(spoilers ahead)

You can Always get Back Up

Our finale picks up right where we left off. Toshi has “saved” Toru but is actually planning to kill him. But instead of pulling the trigger he leaves his former partner in the streets. Toshi has been so angry and resentful of Toru so it is nice to see him get over his hatred and move on. The two have rarely shared a scene and I wished we got more of them. Toshi moves on with his life only to kill the Yakuza boss and is in turn murdered for it.

(Peace)

I hate the Yakuza story line. It only exists to put high stakes into the show. Toshi dies to save Toru, Sapphire, and his love interest while getting revenge. It seems silly to think that it would save them all. Why would the Yakuza forget the debt? Death as a redemption is an overly used trope in fiction and it makes no sense here. Toshi has more than redeemed his past actions and his death only serves to add on more drama. Our story ties up all it’s loose ends with Takei the cop getting unceremoniously arrested for corruption. Signally a new Japan that is cracking down on crime and corruption. Our protagonists are free of the Yakuza as everyone tries to move on with their lives. Cut to the future.

Goodbye Kaoru

Kaoru how has mostly recovered from her injuries has decided to leave porn and the city. She has one more heartfelt scene with Junko, which has become the most touching relationship in the show. We pick up back with Kaoru in the future as she is ling and studying abroad. It was originally her goal and it is nice to see her living a better, if quiet life. She certainly deserves it.

(We love you too Junko)

The Future of Porn

Junko, Mitamura, Rugby, and Kawada are all still in porn in the future. Junko works as her own director who is sensitive to her actresses feelings. Rugby and Mitamura are still working together for Kawada and have grown Sapphire in the meantime. Mitamura is no longer with Naoko who left him for a banker which seems like a cruel plot point in contrast to the last episode. But he has his buddy Rugby supporting him, the second most touching relationship in the show. While the trio are not as successful as before, they seem much more happier and stable now. The future of porn is in good hands.

(Don't cry because it's over Rugby)

Toru Keeps Going On

Toru is beyond rock bottom. Homeless and selling porn memorabilia he finally hits a turning point when Kawada tells him of Toshi’s sacrifice. We are reminded of how Toshi brought Toru to the porn world and how Toru needs to move on. A touching scene between the two former partners (and Toshi). We pick up with Toru years later. He is no longer the big name as he once was. He takes on humiliating game shows and still works as a small time adult performer. He takes all this is stride because he has found true happiness in this life with Miyuki.

I was surprised to see Miyuki return and end up with Toru. She has shown the patience and understanding of a saint with Toru. In the future the two have carved out a small but happy life together, complete with a little baby. It’s a happy ending for two characters that maybe a bit jarring to see them end up together. Toru seems happy and much more humbled and grounded. Well as much as he can be.

Our show ends with Toru boldly walking into the streets to film a floundering shoot. Clad in his tighty whities, he tries to shoot a video in broad public. Of course he is arrest but not before declaring to the camera that things are never over. His most endearing trait is not his public speaking skills or charisma, it is his resiliency. He will keep on trying, again and again.

Season 2 Review

As a whole I liked Season 2 very much. Maybe not as much as Season 1. I felt that the show traded character and comedy for violence and drama. Toru has felt disconnected from the rest of the cast for much of the season. Kaoru took a big backseat in story telling and Toshi was sidelined for much of the show. Kaoru and Toru don’t even get a final scene together. The show would have been so much better for focusing on the characters themselves and less so on the high stakes evil of the Yakuza. The high points of this season were the relationships the character’s built on. From Junko and Kaoru, to Mitamura and Rugby, to Toshi and Kawada, and to Toru and Miyuki. The good parts of the show just outweigh it’s bad parts.

(You can always live on)

But even with all of the season’s failings it still does something that no other show has done before. A show about Japanese Adult Video that also works as a comedy and drama. A show about history and sexuality in society. A show that can have weird, wacky porn shenanigans while talking about the attitudes of sex in Japan.

It is uncertain if Netflix will renew the show for a season three but I don’t think they need to. The finale acts as a fitting series finale for the show as a whole. Toru’s story in pretty much done, his later life is not nearly as interesting as his heydays. If this is the end, I’m sad to see it go. No other show is doing what it does and most fiction avoids the awkwardness of talking about sex. A sad but fitting farewell.

Thank you all for reading these review. I’ve had a blast writing something different for ZENRA. I doubt we’ll ever get a chance to cover a show about JAV again like The Naked Director. I’ll leave us with the enduring message that Toru and the show leaves us with. You can always fail, you can always sink further down. But you can always live on. You can always keep going.

Observations

The seashell whistle comeback, in Kawada’s hands of course.
The overly long titles of JAV have come to The Naked Director with these gems:

“I thought my new wife’s kid from her first marriage was a boy, but she was a girl with a short haircut”

“The female PE teacher and former wrestling team coach has a powerful build that the boys lust after”

JAV Star Watch

Our finale brings not a JAV star but a pornstar from the west. Rae Lil Black makes a cameo with Rugby, wrestling with him in a tight leotard.

 Final Cameo Count:
Tsukasa Aoi, Shimiken, Yuna Ogura, Saryu Usui, Mihiro, Yuka Masuda, and Rae Lil Black. Elly Akira and June Lovejoy are listed in the credits but I couldn’t find them at all.

Thanks for reading, Fried Chikan out