# Last One Standing (Japanese TV series)

Last One Standing (Japanese: トークサバイバー！～トークが面白いと生き残れるドラマ～, Hepburn: Tōkusabaibā! ~Tōku ga omoshiroi to ikinokoreru dorama~, transl. Talk Survivor! ~Survive The Drama with Interesting Stories~) is a 2022 crime drama/comedy reality show, produced by Netflix and launched on the streaming service on March 8, 2022. It stars the comedy duo Chidori and features a number of Japanese comedians as contestants.

## Premise

The story is a crime drama which starts at the NF High School, where a precious painting has been stolen from the principal's office. Several times each episode, a character would pose a question to the contestants, who also play roles in the drama and would then drop character and tell a story relevant to the question. In the end of each episode, one or more contestants would be eliminated from the contest and also removed from the plot.

## Production

Last One Standing was inspired by the "Dramatic Heartbreak King" segments of the variety show Neo Battle Variety: King-chan [ja], which was also produced by Nobuyuki Sakuma and hosted by Chidori, and aired primarily on TV Tokyo for three seasons from 2016 to 2018.

## Reception

Last One Standing became Netflix's most popular show in Japan after its premiere. Decider rated the show "Stream It", commenting that it is "fun watching the contestants trying to one-up each other" and contrasted it to the "serious and dramatic" plot. The Times of India rated it 3.5 out of five stars, similarly praised its "entertaining" combination of suspenseful elements with light-hearted humor and suggested it might inspire an Indian adaptation.

## Cast
### MC

Nobu (Chidori)

### Observers

* Karen Takizawa
* Shiori Sato (Seasons 1−2)
* Reina Triendl (Season 1)
* Manatsu Akimoto (Season 3)

### Drama
#### Season 1

* Shotaro Mamiya as Saiki
* Hikaru Takahashi as Misato
* Masahiro Higashide as Sudo
* Koki Okada as Kubota
* Yuki Morinaga as Sakurai
* Kaito Yoshimura as Student
* Nadal as Student
* Takenori Goto as Iwata
* Mikie Hara as Teacher
* Yoshifumi Sakai as Teacher
* Yoshiyuki Morishita

## Episodes
### Season 1

| No | Title | Contestants (first appearances only) | Drama cast (first appearances only) | Guest observer |
| 1 | So We Meet Again | Daigo (Chidori), Gekidan Hitori, Kazuki Iio (Zun), Minami Minegishi, Takemasa Tsukaji (Drunk Dragon), Toshiyuki Itakura (Impulse), Takushi Tanaka (Ungirls) | Shotaro Mamiya Hikaru Takahashi Takenori Gotō | Karen Takizawa |
| 2 | An Unforeseen Future | | Shotaro Mamiya Hikaru Takahashi Takenori Gotō | Karen Takizawa |
| 3 | We Can Make It Right | | Shotaro Mamiya Hikaru Takahashi Takenori Gotō | Karen Takizawa |
| 4 | Restart | Kendo Kobayashi, Yuki Iwai (Haraichi), Kei Mukai (Panther), Tetsuya Morita (Saraba Seishun no Hikari), Takashi Yoshimura (Heisei Nobushi Kobushi), Eiko Kano | Masahiro Higashide Hiroaki Okada Yuki Morinaga | Shiori Sato |
| 5 | Youthful Days are Gone Forever | Hiccorohee, Takashi Watanabe (Nishikigoi), Tonikaku Akarui Yasumura, Hironobu Komiya (Sanshiro), Iwakura (Kaerutei), Ahn Mika, Shunsuke Ito (Ozwald), Sāya (Lalande) | Masahiro Higashide Hiroaki Okada Yuki Morinaga | Shiori Sato |
| 6 | Escape from a Labyrinth | Toshiaki Kasuga (Audrey) | | Reina Triendl |
| 7 | Repeat Mistakes | Haruna Kondō (Harisenbon) | | Reina Triendl |
| 8 | The End, and The Beginning | | | Karen Takizawa |