Hatsukoi (2022)

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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You can end up with mixed feelings like me!

I have mixed feelings about this drama. Honestly I cried from beginning to end, not because it's all sad but because it's a beautifully told love story, we get emotional while they were findind and missing each other over the course of their life. The comedy was subtle and the romance was breathtaking. My mixed feelings started in episode 7 and 8 where I could know and understand more of the grief over (the plot wich I won't write here). First Love reminded me that life, that sometimes can be so painful, can be much more than we can see now, that we can be happy even after living years side by side with grief. There's a song from the OST, it's called Bridges Burn by Paul Otten, I can´t remember the exact moment this song is played in the drama but now, a week since I finished the drama I can still feel everything I felt when watching the drama and I love it, I really loved 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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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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Hīkari hits another homer

This was my first Asian Drama after a break of a year or so, and what a winner! I watched it for the beautiful and talented Mitsushima Hikari, and she did not disappoint. Her performance was superb, especially the complex, nuances of the relationship between her character and her character's son. The growth and healing of THAT relationship was almost the "second couple" of the story, a love story in its own right.

Of course, it was the reconnection with the eponymous First Love that made the Drama the sweet and beautiful experience that it was, and rather than try to dissect or analyse it, I will just say, "watch it - right to the VERY end', as other reviewers have noted.

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The first j-drama that gets a 10

What a beautiful romantic drama. Great music, lovely story, very visually appealing cinematography.
The star was of course the young protagonist 👏👏. He brought the story alive with his youthful grin, mischief, and love at first sight. This drama totally blew me away only because of his happy chirpy face!,
Every other performer was also wonderful.
Also great to see a happy family after a long time. Most Asian dramas have their stars from orphanages or have nagging mothers who want them to get married or rich parents who are mean to their kids. This was soooooo refreshing to see kind loving parents.

Great job here, the full team!! Nicely done 💕💕💖🤍

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The Perfect Japanese Love Story

In three words: Do Not Miss. You Won't Regret. No plot spoilers: rest assured you may well be mesmerised by the impact of this masterpiece. Beautifully arranged with parallel timelines, necessary realism (sex scenes) in a few places, gentle emotive score and soundtrack, and 'less is more' editing, direction and acting across every aspect of this film. Allow yourself to be swept up across the storyline, and prepare to give your heart to the young lovers and their older counterparts. The thinking person's sex symbol, Mister Micro Expressions himself, Takeru Satoh, delivers a compelling role of profound masculine sensitivity and restrained passion that will define acting craftsmanship for years to come. Do real men cry? Yes, they do. If you are not familiar with Takeru and his body of acting work, do yourself a favour. Viewers may well hold their breath until most of the way into the last hour.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: 'Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.' The same applies to this emotional masterpiece. It is the perfect length, story, acting and direction that will in time, define modern Japanese drama. You Will Love.

Personally, very few shows or films deserve near perfect ratings. This one kept your reviewer wondering until the very last 20 minutes, and provides deep thought for the remainder of the day.

All of us live with the question of 'what if...?" and this series explores what we do when the heart and mind open together.
Feel free to explore my other reviews to discover more exceptional Asian dramas. Thank you. ~Fumiyawagi

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Hikaru Utada's sensational songs gave us a gem

I will refer to Harumichi as Haru in this review. When I started watching this show I was in the mindset that they would give us a bittersweet ending. Infact if the story ended at episode 8 I wouldn't mind. It was bittersweet but felt much more realistic than the real ending. I loved the acting of the main leads and their younger selves in this show. Haru is a character who is a delinquent during his high school years. However he changes after his encounter with Yae. Both of them are each other's first love. They sprinkled the sweet and tender moments between them throughout the show. But then the tragedy strikes. Yae gets into an accident and loses her memories of few years especially the ones she spent with Haru. Yae's mother who keeps her daughter away from Haru (and justifiably so) results in their seperation. Yae gets married to a doctor and gets pregnant with a son, Tsuzuru. One of the things I really loved about the show is Haru's bond with his deaf sister Yu. Knowing Japan and it's obsession to incest I was surprised to see such a beautiful sibling relationship. But I guess it's much more prevalent in anime. Also speaking of Yu I loved her and Haru's best friend Bonji's short love story. The way he freaking proposed to Yu was really adorable. It was such a heartwarming moment. I also liked that they showed how Haru tried to get over Yae with Tsunemi, although it didn't work. I liked they dedicated an episode to her and how she met Haru. It was also nice to see that they didn't just put her there for a plot point. Tsunemi is nyctophobic and that made her a much deeper character. Haru's development from a delinquent to a man who will protect the country was wonderful to see. There are things that I did not like in the show. I didn't care about Tsuzuru's love story. That's not to say he himself was a bad character. But his love interest didn't feel anything special. I didn't care for their resolution. While I love episode 9 because it shows us the start of the main relationship of the show I can't help but wonder episode 8 was a better ending. Although episode 9 ties up all the loose ends of the show. It's nice to see a happy ending in a show full of heartbreaks. I am thankful to this show for introducing me to a wonderful song.

