"Janus no Kagami" drama: Episode eight(final) recap

 Air Dates: This series aired twice, first on the FOD network Fridays at midnight from August 16th until October 4th, then Mondays at 12:55 am on Fuji-TV from October 21st until December 9th.

Eight episodes with a running time a little over twenty minutes, subs by aoinousagi

Above is the PV for the theme tune that's sung by Hinako, didn't know she could sing

Main Cast:

Hinako Sakurai as Hiromo Ozawa.... meek 17 year old student who lives with her grandmother....

and also as Yumi who is her split personality and the complete opposite of Hiromi

Jin Shirasu as Kenichi Shindo.... president of the high school student council

Akihisa Shiono as Tatsuya Tsutsumi.... mysterious young man who befriends Yumi

Sayuri Kokusho as Takako Ozawa.... Hiromi's very strict and violent grandmother

Maria Mori as Jun Abe.... Hiromi's best friend at school

Sawa Nimura as Ryouko Azuma.... leader of a gang who all despise Yumi

Masato Hagiwara as Kazunari Koumoto... owner of a jewelry store and Hiromi's father?

 At one time think there may have been ten or so blogs which reviewed Japanese dramas but seems these days the number has dwindled to two others besides myself. Korean dramas have definitely become more popular, I prefer most of them too but do get tired of watching such long series. However brought that up for I noticed the other two places and some that recap Korean shows can do them with very brief recaps where not every bit of info or happening needs to be explained. So going to try doing that for the remaining four recaps and the goal is to have no more than four paragraphs though many screenshots.
 Did accomplish that feat for the most part though there are five for today and am hoping I can do the same for regular length dramas though think four paragraphs wouldn't describe enough of the details. Another fine episode but what I've noticed in dramas is that the the two shows leading up the the grand finale are usually a bit better and more intense, think the same occurred for this series and let's get on with the final recap.

 Where we ended off was with Hiromi once again locked in the family shed by her cruel grandmother Takako. In the shed was a mirror which allowed Hiromi to 'talk' with her split personality Yumi. She had forgotten about the mirror as it has been many years since she had been locked in but it's the fourth time it happened to Hiromi in this show. In her 'conversation' with her other half Yumi told Hiromi to stay out of the way as her last goal in 'life' was to kill their grandmother but the timid Hiromi pleaded with Yumi not to do it. But Hiromi had no say on when Yumi can enter or leave their body as in the shed Yumi quickly occupied Hiromi's body after their talk and was on her mission to murder the 'old hag'.
 The grandmother Takako knew something had been up with Hiromi as she's been acting like two people recently, little did she know it was the truth. Yumi confronted Takako with a box cutter and it didn't appear the grandmother would be living long. But the transformation between the Hiromi and Yumi personalities has been happening more frequently as Hiromi emerged and burst into tears once she saw what Yumi was about to do. Had wondered if Hiromi's personality overtook Yumi's once she knew murder was on her mind but that was never discussed. To make a long scene short Yumi never did stab the old woman but instead drove her to have a mild heart attack and though it's serious the grandmother is still alive in a hospital.

 Also at the hospital was Yumi's best and only friend Tatsuya. He had helped her out on so many occasions and really had fallen for Yumi but never told her his true feelings. As you can see above she did visit Tatsuya in his room but I had the feeling it was actually Hiromi meeting him to say goodbye. Tatsuya had been stabbed in the previous episode by Yumi's enemy Ryouko whose main intention was to stab Yumi before he jumped in the way. Also had the feeling Hiromi knew what had taken place and wanted to give to have one more minor talk with Tatsuya.
 Not many scenes in this episode and the final one took place after that above encounter but it was a bit of a long scene. Hiromi took a trip to the hospital roof where she told Shindo it was the place her mother jumped from seventeen years ago. Shindo was a good friend of Hiromi's from school and though he never admitted it he did have a crush on her and who wouldn't! During their meeting is when Yumi re-emerged as the main personality though it did switch back on a few occasions. Yumi had promised Shindo in the previous show she would leave Hiromi's body forever after doing one more act, that act was the failed(?) killing of the grandmother. But there's no way Yumi can leave as the two share the same body which left her with only one option.
 That was for Yumi to jump from the hospital roof and to end the life of herself and Hiromi. Shindo pleaded with her not to follow the path of her mother but Yumi or mainly Hiromi(?) wouldn't hear of it, who knew when Yumi would commit more evil deeds and death was the only solution. She quickly hopped over the railing and after a few seconds of hesitation threw herself off the roof. Somehow though Shindo was able to get there in a matter of seconds and as you can see above grabbed her hand. There's no way Shindo could hold on forever and Yumi made sure he wouldn't as she took out her box cutter and sliced his hand which forced him to drop Hiromi the five stories. Of course it appeared she was dead but later on we saw Hiromi lying in a hospital bed, as the series came to it's conclusion she slowly opened her eyes and possibly setting up a second season?

 Intense ending and really the whole show was that way though there were no killings though two attempts. This turned out to be one of the better 2019 dramas I've viewed, never make a list of my faves for a year but for now would out it in third place and for a rating will give it a 8.8/10. First drama I've seen Hinako with the lead role in and she did such a terrific job. Also have her 2019 series "Secret Unrequited Love", she has the lead role in that too. That may be up next and though not every show will be recapped will be doing a few of them, it's kind of a sad drama. Plenty of screenshots as usual to end off with and do recommend viewing them to understand the story better.