I thought that Hiroto-kun was really hurt.. and that's why I liked that part, it surprised me although I knew the ending because I've seen some spoilers while waiting for English sub. I didnt imagine that it would be like that (now I think about it, it is not a big deal but while watching, I love it) I'm happy with ending mostly because I'm team Hiroto but I wouldnt feel sorry if she chose Tachibana too.. Im also looking forward to a Special, there have to be one!!
I was thinking if she went with Hiroto at the end I would be more pleased with the drama, but at the end, it I couldnt really feel that way either. The characterization was really weak and there was no depth to the plot. However, the acting and directing was good.
I watched episodes 10 and 11 today. I'm happy with the ending! During the last few episodes, I really rooted for Hiroto and I was glad when Sakura finally said flat out that what she's feeling for Tachibana is different than (romantic) love. I think that if she had gone with him to NY, they would have been great partners and friends, but not lovers. The look on her face in the scene where she brought him sushi and he flashed a glimpse of skin was pretty telling, imho. I think it was pretty clear that only Hiroto made her heart feel that special way. (But the more episodes I watched, the more I began to like Tachibana and feel for him - oh the pain of unrequited love - even though I didn't like him in the first few episodes. The scene where he did her hair and makeup made my heart ache...)

It annoyed me when Chiyoko said those things to Hiroto and he didn't talk back. I was like "whaaat, you can't just do whatever she says just because she's crazy!!"... So I was glad that she turned around from the dark side and decided to try to be good. Even so, I think that was a bit forced; I wonder if it would really be that easy to let go of all that hurt and bitterness... Anyway, I liked Tachibana's little "thank you" speech.

I don't know what to think of Shima's new boyfriend, though. He seems to be too awkward and clumsy, ha ha!

Well, I really enjoyed this drama, and I'm sad it's over. Now it's time to figure out what to watch next..?
Finally a love-triangle drama that doesn't imply from the start who will win in the love game :) I couldn't figure out who will Sakura choose until the very last episode and although I cheered for Tachibana I was totally satisfied with the ending!! Ι loved this drama!!
Ahhhh.......she left Tachibana for the rest of us! :)
marieirene wrote: Ahhhh.......she left Tachibana for the rest of us! :)


i like this. he is super hot.
Am I the only one who's rooting for Tachibana here? Gosh, I hated the ending not that I didnt like Hiroto, he's hot and all but I still think they dont match together. Fifteen years was too much for me to accept. Imagine she's already a teener when Hiroto was born. LOL. I like the way Tachibana cared for her. Their bickering and bantering were so cute. This was just my feelings, please dont fight with me. :D
4winkay wrote: Am I the only one who's rooting for Tachibana here? Gosh, I hated the ending not that I didnt like Hiroto, he's hot and all but I still think they dont match together. Fifteen years was too much for me to accept. Imagine she's already a teener when Hiroto was born. LOL. I like the way Tachibana cared for her. Their bickering and bantering were so cute.

This was just my feelings, please dont fight with me. :D



Age ain't nothing but a number. she looks hot and nothing close to 40. i say good for her for snatching a young sexy man. lol as long as the ppl are adults love should not be bound by age. You should Read the earlier comments though. There was a lot of tachibana love. Many ppl felt the same way you do.
Yes, like boutux said... There have been many different opinions here (and no fighting as far as I've seen :) ), which is part of the fun, imho! If everybody felt the same way, discussions would not be half as fun. :)

Personally, I agree with boutux on this. But it's interesting, though, the way people feel so differently about age difference. It is true that 15 years is a lot, but the question is if it matters or not. I know several couples in real life who are happy together despite having a ten to twenty years' difference in age, so that's probably why I don't worry about it. :) But then I also know people who feel that five years is too much of a difference...

And in the last drama I watched (Orange Days), one girl said to her ex boyfriend that she always felt she couldn't be herself when they were together, she had to hold back her true feelings, because she was older than he was. I'm not sure I understand why being one or two years older would mean that you feel you can't say "kiss me" or "hold me" to your boyfriend (I don't know if they ever mentioned exactly how old she was but I'm pretty sure it wasn't more than a couple of years!), but that's what she said. I find it fascinating somehow... and sad also. That's one reason why I'm glad Hiroto and Sakura stayed together. I think it's actually rather unusual to see a happy ending for an older woman/younger man. It's pretty common if it is the other way around, because an older man can make the young girl feel safe and protected and all that... An older woman on the other hand is portrayed as some kind of wild animal seductess (...like the complete opposite of Sakura!) and in the end, the young guy ends up with someone his own age. (Now I'm talking about love stories in general, because I haven't seen that many j-dramas yet... but juding by the way people talked about Sakura - calling her old and all that - I imagine young girls are usually the "winners" almost everywhere.)
I think it matters more about your maturity and circumstances than your age. I know 40 year olds that act like children, and 20 year olds that are more mature than me (in my 30s).

This was hard for me. I loved both men for her and couldn't decide myself who she should choose, though I'm happy with the ending, I would have been just as happy if it had gone the other way. But... SPOILER
When Tachibana confessed and she had no reaction, I knew she still cared for Hiroto and it broke my heart when she whispered his name just when Tachibana was about to kiss her. But I could move to New York and console him! END SPOILER

I loved this one from start to finish though. All the characters were great. I'd love to see a special or a season 2!
I agree, it would be great to see a special. (A whole second season, I don't know... I feel that everything turned out for the best for most of them, so...)

