First Love

This show gutted me..

I find myself still thinking about this show weeks after binging it in one day..

Although this 20+ years long storyline could sound like a trope, it was beautifully executed in so many ways, that it avoided becoming a cliche..

The entire cast’s performances and chemistry of the leads were spot on, the cinematography of various parts of Japan and Iceland was breathtaking, the story was beautifully interwoven with realistic, and sometimes painful highs and lows, and the OST was a dream.

I wouldn’t change a thing.. this show will stay with you long after you watch it..
2 thumbs way, way up!

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Memory loss and a splendid love song

This show is lovely. Two people separated due to memory loss and guilt are brought back together because of fate and a love song. We are first introduced to how they fell in love and separated then follow them falling in love all over again as adults. It makes you wonder about the what ifs with your first love. It's nostalgic as heck.

What I really liked about the show was how well it is molded around the song it is based off of, "First Love." Harumichi is a also a smoker. Yae also talks about the taste when they first kiss. Though they go their own separate paths, they learned love from each other and they'll always be the one for each other. Then the build up to her regaining her memories. You know it's gonna come and when it does, you'll tear up due to happiness. Yes, happiness, not sadness. You just know they'll find each other. That's because the show made you cheer them on from the beginning.

Honestly, I do think this show would've been better with just Yagi and Kido, the actor and actress for the young version of Harumichi and Yae. The chemistry between the 2 are so much better than Satoh and Mitsushima. Almost felt like that had more screen time as well.The personality between the younger and older are vastly different that they seem like different people to me. But I guess that's what life does people. People change but love will never do.

COWABUNGA stamp certified!

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I did not expect anything from this drama to be honest. But loved it in the end

First of all, this drama made me cry so much because the main characters had to go through something they should have never have to go through. I hated Yae's mom so much because she made the decision for her daughter. I understand she wanted what's best for her but her decision was so selfish she did not even consider what it would make her feel what she denied of her daughter once she's able to regain her memory. But the future her mom wanted for her caused her the most pain and suffering than the suffering she could have experienced if she were to gain her memories. But then again, from what I understand, Yae also did not make an effort to regain her memory. For me, she just shoved it in the closet and never to be reminded of whatever memory she has lost. It's one of the best melodramas I've watched to date. I did not go through what they went through but the pain I felt while watching this was heart wrenching. Especially the end of EP 6. I gasped and then I cried. lmao. The past and present story was just very confusing because they interchanged it very often like its the next scene lol.

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A very intriguing romance that involve mysteries about their past

Following the hot wave when it gets released, I also watched the big hit J drama series Hatsukoi. And the reasons why it is so popular are self-explanatory.

Hatsukoi is not the usual romance drama we see, but rather it takes quite an interesting twist to the genre. Every drama lovers love mysteries. Something that makes us curious about what will happen next, as we want to know the answers. So, why not combine the two together, a mix of romance and mystery? That's what makes Hatukoi so special.

Hatsukoi first starts off with a brief introduction to the two main characters, showing their recent life that is quite contradicting pictures to the occasional flashbacks of their past. While they were young, they were full of aspiration and is positive about their life. But now they are facing the brutality of life, living as the low-earning groups of society and not having a life that they can be proud of.

Most importantly, they were one of the most loving couples on earth, and now they are separate from each other as if one has not existed in their life at all. What happened in between that caused a dramatic change in their life, and relationship is what makes Hatsukoi such an intriguing series to be watched.

I love the presentation of the story, that at one scene it is showing the present time, and then the next scene will be about the past. The interchanging play of past and present events is adding a lot of perspectives and dimension to this story, explaining a little bit about the questions we keep asking about the two, while also revealing some more mystery that makes us wonder: what really happened?

The first episode is rather straightforward. Just a briefing of the background story of the main characters, showing the past of how they met and developed their relationship, while also giving us a glimpse of their present self, one being apartment security staff while the other one, being a taxi driver. The vast difference in their attitude towards life as well as their situations, is already ringing an alarm bell inside us that something definitely has happened.

