[Discussion] Last Friends - Nagasawa Masami/Ueno Juri/Eita
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Whoa, her new hairstyle is gorgeous! I love Juri's shy smile. Such lovely eyes.bmwracer wrote:Here's some recent pics of Juri-chan (thanks to meoinkie2 at J-D) with (semi) short hair that I can really love:
The tousled and wavy hair (ala the Meg Ryan cut, lol) suits Juri very much....it's sassy, sexy and sophisticated yet retains a hint of boyishness.
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The SP (Special Episode) only had about 9 minutes of new stuff. A brief epilogue giving us a glimpse of how the sharehouse members are doing one year later....**Mejoka** wrote:can someone explain to me what's the SP about?? there is no info about it on the web...
You can download the edited SP from the torrent here at D-addicts.
Well I dunno about you, but I still see some residual "Rukaness" in her.bmwracer wrote:I can see the Meg Ryan analogy, but "boyishness?"hanapyupyu wrote:The tousled and wavy hair (ala the Meg Ryan cut, lol) suits Juri very much....it's sassy, sexy and sophisticated yet retains a hint of boyishness.
Nah.
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That's only because this is the Last Friends thread.hanapyupyu wrote:Well I dunno about you, but I still see some residual "Rukaness" in her.bmwracer wrote:I can see the Meg Ryan analogy, but "boyishness?"hanapyupyu wrote:The tousled and wavy hair (ala the Meg Ryan cut, lol) suits Juri very much....it's sassy, sexy and sophisticated yet retains a hint of boyishness.
Nah.
All out for the hair.hanapyupyu wrote:Well I dunno about you, but I still see some residual "Rukaness" in her.bmwracer wrote:I can see the Meg Ryan analogy, but "boyishness?"hanapyupyu wrote:The tousled and wavy hair (ala the Meg Ryan cut, lol) suits Juri very much....it's sassy, sexy and sophisticated yet retains a hint of boyishness.
Nah.
But I think the clothing just adds to the hotness~ I can totally see the tag "Ruka-5 years later" or something under those pics. It's not boyishness anymore. More like manliness...lol. *escapes from being run over by a bmw*
Anyway, we're getting OOT...for more vids, pics and discussion about Juri, please head to the thread here.
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I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I finally got around to watching Last Friends, so here's my (kind of lengthy) review. It's pretty opinionated and I know some of them aren't the most popular opinions (after reading some other posts on the forum) so I just wanted to throw my two cents in.
There are spoilers which I did not tag since it's been over for over a month now, so if you haven't watched the whole thing, don't keep reading.
I think this drama had great potential but the writer dropped the ball. (Where have I heard that before?) It was an interesting, complex story that kept you wanting to find out what happened. The feelings Ruka had toward Michiru were believable and made you want to root for something to come of them. However, I think it was a mistake for the writer to make her have so-called "Gender Identity Disorder" than to just make her a lesbian. I think they did this for shock value, complete with the hinting of her having a sex change, but never had the balls to follow up with it and in the end that part of the story was just completely abandoned and never resolved. But I think she was an extremely interesting character - they made her seem tough without cold and emotional without being too weak. I especially appreciated that her parents were (somewhat begrudgingly) supportive of her lifestyle.
As for Michiru, what a freaking mess. I feel sorry for Nagasawa Masami for having to play such a one-dimensional, weak character. Michiru was nothing but weak. She could not stand up for herself. She didn't not WANT to stand up for herself. The only reason she got out of the abusive relationship with Sousuke is because her friends dragged her, practically kicking and screaming, out of it. And even then she just did what her friends told her to. She had no brain. No will. She was just a piece of pathetic clay for everyone around her to mold as they pleased. I never really got the feeling that Michiru ACTUALLY felt that what Sousuke did to her was wrong. And we're not talking about a few shoves or a slap here. We're talking throwing her down on the ground and KICKING HER STOMACH REPEATEDLY abuse. WTF?? Michiru acted like she was 12 the whole drama. She had very little growth as a character. She reacted to Ruka's feelings in the same way - by running away. She was so damned stupid she fell for Sousuke's **** every single time, and even after he raped her she was like "Oh, if you promise not to hurt my friends I'll stay here with you." Riiight. What a weak, worthless waste of space.
Now for Takeru. I think they dropped the ball on his character, too. The WHOLE drama they kept hinting about his sister molesting him, but they NEVER had the balls to appropriately address the issue. Why even bring it up if they couldn't talk about it frankly? They made such an issue about it the whole time you kept waiting for the moment when he'd trust his friends enough to confide in them, but it never happened. In the end, the only one he even KIND OF told was Ruka, and even then it turned into some totally lame, vague story about his sister wanting him on her side. That could mean anything. I think they wanted to drop those hints to create controversy and buzz for the show, which is a shame because they really could have addressed something serious and dealt with it in a powerful way but instead they just made it seem like he was too ashamed to be able to open up to anyone fully about it.
Eri's character was a total waste of space. Nothing happened. She contributed nothing. And she was extremely annoying. Next.
I hated Sousuke's character. The reason I hated Sousuke's character is because they tried to give him this pitiful background as an excuse for why he behaved the way he did. Well, I hate to tell the writer, but many people grew up without parents or grew up in a lot shittier circumstances than he did and don't grow up to repeatedly abuse their girlfriends with no remorse. It was a complete cop-out at making his character "complex" or some ridiculous crap, which was completely ineffective for me. You do not have to be a product of your environment. This goes for Michiru, too. She grew up to repeat the mistakes of her mother because she was weak and had no will. The same for Sousuke. He was weak and that's why he did what he did. He was someone who did not deserve to be alive, and while I'm glad he died, I think the way they did it was an utter cop-out. I refuse to believe that after all the horrific beatings he gave Michiru that a few damn pictures of her eating shish-kebabs made him release he'd done wrong. I don't think he would have ever had the courage to kill himself. I think he was a psychopath who would never ever kill himself because doing that would mean setting Michiru free, and I don't think he ever intended to set her free. But the writer wrote herself into a corner by making him so irredeemable and by never getting the police involved. I think the proper ending for his character should have been sitting in a jail somewhere for the rest of his life in a room with no windows so he couldn't stalk his precious Michiru anymore. But the ridiculously over the top suicide with him slitting his wrists with some wedding dress draped over him (that we had never seen previously) soaked in blood was just too much. Total overkill. Pardon the pun.
The writer purposefully tried to "drop" things that would keep the viewers completely guessing. From the first episode, it almost sounds like Ruka was the one who died. Along with the molestation of Takeru, etc. But the thing I had the biggest problem with was the COMPLETELY unnecessary comment Michiru's doctor made about the high blood pressure. It was absolutely pointless and contrived to make you think something would go wrong with the baby, when obviously that did not happen.
And don't even get me started on the overly cheesy Rumi.
In the end, I think the drama had potential but it was the writer's fault that it didn't turn out to be great. I wouldn't waste my time watching it again. I got more frustrated than entertained.
There are spoilers which I did not tag since it's been over for over a month now, so if you haven't watched the whole thing, don't keep reading.
I think this drama had great potential but the writer dropped the ball. (Where have I heard that before?) It was an interesting, complex story that kept you wanting to find out what happened. The feelings Ruka had toward Michiru were believable and made you want to root for something to come of them. However, I think it was a mistake for the writer to make her have so-called "Gender Identity Disorder" than to just make her a lesbian. I think they did this for shock value, complete with the hinting of her having a sex change, but never had the balls to follow up with it and in the end that part of the story was just completely abandoned and never resolved. But I think she was an extremely interesting character - they made her seem tough without cold and emotional without being too weak. I especially appreciated that her parents were (somewhat begrudgingly) supportive of her lifestyle.
As for Michiru, what a freaking mess. I feel sorry for Nagasawa Masami for having to play such a one-dimensional, weak character. Michiru was nothing but weak. She could not stand up for herself. She didn't not WANT to stand up for herself. The only reason she got out of the abusive relationship with Sousuke is because her friends dragged her, practically kicking and screaming, out of it. And even then she just did what her friends told her to. She had no brain. No will. She was just a piece of pathetic clay for everyone around her to mold as they pleased. I never really got the feeling that Michiru ACTUALLY felt that what Sousuke did to her was wrong. And we're not talking about a few shoves or a slap here. We're talking throwing her down on the ground and KICKING HER STOMACH REPEATEDLY abuse. WTF?? Michiru acted like she was 12 the whole drama. She had very little growth as a character. She reacted to Ruka's feelings in the same way - by running away. She was so damned stupid she fell for Sousuke's **** every single time, and even after he raped her she was like "Oh, if you promise not to hurt my friends I'll stay here with you." Riiight. What a weak, worthless waste of space.
Now for Takeru. I think they dropped the ball on his character, too. The WHOLE drama they kept hinting about his sister molesting him, but they NEVER had the balls to appropriately address the issue. Why even bring it up if they couldn't talk about it frankly? They made such an issue about it the whole time you kept waiting for the moment when he'd trust his friends enough to confide in them, but it never happened. In the end, the only one he even KIND OF told was Ruka, and even then it turned into some totally lame, vague story about his sister wanting him on her side. That could mean anything. I think they wanted to drop those hints to create controversy and buzz for the show, which is a shame because they really could have addressed something serious and dealt with it in a powerful way but instead they just made it seem like he was too ashamed to be able to open up to anyone fully about it.
Eri's character was a total waste of space. Nothing happened. She contributed nothing. And she was extremely annoying. Next.
I hated Sousuke's character. The reason I hated Sousuke's character is because they tried to give him this pitiful background as an excuse for why he behaved the way he did. Well, I hate to tell the writer, but many people grew up without parents or grew up in a lot shittier circumstances than he did and don't grow up to repeatedly abuse their girlfriends with no remorse. It was a complete cop-out at making his character "complex" or some ridiculous crap, which was completely ineffective for me. You do not have to be a product of your environment. This goes for Michiru, too. She grew up to repeat the mistakes of her mother because she was weak and had no will. The same for Sousuke. He was weak and that's why he did what he did. He was someone who did not deserve to be alive, and while I'm glad he died, I think the way they did it was an utter cop-out. I refuse to believe that after all the horrific beatings he gave Michiru that a few damn pictures of her eating shish-kebabs made him release he'd done wrong. I don't think he would have ever had the courage to kill himself. I think he was a psychopath who would never ever kill himself because doing that would mean setting Michiru free, and I don't think he ever intended to set her free. But the writer wrote herself into a corner by making him so irredeemable and by never getting the police involved. I think the proper ending for his character should have been sitting in a jail somewhere for the rest of his life in a room with no windows so he couldn't stalk his precious Michiru anymore. But the ridiculously over the top suicide with him slitting his wrists with some wedding dress draped over him (that we had never seen previously) soaked in blood was just too much. Total overkill. Pardon the pun.
The writer purposefully tried to "drop" things that would keep the viewers completely guessing. From the first episode, it almost sounds like Ruka was the one who died. Along with the molestation of Takeru, etc. But the thing I had the biggest problem with was the COMPLETELY unnecessary comment Michiru's doctor made about the high blood pressure. It was absolutely pointless and contrived to make you think something would go wrong with the baby, when obviously that did not happen.
And don't even get me started on the overly cheesy Rumi.
In the end, I think the drama had potential but it was the writer's fault that it didn't turn out to be great. I wouldn't waste my time watching it again. I got more frustrated than entertained.
I don't get it. How come you're always a dick to Ryo? My turn to scratch my head.bmwracer wrote:Does cardboard have any expressions?asian_grl wrote:I've always been spiteful toward all the roles Ryo have played, but he really won me over in Last Friends. His expression changes were great, and the conflict inside him was almost tangible.
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Yeah, you're late to the game... But your observations are on the mark.awrittensin wrote:I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I finally got around to watching Last Friends, so here's my (kind of lengthy) review. It's pretty opinionated and I know some of them aren't the most popular opinions (after reading some other posts on the forum) so I just wanted to throw my two cents in.
There are spoilers which I did not tag since it's been over for over a month now, so if you haven't watched the whole thing, don't keep reading.
I think this drama had great potential but the writer dropped the ball. (Where have I heard that before?) It was an interesting, complex story that kept you wanting to find out what happened. The feelings Ruka had toward Michiru were believable and made you want to root for something to come of them. However, I think it was a mistake for the writer to make her have so-called "Gender Identity Disorder" than to just make her a lesbian. I think they did this for shock value, complete with the hinting of her having a sex change, but never had the balls to follow up with it and in the end that part of the story was just completely abandoned and never resolved. But I think she was an extremely interesting character - they made her seem tough without cold and emotional without being too weak. I especially appreciated that her parents were (somewhat begrudgingly) supportive of her lifestyle.
As for Michiru, what a freaking mess. I feel sorry for Nagasawa Masami for having to play such a one-dimensional, weak character. Michiru was nothing but weak. She could not stand up for herself. She didn't not WANT to stand up for herself. The only reason she got out of the abusive relationship with Sousuke is because her friends dragged her, practically kicking and screaming, out of it. And even then she just did what her friends told her to. She had no brain. No will. She was just a piece of pathetic clay for everyone around her to mold as they pleased. I never really got the feeling that Michiru ACTUALLY felt that what Sousuke did to her was wrong. And we're not talking about a few shoves or a slap here. We're talking throwing her down on the ground and KICKING HER STOMACH REPEATEDLY abuse. WTF?? Michiru acted like she was 12 the whole drama. She had very little growth as a character. She reacted to Ruka's feelings in the same way - by running away. She was so damned stupid she fell for Sousuke's **** every single time, and even after he raped her she was like "Oh, if you promise not to hurt my friends I'll stay here with you." Riiight. What a weak, worthless waste of space.
Now for Takeru. I think they dropped the ball on his character, too. The WHOLE drama they kept hinting about his sister molesting him, but they NEVER had the balls to appropriately address the issue. Why even bring it up if they couldn't talk about it frankly? They made such an issue about it the whole time you kept waiting for the moment when he'd trust his friends enough to confide in them, but it never happened. In the end, the only one he even KIND OF told was Ruka, and even then it turned into some totally lame, vague story about his sister wanting him on her side. That could mean anything. I think they wanted to drop those hints to create controversy and buzz for the show, which is a shame because they really could have addressed something serious and dealt with it in a powerful way but instead they just made it seem like he was too ashamed to be able to open up to anyone fully about it.
Eri's character was a total waste of space. Nothing happened. She contributed nothing. And she was extremely annoying. Next.
I hated Sousuke's character. The reason I hated Sousuke's character is because they tried to give him this pitiful background as an excuse for why he behaved the way he did. Well, I hate to tell the writer, but many people grew up without parents or grew up in a lot shittier circumstances than he did and don't grow up to repeatedly abuse their girlfriends with no remorse. It was a complete cop-out at making his character "complex" or some ridiculous crap, which was completely ineffective for me. You do not have to be a product of your environment. This goes for Michiru, too. She grew up to repeat the mistakes of her mother because she was weak and had no will. The same for Sousuke. He was weak and that's why he did what he did. He was someone who did not deserve to be alive, and while I'm glad he died, I think the way they did it was an utter cop-out. I refuse to believe that after all the horrific beatings he gave Michiru that a few damn pictures of her eating shish-kebabs made him release he'd done wrong. I don't think he would have ever had the courage to kill himself. I think he was a psychopath who would never ever kill himself because doing that would mean setting Michiru free, and I don't think he ever intended to set her free. But the writer wrote herself into a corner by making him so irredeemable and by never getting the police involved. I think the proper ending for his character should have been sitting in a jail somewhere for the rest of his life in a room with no windows so he couldn't stalk his precious Michiru anymore. But the ridiculously over the top suicide with him slitting his wrists with some wedding dress draped over him (that we had never seen previously) soaked in blood was just too much. Total overkill. Pardon the pun.
The writer purposefully tried to "drop" things that would keep the viewers completely guessing. From the first episode, it almost sounds like Ruka was the one who died. Along with the molestation of Takeru, etc. But the thing I had the biggest problem with was the COMPLETELY unnecessary comment Michiru's doctor made about the high blood pressure. It was absolutely pointless and contrived to make you think something would go wrong with the baby, when obviously that did not happen.
And don't even get me started on the overly cheesy Rumi.
In the end, I think the drama had potential but it was the writer's fault that it didn't turn out to be great. I wouldn't waste my time watching it again. I got more frustrated than entertained.
I'll be hard pressed to ever watch this drama ever again as well... It's not something worth experiencing multiple times.
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A lot of dramas just don't make you ponder or want to comment on it. Some don't worth the time or effort. So, I think the fact that there have been a lot of great discussions(er, refer to the middle ranges especially) and opinions(good or bad), suggests that it's worth it. People here normally lurk and don't post unless they feel strongly about something.
Yeah, it's still something special to me. More of what I gained out of the drama than the drama itself. But it's still ranks pretty high on my list just because the awesome parts eclipse the not so awesome parts. That's my opinion anyway.
Moving on to some brighter news, Last Friends was no.1 for the most search drama on Yahoo! Japan(first half of 2008).
http://searchranking.yahoo.co.jp/rankin ... neral.html
Yeah, it's still something special to me. More of what I gained out of the drama than the drama itself. But it's still ranks pretty high on my list just because the awesome parts eclipse the not so awesome parts. That's my opinion anyway.
Moving on to some brighter news, Last Friends was no.1 for the most search drama on Yahoo! Japan(first half of 2008).
http://searchranking.yahoo.co.jp/rankin ... neral.html
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That makes me feel better . I can't read Japanese (except LF title in Jap. ) but that great news to hear. I have to admit, there were some memorable scene in the series makes it feel like a bitter sweet drama.^Yuuki wrote:A lot of dramas just don't make you ponder or want to comment on it. Some don't worth the time or effort. So, I think the fact that there have been a lot of great discussions(er, refer to the middle ranges especially) and opinions(good or bad), suggests that it's worth it. People here normally lurk and don't post unless they feel strongly about something.
Yeah, it's still something special to me. More of what I gained out of the drama than the drama itself. But it's still ranks pretty high on my list just because the awesome parts eclipse the not so awesome parts. That's my opinion anyway.
Moving on to some brighter news, Last Friends was no.1 for the most search drama on Yahoo! Japan(first half of 2008).
http://searchranking.yahoo.co.jp/rankin ... neral.html
I agree. It's not a bad drama, but I wouldn't be able to watch it again because the relationships through it are so frustrating and depressing. Which is sad because I love Juri and Eita, so I was really excited to see them in the same series again. I wouldn't say it was a waste of time though. I'm still happy I watched it to the end. I'm just sad that so much remained unchanged. Also, I wonder if you really loved someone so much and wanted them so badly, if you'd really be able to live with them platonically forever. It's sweet if you can, but I think in reality it would continue to be a really painful experience.
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LOL i originally planned to come here and praise the drama as i thought i didn't love but at least liked the drama a lot... but after reading ur comments i must say agree with parts of it.... btw spoilers aheadawrittensin wrote:I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I finally got around to watching Last Friends, so here's my (kind of lengthy) review......
the parts u mentioned about ruka and takeru.... i agree with it so much!!! i hate that they had the guts to bring it up to advertise and attract people to watch the drama but didn't go through with either of the stories.... and like u said.... the gender identity disorder was absolutely redundant if ruka tried to fight so hard so that she would not be discriminated against in the motocross world... as a girl.... then why would she want to be a guy?? it's so contradicting! and takeru.... i really thought his storyline deserved a bit more as they did lay out some of the issues in the first ep and as the drama grew i liked him more and more yet i only got to see part of his internal struggle.... 1. his character deserves more attn 2. it's not like eita wouldn't be able to take on that kind of acting.... i hate that the "DV" and the weakness of stupid michiru got like 80% of the story... no wait.... probably more.... and how ruka's struggle had to be brought out as a result of sousuke pushing her over the edge....
as for what u said about michiru though.... i agree that she is so overly weak many times i wish she had her ass kicked instead of her friends getting hurt... but i have to disagree with the fact that she never really thought what sousuke did to her was wrong.... isn't this the actual issue here?? there IS the existence of DV around because there are so many (sorry for the lack of a better word) stupid women around who would take this kind of crap from their partner and all of this go unreported... they did an interview with people on the streets once and a lot of people say that they know of or have been abused by their partner before.... i think their point was to show that it's so stupid for these people to not report that and not recognize that being abused is not right.... thats why the writers took her out of the situation with the help of her friends.... and they show in the SP another example of DV that stays the same way and goes unreported.... but i do agree that if they did all that to try to get her out of the situation... they should make her at least have SOME character growth and maybe have an epiphany in the end somehow.... i was hoping she could do that by watching her colleague getting hurt and etc. but nope they decided to bring up the fact that her colleague was abused but they somehow had no interaction....
