We’re finally at the end! The drama recovered in the second half and finished off with a 15.1% viewership rating in its finale episode!
Kanon calls Yoji and thanks him for looking after her all this time. “Without you, I would not have lived till now. It is all because of you that I had the chance to meet Junya.” Yoji could not help but cry.
We then have Junya encouraging Subaru to marry Kiyoka. He hopes that one day, the four of them could get together and share their happiness. As Junya walks away, Subaru struggles but decides to confess his feelings. “I have liked someone since a long time ago. It’s already been 10 years but the other person does not know about it. The person is not Kiyoka. I have never loved Kiyoka like how you loved her. There is someone else I like.”
At this point, Junya asks who is this person that you like. Subaru could not bring himself to say and it just tells him to forget they had this conversation and walks away. Hiroki’s acting here is fairly spot on but I would have liked to see even more of the internal agony that he was suffering. By now, I also think that Yujin’s acting has definitely improved. There was reasonable interaction between the two in that scene. After the conversation, Junya is slightly out of sorts.
Then we have crazy biatch no. 1 standing on the balcony edge – she’s crying (but who gives a shit!?!). As we all know, she jumps and crazy Junya runs off to save her and ends up being her landing mat (with the addition of a pool of blood on the side). We see him lying in the hospital – he has been unconscious for 3 days now. While he lies there, Subaru decides to continue where he left off with his “there’s someone I love” conversation. He says the person is “you”. He was initially planning to go to Paris and never return but he changed his mind. Now, he just wants to stay by his side. Hiroki, I reckon, is portraying his character quite well but is simply incomparable to Juri’s Ruka in Last Friends! Why? Beats me?! I could feel a trickle of Subaru’s pain but with Ruka, it was like it was happening to myself! LOL Must be Juri’s superb acting! ^____^ Anyway, getting back on track – his confession is worthless – Junya does not awake. Grrr….
Oops…sorry I take that back. In the next shot, he’s sitting upright but of course thinks can’t get too easy on poor Maki! Junya’s lost his memory from the brain damage and he’s in a wheelchair, unresponsive and generally seems to need help for everything. He’s like Kiyoka when she first awoke.
Ikeda goes off to find Yoji at this work place. He tells him that he has quit his job and is now working as a free lance. He can now choose what he wants to write. He asks for Yoji’s permission to once again, write about their story – titled ‘After the Event’. He wants to write a story of people not giving up on hope and striving their hardest to live their life. They finish off their meeting with “regardless of what happens, one must live on”.
Next we have Mizuki visiting Junya. Kanon had invited her to talk to Junya and help him regain his memory. Though Kanon has been talking to Junya everyday and looking at past pictures, the time they spent together was too short. Mizuki understands and goes through some old photos with him. But when Mizuki tried to hold his hand, he abruptly shook it away and even wheels himself away from her. Kanon walks in and places her hands on his shoulders. Mizuki realises that it is pointless for her to compete with Kiyoka or Kanon. “I have known Junya since we were 5 so I never thought I would lose to either Kiyoka or you. However, all that time means nothing. You will share a future together with Junya. I really envy you.” She finally sees the light.
Btw, crazy bitch no. 1 survived the fall…but who cares…let’s move onto the more important stuff…
Yoji is at the church and confesses to the pastor that all this time, he has not been able to wholeheartedly wish his sister happiness. Everytime he wants to pass on his good wishes, other thoughts will arise to disturb him. I guess he still had a bit of sister complex in him. However, right at this moment, from the bottom of his heart, he just wants his sister to be happy.
Kanon and Junya is out and he pauses as they pass by a person selling balloons. For the first time since the incident he speaks and says “Kiyoka” (DAMN HIM!!!). Then when they return home, he walks off himself like normal for the first time and keeps calling for Kiyoka as he enters the room in which she used to stay in. Seriously, how upsetting must Kanon feel!?! The same thing happens the following morning. Kanon is cooking breakfast and asks Junya to sit and wait. He says “how about Kiyoka?” – this time, Kanon actually pauses. Suddenly, even I feel like we travelled back in time to the point when Kanon used to be living in the house to help look after Kiyoka. I just hope Junya will remember Kanon soon….*sigh*
Kanon realises that Junya only has Kiyoka on his mind. He calls Subaru to ask for a favour – “I just want Junya to be happy”. Subaru agrees. We see Kanon leaving Junya’s house and shortly after Kiyoka arrives. Junya smiles (oh and her too). Honestly, at this stage, I feel like I’m seeing two loonies!?! They’ve both got the goofy look on their face. W-E-I-R-D!! I feel like knocking out Junya on the head!! Aaaargh! Anyway, they’re happily gazing at each other until a gust of wind (how handy) blows the music sheet of the piece that Junya composed for Kanon falls at their feet. Kiyoka picks it up and asks Junya to play it. He stumbles at first but eventually gets better – it’s almost like they’re hinting that he’s regaining his memory (one can only hope). While they’re enjoying their reunion, Kanon is alone at the church. She’s obviously in pain.
AND MY WISH IS GRANTED! As he plays the final notes of the piece, Kanon’s voice echoes in his head “and this is the piece that you composed for me”. He then also remembers the painful look on her face as she left her just prior to his reunion with Kiyoka. He awakes and rushes off to find Kanon…AND then Utada’s music kicks in!! YAY While he’s running, flashbacks of all the memories appear before him. He eventually finds her sitting outside the church. They embrace and finish with a light kiss.
Aaah! I’m so exhausted from typing this post! I’ll leave my views till later! Enjoy!! MERRY christmas people!!
51 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 26, 2008 at 12:47 PM
inda
thank u for the summary…
hoooray!!!
Kanon and Junya together at last after many obstacle in this drama…
December 26, 2008 at 12:56 PM
inda
eh, there is one part that u didn’t write it…
the part after Junya’s hug…
December 26, 2008 at 2:07 PM
Anonymous
omh i love how u say crazy b1tch number one and two
December 26, 2008 at 11:31 PM
Quiras
Erm I am quite new to J drama scene so forgive this naive question but is this good? What, roughly is this about?
December 27, 2008 at 12:56 AM
Sleepy
@Inda: Sorry! Got a bit lazy so skipped the little bit after the hug. hahaha I guess I was more focused on Junya and Kanon!
@Quiras: To be honest, this drama is only so so overall. The theme song and soundtrack is pretty damn good and the main actress’ acting is also worth a praise. However, it has a weak storyline and the production team made a mistake to use a newbie to play the main guy. I think that sums up my view on a high level. I’m going to write a detailed review later. Basically, there are much better j-dramas out there. This will not rank in my favourite 3 for sure. Hope this helps!!
December 27, 2008 at 4:15 AM
iruka
I’ve been following Innocent Love till the 4th epi.. (with Queerbeats translation) . I must say that it was very depressing and I was always the one who detests any sort of spoilers but… THIS DRAMA IS A FCKING EXCEPTION!!!!
I thought that my head was going to explode when the intensifying mood jumps in. *pulls hair*
Thank you for the summary. :) Now I have the strength to continue watching.. and Subaru.. (totally forgotten his real name) . being gay is just HOT. *rabid yaoi fan* So.. I technically understands his feelings as I follow all those angst genre mangas around… *sigh*
The feelings to bitchslap Mizuki and Kiyoka still remains.
December 27, 2008 at 8:58 AM
celine
Thanks for the summary.
Glad to see kanon and junya together at the end.
I do agree that the storyline is a little weak but I feel yujin’s acting was earnest and good. Though it would have been better if they had a younger guy.
December 27, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Sleepy
Hey Anon! I honestly can’t think of another way to describe those two nutcase women!!! LOL
@iruka: hahaha bitchslap, eh?! I agree with you – if this was something where I had to wait for weeks in between the episodes, I think my patience would have dried up v quickly. Subaru was a pretty cool gay…^_^
Celine – I think I’m in the same boat as you. I thought yujin’s efforts were commendable but I can’t help but say that that there another actor (a more experienced one) would have done a better job. oh well – as long as Kanon and Junya got together. Oh and I thought they look well together! Quite a cute couple!
December 27, 2008 at 2:48 PM
inda
sleepy, it’s okay…
i just saying
December 27, 2008 at 8:57 PM
hanneebuff
wow! i’m so relieved that this one ended happily. I don’t think Kanon should endure more heartbreaks than she already did. thanks sleepy for the recaps.
but 10 episodes is still too short ne? i want another episode.
December 28, 2008 at 12:37 AM
Sleepy
hanneebuff! That’s a little greedy! I actually thought 10 episodes was about right. Anymore probably meant that poor Kanon would have to suffer more before reaching her well deserved happy ending! The final closing scene was actually very pretty. I’ll include it in my final review. =)
December 29, 2008 at 2:27 AM
Hanneebuff
sorry if i sounded too greedy. hehe! i like the drama that’s why i want another episode. maybe i’m just used to watching 11 episodes per series as what other jdramas did =D
December 29, 2008 at 2:28 AM
Hanneebuff
sorry if i sounded too greedy. i’m just used to watching 11 episodes per series. but you’re right, that would be another episode of Kanon suffering and i don’t really like that. thanks for your reviews.
