Hatsukoi (2022)

You're always gona be my love ....

It was really a great experience watching this.
I will highly recommend this one to those who like Romantic dramas mixed with slice of life elements. This a good blend of this genere.

This sure does have cliche tropes but I really loved it. Everything feels so refreshing that you'll not bother about the cliched elements of the show. The director needs a great appreciation for the stunning visuals and cinematography. It's so mesmerizing and eye pleasing

The OST's makes the drama more beautiful. The performance of the casts is really good too.

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I genuinely thought this drama will end tragically, judging by the title, playlist, and the beginning episodes. The summary didn't help either as we know that the FL was in a serious accident and many, many years passing. And this show indeed had a lot of sad moments; the only happy ones where in the past and in someone's memories, but I still end up watching the show anyway, because I am a sucker for tearjerkers.

I must say I loved two things about this drama: Satoh Takeru's acting and Utada Hikaru's songs. Those were enough to propel this drama into better than mediocre. There's very little chemistry between the adult FL/ML since they were mostly apart, but the younger versions of the couple more than make up for the lack of romance between Yae and Namiki. I'm not sure if I buy into the "fate" that they keep talking about in this show; there's too many coincidences that happened for me to consider them believable. Also the flashbacks were kind of confusing, but watching Satoh's pining away for his first love was worth it.

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Fate and destiny can only do so much for us most of the times... Sometimes we need to take the lead

First and foremost I was really excited the first time I saw the trailer for this series!!!! "First Love" by Utada Hikaru will always be one of my ultimate favorite love songs <3

Casting was superb from the young actors who played the leads to the adult casts. Hands down!!! Super great chemistry!!!! Satoh Takeru is such a fine man omg <3

Aspiring viewers beware this is not your typical fast paced love story but it has its own charm that will keep you hooked until the end. Personally, I have a soft spot for first love stories as this is something I really hold dear to me. So my review will be bias but that's alright.

At first, the story telling was kinda confusing for me as it has flash backs a lot throughout the episodes but once I tried to really focus on the show I got to understand and appreciate the plot more. As a viewer, it became more engaging for me and it made me appreciate more what is happening in the present time. I also loved how realistic the story telling was. I know fate played a big role in making things happen for the two leads but it's okay. It also happens to us every once in a while.

It was really nice to see them grow from high school students to responsible adults. When they were young and in love, they let fate and destiny take the lead for them. The universe gave them one more chance when they became adults (Thanks to Tsuzuru and Uta). Unfortunately, fate and destiny can only do so much. Which is why I think they got separated again. But luckily, this time, Yae took the lead and made things happen for them one last time and that's how they got their happy ending <3

The only reason I did not give this a perfect score was because of the ending. I was actually hoping that after all they've been through, the writer/director would have given them a bit more screen time together. Don't get me wrong I loved that they were able to fulfill their childhood dream together but I would really love to see more of them <3

PS: This show really makes me think of my first love during high school and how lucky I was with him <3 It was He really did love me the same way as the ML here loved the FL. Unconditionally. Like I was his last love. And that's what I became, his last love. "First Love" is the song I dedicate to him the most as I will always have a special place in my heart for him. He was the one who taught me how to love. I really miss him and how I wish he was still here.

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Charming high school days but not so much in the present

I'm not too sure what I was expecting when I started this drama, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the portrayal of what pure young love is like. I kept bracing myself to cry buckets or for some horrible tragedy to strike (I guess I was thinking of 1 Litre of Tears haha), but I'm happy to report that you'll get many bittersweet moments instead and a happy ending.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this drama, I have to say that were a few things that did bug me, which is why I didn't give it a full score.

1. I found myself looking forward to the high school flashbacks versus the present scenes:
This is one of the rare cases where I felt like the high school actors of the two protagonists out-performed their present-day counterparts. The young actor who played Harumichi, especially, was perfectly cast and their love story was so sweet. Granted, there are reasons why their adult character aren't as carefree and have been shaped by past unfortunate events, but the fulfilling past love story made me crave for more of that in the present. Despite this, I still think both adult actors gave really excellent performances and played their roles perfectly despite the weak plot in the present timeline.

