Second to Last Love

Aired 2012

From the former ancient capital, Kamakura comes a mature but bittersweet love story. Yoshino Chiaki is a 45 year old TV drama producer at a television network station. As she grows older, she becomes more concerned about her health and retirement rather than a romantic relationship with someone she loves. The dream life she imagined upon joining her company seems far away and no longer reachable. Will things change if she took a break from her routine life? Such questions lead her to Kamakura, where she searches for an antique house to settle in. This is where she meets Nagakura Wahei, a 50 year old man working for the city office. Wahei was separated from his wife by death, a heartbroken lonely single man with one child. Chiaki and Wahei are drawn to each other as they learn more and more about each other. However, Wahei's family gets in the couple's way with obstacles. Wahei's brother, Nagakura Shinpei being the first. Shinpei is carefree and somewhat lacking in luck, despite his good looking appearance. He courts Chiaki, creating a triangle relationship between the three characters. Wahei's sister, Mizutani Noriko is on the verge of a family breakdown, constantly nagging at those around her. She dislikes Chiaki for being in the same age range, with differing opinions about life. The other sister, an introvert who lacks connection with society and its standards, probes Chiaki's feelings in attempt to expose her inner self. Facing the challenges of interacting with each unique member of the family, Chiaki and Wahei together try to overcome them to attain a long-standing happiness.

Aired 2014

Chiaki has now been promoted to the position of Deputy Director in the drama production arm of JMT. Her job now is to guide and coach the younger staff under her. She especially recognises the talents of scripwriter Mariko and the assistant producer Mitsui. On the other hand, back in Kamakura, Wahei is bearing the brunt of the failure in getting Kamakura to be officially recognised as a World Heritage site. He now has additional responsibilities of managing the secretarial department too. He is also being marked by the new mayor, Isayama Yoko, and is told to not cause any more trouble to the City Hall management. Shinpei has converted the ground floor of their home into a small cafe, and his relationship with Tomomi is going smoothly. While Wahei's other sister, Noriko, is suspecting her husband of having an affair, and she seeks advice from both Wahei and Chiaki. Wahei's daughter, Erina is now dating a man one year older than her, Harada Souta. Erina introduces Souta and his mother, Harada Kaoruko to Wahei. One day, Wahei is told to go to France with the city mayor, due to some news from Kamakura's sister city there. Coincidentally, Chiaki also has to go to Paris, as they are facing a problem with an ongoing drama, and she needs to clarify some details with the original writer who is living there.