and a very nice and catchy song complete the package.
p.s.
Sorry for the following rant, but I just HAVE TO add this (WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD): I've noticed comments describing the ML as "one of the perpetrators", much to my astonishment! >____<
The guy had NO FOREKNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER of the kidnapping, and when he found out he took action and set the girl free, fleeing with her and bringing her to safety. Considering him "a perpetrator" means either NOT HAVING WATCHED THE DRAMA AT ALL or else BEING A SEXIST WHO THINKS HE'S GUILTY BY DEFINITION BECAUSE HE'S A MALE. Whichever is UTTERLY WRONG imho.