Last Friends

Tenshigure wrote:I prefer the opinion of 'not watching the show through fan-tinted glasses' to be honest. I swear, 80% of those all over the damned show at D-A are solely because of who the people are who star in the show, and could care less about the plotline or anything else, just as long as they get moments with their 'dreamy kawaii Ryo-sama!', they could care less that he's a series-killer above all else. :bleh:

LOL.

There's someone currently making really heartfelt posts defending Sosuke's character... Or lack of it.

Must be someone jockeying to be his lawyer if he goes on trial. :beaten:

Not only that, but they're not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer either. I mean, they DID fall for my fake news announcement after all! :beaten: :hehe:

Well some of them did... :hehe:

finally watched episode 9!!

Spoiler — click to reveal

seeing Sousuke beating the sh*t out of poor Takeru, im wishing for him to be gone for good!! :banghead: the beatings were very intense, it pains me while watching.. and the fight with Ruka, i was cheering for her deep inside especially when she managed to push Sousuke to the ground then kicking/stomping him, she should have just kicked him to the part where it hurts the most to knock him out!! :hehe:
seeing the last glance on Ruka, i am soo hoping that Sousuke didn't do anything stupid on her!! :fingerscrossed:

Easy people. :sweat: Anyone else notice this?

Juri-san's birthday..
[image]

Episode 9..
[image]

:D

himesayu wrote:Easy people. :sweat: Anyone else notice this?

Notice what?

That Juri-chan is wearing the same clothes?

bmwracer wrote:
Notice what?

That Juri-chan is wearing the same clothes?

Ah, yeah. That Juri-san, Masami and Asami are wearing the same clothes. Just thought that they film episode 9 on her birthday. Hehe. I feel kinda stupid. :sweat: Hehe. Hmm.. To make a comeback, I guess I'll just share this. My friend told me this. I think she read this at d-addicts. Don't know if it's true though.

Seriously, this reveals too much if it's true so don't open if you don't want to be spoiled.

Spoilers for Episode 11..

Spoiler — click to reveal

Michiru who lost an important person makes an important decision. At the All-Japan Motocross competition, Ruka won. Her family, Takeru and Eri were there to support her. There's a press conference for the win and a celebration with her family, Takeru, Eri and her coach. Takeru and his sister's issue will be revealed/resolved. The starting scene in episode 1 isn't the end. There will be further continuation of it.

himesayu wrote:Easy people. :sweat: Anyone else notice this?

Juri-san's birthday..
[image]

Episode 9..
[image]

:D

That's really neat! And if you'll notice, it looks like Eita is wearing the same pants. Jeese.. does he wear some strange clothes in Last Friends ;-) I can remember like 3 or 4 times thinking why the hell would he wear that? Though Asami's geddup is kinda strange in those shots too.. looks kinda awkward on her.

And you notice there's no Ogurin or Sousuke at the party.. I felt a little bad for them not to be included - even if Ryo's a bastard in the drama, I'm sure he's a fine person to work with..

phlargo wrote:

That's really neat! And if you'll notice, it looks like Eita is wearing the same pants. Jeese.. does he wear some strange clothes in Last Friends ;-) I can remember like 3 or 4 times thinking why the hell would he wear that? Though Asami's geddup is kinda strange in those shots too.. looks kinda awkward on her.

And you notice there's no Ogurin or Sousuke at the party.. I felt a little bad for them not to be included - even if Ryo's a bastard in the drama, I'm sure he's a fine person to work with..

Hehe. I have to agree with Eita. I think his clothes are weird too. But I gradually got used to it. As for Asami, yeah. It does look awkward. Hehe. I don't know about Ogurin but I think Ryo is in..

Spoiler — click to reveal

..the gym, working out! Readying himself for his character's upcoming fight with Juri-san's Ruka while Juri-san's happily stuffing herself with donuts! No wonder she got pushed around.

himesayu wrote:

Hehe. I have to agree with Eita. I think his clothes are weird too. But I gradually got used to it. As for Asami, yeah. It does look awkward. Hehe. I don't know about Ogurin but I think Ryo is in..

Spoiler — click to reveal

..the gym, working out! Readying himself for his character's upcoming fight with Juri-san's Ruka while Juri-san's happily stuffing herself with donuts! No wonder she got pushed around.

Spoiler — click to reveal

I was actually a little surprised that Ruka wasn't able to put up more of a fight, considering her own frequent workouts and athleticism. I mean, she obviously had more in her than Michiru, but come on..