Anyway, I have been thinking about Last Cinderella a lot lately, because I've been watching Hotaru no hikari. Or I've been trying to watch; I put it on hold halfway into episode 6 because I found myself feeling more annoyed than amused. To start with, I thought it was very fun, and I thought it was amusing to see similarities, I kept seeing all these parallels, as if it was an earlier (and sillier) version of Last Cinderella. Both dramas have a main character who doesn't want to conform to society's idea of what a woman "should" be like, how she should act, talk and dress, etc, and both dramas have a male lead who likes to criticize said character for her "unladylike" behavior while he slowly falls for her without realizing it, and both dramas have a pretty younger man as love interest. (Although I guess Makoto isn't that much younger than Hotaru.)

I thought Hotaru was like a younger version of Sakura, and her relationship with the manager (my fave part of the drama, really) really reminded me a lot of Tachibana (not only because it was the same actor, but the way they interact). Well... like I said, I put it on hold, so I might not be fair in my judgement of it, but at this point I don't feel that it's that similar to Last Cinderella after all. Sakura is a lot more mature, in that she has learned to be herself in all situations; she doesn't try to be something she's not... looking back on Sakura now that I have Hotaru to compare with, I appreciate her a lot more as a character!

Something I did appreciate with Hotaru no hikari was that Hotaru's rival in love seemed to be a nice person and not a crazy one like Chiyoko, but LC was a lot better plot-wise. Even though I haven't finished H no H (and I might not finish it at all), I felt that it's obvious that Hotaru and her manager will become a couple (lol, I might be wrong though!), which makes her crush on her young colleague completely uninteresting. Besides, this Makoto guy doesn't have any of Hiroto's charisma at all, in fact his character is very poorly developed...

Maybe it's unfair to compare Hotaru no hikari with a drama that came several years later, but I can't help it since I watched LC first! Now that I have watched (half of) Hotaru no hikari, I feel that I understand more why lots of people seemed to appreciate LC so much! :)

I suppose these thoughts are pretty unoriginal, but I still sort of feel like a newbie in the world of j-drama (at the same time I can't understand what I used to fill my time with *lol*), I guess that's why I'm like an excited puppy about everything... ;)
lily_b wrote: I agree, it would be great to see a special. (A whole second season, I don't know... I feel that everything turned out for the best for most of them, so...)

Anyway, I have been thinking about Last Cinderella a lot lately, because I've been watching Hotaru no hikari. Or I've been trying to watch; I put it on hold halfway into episode 6 because I found myself feeling more annoyed than amused. To start with, I thought it was very fun, and I thought it was amusing to see similarities, I kept seeing all these parallels, as if it was an earlier (and sillier) version of Last Cinderella. Both dramas have a main character who doesn't want to conform to society's idea of what a woman "should" be like, how she should act, talk and dress, etc, and both dramas have a male lead who likes to criticize said character for her "unladylike" behavior while he slowly falls for her without realizing it, and both dramas have a pretty younger man as love interest. (Although I guess Makoto isn't that much younger than Hotaru.)

I thought Hotaru was like a younger version of Sakura, and her relationship with the manager (my fave part of the drama, really) really reminded me a lot of Tachibana (not only because it was the same actor, but the way they interact). Well... like I said, I put it on hold, so I might not be fair in my judgement of it, but at this point I don't feel that it's that similar to Last Cinderella after all. Sakura is a lot more mature, in that she has learned to be herself in all situations; she doesn't try to be something she's not... looking back on Sakura now that I have Hotaru to compare with, I appreciate her a lot more as a character!

Something I did appreciate with Hotaru no hikari was that Hotaru's rival in love seemed to be a nice person and not a crazy one like Chiyoko, but LC was a lot better plot-wise. Even though I haven't finished H no H (and I might not finish it at all), I felt that it's obvious that Hotaru and her manager will become a couple (lol, I might be wrong though!), which makes her crush on her young colleague completely uninteresting. Besides, this Makoto guy doesn't have any of Hiroto's charisma at all, in fact his character is very poorly developed...

Maybe it's unfair to compare Hotaru no hikari with a drama that came several years later, but I can't help it since I watched LC first! Now that I have watched (half of) Hotaru no hikari, I feel that I understand more why lots of people seemed to appreciate LC so much! :)

I suppose these thoughts are pretty unoriginal, but I still sort of feel like a newbie in the world of j-drama (at the same time I can't understand what I used to fill my time with *lol*), I guess that's why I'm like an excited puppy about everything... ;)

I watched both too, though I watched Hotaru no Hikari first.
And I agree with you. Sakura's character is more mature and both guys are much more charismatic in LC.
I've read lots of manga and seen quite few anime plus some dramas and usually female characters in Japanese media are very insecure which bothers me a lot. So seeing Sakura who is feeling comfortable in her skin is very refreshing.
lexies wrote: I watched both too, though I watched Hotaru no Hikari first.
And I agree with you. Sakura's character is more mature and both guys are much more charismatic in LC.
I've read lots of manga and seen quite few anime plus some dramas and usually female characters in Japanese media are very insecure which bothers me a lot. So seeing Sakura who is feeling comfortable in her skin is very refreshing.


I see what you mean. I feel like the more dramas I watch, the more I begin to understand (even if that's just scratching on the surface) what I have already seen, for example gender roles and the portrayals of women, the things they say and do, etc.
downloading this drama and sticking it on my external drive ... one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. LOL I keep coming back to it and yes! Good for her for getting herself a young man. I have NO problems with that age difference. LOL Dear First 10 minutes of Episode 9... thank you. Loved this drama. It is a new favorite. A real Gem.
Jeaniessi, I'm glad to hear you made such a good desicion. :) Good for her for getting herself a younger man, yes! Something I found surprising and pretty interesting: I while ago I read some posts in the Miura Haruma discussion thread. I would have thought fans of him would like Last Cinderella, but I saw several people writing that they didn't like this drama.