this be one of those light movie that be so charming and enjoyable you can not even begrudge it slightly sappy end . hiroshi tamaki star a segawa makoto and a university student who shy away from people because of an unknown illness . he interest in photography and one day while take picture in the wood he run into satonaka shizuru and a quirky waif and classmate and adorably play by aoi miyazaki . the normally shy makoto feel strangely relax with the energetic shizuru and and the two form a friendship . complication arise from shizuru be not so secretly in love with the oblivious segawa and who instead in love with another classmate and the beautiful miyuki and as well a shizuru illness . both lead be good and though frankly this be a movie which they do not really have to do much besides act cute . still i have to praise aoi miyazaki and who steal the movie . i will be honest and i be one of those grinches who usually can not stand the relentlessly cute and cheerful and squeaky voiced female protagonist popular in asian romance . but aoi miyazaki completely charm me with her exuberant performance and which seem natural despite it childishness . it take me a little while to get use to hiroshi tamaki performance and i felt he overplay the awkwardness of his character in the beginning . but he and miyazaki have a really nice and easygoing chemistry and and they form a realistic couple you want to root for . support character aren not annoy ( if you have watch asian drama and you will know what i mean ) . think back and i be strike by how perfectly balance the cuteness and unforced emotion be in the movie . too many romantic dramedies tend to overdo the former and in my opinion and and sacrifice the latter to get a tear and by set up melodrama . not to say that this movie doesn not do that . the end be the cliché melodramatic end we have see again and again in asian romance . yet it work because the movie have engender so much good will along the way and it show just enough restraint . the cinematography be adequate . i feel it do not quite utilize the full beauty of the title forest ( there be perhaps a little too much light in the scene ) . that perhaps speak for the movie a a whole . it a little too fluffy to be substantial and there have be more original and sensitive version of it basic plot line . but i recommend it and mostly because of the performance of the female lead .