And acutally, Juri's always seemed a little slight for the part of Ruka, given that background. You'd think they'd make her bulk up a bit. And just imagine if Nodame had been ripped. Poor Chiaki would have been killed during the SP.

phlargo wrote:

Spoiler — click to reveal

I was actually a little surprised that Ruka wasn't able to put up more of a fight, considering her own frequent workouts and athleticism. I mean, she obviously had more in her than Michiru, but come on..

And acutally, Juri's always seemed a little slight for the part of Ruka, given that background. You'd think they'd make her bulk up a bit. And just imagine if Nodame had been ripped. Poor Chiaki would have been killed during the SP.

Spoiler — click to reveal

Yeah. I was expecting her to fight back more than what she did, too. But too bad we can't really do anything about it. Seemed a little slight? Sorry. Didn't get that. English still not that good. :sweat:

Haha. Agreed. The perfect scene for that is when those two wrestled and Nodame tackled Chiaki. Thought he was a goner.

I'm suddenly missing Nodame! *sigh*

himesayu wrote:

Spoiler — click to reveal

Yeah. I was expecting her to fight back more than what she did, too. But too bad we can't really do anything about it. Seemed a little slight? Sorry. Didn't get that. English still not that good. :sweat:

Haha. Agreed. The perfect scene for that is when those two wrestled and Nodame tackled Chiaki. Thought he was a goner.

I'm suddenly missing Nodame! *sigh*

Ahh.. slight means thin. I was commenting on the fact that Ruka, considering her athleticism, looks a little thin - I would expect she'd have more muscle - especially with her coach telling her that her being in shape was part of what was necessary to be successful in the races, as she's so devoted.

phlargo wrote:

Ahh.. slight means thin. I was commenting on the fact that Ruka, considering her athleticism, looks a little thin - I would expect she'd have more muscle - especially with her coach telling her that her being in shape was part of what was necessary to be successful in the races, as she's so devoted.

Hmm.. yeah but we wouldn't want a shapely muscular Juri-san, ne? But still, what you said is true. Hmm.. but if ever they did pick a more muscular woman than her for the role of Ruka, I don't think I would like it that much so I think Juri-san with her slightly muscular body(with great talent) is a good choice. Or maybe I'm just being biased coz it's Juri-san? :sweat:

I'm just saying that if Ruka was a bulky woman, imagining it, let's just say I wouldn't feel any Michiru/Ruka or Ruka/Takeru connection. Am I making sense somehow? I'm really not good at explaining things. :sweat:

Tenshigure wrote:
I prefer the opinion of 'not watching the show through fan-tinted glasses' to be honest. I swear, 80% of those all over the damned show at D-A are solely because of who the people are who star in the show, and could care less about the plotline or anything else, just as long as they get moments with their 'dreamy kawaii Ryo-sama!', they could care less that he's a series-killer above all else. :bleh:

We're probably the minority, then? The series has become more flash than substance, even though there was so much promise in a drama that would deal with sensitive, real-world issues.

In the end I'm guessing it had to be a market-based decision; they either had to go through the ratings gauntlet and find some way to get people to keep watching (saw the ratings thread and looked through all the dramas in there... really, a free car if you watch a freaking drama?!?), or they could have said to hell with it and took a path that could have meant a better story for appreciation by slightly (or a lot?) less viewers.

There's only so much the stars themselves can carry; without a semblance of plot, the drama won't stand. From what our opinions here have shown, we'd probably rather watch some decent no-names act the hell out of a tight and neatly scripted plot than blindly be in awe of the actors alone. I could be blind to it, but I've seen and heard too many good stories to lower my standards for this.

:puppydog:

himesayu wrote:

Hmm.. yeah but we wouldn't want a shapely muscular Juri-san, ne? But still, what you said is true. Hmm.. but if ever they did pick a more muscular woman than her for the role of Ruka, I don't think I would like it that much so I think Juri-san with her slightly muscular body(with great talent) is a good choice. Or maybe I'm just being biased coz it's Juri-san? :sweat:

I'm just saying that if Ruka was a bulky woman, imagining it, let's just say I wouldn't feel any Michiru/Ruka or Ruka/Takeru connection. Am I making sense somehow? I'm really not good at explaining things. :sweat:

no, she shouldn't be huge.. but she should have a little girth to her - Juri's a very lithe woman - even Masami has a little more heft to her. Just look at Juri's arms - they're like Takeru's - absolutely tiny. And they put her in clothes that make her look really thin too (those high-waisted khakis)

And you're doing just fine explaining yourself :)

Spoiler — click to reveal

I actually suspect the fact that Ruka looks kinda masculine ties in very well - it furthers Takeru's own strange sense of relationships and bolsters Ruka's discomfort with her own body.