SOUSUKE... they tried oh-so-hard to build this complex character that is SO simple.... there was NO complexity in it whatsoever.... basically his mom abandoned him when he was young... he grew up with a gap in his heart.... and that was why he doesn't know how to love but loves her to death and abuses her as a symbol of love but at the same time works as a counsellor who tries to help with child abuse, etc. total BS his character deserved more work on it and not michiru's.... she's the idiot... we get it..... it's normal... but sousuke was just as simple and nothing special..... and it was so stupid for him to recognize what he did wrong just by looking at a few photos... i'd rather him have to live thru it with michiru by getting some help if they loved each other so much.....
OH and that whole thing with michiru liking takeru..... and the whole thing of them getting into an ACCIDENT which led them to the hospital in the end.... was OMFG so stupid and redundant!
all in all i think the SP was absolutely useless and if they made it to provide closure for us to find out what happened to them well not only did it fail.... i did not feel like i got the closure i wanted for ruka, takeru, and sousuke's character.... BUT it is quite a unique drama i must admit and for that much i'll like them for it.... but they did not reach their full potential and i felt like i want to see more of so many things and less of so many things..... DUH masami won't get no award for the role she had to portray but ueno juri, eita and maybe nishikido (who brought me into loving jap dramas) well done! and this is MY review
Last edited by the_lilone on Aug 4th, '08, 08:18, edited 1 time in total.
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i added my little "disclaimer" as someone has already posted their lengthy review way before me anyhow....bmwracer wrote:^ Maybe it doesn't matter at this point, but you should think about using the spoiler tags.
Also, the correct term is "Japanese," not "Jap.." ...A lot of people (like myself) see that abbreviation as derogatory towards Japanese people, so please refrain from using it...
and i think whether it is derogatory depends on the person saying it... if i didn't mean it that way.... (and trust me i would never.) u can't say i did.... it's simply an abbreviation.
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The fact that someone thinks it's derogatory means that you shouldn't use the term, whether it's intentional or not...the_lilone wrote:i added my little "disclaimer" as someone has already posted their lengthy review way before me anyhow....bmwracer wrote:^ Maybe it doesn't matter at this point, but you should think about using the spoiler tags.
Also, the correct term is "Japanese," not "Jap.." ...A lot of people (like myself) see that abbreviation as derogatory towards Japanese people, so please refrain from using it...
and i think whether it is derogatory depends on the person saying it... if i didn't mean it that way.... (and trust me i would never.) u can't say i did.... it's simply an abbreviation.
Yea, that term is a racial slur that was used against Japanese people during WWII... I'd pick a different abbreviation. Even if you personally don't mean it that way, that's its history... and that's what people will relate it to. Made me do a double take.bmwracer wrote:The fact that someone thinks it's derogatory means that you shouldn't use the term, whether it's intentional or not...the_lilone wrote:i added my little "disclaimer" as someone has already posted their lengthy review way before me anyhow....bmwracer wrote:^ Maybe it doesn't matter at this point, but you should think about using the spoiler tags.
Also, the correct term is "Japanese," not "Jap.." ...A lot of people (like myself) see that abbreviation as derogatory towards Japanese people, so please refrain from using it...
and i think whether it is derogatory depends on the person saying it... if i didn't mean it that way.... (and trust me i would never.) u can't say i did.... it's simply an abbreviation.
Aaah! Things have gotten a little fiery around here!
Anyway, thanks to bmwracer for those updated pics!! Great stuff!
As for what I think of the drama, though I agree with many parts of awrittensin's review (but maybe not to the same degree), I think it is overall a drama worth watching. Despite the holes, there were certainly some doki doki moments - such as those various heart warming park scenes and Juri and Eita's acting. OST was pretty good too.
Last Friends definitely has a special spot in my collection of dramas! Oh well...Basically, I'm still raving about it! haahaha
*please don't hit me*
Anyway, thanks to bmwracer for those updated pics!! Great stuff!
As for what I think of the drama, though I agree with many parts of awrittensin's review (but maybe not to the same degree), I think it is overall a drama worth watching. Despite the holes, there were certainly some doki doki moments - such as those various heart warming park scenes and Juri and Eita's acting. OST was pretty good too.
Last Friends definitely has a special spot in my collection of dramas! Oh well...Basically, I'm still raving about it! haahaha
*please don't hit me*
yes, me too.. eventhough it has some weaknesses, i still think it's a great drama and worth watching..sleepyzzz wrote:Last Friends definitely has a special spot in my collection of dramas! Oh well...Basically, I'm still raving about it! haahaha
i can't get the same feeling while watching another drama though..
