Last Friends

himesayu wrote:*sigh* The critic-virus here really got me. :beaten:

You shouldn't feel bad about expecting more from a drama than what you actually get...

bmwracer wrote:
You shouldn't feel bad about expecting more from a drama than what you actually get...

I second that.
I watched episodes 9 to 11 last night and I was left feeling I watched SOS with (thank god :victory:) two convincing actors (Eita and Ueno Juri).

Too many missed opportunities:

Spoiler — click to reveal

TakeruLs childhood abuse, Eri being bullied, RukaLs dealing with her coming out, SosukeLs motivation, etc nothing was really explored or explained properly. Why nobody ever call the police or got help?

Kijinnmaru wrote:

Spoiler — click to reveal

Sousuke: Speaking of dead weight, now we get to nutcase. No acting required here. No personality, no plot-the actor needs to fire his agent for getting him a role that could have been filled by a cardboard cutout. In Hollywood terms, if Ruka is the "breakout" role that all young actors aspire for, Sousuke is the "soft porn/break the typecasting" role. Why didn't anyone call the police on him? Why didn't anyone beat the crap out of him? The guy wasn't threatening at all. Halfway through they added his interaction with the little boy. I guess they were trying to soften his image, but based on who he was, I interpreted it as him "building his family". In other words, had the mother not returned, he would have taken the kid as his property. About the only thing believable about Sousuke was that he can spend all the time stalking and not lose his job because he was working for the city government. Then he finally kills himself. Am I suppose to feel compassion for him looking at the pictures? Hey nutjob, you're not lonely because no one will be your friend. You're lonely because you're a nutjob! I must be an oni because I laughed when he killed himself. Now they can bury you alongside your storyline that died in episode 1.

HEHEHEHE. That was awesome. :hehe: :rofl:

EstherM wrote:
I watched episodes 9 to 11 last night and I was left feeling I watched SOS with (thank god :victory:) two convincing actors (Eita and Ueno Juri).

SOS was worse, especially since ALL the actors in that show were not convincing at all. At least Juri and Eita was worth watching in this one, even if the story and overall development for most of the characters was completely shot. I dunno, I almost feel that this show was a waste of my time, especially since the conclusion was so anti-climatic and a lot issues weren't resolved. I keep asking myself what the point of this drama is. (If it's to leave the audience in a pit of annoyance and confusion, the producers and writers succeeded.)

MissMonika wrote:SOS was worse, especially since ALL the actors in that show were not convincing at all. At least Juri and Eita was worth watching in this one, even if the story and overall development for most of the characters was completely shot. I dunno, I almost feel that this show was a waste of my time, especially since the conclusion was so anti-climatic and a lot issues weren't resolved. I keep asking myself what the point of this drama is. (If it's to leave the audience in a pit of annoyance and confusion, the producers and writers succeeded.)

All of the above. :sweat:

It was opportunity missed, that's for sure...

EstherM wrote:Too many missed opportunities:

Spoiler — click to reveal

TakeruLs childhood abuse, Eri being bullied, RukaLs dealing with her coming out, SosukeLs motivation, etc nothing was really explored or explained properly. Why nobody ever call the police or got help?

Spoiler — click to reveal

The police issue has always been a point of contention: the discussion has been that the culture's mentality is to not get involved... But with all those people in the know, you'd figure SOMEONE would get fed up and call the authorities... OR someone would get fed up and take matters into their own hands and beat the living crap out of Sosuke (which I guess Ruka tried to do... Though after she fended him off with that lamp, she shoulda used it to turn Sosuke's head into a road apple...)

bmwracer wrote:
I know ratings play a key role in TV programs, but at least have a story-related reason to make the SP... I mean, what are they going to do?? :headscratch:

Spoiler — click to reveal

In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if they concatenated all of Eri's side-stories that were aired On-Demand and made it into one seamless SP. That way, all the people who thought they were getting a deal by paying for it are SOL! :twisted:

Or we could go the Child's Play method, where Sousuke transferred his soul to the boy at the last minute and now we'll have a stalker kid standing across the street from the beach house. :hehe:

Lastly, we can go for the crowd favourite type of SP: The Sousuke DV montage episode! 45-minutes of PAYBACK and our ever-so-favourite picture as the end credits roll!

