This review may contain spoilers
現れた初恋：消えた初恋 (My First Love Appeared: A Review of Kieta Hatsukoi)
This show is my comfort food: sweet, satisfying, and utterly binge-worthy.
For starters, it's amusing, charming and entertaining—which, to be honest, is hard to come by in my experience. This genre often leans into heavy topics (at least GL does, my god 💀), which can be compelling when done right. But once in a while, just let us breathe and have something light and fun to watch without having to do all that emotional work... Not to get too off topic, but can gay characters just simply exist without their storylines being drenched in trauma for ‘depth'?
Coming back to the show (oops), I also love how the show depicts its characters in a non-stereotypical way. For once, there are female characters that aren't relentlessly sexualised, just allowed to exist. They don't show plot-driven romantic interest in every male character in the world (it's fine if someone's like that in real life, just not if they're a character written like that as a stereotypical view of women).
Hashimoto sees Aoki as a friend and he accepts that—neat-o, mate. And they become good friends! Bashing the stereotype that girls and boys can't be friends without getting all lovey dovey. Yay! No normalising the opposite sex being unapproachable and only an opportunity for romance!
Additionally, female characters are not written as stupid or weak—a pathetic, unrealistic and harmful stereotype that was unfortunately perpetuated in the Thai remake without really getting resolved (Mudmee's friends encourage her to act weak to get Half to like her)—if a partner likes you for being weak and dependent on them, get the hell out of there.
Everyone in the show is considerate and there are no unnecessarily creepy comments for "humour", like some pieces. Of course, this show has its unsavoury moments—the tutor weirdly interested in Aoki's love life, Matsuuchi having a crush on the teacher—but generally, it's such a charming and unproblematic show.
In the end, I have so many thoughts about this show and the themes and topics surrounding its genre and those alike, but verbalising them is probably more complicated than a random review calls for.
This is just a review and my opinion—sorry that the tone was all over the place, but I wrote this over a few days and like, in the early morning (it's 6:31am right now), because it's school holidays so my sleep schedule is all out of wack! None of that is relevant, so I'll just shush.
Anyway, if this was read to completion, thank you. Hope it didn't bore you to tears. I love this show and I'm a yapper. Deadly mix. Well, toodles!
For starters, it's amusing, charming and entertaining—which, to be honest, is hard to come by in my experience. This genre often leans into heavy topics (at least GL does, my god 💀), which can be compelling when done right. But once in a while, just let us breathe and have something light and fun to watch without having to do all that emotional work... Not to get too off topic, but can gay characters just simply exist without their storylines being drenched in trauma for ‘depth'?
Coming back to the show (oops), I also love how the show depicts its characters in a non-stereotypical way. For once, there are female characters that aren't relentlessly sexualised, just allowed to exist. They don't show plot-driven romantic interest in every male character in the world (it's fine if someone's like that in real life, just not if they're a character written like that as a stereotypical view of women).
Hashimoto sees Aoki as a friend and he accepts that—neat-o, mate. And they become good friends! Bashing the stereotype that girls and boys can't be friends without getting all lovey dovey. Yay! No normalising the opposite sex being unapproachable and only an opportunity for romance!
Additionally, female characters are not written as stupid or weak—a pathetic, unrealistic and harmful stereotype that was unfortunately perpetuated in the Thai remake without really getting resolved (Mudmee's friends encourage her to act weak to get Half to like her)—if a partner likes you for being weak and dependent on them, get the hell out of there.
Everyone in the show is considerate and there are no unnecessarily creepy comments for "humour", like some pieces. Of course, this show has its unsavoury moments—the tutor weirdly interested in Aoki's love life, Matsuuchi having a crush on the teacher—but generally, it's such a charming and unproblematic show.
In the end, I have so many thoughts about this show and the themes and topics surrounding its genre and those alike, but verbalising them is probably more complicated than a random review calls for.
This is just a review and my opinion—sorry that the tone was all over the place, but I wrote this over a few days and like, in the early morning (it's 6:31am right now), because it's school holidays so my sleep schedule is all out of wack! None of that is relevant, so I'll just shush.
Anyway, if this was read to completion, thank you. Hope it didn't bore you to tears. I love this show and I'm a yapper. Deadly mix. Well, toodles!
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