I was really excited when I first heard about this, and was not disappointed. It was very different from the manga in interesting ways. The only thing I disliked is that half of the time, I found myself wanting to slap the characters. Nao especially, for not learning or thinking for herself. For example, in the revival round: "Akiyama's not here to save me so guess I'll just give up..." Really Nao?! I found that the main antagonists had the typical pathetic bad guy syndrome, being too cocky and revealing their plans. Combine that with the annoying evil laughter, and... The few exceptions were: Akiyama, Eto Koichi, Ishida Rie, and coordinator Eri. Although I had seen Matsuda Shota in Hana Yori Dango, his role as Akiyama made me a fan. It was acted perfectly. Akiyama is a genius and the most entertaining part of the drama is trying to figure out what he will do next. I loved the main theme music and still enjoy listening to it. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially those who like psychological dramas. It was suspenseful throughout and was a great brain teaser. I'll also warn that the special episode is partly recap, with some new scenes in between and at the end, so you can skip the recap parts.