📺 Japanese Tv Series Review: Only I Am 17 Years Old ( 僕だけが17歳の世界で)

Childhood BFF Mei and Kota have been always playful and comfortable around each other, but now that they're 17 years old they can't (and don't want to) hide their feelings, so Kota asks Mei to meet him under the big sakura tree that oddly blooms in winter to confess his love.
That is a special place for Mei because legend says the couple who gets together under that particular tree will never break up.
When Kota doesn't show up, Mei senses something is wrong and, shortly after, Kota is found dead in a ravine.

Seven years later, Mei moved to Tokyo but she's far from being accomplished, both work and love-wise...She goes back to Nagano after seeing in the news the bloomed sakura tree. While in town, she meets up with her high school best friends, Haruka and Ryohei, even if they grew up apart after Kota's death. 

After she gathers all the courage she has, Mei visits the unfamous sakura tree and all the memories hit her hard, but that's not just it: after weeping her tears, Kota appears in front of her!
Scared and confused, Mei runs away screaming, but who she saw wasn't a ghost...Kota seems to really be back from the dead...but why? 

While the group of friends tries to figure it out, they'll mend the wounds left from their unsolved issues as well...

My Opinion👍👎

I came across this Japanese drama completely by accident and usually, that's how I find series that I end up loving and think about it even when they end. "Only I Am 17 Years Old " was no difference!

Mei is so energetic and cheerful, it saddens me to see how lost and dull she is even after years from Kota's death: that really says something about how close they were and how his death had a huge impact on her.
At the same time, I'm don't like how her 'love' life has been portrayed since she's the first one who's not convinced at all about her 'relationship'...At that point, it would have been better if she was just single and hopeless, but I do get it was necessary to start the story.

Kota gets really frustrated by this change of hers and tries to make her remember how she was back then, showing that his love for her goes beyond the romantic or friend-wise conception we might have of it.

This 8 episodes drama is an emotional rollercoaster or at least it was for me: I was on the edge of my seat for the entire series, going from "I hate that character" to "Ah, maybe he wasn't so bad after all..." and all the shades in between.
There are a few plot twists here and there and also the supporting characters were amazing! Kota finds himself living and working in a shrine and the head priest is the caricature we all needed, without even realizing it! He's also an old acquaintance since he was in the drama "Radiation House".

Final thoughts: most certainly one of the best drama I've watched so far, it's complex but has an overall positive vibe, something we can all take advantage of these days, right?
I totally recommend the view in general, but even more so if you're studying Japanese: I found it useful because of the clear dialogues and pronunciation.

Rating: 5/5

Ph: asianwiki.com & screenshoots