2. A lot of unnecessary scenes that didn't contribute to the overall narrative of the story:
- That random sex scene between Harumichi and some girl he picked up at the bar (like, ok, so you're saying he's lived a full life after Yae?)
- The drawn-out scenes on the development between how Harumichi and Tsunemi started dating. Leading up to this, we already sense that Harumichi would inevitably break up with his fiance because of his deeply-seated feelings for Yae, so what's the point of showing us how he ran to her after an earthquake? We know there won't be any conclusion for them anyway and I was honestly quite bored with that arc and had to patiently wait for him to finally break up with her.
- The long karaoke scene between Yae and Uta was weird since they only met once briefly in the taxi.
- The awkward scenes that mentioned COVID-19 - I understand that it's part of the timeline but it wasn't necessary to mention imo since it doesn't affect or change their story in any way. It's like saying, oh yea, so this happened (for me, this took away the time we got to see the leads finally together in the last episode).

3. Inconsistencies:
There were a few but the one big one that left me confused was when Yu (Harumichi's younger sister) looked like she wasn't aware of Yae's memory loss in the hospital scene after Harumichi saved Yae from falling down the stairs.
BUT in episode 8, you see Yu secretly telling Tsunemi that Harumichi's first love has amnesia when she visited his family. That scene was clearly before the hospital scene because Yu's daughter was only 4 years old, versus 10 years old when she was visiting him at the hospital.

Towards the end, I feel like there's just something...missing...
I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to describe this accurately, but there were a few scenes that left me wanting MORE because they were supposed to be really climactic moments but we don't really get these emotional moments that should have come with the events.

For example, when Yae regains her memories - I wish they had a few more scenes to show how heartbroken she was to have forgotten about a person who was such a BIG part of her life. Yes, she cried, but it wasn't the heartbreaking kind that truly displayed all the loss she felt - I just wish it was elongated a little more and made her think about the chances that passed her by had she remembered. The moment when they reunited in Iceland was also quite anti-climactic and felt very rushed - there was not explanation as to WHY he chose to leave the country in the first place and we don't get any confessions from Yae's mom admitting what she did. Those small details were all glossed over and so many strings left untied.

I know it was supposed to be a satisfying ending, but my heart wasn't as filled as it could have been had the script been executed better or at least been fine-tuned a bit. I just feel like there was SO much potential for this drama to have been excellent but it ended up being just good.

Overall, I still really enjoyed this drama despite its flaws and I was completely enamored from episode 1. I really reallyyy loved how the timelines weren't sequential and were revealed slowly, almost like peeling back layers of an onion to form the whole story. I would still highly recommend this, especially if you're in the mood for a romance drama that will pull on your heartstrings. Just don't expect a completely ironed-out story and you'll enjoy this a lot.

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Hermosa historia y muy recomendable, es una lástima que caiga en tantos clichés.

¡Hola, gente bella! Mi reseña de esta semana está llegando un poco tarde por ✨cosas✨, pero lo importante es que tarde pero seguro.

En esta ocasión les voy a estar hablando de "First Love", un jdrama de Netflix muy bonito en el que seguimos el primer amor inolvidable de una pareja. Ellos se conocieron por primera vez en la década de 1990 y crecieron juntos en la década de 2000, pero la vida los terminó separando. Ahora, varios años después, se reencuentran por pura casualidad.

Esta serie, inspirada en dos canciones de Hikaru Utada, terminó siendo muy linda. La historia es sencilla, pero preciosa, y los actores, que son Takeru Sato (Harumichi) y Hikari Mitsushima (Yae), están impecables (sobre todo ella, que actúa increíble y encima su personaje es lo más dulce y hermoso que hay). Para colmo mechan todo el tiempo escenas del pasado, de cuando ellos eran adolescentes y estaban juntos, con escenas del presente, así podemos ir armando de a poco el rompecabezas de lo que realmente pasó entre ellos.