But the real deal comes in the second episode of the series, when Yae's ( main female lead) son, Tsuzuru, introduced her to a friend he had met on a past occasion, and that friend was Yae's first love, Harumichi ( main male lead). It's not the two meetings each other the biggest issue here, but it's Yae's reaction when she saw Harumichi.

She did not know him. As if she never met him before. And it is obvious that she was not acting, she literally did not know him.

This scene is iconic, at least for me, because of the level of mystery that it takes the series up. How come Yae was not recognizing someone, who perhaps was one of the most important figures for her? I was completely immersed into the story at this point because I just wanted to know: what happened between the two.

That is just one occasion, but there are more scenes that are epic plot twists later on.

I think those who have watched the show like me, will agree with me that: Hatsukoi's romance is great, it is good, but the mystery surrounding it is what makes it even more beautiful. The excellent use of past and present interchanging scenes, one answering the questions raised by one and then raising another one. It really is one of the shows that you can not stop watching, and you just have to continue on it.

Hatsukoi is good at grabbing you onto the seat, for sure.

If one thing that is stopping it from reaching a 10, it will probably be how rushed and cliche the ending is. The ending, to be fair, feels a bit forced and illogical. It's a happy ending of course, but I feel like it kinda ruins the vibe and pacing being set in earlier episodes.

Overall a very solid series. Never a 10 or 9, but deserve an 8.5 in my book. If the ending is written better it could have been a 9. Genuinely a very well written, and refreshing romance drama. Good job Hatsukoi.

And yeah, First Love by Utada Hikaru is just legendary.

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A classic first love story

A story that inspired from the infamous Utada Hikaru's song "First Love", where the two main lead are each other first love who met during their high school day but seperarted because of unexpected event. They met again 20 years later where the female lead already a single mother and the male lead engaged to someone. Actually what's so painful from their seperation is the "amnesia trope" where the female lead couldn't remember the male lead at all. It's breaking my heart. Their journey to find each other again is so long, but worth waiting. For someone who love Hikaru and Takeru, I think their screentime are too short compared to their younger counterpart. But, I really enjoyed this drama. And Hikki's song really hit differents after watching this drama!!

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technically perfect drama with a weird definition of complex male lead character

i might be very late to the party but… yeah. i had been so excited for this, and i’ve been hearing absolute positive reviews from everyone. so yeah i admit i kinda have a high expectation for this. sigh i guess my expectation is a little bit on the higher side.

don’t get me wrong, i still love this jdorama aight. technically, i love everything about this jdorama. the color palettes, the cinematography, the frames, the acting, the chemistry, the scoring, the sound design. the technical aspects are all perfect. one thing that bummed me out is how they tried to potray the character Harumichi as a complex character, which he actually ISN’T. to me, he’s JUST a coward who clearly cannot move on from his past.

and in the process of finding his past, he abandons his present self. and abandoning his current relationship too wtf. like…. Tsunemi shouldn’t have gone through all of that, you bastard. i truly feel so bad for her like 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

he’s afraid to let go of tsunemi while still holding on to yae as his unfinished past smh. well at least they condemn his wishy-washy feelings for both women as he actually avoiding both and went abroad. i was going to be so freaking mad at Yuri Kanchiku if she ever did make Harumichi immediately go back to Yae after he broke up with Tsunemi. thankfully, she didn’t do that. she still made Harumichi feeling guilty.

anyways… i feel like i need to talk about the younger generation actors and actresses. THEY’RE REALLY REALLY GOOD WOW. at some point i think Taisei Kido’s performance outshoned Takeru Satoh on some of the scenes. he’s really REALLY good.

btw i expected i would get puffy eyes for all the angst and the crying. but surprise, surprise, i did not cry that bad lmao. rather than crying, i just feel so bad for Tsunemi and feeling rage for Harumichi’s wishy-washy feelings. i do cry at some points but rather than crying about their love story, i cried cause of their personal story instead. it’s just so sad…. especially Yae’s 😭

there’s this one moment when Yae said her life is like a rocket that failed its mission to mars, and now the rocket is just going everywhere, floating without purpose. and im crying so hard at this scene mannnnn 😭😭😭😭

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First Love is inspired by two iconic songs by singer Hikaru Utada: “First Love” and “Hatsukoi” (“First Love”). More than just a simple romantic drama, it’s a deeply nostalgic visual and emotional experience.

