A stand out drama from beginning to end. Not one scene is wasted or out of place; the end credit scenes alone are worth watching for the innovative treatment. Hard to believe this is Hashizume Shunki’s first drama; his direction is sure throughout, even allowing for his lead cast being highly experienced actors and a screen-adaption from the mangas by Asano Taeke who has 60 scriptwriting credits to her name.

Heart-breaking and gut-wrenching in slow motion as this story of friends and lovers plays out over 8 years of their lives together, and apart. A piece of LGBTQ+ storytelling so good it merits an exceptional quality award.

But a word of warning: those who wish for clean tidy resolutions should know that “More Than Words” is true to life, and aspects of the story could easily yield a follow-up. Instead it ends with the certainty that while we live there is no end point to the emotional knots these characters have consented to being in. And yet, over 340 minutes, their story held me captive with their love and care and desire to not let go of each other.