FarOutFreak wrote:

We're probably the minority, then? The series has become more flash than substance, even though there was so much promise in a drama that would deal with sensitive, real-world issues.

In the end I'm guessing it had to be a market-based decision; they either had to go through the ratings gauntlet and find some way to get people to keep watching (saw the ratings thread and looked through all the dramas in there... really, a free car if you watch a freaking drama?!?), or they could have said to hell with it and took a path that could have meant a better story for appreciation by slightly (or a lot?) less viewers.

There's only so much the stars themselves can carry; without a semblance of plot, the drama won't stand. From what our opinions here have shown, we'd probably rather watch some decent no-names act the hell out of a tight and neatly scripted plot than blindly be in awe of the actors alone. I could be blind to it, but I've seen and heard too many good stories to lower my standards for this.

:puppydog:

Forget stars - I'll take genius writing, directing, and acting any day over star power.

phlargo wrote:
And they put her in clothes that make her look really thin too (those high-waisted khakis)

I really have to agree on this one! I also have the feeling that her jeans? are getting tighter and tighter each episode! XD Her supposed to be tomboyish charm is becoming more feminine. And considering the change she wants to undergo.. :sweat:

phlargo wrote:

Spoiler — click to reveal

I actually suspect the fact that Ruka looks kinda masculine ties in very well - it furthers Takeru's own strange sense of relationships and bolsters Ruka's discomfort with her own body.

Agreed! :thumbsup:

phlargo wrote:

Forget stars - I'll take genius writing, directing, and acting any day over star power.

+1. If this show didn't have the star power, it'd be one hell of a more difficult sell. There's no excuse for the show to be continually smashing into the DV issue either, they jumbled too many issues into this show for it to be coherent and, in the end, is going to take a miracle to end cleanly.

Fact is, that's the double-edged sword of the way J-TV is made; the most successful shows tie into a central storyline, with very small minor plot hooks to steer people along the way so it doesn't feel repetitive (see: Nodame).

The fact that you could cleanly cut several storylines out of the show and make them their own shows goes to show you that it's too complex for far too little episodes. If you split the stories of DV and GID alone, you'd have two potential stellar shows. Instead, you've got a mess that, at best, will be remembered as "that one show with the most inexplicably unintelligent people and nonexistant police".

Tenshigure wrote:

+1. If this show didn't have the star power, it'd be one hell of a more difficult sell. There's no excuse for the show to be continually smashing into the DV issue either, they jumbled too many issues into this show for it to be coherent and, in the end, is going to take a miracle to end cleanly.

Fact is, that's the double-edged sword of the way J-TV is made; the most successful shows tie into a central storyline, with very small minor plot hooks to steer people along the way so it doesn't feel repetitive (see: Nodame).

The fact that you could cleanly cut several storylines out of the show and make them their own shows goes to show you that it's too complex for far too little episodes. If you split the stories of DV and GID alone, you'd have two potential stellar shows. Instead, you've got a mess that, at best, will be remembered as "that one show with the most inexplicably unintelligent people and nonexistant police".

As I always learned in school - the narrower the issue and the better you focus on it, the more and better quality work you'll have to write about it.

The more you try to jam in, the broader your focus and the less interesting the product.

Tenshigure wrote:+1. If this show didn't have the star power, it'd be one hell of a more difficult sell. There's no excuse for the show to be continually smashing into the DV issue either, they jumbled too many issues into this show for it to be coherent and, in the end, is going to take a miracle to end cleanly.

+2.

As expected, not much of anything has been resolved (or even touched on in some cases)... And now the last episode will apparently wrap things up with a pretty red bow... :sweat:

I hope the writer/director proves me wrong, but I don't see that happening.

bmwracer wrote:
+2.

As expected, not much of anything has been resolved (or even touched on in some cases)... And now the last episode will apparently wrap things up with a pretty red bow... :sweat:

I hope the writer/director proves me wrong, but I don't see that happening.

I'm trying to keep me hopes up - I like suprises :fingerscrossed:

Yesterday watched ep 9 with subs.

Sousuke should die in pain, what a psycho.