December 29, 2008 at 9:48 AM
Sleepy
No worries, Hanneebuff!! I wonder when’s the next Maki drama?!
December 29, 2008 at 10:23 AM
xinque
hey, thanks for the summaries ! really helped when I ran out of english subs (or patience to translate the japanese ones :P)
was so worried this was going to be a sad ending.. then I looked at the airdate and thought to myself no way would they air something depressing right before the holidays :P
just got back into watching drama recently so have a bit to catch up on. is last friends worth watching? think you mentioned it was by the same writer as this so not sure if the stories would be too similar.. just looking for something good to watch.. so.. any recommendations?
December 29, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Sleepy
Hi xinque! Last Friends is good but it’s not light hearted and compared to Innocent Love, it’s better. I think it’s a must see cos of the quality of the acting in Juri and Eita and the courage to touch on sensitive social issues (though they didn’t go all the way as much as I’d like). Word of warning – it’s not to everyone’s tastes. You should check it out but maybe not the best choice during holiday season! For something brainless and funny, I recommend Nodame (based off a manga and focuses on students in a music school but it’s got exaggerated acting), Hana Kimi (girl enters boys’ school – romantic comedy) or Hotaru no Hikari (romantic comedy – about a girl who likes hanging at home more than going out but suddenly has to adjust to living together with her boss!)!! Hope one strikes your interest!
January 5, 2009 at 11:06 PM
someone
Does anyone know if there is the episode 11?? I searched and found that many sites presenting Innocent Love claim that the Number of episodes is 11.
January 5, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Sleepy
@someone: It’s definitely 10 episodes from what I gather!
January 24, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Aida
Thanks for the review….. I got tired of waiting for subs, as I’m sure everyone here did, so I watched it myself…. And I realized my Japanese is actually pretty good, since I understood everything…. LoL…. I just love Maki_chan and of course every single drama she plays. Always good choices and worth watching. I loved how you used your expressions to write the reviews, and definitely agree on crazy bitch No.1/2. Specially No.1 she was so indecisive and even a picture of her made me mad.
January 26, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Sleepy
Thanks Aida for commenting!! I’m glad you found these summaries helpful and entertaining!! Please drop by more often. Any dramas that you’re watching currently? Has anything in this season caught your attention?
January 26, 2009 at 5:53 AM
aida
No not really. I’m currently watching is Q.E.D and some others.
I haven’t really LOVED any of these new dramas. I personally think some old ones are better. But still looking forward to new ones.
What about you?? Watching anything worthy??
January 26, 2009 at 2:31 PM
Sleepy
Ok – this is a really stupid question…what’s QED? Talking about old dramas, have you watched Ice World before? It’s not bad though it’ll be tricky finding a good copy of it around. Currently I’m watching Marimite, Triangle and Vampire Knight.
January 26, 2009 at 2:57 PM
aida
Q.E.D is a drama and no I don’t remember what does it stand for in Japanese but something like completing the proof…. It’s currently airing so u can find just 3 episodes of it (with eng sub).
Vampire Knight….. I watched half of it, then I got distracted by a drama and I totally forgot about it… L0L
January 26, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Sleepy
Oh – I see…I don’t watch American dramas much so I thought it might be one of those. I went to ask my sister and she was like “huh?” hahahahaha
January 27, 2009 at 1:10 AM
aida
No I don’t watch American dramas as well. In fact I don’t even live in America, I live in Canada. Well it is another mystery drama. But it’s about a smart guy who teams up with an ordinary high school girl.
January 27, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Sleepy
Oh! I remember it now! I saw it but decided not to follow cos I didn’t really know the actors. It’s one of those I’d watch if I had HEAPS of spare time. I’ve got too many things I want to do…books to read, manga to read, anime and dramas to watch then on top of that there’s people to meet!! LOL
January 27, 2009 at 10:45 AM
aida
Really??!!! You’ve been busy then… Unlike me… I still have a week before my new semester starts and I currently have no drama to watch….
Well it’s not really like I’ve watched every drama before, it’s just that I’ve watched the interesting ones and am trying to find new ones… But for whatever reason I just can’t focus on a drama…. U know, it’s like u think u want to/have this drama, but yet u change your mind suddenly…
I even wanted to rewatched some interesing ones that I saw months ago, but still have 5-10 mins I give up and lose interest ^_^
January 27, 2009 at 10:50 AM
aida
Sorry I seem to have made mistakes… LoL I was paying attention to something else when I commented… Let me correct them:
1. U think u want to watch this drama…..
2. I even wanted to rewatch some……….
3. But still after 5-10 mins, I give up……..
LoL so now u can’t say I’m bad at grammer ^_^
January 27, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Sleepy
Sounds like you’re a bit restless with your mind. I find that happens to me with watching dramas sometimes – particularly Japanese ones as the ones I watch tend to a bit more serious so requires more concentration. It’s times like these that I prefer to watch anime. I can seriously shut down half my brain!! haha
OR what you could be referring to might be something more serious. A few months ago I felt like I was in this rut and couldn’t get out of it. Just wasn’t motivated to do ANYTHING! I hope you’re not in one of those!!!
January 27, 2009 at 3:14 PM
aida
Not motivated huh??!!!! Well that could be it too…. Since I’ve become more over weight and I don’t really care so it’s increasing every day, I lost my motivation to do excercise and such…. And they say when you are lazy, you’re not up to do anything even if it’s just watching…. Besides right now I find it rather troublesome to think about what to watch next, so I decide to just continue watching the ones that I’m waiting for new eps, or rewatch another one I’ve seen before…..
January 27, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Sleepy
That’s no good!! I must admit that I go through phases and I really need to get back into my ‘exercise mode’. Come on! Let’s get our act back together!! We have to be cool otakus!!! hahaha
January 28, 2009 at 1:46 AM
aida
That’s right…. Desu ii yo ne???
Well I’ve started a plan since last night. This time I really want to lose weight. You know since I was a child…. No since I was born I’ve been always fat so I was never worried about it… But all of a sudden I want know how it feels to be like a model LoL
Well let’s do our best…. But I’m sure you’re not fat at all ^_^
January 28, 2009 at 7:11 AM
Sleepy
Well I’m not fat fat but I couldn’t definitely lose some weight! OK! Here we go! Funny we’re motivating each other from over such a long distance! My routine will start tomorrow since it’s also the day that I’m back at work…!!! GANBATTE!!
January 28, 2009 at 7:45 AM
aida
Yeah it’s even impressive how we became such good friends that even talk about diet lol….. Mine started from today… I’ve cut down calories and all the sweet/oily food I ate before… Besides I went jogging for 45 mins… This time definitely gonna lose weight… Ishoni gambarimasho…
By the way how about chatting with each other rather than writing unrelated letters on this website…. Like on MSN or Yahoo…. If u want add me… My MSN: aida_sh_2008@yahoo.com
My Yahoo: aida_pretygirl (@yahoo.com)
That way we can talk better and easier……
January 28, 2009 at 7:46 AM
aida
Sorry I made a mistake again….. >_<
MSN: aida_sh_2008@hotmail.com
Gomenasai
January 28, 2009 at 8:38 AM
Sleepy
WOW! That’s impressive!! Ok – that will motivate me for tomorrow – maybe I’ll actually start today! A salad for lunch then some exercise this arvo. Yes – ishoni gambarimasho.
Let me get my MSN setup. This is kind of funny. I never use MSN – my argument being, if I want to talk to a friend, then I’ll just call them but then our circumstances are a little different! haha I’ll find you on MSN.
January 28, 2009 at 9:20 AM
aida
By the way I got a free trial for Wu-Yi tea as well…..
It’s Chinese tea that I heard from many people, works well and helps you lose weight ^_^…. Since it’s just tea and it was free except 1.95$ for shipping, I thought I’d try it. If you’re interested u should get the trial too before it’s done. I tried some pills that weren’t for diet specifically but just for better digestion and melt fat and such…. And you know it actually helped a bit. It was the time my dad just came from my country (he goes back and forth) for a visit and we went to restaurants every day, I didn’t hold back either and I thought I’ve difinitely gained weight but my diet doctor said I’ve actually lost 10 pounds and become 1 inche taller, though I didn’t tell her it was because of the pills ^_^
January 28, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Sleepy
Magic tea?? Wow sounds like I need to check it out. I haven’t really heard about this. So about the pills, where are they from? I’m usually a bit hesitant about this stuff. But if someone’s tried it before then of course that’s different!
January 29, 2009 at 12:50 AM
aida
Well actually right now I don’t remember the name…. It was quite expensive though ^_^… If I found the box I’ll tell u the name.
