Last Friends
ラスト・フレンズ
Episode Four
First Aired: 1st May 2008
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Michiru stays at the share house while Sousuke stalks Ruka to find out where Michiru is. Meanwhile, Orugin and Eri go pair cup shopping.

They cut the opening sequence! Poo! I really enjoy the opening, I just feel it is so powerful, and they cut it! I don’t mind so much, it means an extra 30 seconds or so of action. But Poo!

It is refreshing to see Nishihara Aki acting like such a bitch after only seeing her in “good girl” roles such as Hana Yori Dango’s Yuki. I can’t help wonder if there is something going on with her bullying though…

I also feel sorry for Ruka. Why can’t we all be treated as equals? It’s stuff like that that pisses me off.

Ogurin is cute in a wall-paper kind of way. Yeah, his character is very bland. I like Eri, but her voice is so irritating! I can see her staring in a Japanese version of The Nanny.

In this episode we learn more about Sousuke from Michiru’s point of view. I feel so bad for Ruka that Michiru doesn’t even see her pain or how she worries for her. Michiru is blind to it all.

Is waiting all night in the rain for someone sweet or sinister (or stupid!). I can understand what they were trying to do at the end of this episode. Someone standing in the rain, waiting for me… that is a stupid yet sweet action. We see this kind of thing in Hana Yori Dango. However, because we know Sousuke’s history, we see it as a sinister action. I can see how Michiru could interpret it as an action of someone who cares for her very much.

BillyWest alerted me to this Mainichi news article (not currently accessible) where the author can’t understand why Michiru went back to Sousuke at this point. I think that the author of this article doesn’t fully understand what women can go through when they are in this situation. In fact, I can’t either, but I do know someone who has gone through this situation. In this show I see all the “classic” or “cliche” things that people in a domestic violent situation go through. I have seen someone go back to a violent man two times, something that I only understand on the surface. This news article thinks that this show isn’t an accurate portrayal of DV, but in my limited experience I think it is.

Another episode that I really enjoyed.

Um… Perhaps the whole Sousuke drama is getting a bit too melodramatic. A bit repetitive?

I am still enjoying this show a lot.

Ruka and Takeru see Sousuke about to abuse Michiru – so her secret is out. Takeru gets an unwanted phone call, and becomes the newest member of the share house. And the cups become a pair…

During the first scene, where Ruka and Takeru see the Sousuke and Michiru incident no.34, the music felt really upbeat somehow. It was a bit distracting in some parts. Music should compliment, not be distracting! How ever, it was good to see some of the same moments of last week’s episode from a different perspective.

A bit more is revealed about Takeru’s past – not much, but enough to wet our lips.

Ruka and Michiru have a girl talk, where Michiru reveals that she has never felt loved before by anyone, until now with Sousuke. Which explains a lot of her behaviour, how ever she completely disregards everything Ruka has felt and done for her. It must have also been painful for Ruka to hear her defending him.

Takeru joins the house and he and Ruka have “pair cupts”. Very cute. We know that the cups are important, as they are featured in the opening sequence, they are a what everyone was shopping for in the first episode when the three main characters “came together” – even if they didn’t know it themselves at the time – and well, Michiru and Sousuke also have pair cups. I could go on and on. In fact, we have at the d-addicts forum.

Michiru asks for help from Ruka which is a fantastic step. She calls Ruka and says she wants to see her. Having to sneak behind your boyfriend’s back should be a warning sign, but nothing is ever clear when you are living it.

Michiru realises that she needs both Sousuke and Ruka in her life. And so she stands up for herself when Sousuke tries to forbid her to see Ruka. Yay! This was, in my opinion, a very powerful scene. It crossed between the verbal fight between Michiru and Sousuke, and a card game between the share house. Watch carefully from when Ruka gets a good card or a bad one.

In the end, you could say, Ruka wins both fights. It felt like a very powerful ending for the episode. I cried. I don’t know how anyone could not be affected by this episode. It felt like Michiru made some “progress”, some how.

Very powerful episode.

Pass…

OK, you already know I liked this one.

Last Friends
ラスト・フレンズ
Episode Two
First Aired: 17th April 2008
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Michiru is bullied at work on top of being harassed by her boyfriend. Eri meets up with a workmate whose wife is having an afair and he’s too chicken to do anything. There is something wrong with Ruka – perhaps she wants a sex change, perhaps she has a bladder infection. And we learn a bit more about Takeru. But not much.

Having known people who were in a similar situation to Michiru, I can really sympathise with her situation. At the same time, I’m screaming at the TV that she doesn’t need to apologise! And that she should realise that if she is feeling creeped out knowing he’s watching her from her work window then something isn’t right!!! Nothing in life is ever simple…

However, I have to say that this feels like one of the most realistic portrayals of domestic violence. The camera angles are excellent in this, really making the scene more threatening. If you don’t feel awkward watching it, I think there is something strange about you!

The Australian movie! I haven’t seen it, but I’m pretty sure they are watching Candy. It is here we see Takeru squirm a little, but we still aren’t sure what’s up with that. I can’t wait to discover more about Takeru. Awesome to see some Australia culture there, never the less.

