Boy, I just love all these characters so much and want them to be happy. That feels like an odd thing to say after watching a show centered around a murder mystery, but it’s just true. None of these characters are perfect; in fact, even the main characters have serious flaws. And yet, of our main four characters, if any of them committed murder, I’d cover for them.
It makes sense that the people who created Saiai also made N no Tame ni (Saiai is the more recent show), because there is that same sense of “even if these people committed murder, I don’t want the cops catching them.” Although even the cop in this case is a sweetheart and had understandable reasons for wanting to figure out what happened. There is the main central murder mystery, and everything in this show is about unraveling it and seeing what lead up to it and then where everyone is 10 years afterwards. One of my few gripes is that I’m a little confused why some characters would just completely lose contact with each other, but no biggie.
While this is somewhat of an ensemble piece, our main character is undeniably Nozomi. The show jumps between moments in time and the earliest it goes is into Nozomi’s time in high school. Asides from the mystery, what really hooked me was Nozomi’s struggles back then. She is so strong and trying so hard, she’s amazing. She’s a super compelling character. Her relationships with the three guys were great too. Shinji was her rock on the island, and they had some amazing scenes together. I loved how Ando and Nishizaki became her mini-family. I hardly noticed there was a love triangle until towards the end, and I don’t completely love how it resolved, but no big deal. This show made me feel things, and it was primarily because of these characters (especially Nozomi and what happened to her).
The mystery was really good too. The reveals were excellently paced, and everything made sense. Having there be so much build up to the event worked well. Additionally, that mystery of “for the sake of N” and figuring out who “N” was for different characters was a good secondary mystery. I liked how the mystery resolved, and I overall liked the ending as well.
It’s a really good show. I was super invested and the 10 episodes flew by. It’s got a good mystery and a lot of heart. It’s one of the best jdramas I’ve seen!