how do I put it....there are just way too many negative elements dumped on one person, and the emphasis is either way too focused or way too distracted. I understand that as a drama, there have to be some tragedy involved, either in the past or present. However, this doesn't mean an overemphasis of these tragedies will make the show more tear-jerking. I honestly cried a river in clannad after story but this didn't make me shed one tear.
Story-wise, it goes back and forth from present to past not really in the form of flashbacks, which is nice for a thriller, but I think this strategy totally backfired on the drama aspect of the show. By the end, neither what happened in the past nor what's happening in the present can be thoroughly enjoyed. Even the complicated ties among all the characters in the past and present cannot make up for the lack of real bond among all the characters. Why? Because there was never one to start with. The story is badly told to be convincing, not to say the characters are too unreal to be unbelievable. Who on earth get to be adopted, beaten, raped, and then die in a car accident? Even if such persons exist (which I suppose is more believable during war times), the ties are too convenient to be even called fate. Fate would laugh at such ties.
A drama as unreal as this doesn't even deserve to called one. And, this isn't a melodrama either. The psychological sections scattered throughout the story aren't very convincing either because the overall setting and atmosphere aren't powerful enough. Even the dialogues, which I admit have some depth, are too unnatural to even make an impact.
What I think is, the creators tried too hard. I feel like they want to make a show that breaks the drama genre without going into horror or action (I'm guessing it from the opening and some excerpts), but I think their effort backfired.I even prefer a good old melodrama to this.