*still waiting for the Drama Awards*
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ah..really..I never knew (from now on I'll never use this abbreviation... From all these discussion about LF, I wonder how other dramas are if they were put into discussion. Will there be weakness? better plots? For me, thing seems pretty realistic on how the drama goes, but I'm not saying they are perfect the way they are. Many things in life remain enclose, people's interaction will not always be as clear as light. There are secrets and distresses which sometimes being touched on without making straight to the point. Life is just simple and at the same time complex like how "last friends" are. I have to agree the drama lacks development (and let we end that point since we all know about that, there's no need to continue on pressing on that anymore toward the drama )Semaru wrote:Yea, that term is a racial slur that was used against Japanese people during WWII... I'd pick a different abbreviation. Even if you personally don't mean it that way, that's its history... and that's what people will relate it to. Made me do a double take.bmwracer wrote:The fact that someone thinks it's derogatory means that you shouldn't use the term, whether it's intentional or not...the_lilone wrote:
i added my little "disclaimer" as someone has already posted their lengthy review way before me anyhow....
and i think whether it is derogatory depends on the person saying it... if i didn't mean it that way.... (and trust me i would never.) u can't say i did.... it's simply an abbreviation.
well bmwracer, i can see now that you are a bit "negative" towards this drama, but i can understand itbmwracer wrote:It's called "frustration."sarah117 wrote:i can't get the same feeling while watching another drama though..
not only frustration but it taught me about happiness, hardship, friendship, facing life, etc..
well, i'm a FAN of this drama..
i am a big fan of ueno juri too!!! its because of Last Friends! btw where did you get the pic in your avatar??sarah117 wrote:well bmwracer, i can see now that you are a bit "negative" towards this drama, but i can understand itbmwracer wrote:It's called "frustration."sarah117 wrote:i can't get the same feeling while watching another drama though..
not only frustration but it taught me about happiness, hardship, friendship, facing life, etc..
well, i'm a FAN of this drama..
i am watching nodame cantibile she is sooo funny! she can become the character she plays and does it very well! no doubt she won best supporting actress, best new comer, and best actress in various works!
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Gomen... It's from disappointment.sarah117 wrote:well bmwracer, i can see now that you are a bit "negative" towards this dramabmwracer wrote:It's called "frustration."sarah117 wrote:i can't get the same feeling while watching another drama though..
Juri-chan and Eita-kun pretty much act their asses off in this drama and the writer and producers sells their souls to the devil for ratings...
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Haha, not just frustration but lots and lots of *angst* (thanks to Juri's and Eita's performances mainly - their characters really made this show for me ). A good dose of angst goes a long way... I'm now addicted to angst and can't find another jdrama to replace Last Friends in that department...bmwracer wrote:It's called "frustration."sarah117 wrote:i can't get the same feeling while watching another drama though..
*looks at everyone's avatars* Can I say spot the theme? Lol~
herachan: It's from the magazine TV LIFE(issue 5.24-6.06). I'm pretty sure you can find it somewhere in the first half of the almost 200 pages...Along with the other 'goodies' scattered among the serious discussions. ;)
Speaking of scans, one of my favourite would be Kaze to Rock featuring Juri, Masami and Eita.=D Someone translated the interview recently. For those interested, it can be found here. (kinda member locked tho...so either join or PM me).
Yeah, hated and loved how they put our hearts through the blender each week. Of course you wouldn't feel that way unless you're really invested in the plight of the characters. Something the drama succeeded in doing. We'd scream , shout at the screen or find our tears flowing after each episode...I guess you don't miss something until it's gone. Good angst is hard to find.hanapyupyu wrote:Haha, not just frustration but lots and lots of *angst* (thanks to Juri's and Eita's performances mainly - their characters really made this show for me Cool ). A good dose of angst goes a long way... I'm now addicted to angst and can't find another jdrama to replace Last Friends in that department...
herachan: It's from the magazine TV LIFE(issue 5.24-6.06). I'm pretty sure you can find it somewhere in the first half of the almost 200 pages...Along with the other 'goodies' scattered among the serious discussions. ;)
Speaking of scans, one of my favourite would be Kaze to Rock featuring Juri, Masami and Eita.=D Someone translated the interview recently. For those interested, it can be found here. (kinda member locked tho...so either join or PM me).
sarah117: hahaha I was going to mention that the thread had dropped to 2nd page too but I thought ppl might think that's a bit silly!! hahaha Clearly there are people who think like me!!!
WELL! Results out tomorrow!! Let's see whether anyone finds some news!!
Btw, I was quite pleased that my random post took it back to page 1! LOL hahaha
WELL! Results out tomorrow!! Let's see whether anyone finds some news!!
Btw, I was quite pleased that my random post took it back to page 1! LOL hahaha
Guys! I found a few sites claiming that results of the 57th Japanese Drama Academy Awards are out!! I haven't been able to confirm this from the official website/yahoo etc so not 100% sure.
Check it out:
http://yasashiisekai.wordpress.com/
Some of us will be angry - and some happy...
Check it out:
http://yasashiisekai.wordpress.com/
Some of us will be angry - and some happy...
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Someone posted this a J-Dorama from Baidu:sleepyzzz wrote:Guys! I found a few sites claiming that results of the 57th Japanese Drama Academy Awards are out!! I haven't been able to confirm this from the official website/yahoo etc so not 100% sure.
Check it out:
http://yasashiisekai.wordpress.com/
Some of us will be angry - and some happy...
