Ryôki teki na kanojo

This 11-part drama takes scenes of the original Korean "My Sassy Girl (2001)", and then adds many more interesting characters and amazing plot twists. It is very touching and very funny.

The only reason that I can't give a 10/10 for it is that, starting at the 8th episode, the English subtitles are almost incomprehensible. Before that, the subtitles are very clear and helpful, even explaining subtle points of Japanese cultural references. From the 8th episode on, it looks like the English subtitles were translated from the Chinese ones, since the characters' names become the Chinese equivalents of the Japanese names, by someone who didn't know English very well.

Despite this flaw, watching this drama was lots of fun!

I have not seen the film where this series came from yet, but I have seen Rena Tanaka in other films (most notably "First Love") and she is a very good actress. Here she plays Riko, a young, kind of uninhibited lady who meets up by accident with Saburo, who is very ably played by Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. Riko is not only sassy, she is a little crazy. She puts Saburo through his paces, and at times you border on not liking her at all. In the second half of the series she becomes a lot more likable, and the series becomes stronger. The other characters are fine, especially the character of Minami, who knew Saburo when they were children. The series at time is in hyper drive, but just go along with it. I think you'll enjoy this, its fun to watch.