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LIFE IS FULL OF SPECIAL AND MEANINGFUL ENCOUNTERS !!!

It just left me speechless !!! I want to try to pour all my love for this show but I'm short of words 😭😭

This story had been told manytimes ,it's not something new but the beauty lies in the execution of this drama . screenplay ,performances ,music and notably cinematography were ideal and perfect !

I was witnessing the story that was happening infront of me for real .


NOTE: It is very simple ,ordinary and so real but that's life . some might find it repetitive and boring but for me it's one of those well made dramas which make you cry ,smile and root for the people in it . I repeat it's so perfect in every sense


I want to pour my love and can write like essays about it but right now I'm just numb and still tearing up 😭 cuz i just finished this

I don't know it make sense or not but I wanted to kill the FL's mother for real 😭😭😭 .She literally spoiled her daughter's life with her own hands .Though she did that with good deed but yeah .
I better stop it here ..... I just love love love the leads 😭 :(

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Émotions trop Automatic

Je ne vais pas m'étendre sur ce blockbuster puisque comme toutes les rares productions japonaises Netflix, les avis en français se déversent comme la pluie au-dessus d'un parapluie d'amoureux. Cependant, je ne pouvais pas m'empêcher de donner mon regard de vieux franchouillard amateur de drama à caractère lacrymale, sur ce très bien noté First Love : Hatsukoi. Dans la grande tradition japonaise de capitaliser sur une œuvre à succès et de changer de support, First Love surfent sur la vague des miniséries adaptées des chansons romantiques. Le Dry flower de Yuri c'en était, d'ailleurs, plutôt bien sortie, en se limitant à 3 courts épisodes et en associant le chanteur. Mais l'exercice est casse-gueule. Surtout avec la tendance sur Netflix de vouloir gommer les particularités japonaises afin de plaire à un maximum de culture. Pourvu que l'expérience ne se développe pas plus. Lemon et son bientôt milliard de vues pourrait bien en faire les frais. Après un premier amour impossible à retrouver, une absence impossible à combler. Et ça n'aurait rien d'Unnatural.

Le choix d'une chanson d'Utada Hikaru n'est donc pas le fruit du hasard, c'est plutôt, qu'elle reste, du haut de ses vingt-cinq ans de carrières, une des stars asiatiques la plus internationale. Par sa jeunesse à New York à sa vie à Londres, sans parler de son style jazzie/R&B/electro, qui s'est fondu dans les productions américaines, comme les sushis en Californie. Bien sûr, elle fait partie de mon Panthéon, pour la voix et le style, et cela, depuis que j'ai des oreilles. Malgré cela, sa présence dans le déroulement de cette série est tellement intrusive, que ça en devient gênant. Mais c'est peut-être uniquement pour ceux qui, comme moi, n'ont pas assisté à la sortie de son premier album. Puisque avant internet, le Japon n'était promu en occident que par les animes. Les publicités à la TV, les affiches énormes dans le Métro ou les airs fredonnés par les acteurs marquent l'époque, mais ressemble à un matraquage plus caractéristique de la nôtre. Cet engouement peut donc paraitre faux pour ceux qui n'ont pas vécu la fin des années 90 au Japon. C'est-à-dire la majorité des spectateurs de cette série. OK, fille d'une célèbre chanteuse et d'un non moins célèbre producteur, son premier album composé par elle-même à seulement 16 ans faisait fit de démonstration de petit singe savant pour les médias et Sony. Ils ont certainement dû à l'époque en faire des caisses, mais là, trop c'est trop. Un peu comme ce commentaire.

En faire des caisses, c'est justement le problème récurrent de la série. Notamment dans les deux premiers épisodes, qui regroupent tous les défauts des séries japonaises Netflix. Passons sur les insupportables placements produits, qui heureusement s'atténuent à partir du 3e. Normal, puisque les marques ne misent que sur un ou deux épisodes, les spectateurs se désintéressant statistiquement des suivants rapidement. Ils dévorent bien, en général, le dernier et cela ne loupe pas, l'industriel revient à la charge. Avec cette fois-ci, un véritable scandale sanitaire quant au choix du produit. Il gâche complètement la tension et les émotions du climax, par une mise en valeur qu'on avait plus vu depuis John Wayne. J'étais moins gêné à voir l'inutile scène érotique, mais tellement indispensable pour Netflix. Et qu'on ne me dise pas : "ce sont les années 90, il n'y avait pas de loi Evin, c'est pour faire réaliste". Le pognon dégouline de la production et il vient bien de quelque part.

