''Second to Last Love'', or , is a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thriller ...

series, starring

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and

Kiichi Nakai is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Ye ...

. The series aired Thursdays at 22:00 - 22:54, on

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from January 12, to March 22, 2012. A second season entitled was broadcast by Fuji TV from April 17 to June 26, 2014.

Plot

Described as an adult love story, ''Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi'' narrates the tale of Chiaki Yoshino (Kyōko Koizumi), a 45-year-old TV drama producer. As she is becoming older, Chiaki becomes increasingly more concerned about her health and retirement, instead of building romantic relationship with someone: The hope she once had of sharing her life with someone seems distant. Chiaki is subsequently troubled about deciding on taking a break from her ruling life, and such questions lead her to

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

, where she decides to settle. In this ancient city she meets Wahei Nagakura (Kiichi Nakai), a 50-year-old widower and father of one child who works for the city office. Chiaki and Wahei start getting closer as they learn more about each other's lives. However, Wahei's family start obstructing the development of their relationship. Wahei's brother, Shinpei, starts courting Chiaki, creating a conflicting triangle relationship. On the other hand, Wahei's sister, Noriko, constantly harasses Chiaki. Facing these problematic family members, Chiaki and Wahei try to build and sustain their budding romance.

Cast

as Chiaki Yoshino *

as Wahei Nagakura * Kenji Sakaguchi as Shinpei Nagakura * Mariko Watanabe as Erina Nagakura * Hiroko Moriguchi as Keiko Araki * Kazuyuki Asano as Hiroyuki Mizutani * Naoko Iijima as Noriko Mizutani *

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as Midori Hatanaka

Episodes

Season 1

Special

Season 2

Awards

* Tokyo Drama Awards 2013 - Excellence Award (''Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi 2012 Aki'') * Tokyo Drama Awards 2014 - Best Screenplay (Yoshikazu Okada)

References

{{reflist Fuji TV dramas 2012 Japanese television series debuts Japanese drama television series Japanese romance television series Television shows written by Yoshikazu Okada Television shows set in Kamakura Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi