So Far, Most Re-watchable JDrama BL I've Seen
I've spent at least 6 hours of my life re-watching this drama! From Michieda Shunsuke's (Aoki) amazing facial expressions, to Fukomoto Riko's (Hashimoto) charming personality (definitely a scene stealer, it's so nice to see a strong female character like her), to Meguru Ren's (Ida) handsome face, this show finds itself ranking at the top of my list for 2021 BL's. Not to mention Suzuki Jin's (Akkun) acting - seeing him go from his more 'serious' role in Given earlier this year to something more lighthearted is a little head spinning; he has amazing range!As for the plot, there are some twists and turns in the first few episodes that had me cracking up and itching for the next episode to hurry up!
All in all, so far it's been an amazing experience to watch this show!
Was this review helpful to you?
Best Japanese BL of 2021 !!!
Kieta Hatsukoi is the best Japanese BL of 2021 so far; the acting, the characters, the script, the plot, and of course, the absolutely sweet moments!I'll make this short - you will immediately love all the characters in this series! The main characters all have charming points that contribute to a beautifully youthful love story. There's also bound to be at least a million hilarious, heart-warming, and adorable moments sprinkled throughout each episode. A bonus is that the OSTs are absolute bops that I listen to non-stop, sung by the 2 boys themselves :)
If you're looking for a binge-able BL, look no further!
Was this review helpful to you?
Sincerity and Hilarity
I just . . . <3 ❤❤❤Such wholesome and supportive MLs! Ida and Aoki were everything good in this world.
The first episode did an amazing job setting up not just the characters and comedic style of the drama (which I adored) but also showing who Ida and Aoki are as people.
Ida is the kind of guy who thinks about things very seriously and carefully and despite not being exposed to/experiencing what many others already have is open to something unfamiliar to him. He also cares deeply about the feelings of others and always takes them into consideration, though he appears quite stoic and awkward at times. Lol.
Aoki is the kind of guy who doesn't let jealousy guide him in acting in ways that would benefit him personally while hurting others. He is willing to make sacrifices for the people he cares about even if it is to his detriment. And, he is very outwardly emotional and expressive, but also quite shy at times. Lol.
That was an impressive thing to accomplish in just the first episode alone.
This is the kind of drama that will not only make you cry from laughing so hard at Ida's dry humor, Aoki's meme-worthy and iconic reactions/facial expressions, Hashimoto's violent/impulsive nature, and Aida's blissful ignorance, but also from how much consideration and kindness oozes from the MLs.
Ida's sincerity was seriously too much for my poor heart to take! And Aoki made my cheeks ache from how many times I couldn't contain my giggles and abrupt bursts of laughter! Needless to say, I along with many of you now have to figure out a way to share custody of the absolute mood that is Aoki Sota.
Something a bit underrated and beautiful I didn't fully notice about this drama until it had a few episodes left was Aoki and Ida saying statements Directly expressing their emotions about things related to their relationship, and also the other paying attention and taking them seriously. Such as, "That made me upset," "That made me happy," etc. Saying This thing you did made me feel This. Basically, "I" statements.
I can't think of very many dramas that do this/have done this.
I've actually read that couples counselors will advise their clients to communicate in this way to directly address their feelings and not be accusatory when/if they're upset with their partner. Yet another reason for me to adore Kieta Hatsukoi and the precious couple in it.
This drama was not only a great showcasing of healthy and communicative relationships, it was also highly addictive. I rewatched each episode (until it was completed) about a dozen times before the next one aired.
Regarding representation, I could not be more happy! Aoki was a wonderful and respectful representation of Bisexuality. It was also delightfully easy to show. He was in love with Hashimoto and then he fell in love with Ida. Simple. He didn't declare that he "doesn't like boys and just likes him" (I hate that trope so much) nor was there any line indicating he never truly loved Hashimoto and was just "confused." He didn't deny his past love and also accepted his present love. I could cry!
I think this was as perfect Bi representation as you could get without actually saying the word Bisexual.
Was this review helpful to you?
Fluff, fluffier, fluffiest! !
This was just a huge dose of fluff and is probably the sweetest fluffiest drama out there at the moment, Everybody is just so cute, not only as characters, but together too. The story is both interesting, sweet and of course not completely without drama, but even the drama is cute and resolved in a sweet manner making your (my) heart flutter over and over again of ooooh that is just so cute!While many other shows may have some unnecessary drama that may frustrate you, the drama here is different, it shows some struggles (without letting it take over the cute), some well known prejudice one may face or be afraid to face, but that too is handled really well.
The grownups here do not make me want to scream, or ashamed of being part of the grown up community. There is actually a teacher who is shown to be kind, supportive and honest, who knew that was possible?
The mother here is just soooo sweet, I just wanted to hug her!
The different types of friends here are also, yes you guessed it, Sweet, supportive, super cute!
Even the love triangle (yes real triangle) is just sweet and cutely done....