[image]

(ph33r my photoshop skills! :hehe: :twisted: )

Tenshigure wrote:[image]

Now that would've been a freaking HOT ending. :victory: :hehe: :rofl:

bmwracer wrote:
Now that would've been a freaking HOT ending. :victory: :hehe: :rofl:

HA! No chance - it'll be 45 minutes of Sousuke beating everyone with his little soundtrack going in the background... for absolutely no purpose!

phlargo wrote:HA! No chance - it'll be 45 minutes of Sousuke beating everyone with his little soundtrack going in the background... for absolutely no purpose!

I'll pass on that, then. :bleh:

Episode 11 was okay. They wrapped things up so quickly and conviently that you'd think they ran out of money. I got this from where I was watching:

The special episode will be out next week :) "It will include shocking and notable scenes that weren't shown in the previous episodes of "Last Friends". And there will be a supplement for Michiru and the others of what happens afterwards.

So I guess all our joking about more DV scenes may actually happen. :sweat: I'm not sure how much "what happens afterwards" they have considering Michiru's narrative at the end takes care of that.

Spoiler — click to reveal

Maybe a remake of Omen since she gave birth to the spawn of Satan. :hehe:

ow. all the last friends episodes were removed in crunchyroll. i think the only way for me to watch the last ep is to wait for the hard subs T__T

kisarazu wrote:ow. all the last friends episodes were removed in crunchyroll. i think the only way for me to watch the last ep is to wait for the hard subs T__T

im shocked too when i went in there...
here, someone uploaded them in YouTube..better watch them now before they'll be removed..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYNCK_KrTcU

kisarazu wrote:ow. all the last friends episodes were removed in crunchyroll.

Maybe they were disappointed with the ending (if not the entire series) so much that they yanked everything...

bmwracer wrote:
Maybe they were disappointed with the ending (if not the entire series) so much that they yanked everything...

:hehe: it's the other way round.. :sweat:
CR just suddenly posted not to upload vids having seri's softsubs.. :banghead: ..i guess it's seri's request too.. :shamefulcry:

kisarazu wrote:ow. all the last friends episodes were removed in crunchyroll. i think the only way for me to watch the last ep is to wait for the hard subs T__T

Yeah, that's too bad - I wonder if it got licensed or something? Kinda rough to have to wait for the last ep!

But if you can handle the torrents, d-addicts have nice versions up. And there are some soft subs there :)

[image]

I'm glad that the drama is over, aside from the Special which I have my doubts, it'll give Juri-chan, Asami-chan and Eita a chance to work on something a little better. Juri-chan and Eita did well with their roles, and I hope for once Asami-chan gets a role with a lot more substance and depth. She really had nothing going in this drama. Ryo did well with what he was given, though the role itself was nothing great. Regardless of the roles, I do give all the actors and actresses props for choosing to be in a drama that brought up issues such as domestic violence and gender identity disorder.

Well, the drama had much potential in the beginning; it's just too bad the writing wasn't up to the task of fulfilling that potential. I certainly do hope that other writers take a look at Last Friends as a stepping stone towards creating dramas that tackle such delicate issues but also has the writing to back it up.

[image]

[image]

LOL, that scene seems so long ago... When hopes were high. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:LOL, that scene seems so long ago... When hopes were high. :sweat:

Yeah. Watching Last Friends was like watching your little girl graduate as high school valedictorian, then dropping out of college to become a stripper. High hopes and potential, great moments, but ultimately a waste.

Kijinnmaru wrote:Yeah. Watching Last Friends was like watching your little girl graduate as high school valedictorian, then dropping out of college to become a stripper. High hopes and potential, great moments, but ultimately a waste.

LOL.

I was thinking it was like Chinese food for dinner: you're hungry an hour later. :beaten: