A Disturbing New Drama Trend

While I loved the conclusions of dramas like Toda Erika's KEIZOKU2: SPEC and Yamada Takayuki's YUUSHA YOSHIHIKO TO MAOU NO SHIRO, one thing that didn't sit well with me was the way that they wrote into the story the promotion of  the upcoming "movie version" of the drama...

Before, it used to be that if a drama waa popular in its' initial run, they'd go ahead and reunite the cast for some fun one-off storytelling in a movie or two, but nowadays, not only is it almost just given that the drama will HAVE a movie following the drama's conclusion, they've been actually making the dramas CONCLUDE in the movie!

I'm all for great shows getting the cinema treatment, but having to go to the movies to see the end of a TELEVISION show is like eating appetizers at a picnic and having to go to a fancy restaurant to pay for the main course! And so it was when I finally got to see the conclusion (or what I thought was gonna be the conclusion, anyway) of Arakawa Under The Bridge and was informed in no uncertain terms, that the last episode was going to be released in the theaters! D'OH!

Funny, I'd been hearing and reading about the Arakawa Movie, and figured it would be like the Nodame Cantabile movies: fun if you're a fan, but not necessary to enjoy the show. Little did I know that unless I saw the Arakawa movie, I'd never know how the story ended!