Recently, I've been watching doramas because K-dramas are boring nowadays. The only K-drama I'm watching is Yong Pal (because of Moon Jo Won), and I even hate the main heroine, because she is too old for Joo Won and her eyes doesn't seem being in love with him. Back to Koinaka. This dorama is very cliche. The storyline is very much look alike with many shoujo mangas. I don't even remember, but it's very shoujo-like. With the friendship, love-triangle theme. But what I like about this dorama is their acting feels natural. Both the main leads could act like a real childhood friends. And the ending was somewhat different than many other titles I've watched. SPOILER AHEAD, but I'd like to give my thoughts, because my favorite is in the ending. Don't read if you don't want to, because the English subs for final episode isn't here yet. I was watching the final episode without subs.

First of, you must know who are the cast members. I referred to go to Asianwiki for more detailed pictures of every cast. You'll see that the main leads are Fukushi Sota (He's very popular right now, I've seen him in Toshokan Sensou Movie 1, Sukitte ii na yo, Kamisama no Iu Toori-this film is yucks, and will see him in Strobe Edge), Tsubasa Honda (Ao Haru Ride), and Nomura Shuhei (Boku no Ita Jikan, and I hope I'll be able to stand watching Litchi-Lychee Hikari Club).


STORY THEME
The theme for this dorama is two childhood friends in summer, Miura Aoi and Serizawa Akari's love. The two of them liked each other as childhood friends until their past high school's life. Suddenly, a new transfer student named Aoi Shota, appeared in front of them and Miura became close with him quickly. It's like a fate for these two people named "Aoi=blue", but you could tell that Fukushi Sota's 'Aoi' is for his given name, while Nomura Shuhei's 'Aoi' is for his family name. Akari called Miura Aoi as "Aoi", while the other one is "Shota", meant she called them by just their given name=close friends would do.


Without Aoi's knowledge, Akari's father had gone bankrupt so they must move away. In the summer of their first high school year, Akari went missing after she and Aoi were watching fireworks together in their small city, Toyama. She kissed him, but Aoi couldn't notice what that mean. Meanwhile, Shota found Akari's memo to meet Aoi again the next summer, but he kept it by himself.

Seven years later, Aoi worked as a rookie architect at Niwa Mariko's office in Tokyo. A sudden visit by his long-lost friend, Shota, brought him to meet Akari again, as Shota's fiancee. It gave Aoi  a shocking truth, while he's always dreaming of meeting her again. She is Aoi's first love and still is, but Akari is Shota's girlfriend now. She wanted to be a teacher, while Shota was already a doctor. In numerous meeting, Akari asked if Aoi read her memo, but he's blank by the questions. Through various chances, Aoi met Akari's father, which already had a new family. It turned out he abandoned Akari right after they disappeared from Toyama. He left Akari alone and Shota was the one who took care of her until now, start from when he stole Aoi's memo and met Akari himself. Of course Akari was disappointed, but she couldn't do anything than to give her blessings for her father's second marriage.


Actually, if Akari has Shota as her current boyfriend, Aoi has an ex-girlfriend, Saeki Ruiko. But rather than became an annoying ex, she played a good role of cheering Aoi. She once was asking Aoi to become lovers the second time, but knowing he already love Akari again, Ruiko moved away. Meanwhile, the climax was when Akari got proposed by Shota. Aoi saw through it, but he couldn't stop Akari. He also had a rookie architect competition ahead on the same day Shota asked Akari to go to Toyama to receive her answer. After coming to Aoi's competition, Akari went ahead to Toyama. Meanwhile, even though Aoi didn't win the competition, he got a remarkable prize from jury's voting. After getting encouraged by the jury and his friend, Kanazawa Kouhei (together with his little sister, Miura Nanami), Aoi decided to go to Toyama, running for Akari.


At Toyama, Akari went reminiscing of her past to her old house and abandoned high school. The memories goes to the bench in front of train station, where Aoi wrote I love potofu. The bench was already changed by seven years. This is where Akari feels insecurities of the changes, telling Aoi about that. But Aoi confessed to her about his real feelings. That he loved her 7 years ago, and will love her more by years. He doesn't know about their future, unlike Shota who proposed to Akari with bright future, but Aoi is sincere, finally. In the end, Akari chose to watch fireworks with Aoi, for now and for the next next festival ahead.

A night before their wedding day, Akari invited Aoi to eat ramen together. This is the scene where we got confused if Akari will marry Aoi or not, because they have natural best friends' conversation (I thought they're getting back as friends). They're saying "Mata ashita"=see you tomorrow, like everyday conversation. On the next day, Aoi went late for their wedding because he had stomachache after eating ramen yesterday, blamed it on Akari when they step on the red carpet (Is it red? I forgot). It's funny how they were talking as usual, but Aoi said thanks for marrying him. Akari's father also came, brought by Shota. That's the reason Shota was also late in the first episode. Meanwhile, the one who got Akari's bouquet was Nanami, grabbed by Kouhei also. All in all, the most fun wedding scene I've watched from a drama.



THOUGHTS
As I've wrote above, super love its ending! I know there's lacking here and there. I've been asking, why would they got married quickly without dating first? But their feelings were already connected for more than seven years. I can tell that they wanted to be together as quickly as possible, to make up for the separation.


The wedding scene was fun. I had so much fun watching Aoi and Akari fighting over ramen while holding hands and walking through the altar. And Nanami & Kouhei's scene was also hilarious. Didn't see they would jump over a bouquet. In the final episode, when Nanami asked Kouhei about who will Akari ended up with, Kouhei just said whoever she choose, Akari would be happy with both. That's because both Aoi and Shota are his best friends, he only chose good ones. Truly got what a friendships is with this dorama, both believed on each other. Also, I liked how Aoi and Akari kept being best friends even until they get married. They could love each other, fighting with each other, cries over each other. Super love the wedding ending!!


BONUS SCENE

In the final episode after the true story ended, there's a scene when Akari and Aoi watches fireworks together. They asked a girl to take their picture. Turn out she's Sashihara Rino from AKB48. Yeah, I don't know about AKB and whatever. Just getting the news. What's wrong with this bonus? It's weird but fun, like an omake from usual games.


MUSIC
I don't remember much about the BGM, but I like Leo Ieiri theme song "Kimi ga Kureta Natsu" or Summer I Got From You. It fits the theme perfectly, especially Aoi's feelings. Why must two hearts being separated? They should get a happy ending. Why? I'm glad they got a happy one. But I also feel sorry for Shota. Even though he seemed bad at the beginning, he turned kind. Is there an OVA for Shota? Uh, not for a dorama, right?



FINAL WORDS
Yeah, I don't care how cliche it was at the beginning. I've gone through something more bad than that. It could fit well because Honda Tsubasa and Fukushi Sota's acting like a real childhood friends. Did you know that Fukushi Sota, Honda Tsubasa, and Nomura Shuhei starred in Enoshima Prism movie in 2013? The three of them starred as main leads too. I must watch that, seriously. Is that why Sota & Honda are already best friends? I guess so. They have good chemistry over each other.


Throw away the cliche storyline. You must watch only because the ending is fun! I can laugh quietly when they're fighting at the altar. But I'm jealous. Who can fight and have everyday conversation a day before the wedding and on the big day? Their relationships is fun. Please have Sota & Honda in one dorama / movie together again. I think Honda's expression is a lot more having fun with Sota than in Ao Haru Ride with Higashide Masahiro. Maybe because of only one year differences in their age. Congratulations for Akari and Aoi. Finally it's happy ending for the two main leads.



UPDATE FOR THE FUNNIEST WEDDING CONVERSATION (AFTER SUBS):