Génériques léchés et cinématographiques, tout comme la photographie et le piqué d'image. Celui-ci pourra, d'ailleurs, irriter la rétine lors des flashbacks, par ce grain faussement année 90, qui gâche votre écran 4K. Quelques minutes n'auraient pas gêné, mais plus de la moitié de la série ce passe dans ses années 90-2000, ou même la vie était en 480p. Heureusement la production n'a pas osé le 4/3. La musique, au-delà de l'omniprésence de la diva, est tout aussi à la pointe. Les passages piano solo, ou insert song font mouche et sont dignes des œuvres de la reine des opening. Les effets de caméra, vues plongeantes de drones, scènes aériennes, sont magnifiques, cinématographiques et dégoulinent d'empreintes carbones. On s'inscrit donc dans une très grosse production qui, du coup, rendent gênants les défauts qui n'avaient pas lieu d'être.

Si le perso de Namiki Harumichi, joué par Sato Takeru et Kido Taisei peut sembler cohérent physiquement (et encore) et cohérent dans le jeu, celui de Noguchi Yae agresse notre bon sens à chaque switch temporel. Et cela devient rapidement gênant au vu du parti pris de dévoiler les événements au fur et à mesure de l'avancée en parallèle des deux histoires. D'où ce choix, entre autre, du grain d'image pour faire comprendre au spectateur occidental, trop con ou raciste, que ce sont les mêmes persos. Avec tout de même, deux excellentes actrices, tout comme pour Namiki d'ailleurs. Dommage, que dans les premiers épisodes, on ne pense qu'à ce manque de ressemblance physique, sans pouvoir se concentrer sur les personnalités. D'autant plus, justement, qu'elles sont parfois bien différentes elles aussi. Cassés par la vie, ça peut se comprendre, mais là, les changements sont trop Automatics.

Grosse production oblige, destinée de surcroit à l'internationale, une pléthore de seconds rôles déjà connu en occident, tout du moins de visages, grâce au cinéma, défile dans cette série. Iura Arata, Furutachi Kanji ou Kaho, diront quelque chose aux habitués des salles obscures. Publique cible, j'en suis sûr, de ce drama pas si populaire que ça. Car on est bien ici dans des acteurs de cinéma d'auteur. Celui qui s'exporte si bien, notamment vers la France. Heureusement pour moi, donc, qui est fan de tous ses seconds rôles, ce qui m'a poussé à passer la porte du 3e épisode. Car il faut bien le dire, l'histoire devient vraiment intéressante à ce moment-là. Quand on dépasse enfin cette amourette d'un jeune génie du soudtracking et d'une influenceuse TikTok, présente pour attirer une génération bien éloignée des séries, mais également les clichés school life qui pullulent dans les premières minutes. C'est vrai, que ça peut faire sourire, comme un épisode de Sauvé par le Gong ou Hélène et les Garçons, mais ce n'est pas ce que j'attendais d'une telle production. Les lourdeurs s'estompent, alors, avec les épisodes qui passent, et les tentatives de légèreté, mais toujours dégoulinante de pognons dans la production (l'épisode mars) font passer la poésie avant le mainstream Tokyo style.

Pardon, j'avais oublié, l'histoire se passe à Hokkaido et un tout petit peu à Tokyo, comme si l'office du tourisme de l'île avait participé au financement pour rendre la région trop sexy. Il faut dire que ça marche, même un carrefour filmé par drone donne envie de visiter Sapporo. Vous aurez, si vous êtes patient, donc droit à des moments neigeux, trop "5cm per second". Mais le réchauffement climatique sera tout de même bien présent. Avec, entre autre, le mini short bien trop court de Aoi Yamada, dansant pour ses vidéos, en plein milieu des nuits fraiches de l'île la plus au nord du Japon.

Désolé, j'ai encore une fois eu un trou de mémoire, puisque j'avais annoncé ne pas m'étaler sur cette critique… Mais je voulais encore dire que Kanchiku Yuri, la réalisatrice et scénariste, si connait en clip classieux, puisqu'elle a tourné surtout des vidéos pour AKB48. Ce qui transparait dans son style et son amour pour la musique (Non, il n'y a pas de malice dans mes propos). Car, on sent bien, qu'au-delà du mainstream de la prod et du scénario un peu bidon (si, si !), c'est bien l'amour pour les love song, l'imaginaire d'un romantisme sublimé et cette nostagie qu'elle a voulu maladroitement faire passer. À nous, entre autres, petits occidentaux assommés par des clips de Rap et de chanson revancharde à la Miley Cirrus. Je la remercie donc de faire découvrir à grand coup de santiags dans la porte, certes, la délicatesse du romantisme à la japoniase. Et, je ne peux après ça, que conseiller de passer à Silence sortie sur les écrans en même temps et qui s'ancre vraiment, lui, dans un romantisme plus réaliste et qui j'en suis sur vous tirera bien plus de larmes. De plus, le succès phénoménal de son ending fait penser irrésistiblement à celui d'une chanson d'Utada Hikaru, alors pourquoi s'en priver ?

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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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