Although you could classify this story as a romance, it is pretty one note for an Asian drama. I am going to be revealing a lot here so you might want to stop now.... There is very little suspense and it is rife with coincidental meetings that one could call fate but seem more manufactured. When you add some of the observations, particularly by Naruse's wife who suggests that maybe the heart is looking for the lost love he had when alive...it seems even more contrived.
So Naruse may be driven to behavior caused by Yasuke's heart inside of him... but you cannot let go of the fact that he is cheating on his rather nice wife. So therefore, the ending becomes predictable that he will wind up staying with his wife at the conclusion of all of this and perhaps Saeko will learn to move on (or maybe not).
This type of thinking where the spirit of the person can be relayed through a transplant seems to be more about superstition, which is still a big part of Asian culture. They try to make it seem as though it has scientific validity... However, this would have been a much more interesting story if it went the supernatural path and had more suspense...maybe a bit of horror (the guy becomes a pianist from this force inside him, even though prior to the transplant, he can't play a note!) or at least having Naruse fight off the feelings of being taken over by someone else inside his body, rather than succumbing to it seeming not to care hard enough if he blows his marriage.
There is a point during a picnic where Naruse's wife appears to enjoy her husband more when he wasn't so active, healthy and more independent (pre-transplant)...but it is never explored again.
Saeko seems to be disturbed and yet joyful by Naruse's reincarnation of Yoseke but never seems to care that she is with a married man. She also seems to be a bit bratty, again, the viewer has to root for Naruse to stay with his wife. Miki tells Saeko that she is breaking up a marriage but Saeko could care less.
Besides the pseudo-science part of playing the piano, when you watch them take a day trip to experience Youseke's childhood and encounter his mother in the cafe...what is the point of this scene? The viewer feels uncomfortable, which is a good thing....but the scene ends quickly and goes nowhere. The writer could have done more with this. You aren't really learning very much except Saeko can't move on and Naruse seems to be allowing himself to run away from his marriage.
After a while, watching Naruse and Saeko becomes just a tiresome bore. They are not particularly interesting people and don't seem to be very smart. The story just kind of lays there. It is not clever enough. You just feel bad for Miki.
In the last episode when he shows up in Hawaii, he seems more like a stalking psycho. The idea of giving her some last moments with Youseke seems more selfish than sincere. She was already starting to move on. By showing up on the island he was just making it harder for her, especially since he is dying. It seems all rather selfish.
Miki's phone call to Saeko in Hawaii was rather pathetic. It was sadder to me that she felt she had to make the call, than the fact that Naruse was actually dying. Miki is the real hero in this story.
It is difficult to buy the reconciliation with the two women in the end. I don't believe this is how real people would respond.
The writer of the film is supposed to be great but there's no greatness here.