Written and directed by Yuri Kanchiku, the series follows the moving story of Yae Noguchi (Hikari Mitsushima/Rikako Yagi) and Harumichi Namiki (Takeru Satoh/Taisei Kido) over more than twenty years.

The narrative flows delicately between two timelines, showing how fate and the choices of adult life pulled them apart, and how a series of subtle, emotional coincidences slowly brings them back together, forcing them to question whether it’s possible to rekindle that unforgettable first love.

Visually, it’s a work of art. The series uses a vibrant color palette and exquisite cinematography to distinguish and enhance both eras, beautifully highlighting the stunning landscapes of Hokkaido.

Takeru Satoh and Hikari Mitsushima convey a melancholic and heartfelt chemistry, while the younger actors perfectly capture the innocence and intensity of first love with great authenticity.

This series is ideal for fans of profound romantic dramas and stories that treat nostalgia as a character of its own. If you enjoy Asian productions with high production value, a slow and contemplative pace, and a focus on emotional growth, you’ll absolutely love it.

Get your tissues ready, this is a story that truly touches the heart.

First Love is a hidden gem on Netflix. It’s more than a romantic series; it’s a beautifully filmed meditation on how our first love shapes who we are, even when we believe we’ve left it behind.

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The cliché of amnesia as plot device

The good thing for me in this drama was the music, as someone that has listened to Hikaru Utada for decades. That's where it ends.

The cinematography (landscapes, mood, light, colours) was good and I enjoyed some of the scenes purely because of it but it's not enough to recommend this drama to anyone.
The story is based on the very cliché amnesia trope, I was hoping I wouldn't have to see that plot device used again ever but here I am. Everything else is pretty much destroyed for me because of that, everything becomes absurd and ridiculous and very easily solvable but they keep hammering their heads against a wall in veeeery slow motion, because the show is quite slow (and I say this as someone that enjoys slow shows/movies when they're done with grace and purpose). This show could have been a film, would have been better.
I get they're trying to appeal to the nostalgia of that type of shows, amnesia trope was so overused in late 90s and early 00s in everything so I had my fair dose of it and got very tired.
Something that also irked me was the zero resemblance of the main character with her younger self, I could kind of see it or imagine it with him, but her younger self was just complete opposites and made no sense.
I liked more the little story they showed of the son with the dancer.

Overall I regret wasting the time watching it, but it also brought me down memory lane with the music. That being said, I still would have preferred to spend my time listening to the music alone than watching it (because it's not like they used all her music for the show either so it did get a bit repetitive in that aspect as well). So, unless you like amnesia as a plot device I can't recommend.

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I watched this drama simply because it's inspired by Utada Hikaru's First Love. I love that song. I was hoping for a more melodramatic story with a happy ending, but I didn't get what I expected. The first two episodes show promise, but anything after that feels slow. The drama alternates between now and the past. The side character story is not interesting and boring to me. Sadly the drama fell flat for me. I guess I was expecting a more rollercoaster ride of emotion for this drama, but it failed to bring out any emotion (except for bore.. is that even an emotion? :)). I couldn't even connect the Utada Hikaru song with the two main characters, which is such a disappointment. But this is just my personal opinion.

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The Song - First Love - by Utada Hikaru Got Me!

I was drawn to this drama because of the song "First Love" by Utada Hikaru -- SO MANY MEMORIES...

I decided to watch this drama because of the song which I heard when the trailer flashed.

I would say that I actually kind of like this drama but it is a little too slow-moving for me... I think it could be one of those "healing" types of dramas (yet again). The acting is pretty good. I think the young version of the FL is very attractive. She has an X-factor of sorts but the young version of the ML seems a bit too dorky and he smokes too much for my liking. I have dropped this for now but, I may pick it up again. :) As it's just 9 episodes long, I think that I can, perhaps, find time for it? I'm not sure... I do prefer dramas with more of a Fun Element and more of a Dramatic Element though. :)

The OST for this drama should be good though. Going to listen to First Love by Utada Hikaru again and reminisce.

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