Two luminously attractive stars, Takahata Mitsuki (the girl) and Iwata Takanori (the boy), make this easy to watch. But it's very frothy, with the tropes of Japanese cinema, and specifically romantic comedies, on full display. The characters are never really challenged - Takahata has a typically annoying boss who repeatedly chastises her unfairly until she finally plucks up the courage to stand up to him; Iwata's character, a great cook who knows a lot about obscure herbs, is sweet but of course has a secret which separates the lovers. The secret turns out to be pretty benign and not much of an obstacle to a happy denouement. There are some standard, but very low-key, misunderstandings but no fireworks and a complete absence of real drama. So you watch this just because the stars are so pretty and you know all will be right in the end. You may learn a couple of things about plants - that's about it.
Review of Botanical Books
