Second to Last Love

For the 2016 South Korean remake of the same title, see Second to Last Love (South Korean TV series).

Second to Last Love, or Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi (最後から二番目の恋, My Second Last Love), is a Japanese television drama series, starring Kyōko Koizumi and Kiichi Nakai.^[3] The series aired Thursdays at 22:00 - 22:54, on Fuji Television from January 12, to March 22, 2012.

Second to Last Love
Promotional poster (Season 1)
Also known as	My Second Last Love^[1]
Genre	Romance, Drama
Written by	Yoshikazu Okada
Directed by	Rieko Miyamoto, Masaki Tanimura, Michiko Namiki, Yusuke Kato, Ryo Miyawaki
Starring	Kyōko Koizumi Kiichi Nakai Naoko Iijima Kenji Sakaguchi Yuki Uchida
Opening theme	"Hello New Me" by Ayumi Hamasaki (season 2)
Ending theme	"How Beautiful You Are" by Ayumi Hamasaki (season 1)^[2] "Teijiro" by Kyōko Koizumi and Kiichi Nakai (season 2)
Composer	Atsushi Hirasawa
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23
Production
Producers	Hiroki Wakamatsu, Sumi Asano
Production location	Kamakura, Kanagawa
Running time	54 minutes
Original release
Network	Fuji TV
Release	January 12, 2012 (2012-01-12) – June 26, 2014 (2014-06-26)
Related
Second to Last Love (South Korean TV series)

A second season entitled Zoku—Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi (続・最後から二番目の恋) was broadcast by Fuji TV from April 17 to June 26, 2014.

Plot

Described as an adult love story,^[2] 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, 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.^[1]

Cast

• Kyōko Koizumi as Chiaki Yoshino
• Kiichi Nakai 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
• Yuki Uchida as Midori Hatanaka

Episodes

Season 1

No.	Air date	Title	Directed by	Ratings^[4]
1	January 12, 2012 (2012-01-12)	There aren't adults who aren't lonely (寂しくない大人なんていない)	Rieko Miyamoto	12.1%
2	January 19, 2012 (2012-01-19)	Being single is a freedom that ends hurting (ひとりって切ないくらい自由)		12.8%
3	January 26, 2012 (2012-01-26)	Don't laugh at adults enjoying their youth! (大人の青春を笑うな!)		11.8%
4	February 2, 2012 (2012-02-02)	Aging is a heart-wrenching thing for a woman (女が年取るってせつないよね)	Masaki Tanimura	11.4%
5	February 9, 2012 (2012-02-09)	What will the last love of my life be? (人生最後の恋って何だろう)	Michiko Namiki	12.6%
6	February 16, 2012 (2012-02-16)	Unlike any love until now (今迄のどんな恋にも似てない)	Rieko Miyamoto	11.7%
7	February 23, 2012 (2012-02-23)	How should I love? (恋ってどうすれば良いんだ?)	Masaki Tanimura	13.1%
8	March 1, 2012 (2012-03-01)	An adult's kiss is painful but laughable (大人のキスは切なくて笑える)	Rieko Miyamoto	11.5%
9	March 8, 2012 (2012-03-08)	A kiss can be as eloquent as one's words (キスは口ほどにものを言う)	Masaki Tanimura	12.3%
10	March 15, 2012 (2012-03-15)	Even an adult's future shines (大人の未来だって、輝いてる)	Rieko Miyamoto	13.0%
11	March 22, 2012 (2012-03-22)	A love that hasn't ended yet (まだ恋は終わらない〜最終回)		13.7%
Average rating: 12.4%

Special

No.	Air date	Title	Directed by	Ratings^[4]
1	November 2, 2012 (2012-11-02)	Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi 2012 Aki (最後から二番目の恋 2012秋)	Rieko Miyamoto	10.6%

Season 2

No.	Air date	Title	Directed by	Ratings^[4]
1	April 17, 2014 (2014-04-17)	It's difficult to deal with adultness' youth (大人の青春って、始末に負えない)	Rieko Miyamoto	14.0%
2	April 24, 2014 (2014-04-24)	The grownups who suck at romance (恋愛下手な大人たち)		13.7%
3	May 1, 2014 (2014-05-01)	Bury a past love with laughter (過去の恋は、笑って葬れ)	Yusuke Kato	12.2%
4	May 8, 2014 (2014-05-08)	My life, miscalculated (私の人生、計算外)		12.2%
5	May 15, 2014 (2014-05-15)	What exactly is an adult being? (全く大人って生き物は…)	Rieko Miyamoto	12.8%
6	May 22, 2014 (2014-05-22)	Even so, life is wonderful (それでも人生は素敵だ)	Ryo Miyawaki	11.2%
7	May 29, 2014 (2014-05-29)	Get older and purify yourself (歳を重ねてピュアになる)	Yusuke Kato	12.1%
8	June 5, 2014 (2014-06-05)	Every adult is a problem child (大人はみんな問題児。)	Ryo Miyawaki	13.3%
9	June 12, 2014 (2014-06-12)	There's nothing wrong with an adult crying out of love (恋で泣く大人も悪くない)	Yusuke Kato	12.4%
10	June 19, 2014 (2014-06-19)	Excluding love, I'm doing well (恋をのぞけば、順調です)	Ryo Miyawaki	13.4%
11	June 26, 2014 (2014-06-26)	Life's still funky! (人生まだまだファンキーだ!!)	Rieko Miyamoto	13.8%
Average rating: 12.9%

Awards

• Tokyo Drama Awards 2013 - Excellence Award (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi 2012 Aki)^[5]
• Tokyo Drama Awards 2014 - Best Screenplay (Yoshikazu Okada)^[6]

References

1. "My Second Last Love / Saigo Kara Nibanme No Koi Japanese Tv Drama". Amazon.com. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
2. "Hamasaki Ayumi to sing the theme song for "Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi"". Tokyo Hive. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
3. "Koizumi Kyoko, Nakai Kiichi star in romance drama "Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi"". Tokyograph. 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
4. "メディア・マーケティングデータ、広告プランニング・効果測定、市場調査ならビデオリサーチ" (in Japanese). Video Research Ltd. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
5. "あまちゃん：「東京ドラマアウォード」グランプリほか"じぇじぇじぇ"の7冠". Mantanweb (in Japanese). 22 October 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
6. "Winners of 'Tokyo Drama Awards 2014' announced". Tokyo Hive. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.