I agree, most of the times my mom doesn’t let me even talk about the pills…. They usually don’t work anyways.
January 29, 2009 at 3:47 AM
Sleepy
I’m sure more than half don’t work. Oh well. People still fall for it including me!
Hmm…Got to setup MSN…might also ask the others what they think will work too as there are a few of us that chat on a regular basis…
January 29, 2009 at 7:56 AM
Sonia
Thank you so much for doing this. I’m french and I like to watch korean or japanese drama. This one is really great, and I enjoy a lot reading your reviews, I do appreciate a lot your tone. So, thanks for giving me good time by reading yours posts.
Best regards.
January 29, 2009 at 6:48 PM
Sleepy
Hi Sonia! I’m glad you liked my summaries/reviews! My sister was reading my blog and was bagging out how crazy I am (not in a very harsh manner but just “I can’t believe you!”). It’s comforting to know that what I write brings a smile to at least a small group of people out there!!
Hope to see you again!
February 3, 2009 at 4:44 AM
bomi
Actually I’ve just knew about this drama and I watched the 1st episode and I felt like I’m watching Last Friends. The air is almost the same so I checked wiki to see who’s the scriptwriter… BAM! It is the same person!! No wonder the atmosphere of the story felt so familiar…
My internet connection wasn’t so good so I wasn’t able to watch the rest of the episodes but I wanted to know what’s going on. After the 1st episode, my gut feelings tell me that the brother must have burned down the house to kill their parents because something must have happened. My guess is it’s either he or his sister was sexually assaulted by his father. Reading your other synopsis, I was right :D So really thank you for your fantastic synopsis of this episode and others. It’s like reading a good novel. Not sure if I wanted to continue watching with my bad snail internet connection…
Asano Taeko will be my 3rd favourite scriptwriter along with Kudo Kankurou and Kitagawa Eriko. I like her story a lot. It’s fresh and different.
You’re right. Nari-chan is a great actor but you just can’t beat Juri’s Ruka…. So heartbreaking. I could really feel her agony, her dilemma. IMHO, Last Friends is perfect with a very talented line of casts and catchy song that suits the drama very well.
I actually don’t like Kitagawa Yujin. Well I’ve only watched the 1st episode but I found him to be stiff and lack of emotions in his speech. That’s my only pet peeves in this drama. I would rather see Tsumabuki Satoshi playing Junya.. or Kashiwabara Takashi or Ikuta Toma.
February 3, 2009 at 5:50 AM
Sleepy
I’m actually not a fan of Asano Taeko’s works. Only Last Friends stood out for me – not so much for her other works. I LOVE Kitagawa Eriko though!!
Yeah – Yujin is not very good but he improves. You’ll just have to bear his “over-smiling face” for another episode or two…haha
March 16, 2009 at 12:32 PM
merissala
…wow…
I think it’s the cause of me reading the summary i feel the drama was rushed. maybe not, probably not actually. I dunno….
But yeah…subaru liking junya was sad );
the whole ordeal with kiyoka and junya was just plain stupid.. like.. wtf is wrong with u kiyoka? you’re like “subaru subaru then junya junya junya… then…” arrgghhh! what’s up with her!!
the drama was all in all… a bit odd. oh well. i liked the plot… most of it anyways :)
March 16, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Sleepy
To be honest, I think this drama was only so so. If there wasn’t Maki and the Eternally music, it would be hardly worth watching!! The brother’s acting was good and Junya was nice to watch (=P) but everything else? Skippable…*sigh*
April 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM
la_loner
Thanks for the summary. I also think this drama was so-so. It just went over and over what everyone already knew. I liked it at first but then it sort-of drag on. The memory thing is kind of weird. However, it had it’s sweet points. THANKS FOR THE SUMMARY!!!!
April 29, 2009 at 6:40 PM
Sleepy
Sorry for the slow response la-loner!!! I:m on hols at the moment!! No worries!! I:m glad to hear that u enjoyed it!!! Have u checked out Maki`s new drama??! It looks a bit bizarre!!
February 11, 2011 at 12:49 PM
kristin
nice.., i think it was the most touchable Jdrama which i ever saw. huhuhu..thank you so much for the summary, because i can’t watch the last episode in my PC,some problem was make the file corrupt, how lucky am i find your blog. thank you so much.
February 16, 2011 at 1:40 AM
Nakayo
hahaha no worries kristin!! I haven’t watched a jdrama in a while. Any good recommendations?!
June 25, 2013 at 8:37 PM
Dark Flame Master
10/10 it was just too awesome!