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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I just found out from the official website that there's some kind of cell-phone based, short drama spin-off series called "Eri, My Love". The series will be distributed every week and the story will show Eri's private life, which is not shown much in Last Friends. That sounds interesting and a good thing for Mizukawa Asami since her character hasn't exactly been getting much of a focus here. But I feel like I'm missing out on the story even though the website claims otherwise. I hope we'll get to see it as well someday. On a happier note, DramaWiki points out that this episode actually got a 19.9 rating, a 4.0 jump from its usual 15.9 rating. This puts it on the same level as a normal Nodame Cantabile episode. I hope that this increase is not just a one-off incident though atlhough I admit that I didn't expect this drama to end up being this popular even though it features at least 3 principal casts from Nodame Cantabile. But the writing has been quite good and the characters' motivation are easy to understand/sympathize even if you can't put yourself in their position.
While I'm not exactly a fan, I've been following Ueno Juri's career ever since Swing Girls. With every film/series, I notice that she always chooses a role that is different from the one that she played beforehand. Her role in Swing Girls requires her to be a spunky high school girl whereas in Summertime Machine Blues, she plays a geeky and rather quiet college girl (and Eita's love interest). I don't think I need to highlight how different her role in Nodame Cantabile was in comparison to her role as Ruka in this series. It's also interesting to see her working with Eita over and over again. Although they seem to work together quiet frequently, their interaction in each projects are distinctly different. Takuma/Haruka in Summertime Machine Blues are reluctant couple whereas Nodame/Mine in Nodame Cantabile are goofy friends who get to drive Chiaki mad. Ruka/Takeru, on the other hand, is more like unrequited love mixed with deep friendship.
This episode seems to be a lot more obvious about where it wants to go in terms of ending. There are a lot of narrations and dialogue which were designed to reveal the past as well as the final fate of each main characters. While I suspect it'll be dark through and through, I am mostly impressed with the characterizations that each actor has given to their character. As expected, Ruka and Michiru's stories continue to unravel in this episode but what surprised me is the development that they've given to Takeru. I have a theory about his past but I'm not sure if it's correct or not. At this point, I'm not sure if Eri will receive a specific character development but for now her character is mostly associated with Tomohiko. Either way, I hope the show can remain interesting for the remainder 8 episodes. Things move at a really fast pace now that I can't help but wonder if the writers still have a lot to tell. It looks like the story could easily be resolved in 6 or 7 episodes (instead of 11).
Despite my initial reservation, the second episode entertained me more than I expected so I think I'll stick with this for a while. I do have to try to shorten the summary though since it's a killer on my time. The worst is probably the screenshots, which can take ages to produce but let's see what happens. Anyway, I still find it weird to Ueno Juri, Eita, and Mizukawa Asami playing characters that are so different from their characters in Nodame Cantabile. This is partly why I feel uncomfortable with the series. Everytime I see Takeru looking at Ruka like he's in love with her, I feel like this is all wrong because it feels like I was watching Mine and Nodame behaving in out of character manner. I have to keep reminding myself that Ueno Juri and Eita now play two completely different characters called Ruka and Takeru. On a more positive side, the soundtrack for this series is wonderful. It's not just the OP that sounds good but also the BGM. My favorite is the one that plays when Ruka and Michiru part ways in front of the train station at the start of this episode.
OP Theme: 「Prisoner of Love」 by Utada Hikaru - AVI version (22.3MB) | PSP version (10.7MB) | YouTube version
I was going to write about Kyouran Kazoku Nikki after this but because I had to go to a party, I can only write the summary for this drama. I'm sorry about this but I'll try to cover it after the next batch of 2nd episodes that will come soon. Anyway, as I promised, here's the review for Last Friends, the new J-drama that airs on Fuji TV. This drama turns out to be much better than what I had imagined. While there's nothing new or extraordinary about it, it tells the story well and the actors are very capable performers. It's a bit shocking to see Ueno Juri playing a character with a completely different personality from Nodame but this series show that she has a good acting range. What impresses me the most, however, is Utada Hikaru's OP theme, Prisoner of Love. As one might expect, the song is a constant presence throughout the series. The producers even shot a specific opening for the series where the actors get to look around in confusion while red ribbons fly all over the place. Having said that, I'm still not sure if I'd continue watching this. I find the theme a bit too depressing and I still haven't finalized my Spring 2008 viewing schedule.