Nothing I can think of…

I really like this show. One thing I really love is the opening sequence, I feel like it is really powerful and full of symbolism. Anyway, I rate this:

Last Friends
ラスト・フレンズ
Episode One
First Aired: 10th April 2008
Carlie’s Rating:
Rate This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

It starts at the end. Michiru is pregnant and someone has died. She is writing a letter to Ruka, but ends up throwing it into the bin. We then travel back before everything took place. Michiru’s life seems to be looking up. She’s going well at her job as an apprentice hair dresser, and her boyfriend Sousuke, who works in child welfare, has just asked her to move in with her. As she is shopping for homewares, she runs into her best friend since junior high, who she hasn’t seen in four years, Ruka.

What follows is a bit of an emotional roller-coaster ride. No one’s life is ever simple and everyone has problems. However, the five main characters are all tied together in some ways, as the opening sequence shows us. This is the kind of drama that comes along every so often that makes watching Japanese dramas worth it. In a word, this show is brilliant.

Sorry, I may gush about this show. But I knew from the moment of the powerful opening sequence of this show that I would probably love this. And I did. This isn’t your average drama. So far, in this first episode, it deals with domestic abuse, homosexuality, friendship and love. Who knows what else it will bring.

I really loved the characters, and found their responses to situations realistic. I haven’t dealt with domestic abuse myself, but I know people who have, and I know how people can manipulate you into thinking you are at fault for them hitting you. In Michiru’s case, I can see strongly that she is searching for someone who loves her, some one who pays attention to her in the way that her mother doesn’t. At the very beginning of the episode we see Sousuke waiting for her from her work window, an action we interpret to mean that he is a great guy for waiting for her when she is late to an appointment. As the show moves on we know that it is possibly a darker motivation for him being there.

Ueno Juri as Ruka is awesome. I love this character ten times better than her Nodame character. Sexual harassment and gender discrimination still happens people! I like a character who isn’t afraid to be different, especially in a culture where being different isn’t so favourably looked upon (well, who am I kidding, my own culture is somewhat the same).

Takeru, I felt, we didn’t get to see much of this character, but I have to comment that Eita’s hair is as crazy as ever.

I don’t know what it is about this show, but it has really grabbed my attention and I can’t look away.

I’m not sure what to fault this episode on. There was nothing I didn’t like.

I’m really looking forward to the rest of this series and I hope that it keeps the standard it has set in this first episode!

Rate Juri: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Where did I first see her?
I first saw her in Nodame Cantabile. Nodame, an adorable character who scarily reminds me of myself in some ways. Maybe over share.

My Opinion:
I haven’t seen as much of her compared to other actors but she is someone I definitely plan on keeping my eye on.

TV Shows:
Last Friends (2008)
Nodame Cantabile (2006)
Orange Days (2004)

Movies:
Summer Time Machine Blues (2005)

Websites:
Official Website
AsianMediaWiki
DramaWiki

Plot: It’s a hot summer. The Sci-fi club and the Photography club share the same club house. A string of events happen, and the remote to the air conditioner is destroyed. They can’t turn on the air conditioner without the remote, so they are forced to suffer the hot summer heat.

That is, until a time machine arrives in their club house. What would you do if you had a time machine? Why, go back in time to try and stop the air conditioner’s remote from getting broken of course!

no spoilers follow »

Carlie’s Thoughts: This is such a fun film! I admit I’m a bit fan of time travel movies, and comedy movies, and this is both.

The movie starts out with some strange things, some of which I’m like “ah yes, this will get sorted out later” and other times I’m was like “did I really just see that?” Of course as the movie goes along everything gets explained.

I think this movie has it all to make it five stars in my books: comedy, fun storyline, likeable characters, a bit of mystery that all comes together with no loose ties, and a little bit of romance. I highly recommend this film!

Buy Summer Blues Time Machine
From YesAsia.com -
Standard Edition
Premium Collectors Edition

Websites:
Official Website

LAST FRIENDS
Airing: Thursdays from the 10th of April
Staring: Nagasawa Masami, Ueno Juri, Eita

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru’s mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru’s in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life. – from dramawiki

This will be Hard Subbed by Kioku Fansubs.

PUZZLE
Airing: Fridays from the 18th of April
Staring: Ishihara Satomi, Yamamoto Yusuke, Kimura Ryo

Misako Ayukawa, a woman in her 30s, is an English teacher with ironically poor English skills. She values herself over her students, and money over love. She displays arrogance in front of her students, but acts pleasantly around her peers and family. However, Ayukawa possesses a brilliant mind for solving puzzles. She ends up tackling various cases around the school along with 3 of her top students. – from dramawiki

Puzzle is being both Hard and Soft Subbed by Querbeet.

TOKYO GHOST TRIP
Airing: Saturdays from the 12th of April
Staring: Juri, Kotani Yoshikazu, Yagami Ren

The comedy series currently runs in Tosuisha’s yaoi-focused Ichiraci magazine. Setsu (Juri) and Souwa (Yagami) are members of the Inui family, descended from itako (traditionally, blind female shamans from northern Japan). Their high school graduation is coming up, but the head of the Inui family suddenly runs away. Their older brother Kai (Renn Kiriyama), a priest who studied exorcism abroad, becomes their guardian, and Setsu and Souwa are forced to take over the family business of dealing with spirits. Yoshikazu Kotani and Yukihiro Takiguchi play two other members of the Inui family, while Ryoma Baba plays a ghost named Isuzu Kitano – from dramawiki

This is being Hard Subbed by DoReMii.

Part Three will conclude Who’s Subbing What: Spring 2008 Edition, unless some other dramas are announced to be subbed, or if some SP Dramas are announced.