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-Running Time: 150 Minutes
-Screen Format: 16:9 Widescreen
-Number of Discs: 3 (2 episodes per volume)
-Special: Limited Edition version comes in special digipak packaging and a mini novel.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora - looking up at the half-moon is a romantic drama from start to finish.

When the series begins, Yuichi has been sent to stay at a local hospital for a sudden flare up of his Hepatitis. As he is to be there for some time, he winds up breaking out of the hospital at night to take walks or visit with his high school friends. The problem however, is the nurse Akiko. She doesn't take lightly to one of her charges "escaping" from the hospital and doing as they please. When she catches Yuichi she beats him up with a slipper, scolds him and/or locks him in his room by pushing a hospital bed in front of the door to his room.

One day Yuichi sees a young girl in a nearby wing on the same floor and begins to wonder who this new patient might be. As luck would have it, Akiko knows the young girl, Rika, and actually asks Yuichi to visit her, handing him one of the girl's favorite books so that he has something to talk to her about.

Unfortunately for Yuichi, Rika seems a bit spoiled and demanding, yet for some reason he can't seem to remove himself from seeing her and stop giving into her demands. As the two begin to spend more time with one another, Yuichi begins to realize why he wants to be around Rika; he has begun falling in love with her.

So why is Rika in the hospital you might wonder? It turns out she has a weak heart and may not have long to live. The uncertainty to the length of the time remaining to her is the reason she has few friends as she doesn't seem to want to hurt those she would care about.

For me this was a well told story and a lot of fun to watch. I didn't think they could pull much worthwhile out of only six episodes, but it turns out I was wrong. Every one of the characters was a lot of fun to watch or interesting in their own way. I highly recommend this to fans of romantic dramas.

The opening animation, a simple montage of Yuichi on his own, Rika on her own or a collection of the two together, is really well done and plays out to "Aoi Koufuku" or "Blue Happiness" by Nobuko. The theme is slightly upbeat and works with the animation to create a good feeling over all.

The ending animation is a collection of stills that depict Yuichi and Rika together. My favorite still would be the image of what looks like a wedding picture that has a portrait of the old guy with the porn collection in it. The ending theme is "Kioku no Kakera" or "Fragment of Memory" performed by Nobuko and creates a somber feel overall, which also works for the show.

The audio on the disc is presented in LPCM stereo, the original airing format. The only language option on these discs is spoken Japanese. There is no English language option; neither for subtitles nor for spoken dialog. The voice acting is really well done, and while the cast is minimal (there are only a hand full of characters), they do a great job getting the feelings of the characters across in a believable manner.

I have to say the animation is really well done. The characters are well drawn and well detailed, as are the backgrounds. The animation itself looks smooth and the character styles fit the show.