The plot is one that will be familiar to just about everyone with any asian media experience. We have here a new teacher, so energetic full of life and innocent to the point they are not affected by the beauraucracy of educators who look only for themselves, no these are teachers who believe wholly in the students and care deeply for them. But their first class is a problematic one, who openly show their lack of appreciation for their teacher, who is an adult, part of the larger group of teachers, and even adults, who they feel have betrayed their trust and thus deserve only their detest. Sound familiar? GTO? Gokusen 1-3? Exactly, this story sounds VERY MUCH like those. A teacher with a student body that hates them so much they attempt and even manage to inflict bodily harm and emotional and psychological tactics on them. However, the teacher rather than gives up like the students wish, keeps loving them all the same until her persistence wins them over in a glorious climactic moment that tugs at the heart of many. Yes this is another drama like that, which if it's yer first one like this, you will love, or if you like these sorts of stories, the same will apply. However, there are people too who have seen both who will think, "oh another GTO/Gokusen story, been there, seen that, old news". And i admit, it's a story done before, not much different except the circumstances with which the students detest the teacher.
As always the teacher knows the hardships they face, whether it be a former delinquent themselves as in GTO, or the actual heir to a Yakuza clan like in Gokusen, or in this case, having gone through the pain of having your mother forget about you and focus on a sibling who is terminally ill.
This is definately a stronger story than in GTO or Gokusen. In GTO, it was simply a student teacher relationship that was hidden, in Gokusen they were gangster-ish to begin with and the teachers resorted to punishment rather than listen to their side of the story, but in here, we have a genuine detest that is shared by many, this is a much better, at least i think, "hatred excuse" for the students to latch onto, because it is one that all of them have shared together and builds a stronger comraderie than the other two stores could muster. However, if it just stopped there, the story wouldn't be the one that i just finished, no there's more behind it ,especially behind the leader of 3TD, a student organization formed from that class that takes care of any problems the class needs. She has her own personal demons that must be taken care of, and many of the students requre that as well. But their teacher is the amazing character, blindly believing them to the point they give in and realize this teacher is for them and will keep her promises or die trying.
the cast was well recognized, having Horikita maki, as shallow as it sounds, really helps bring interest to this drama, along with other cast members like Hongo Kanata and Uehara Misa (nodame cantabile, attention please). Musically, i didn't really get into the songs, except of course the insert/ending song My Generation by YUI