Best Supporting Actor??? Best Script??? Best Drama???cirrus wrote:yes. from baidu: http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=468061396
作品赏 (Best Drama) ラストフレンズ(読1、记1、审1)
2CHANGE 3Around40 4ごくせん 5おせん
主演男优赏 (Male Lead) 1木村拓哉(読1、记1、审1) 2速水もこみち 3沟端淳平
主演女优赏 (Female Lead 1仲间由纪恵(読1、记、审1) 2天海佑希 3长泽まさみ
助演男优赏 (Male Supporting) 1锦戸亮(読1、记1、审1) 2瑛太 3阿部 寛
助演女优赏 (Female Supporting) 1上野树里(読1、记1、审1) 2深津絵里 3相武纱季
ドラマソング赏 (Best Theme Song) Prisoner Of Love 宇多田フカル(ラストフレンズ)
监督赏 (Best Producers?) 加藤裕将、西坂瑞城、远藤光贵(ラストフレンズ)
脚本赏 (Best Script) 浅野妙子(ラストフレンズ)
==
Juri won for her role in Last Friends. Ryo won Best Supporting Actor (LF). Takuya for Best Male Lead (Change) and Yukie won Best Female Lead (Gokusen 3). Last Friends also won Best Script and Theme Song. The number beside the characters 読、记、审 mainly means the ranking given by the readers, reporters and judges, respectively, for the winner of that category.
Gimme a freaking break.
wow, what a great news!! thanx sleepyzzz for thissleepyzzz wrote:Guys! I found a few sites claiming that results of the 57th Japanese Drama Academy Awards are out!! I haven't been able to confirm this from the official website/yahoo etc so not 100% sure.
Check it out:
http://yasashiisekai.wordpress.com/
Some of us will be angry - and some happy...
Last Friends team, BANZAAAIIII!!
and also to Utada Hikaru-chan for the awesome Prisoner of Love..
p/s: don't really agree for the Best Supporting Actor though..
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as much as i loveD Nishikido... and voted for him in Nikkan (cuz it was just a popularity contest anyway) i must say i thought this was more of an official awards thing... i wanted Eita and even Abe Hiroshi to win more than Ryo.... just cuz the role he had to portray was more "ground-breaking" and got more buzz doesn't mean he did a good job of it... i don't think he's that bad at acting... just think he's not good enough to beat Eita...
the theme song and Ueno Juri - definitely well-deserved....
best script and best drama -> iffy. i thought CHANGE had a better script and people here opened my eyes to how LF doesn't deserve to be the best drama... it wasn't bad but just definitely wasn't the best....
the theme song and Ueno Juri - definitely well-deserved....
best script and best drama -> iffy. i thought CHANGE had a better script and people here opened my eyes to how LF doesn't deserve to be the best drama... it wasn't bad but just definitely wasn't the best....
Last Friends didn't deserve top spot - even if it was your local School drama; ROOKIES deserved to at least have a chance, imo. Ratings wise, it did just as well as LF but it was 10 times better. But it didn't have a chance when all the popular actors and actresses were off shotting something else.
Best Theme Song: Well deserved indeed. Really nothing that could beat Utada's PoL last season.
Best Supporting Actor: Ryo or Eita, I wouldn't have minded. And I'm glad Ryo got it. Don't care if I'm gonna get shot for saying that either.
On a side note; Yukie got best actress award again for a Gokusen! Well done Yukie! Though we all know what a lousy Gokusen they gave us this time round.
Best Theme Song: Well deserved indeed. Really nothing that could beat Utada's PoL last season.
Best Supporting Actor: Ryo or Eita, I wouldn't have minded. And I'm glad Ryo got it. Don't care if I'm gonna get shot for saying that either.
On a side note; Yukie got best actress award again for a Gokusen! Well done Yukie! Though we all know what a lousy Gokusen they gave us this time round.
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Well, it got voted number 1 by all 3 parties involved(readers, official judges, critics) so there's obviously something there. The ambitiousness to tackle issues that have not really been touched before while providing us gripping entertainment needs to be acknowledged. Though the plotline got iffy towards the end(which is a combined effort of the producers and the writer), I believe the script itself for MOST part, was pretty good. Well, it could be the great acting but most of it really did touched and connected with me. So, I'm happy for Last Friends and for Juri of course~ =)
Btw, full list of winners and Juri's comment translated here:
http://community.livejournal.com/juri_ueno/15600.html
Btw, full list of winners and Juri's comment translated here:
http://community.livejournal.com/juri_ueno/15600.html
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I LOVED the end of Last Friends!!!
I read that a lot of people did not like the ending but I absolutely loved it and thought that it was very good.
I purposely avoided all spoilers and I am glad. I don't understand what people expected to happen at the end. It was realistic and still had the fantasy drama elements to it.
IMO I personally felt,
I knew/know people that have been abused, abusers, transgendered, "confused", promiscuous, cheaters, cheated on, etc. This show actually made me think of me and all of my friends when I was in college and perhaps I liked it because I recognized a lot of my friends and people that I got to know during that time.
Excellent show and I am now going to share it with my friends... See if we can all recognize ourselves again!
I read that a lot of people did not like the ending but I absolutely loved it and thought that it was very good.
I purposely avoided all spoilers and I am glad. I don't understand what people expected to happen at the end. It was realistic and still had the fantasy drama elements to it.
IMO I personally felt,
Excellent show and I am now going to share it with my friends... See if we can all recognize ourselves again!
Great story, great acting, great actors and a dissaponting ending. I wish they could have solved the problem differently.