Hablando de las escenas del pasado, fueron mis favoritas por mucho. Si amé a la Yae adulta, el Harumichi joven tiene mi amor para siempre, porque es la cosita más cute que haya visto en mi vida (me saco el sombrero ante Taisei Kido, quien lo interpreta). Real que ver todo su romance desde que se conocen hasta que se separan fue extremadamente disfrutable, yo solo quería que fueran felices por siempre jamás.

Por si fuera poco el apartado técnico es muy bueno: visualmente es un jdrama re cuidado, las canciones están muy buenas, los vestuarios me gustaron un montón y un largo etcétera.

Creo que lo único que tengo para criticarle, que igual no es poco, es que caen en dos clichés enormes que ya me tienen un poco harta (uno está relacionado con el motivo de la separación y el otro con el final). ¿Estas cosas arruinaron la serie para mí? No, pero sí hicieron que no terminara de amarla a pesar de que todo lo demás está súper bien.

En fin, no es una dorama súper dinámico, pero al menos para mí no aburre en ningún momento y en general el concepto me pareció bastante bonito y original, así que yo lo recomiendo mucho a pesar de todo.

•IG DE RESEÑAS CORTAS: @altoplottwist

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Hatsukoi

First of all, the song is phenomenal. I have known this song for so many years now, more specifically the Tagalog version. (First Love Repablikan)
The Tagalog version is basically about loving someone fictionally. Like anime. It's crazy because when this drama first came out on Netflix I felt goosebumps and instantly felt emotional. I guess this song has a soft spot for me.
It took me a while to watch this because I didn't want to feel sad😅. Just the title makes me emotional but I finally took the courage to watch it cuz I felt emo at that moment.
It's crazy. This drama is good!
The approach of their love story, the struggles, the life of being in their 20s and the pressure from their parents are well portrayed.
The twist…. I'm speechless.
That twist significantly impacted my decisions again in life. It's like choosing a path. Left or right. I don't know how to explain it but I cried numerous times. The romance between their youth life made me so emotional. The actor and actress, (Taisei & Rikako) definitely did an outstanding job. I like their chemistry more than the adults. Probably because being an adult is hard and going back into your youthful years seems freer.
Also, the adult main character stated that Taisei and Rikako did an excellent job portraying their characters and I agree. Every time they do flashbacks, I reminisce. I don't have experience at all with love but watching them just gives me chills.
Moreover, this drama was worth walking.
It hit on the spot.
Yae’s mom… ugh. Bat kci 🥹😭
Anyways. Goodbye.
12:22 pm
9/11/23

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El rompecabezas de un romance clásico

“First Love: Hatsukoi” es para románticos empedernidos, aquellos que confían que el amor vence tiempo, distancia, sueños rotos y recuerdos perdidos, porque las almas destinadas no pueden ser separadas.

A partir de las canciones “First Love” y “Hatsukoi” de Utada Hikaru, la directora y guionista Kanchiku Yuri creó un drama maravilloso, que contiene lo necesario para convertirse en un romance clásico.

Incluso haciendo uso de elementos narrativos ya muy vistos, la historia atrapa y enamora, haciéndote desear la felicidad de los protagonistas. En ellos recae el peso del drama:

Yagi Rikako y Kido Taisei con un amor juvenil, inocente, que irradia vitalidad e ilusión de comerse al mundo; Mitsushima Hikari y Satoh Takeru como adultos que han sobrellevado sus penas lo mejor que pudieron.

El aspecto visual es fantástico, se nota el cuidado que pusieron a los detalles para transmitir los sentimientos y personalidades de los personajes sin necesidad de diálogos. Eso, sumado a la belleza de las locaciones, hacen que el drama sea muy grato de ver.

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Beautiful heartrending nostalgia

The pangs of first love is hard to forget...
The story is nothing new. In fact it's more cliche ridden and superbly tropey but one have to greatly appreciate how they were masterfully utilized to not only tell a tale of love but also of life.

