A tabloid has rumoured that Ueno was not pleased with how the drama developed. Ueno was upset over why Ryo Nishikido's character, Sousuke Oikawa, was kept alive till the end of the series. According to plans, Sousuke was supposed to die halfway through the drama, but the soaring TV ratings were due to the DV scenes done by Sousuke. A worker on the production staff commented that Ueno's "portrayal of Ruka, a girl struggling with gender identity disorder, was amazing yet all people talked about was Nishikido". The worker went on to say "As a result, the relationship between Ruka and Michiru, which should have been more carefully developed, tapers off towards the end. Juri had worked hard to become Ruka - she even talked to people with gender identity disorder - so for them to put her role aside like that really pissed her off. She and Ryo didn't speak much towards the end of filming."

Last Friends came second in the "Best Drama" at the 12th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix.[28] Juri Ueno won "Best Supporting Actress" while Ryo Nishikido won "Best Supporting Actor." Masami Nagasawa tied in fourth place for "Best Actress" while Eita also came fourth in the "Best Supporting Actor" category.[28]

In the 57th Television Drama Academy Awards, Last Friends was voted 1st for Drama series. Masami Nagasawa won the 3rd Best Female Actress award. Juri Ueno came in 1st for Best Supporting Female Actress, while Ryo Nishikido won the Best Supporting Male Actor award. Both Ueno and Nishikido won with straight sets from the judges, fans and critics. Eita was the runner up in the Best Supporting Male Actor category. Last Friends was also voted for having the Best Script and Directors, and Prisoner of Love won the Best Theme Song award