However, this drama is worth watching every minute. I love Eita and Uneno's acting and their characters are so loveable. Ryo shocks me to death by his evil Sosuke, but I really appreciate his brave-and-daring step towards a serious actor (which I hardly found in any other JE boys).
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hi
I'm sure you have discussed again and again all this in this huge thread, but I need to repeat that this story was dealing with just too many issues and they all ended up underdevelopped and disappointing. maybe it needed one more season or to have removed some. it appears to me that Ruka did more research in the show for her case than the writer him/herself for all subplots he/she created. I can't believe that script was awarded, not to mention the whole result which was a bit tiresome and full of cliches. if it weren't for some members of the cast, (goddess Juri, cute Eita and villain Ryo) I'm not sure it would be watchable.
anyhow, kudos to all of them for putting it on sceen such a bold story and to Juri-chan for playing that part
and is it my idea, or was narration and the relationship between the 2 female leads along with their characters very similar to NANA? don't you get the feeling that the writer intended to express some themes that rose from that story? and since he/she did both NANA movie scripts could be possible..
@ bmwracer
where is your new avatar from? the awards night?
I'm sure you have discussed again and again all this in this huge thread, but I need to repeat that this story was dealing with just too many issues and they all ended up underdevelopped and disappointing. maybe it needed one more season or to have removed some. it appears to me that Ruka did more research in the show for her case than the writer him/herself for all subplots he/she created. I can't believe that script was awarded, not to mention the whole result which was a bit tiresome and full of cliches. if it weren't for some members of the cast, (goddess Juri, cute Eita and villain Ryo) I'm not sure it would be watchable.
anyhow, kudos to all of them for putting it on sceen such a bold story and to Juri-chan for playing that part
and is it my idea, or was narration and the relationship between the 2 female leads along with their characters very similar to NANA? don't you get the feeling that the writer intended to express some themes that rose from that story? and since he/she did both NANA movie scripts could be possible..
@ bmwracer
where is your new avatar from? the awards night?
Nope, that's from the Kobe Collection fashion show. It's all over the Juri thread if you want to go check it out. (scroll down a bit and you'll see it)rezeero wrote:where is your new avatar from? the awards night?
i'm so satisfied about the result of the tv drama awards....
shot me...lol....
but he deserves it...
no matter whatever all of you said...
i love eita too...he played really really great...
but how can you said that ryo only won because he got all the buzz...??
you really underestimated the judges and the reporter critics then...?? who have much more experiences in this thing...and don't forget its the 57th rite...??
i wonder if all of you would have said this if he hadn't been in JE...
shot me...lol....
but he deserves it...
no matter whatever all of you said...
i love eita too...he played really really great...
but how can you said that ryo only won because he got all the buzz...??
you really underestimated the judges and the reporter critics then...?? who have much more experiences in this thing...and don't forget its the 57th rite...??
i wonder if all of you would have said this if he hadn't been in JE...
yes, i'm with bmwracer.bmwracer wrote:JE has nothing to do with it... It was a one-dimensional performance and the writer chose ratings over substance.rlia wrote:i wonder if all of you would have said this if he hadn't been in JE...
FYI, after i watched 1 Litre of Tears, i became a HUGE fan of Ryo-chan. but when i saw his other dramas and realized that he is overrated by his fans, it fell down the hill. don't worry, i'm not saying that he's a bad actor. i know he can act, but not as wonderful as Eita. that's what i think..
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same here.... Ryo was what brought me to watching japanese drama and listening to jpop but the more i get into the japanese entertainment the more i realized how overrated 1LoT was.... and i also thought that Eita gave a better and more believable performance than Ryo did.... i'm still a big JE fan though~sarah117 wrote:yes, i'm with bmwracer.bmwracer wrote:JE has nothing to do with it... It was a one-dimensional performance and the writer chose ratings over substance.rlia wrote:i wonder if all of you would have said this if he hadn't been in JE...
FYI, after i watched 1 Litre of Tears, i became a HUGE fan of Ryo-chan. but when i saw his other dramas and realized that he is overrated by his fans, it fell down the hill. don't worry, i'm not saying that he's a bad actor. i know he can act, but not as wonderful as Eita. that's what i think..
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Exactly.bmwracer wrote:JE has nothing to do with it... It was a one-dimensional performance and the writer chose ratings over substance.rlia wrote:i wonder if all of you would have said this if he hadn't been in JE...
Or, put it another way. If Ryo wasn't acting in the role but some other plain actor (say, the main guy in Densha Otoko), would fangirls still be waxing lyrical over his character in Last Friends? Nope, I don't think so. Simply because Sousuke is a poorly written character regardless of who played him. Ryo was adequate in the role but he wasn't exceptional. Eita's role as Takeru was also very limited in screentime but he made the role work and acted his butt out. Hence, to me Eita is more deserving of the best supporting actor award. But whatever. It's good to win awards, but they are not the 'ultimate measure of great acting'. I'd say let's see how all these actors progress in future. Good actors show versatility and longevity.
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LOL, "waxing lyrical."hanapyupyu wrote:Or, put it another way. If Ryo wasn't acting in the role but some other plain actor (say, the main guy in Densha Otoko), would fangirls still be waxing lyrical over his character in Last Friends?
I can see clouds parting, heartwarming rays of sunshine pouring down, and choir music...
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