Just finished: Last Money – Ai no Nedan

I enjoyed this. At seven episodes long, it felt like the right length of time for the story. The first few episodes had one story each, and were a way to introduce the characters and the setting, and the last few episodes focused on the mysterious circumstances of the death of a friend.

* spoilers *

Found dead in his car, it looks like a suicide but we, the audience, know better: he wasn’t alone in his final minutes, he was with his lover. And despite being told that this woman can’t be trusted, I wanted her to be innocent. The sympathetic portrayal of this character by Takashima Reiko had me split between thinking she was an expert manipulator or just a misunderstood soul.

And it is her performance that really turned this drama into one of the highlights of the last few months. With no big names in the cast, this has probably passed many people by, which would be a shame. Definitely worth a look.