Ichiban Suki na Hana Directors Cut Blu-ray BOX

Mikako Tabe, Kohei Matsushita, Mio Imada and Fuju Kamio share a new four-lead format to tell a story of friendship between four men and women.

Thirty-four-year-old Yukue Ushio teaches at Onodera Cram School and has found forming pairs difficult since childhood. Yet she has one trusted male friend from her student days, Kotaro Akada. Thirty-six-year-old Tsubaki Haruki works at Shiranami Publishing and is about to marry. Unable to pair up since childhood, he is finally preparing to gain a partner as his wife. Twenty-six-year-old Yaya Miyuki is a hairdresser at Snail who fears facing people one-to-one. Twenty-seven-year-old Momiji Sato works at a convenience store while dreaming of becoming an illustrator, feeling that nobody has ever truly faced him individually.

Yukue meets Akada at karaoke as usual, except that he announces his marriage. A few days later, he suddenly ends their friendship because his fiancée dislikes his female friend. Tsubaki enjoys choosing furniture for a new home with girlfriend Sumire Koiwai, but she leaves him for her male friend and the wedding is canceled. Yaya goes drinking with a hairdressing colleague who wants more than friendship, leaving her weary of being unable to remain ordinary friends.

One day Momiji visits a house. Tsubaki answers the door: the person Momiji sought has moved away, and Tsubaki lives where he had intended to live with Sumire. Yukue and Yaya also arrive. Four people differing in age, gender and upbringing come face to face.

All eleven episodes are included in director's-cut versions. The cast features Tabe, Matsushita, Imada and Kamio, with Asuka Saito, Hayate Ichinose, Tamaki Shiratori, Soya Kurokawa, Momoko Tanabe, Yuki Izumisawa, Asami Usuda, Taiga Nakano and Rena Tanaka. Contents, names and specifications may change.

Three main Blu-rays contain 557minutes. The bonus Blu-ray adds 168minutes including making-of footage; Kaze Fujii's Hana collaboration film, identical to the official Universal Music Japan video; the complete Children's Sumo sequence; Ichiban Suki na Hana: Everyone's True Feelings; and trailers. A Momiji illustration sticker is enclosed. Japanese Linear PCM 2-channel stereo audio is provided, with Japanese subtitles on the main program.