- ACTING:
I was initially invested because of takeru satoh as I loved him as kenshin. The trailer with him giving that yearning look and hikaru utada's first love really sold me to watch this but I am simply blown away by the superb acting of the whole cast especially the younger versions of haruimichi and yae. Although they were playing each other's older and younger versions they managed to bring their own refreshing element in their acting which was brilliant.
-CINEMATOGRAPHY AND COLOR PALETTE
The director and ALSO the scriptwriter knows her shit for sure. Much of the story was elevated because of how impressive the cinematography, lighting and colors presented a beautiful backdrop on the story, the characters emotions, their journey, their trials and tribulations.
-OST
Last but not least, the ost. Since the whole story was inspired by a song it took the centre stage and accompanied the viewers as we glide with the characters in their journeys. The whole ost just stayed with me like an aftertaste. There were some English songs in there which in my opinion were unnecessary.

The CONS
-Rushed ending which I understand is because of 9 episode limit but I wanted it to be a little more. It was pleasant but convenient.
I felt there were some loose ends that were not tied properly as well, some plot holes that were not explored properly. I also wanted more angst and heartbreaking scenes between the adult haruimichi and yae as they start falling in love with each other all over again.

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Largo viaje, final feliz

Esta historia está llena de subidas y bajadas, algunos éxitos y muchos fracasos. El estilo de la imagen me hizo recuerdo a Something in the Rain de S. Corea, lo mismo que el uso de canciones en inglés que aparecián en medio de algunas escenas añadiendo poder o drama a la misma.

En el episodio 8, empiezas a ver que no habrá mucho tiempo para desarrollar el final feliz, pero empiezas a recopilar algunas cosas importantes del pasado cuando se conocieron por primera vez. La historia se encarga de darles buenos finales a las distintas historias.

La razón por la cual la historia no tiene una mejor puntuación, es un par de escenas innecesarias de sex0 que incluye y sin las cuales la historia no perdía sentido ni nada.

El final, queda un poco apresurado y francamente uno quisera ver un especial, que despliega un poco más sobre la vida de ambos al final.

En general, me encantó muchísimo como hace tiempo no lo hacía otra serie.

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El primer amor no se olvida.

Un drama romántico del cual no esperaba mucho ya que honestamente el contenido Japonés que ha hecho Netflix últimamente es muy bizarro y abarca a un mercado muy de nicho pero esta vez decidieron apostarle a algo más -sencillo- como es una historia de amor inspirada en dos de las canciones más representativas de Utada Hikaru: First Love y Hatsukoi.

Lo primero que resalta a simple vista es la gran producción, llena de calidad tanto en escenografías que te llevan a un montón de lugares preciosos que destacan muchísimo gracias a la buena y sólida fotografía, que juega un papel muy importante en el desarrollo de la trama ya que tal como en el cine, la fotografía de este drama te hace adentrarte aún más en la situación y en el sentir de los personajes.

Es muy común que en actuaciones a veces destaquen uno a dos pero en First Love tanto el cast principal adulto como el joven hacen muy buen trabajo tanto individual como en conjunto, es decir, la química está presente, les crees que de verdad están enamorados, que sufren por su ser amado, etc. Destaco principalmente a Matsushima Hikari, que demuestra una vez más de que es una reina de la actuación al ver todas esas escenas dramáticas que tiene aquí.

Como es un drama inspirado en dos de las canciones de Utada Hikaru, el OST es fundamental, las canciones se suelen tocar pocas veces pero cuando aparecen son en momentos cruciales para la trama marcando principios, momentos de climax y hasta finales. Gracias a los subs de Netflix también podemos leer la traducción de la letra y es ahí que también una escena puede a llegar a empatizar aún más con el espectador.

En resumen, este drama fue una gran sorpresa para mí, creo que es una historia de amor muy bien adaptada resultado de la música de Utada, me dejó con una muy buena sensación y conforme miraba los episodios, también una mezcla de emociones como el dolor, la alegría, entre otros. Es muy interesante la forma en que se contó la historia, abarcando tanto el pasado y el presente en todos los episodios, la calidad que tiene First Love está presente desde el episodio 1. No le pongo 10 porque la verdad me hubiera gustado que se enfocara un poco más en los personajes secundarios interesantes (como el padre de Yae).


A mi parecer este es uno de los mejores dramas japoneses que ha hecho Netflix hasta el momento, me recordó también a los j-dramas de la vieja escuela, llenos de romance y nostalgia.

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