To top it off we get a bickering couple, and adorable dog, a lovely visit of the see thru umbrella and opposites attract...
Yes even the misunderstandings in this are.... CUTE...
Did I mention it is cute? So for you in need of a shot of some highly bingeable cuteness and fluff, this is it!
A small warning: I will however just mention that I was a bit bothered by the leads way of over acting with big comedic gestures that I normally hate, but they grew on me and I ended up finding it, yes you probably guessed it: CUTE
Also this probably is the drama, with the highest ratio smiles per minute I have ever seen...
Was this review helpful to you?
this.
where to start?i am completely convinced this will never be topped. just everything about this is so cute.
let's start with the story. with the first episode everything has already been said. "this is a slightly silly love story about hardworking good-natured high schoolers." and it is exactly that. this is a character-driven drama honestly. the plot is there for the characters not the other way around. like a lot of coming of age dramas, it's about the characters and not the plot. it shows the life of a (struggling and confused lol) bisexual teen in high school juggling new love, friendship and of course, school. it also sometimes shows the persepctive of his love interest, a well-meaning volleyball player who is also new to this whole love thing and bad at expressing emotions.
the acting. the facial expressions michieda shunsuke has done for this show is incredible. it might seem over the top but for those who have read the manga know im not kidding when i say that's practically what aoki is like in the manga too. meguro ren as ida was spot-on. that is the blank-faced ida i know and love brought to life. the casting was just perfection. also ya gotta admit. they're a good looking pair. as for fukomoto riko and suzuki jin, they are also perfect cast. they do amazing as their characters. the casting seriously perfect.
oh the music. oh the music. i love it. i really do. both secret touch and ubu-love. these songs are blasting in my head at all times. they are very fitting to the drama. the lyrics from secret touch especially. secret touch is sung by meguro ren's group (snowman) and ubu-love is sung by michieda shunsuke's group (naniwa danshi).
and the rewatch value? oh darling, i was rewatching the first episode religiously since i saw it. it became apart of my DAILY routine. then the second episode was released. so i was rewatching the first two until the third episode. then i was rewatching the three until the fourth and basically that's how i've been living. easily rewatchable. you will be desperate for more.
overall. my favourite jdrama and probably overall drama for all of 2021. i love a series with heaps and heaps of drama but something like kiekoi has seriously topped. it's a sweet silly love story of two inexperienced teens in high school realistically done. one of my favourite aspects is probably how relatable this was for me. as a bi teen in high school, i have experienced something like this. it wasn't as sweet and happy in fact it sucked. watching aoki and ida navigate their love in a sweeter and happier way despite their ups and downs, makes me like this drama a lot. so. watch this if you need something sweeter than candy.
tldr; one of the best jdramas of 2021. sweet cute love story between two inexperinced teens. 10/10 would recommened. biased because it's personal to me lol but seriously, its really really good.
Was this review helpful to you?
Kiekoi is forever! Ida and Aoki made me too happy!
I never write reviews but this time I had to because I've never felt as invested in a series as I did with Kieta Hatsukoi.What can I say...? I loved every single moment of this series, it was such a heartwarming experience I could rewatch over and over again. This story is so pure and innocent and I loved how both Micchi and Meme played their roles. Aoki and Ida are so different and yet so complementary. First you have Aoki, who's that kind of person who's ready to give his whole heart for the person he cherises the most and then you have Ida, who's more oblivious when it comes to feelings and falls for Aoki without being fully aware of his own feelings. Some may say this story is very simple but, to me, that's perfectly fine considering the message this drama tries to convey. It’s a very comforting and hopeful story about figuring out feelings and discovering love you've never experienced before. I think that's the core message you can take away from Kieta Hatsukoi. I laughed, loved and cried a lot all this way with Ida and Aoki and I wish we would get another season, a movie or even just a special episode. However, even if we don't get that, the final scene of the final episode was so cute that I would undertand if they decided to conclude the story there because, to be honest, that's the perfect ending for this perfect series.
Last, but not least, thanks to Kieta Hatsukoi I got to know Snowman and their amazing music. Of course I am a big fan of Meme now, but besides that I think Snowman is a very talented and amazing group! Same for Naniwa Danshi, although, at the time I'm writing this review, I haven't deepened very much into them yet. In any case, both are excellent groups and "Secret Touch" and "Ubu Love" will get stuck in your head as soon as you listen to them.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Could have been so much better but still enjoyable!
I started watching this show because of the hype I was seeing all over social media, and I was looking forward to it every week but it got to the point where I felt like it was missing something especially after the final episode. I know this is based on a manga so maybe they were just trying to tell it as accurately as possible but I just felt like their wasn’t much of a “story”. Like the whole dating each other and telling people your dating before actually admitting you both mutually like each other to each other? I know that arguably was the story was the whole does he really like me thing but I just felt like there could of been more depth with that storyline? I’m not sure but I just didn’t feel completely satisfied with how their story ending with the couple. Maybe it’s because it was so hyped I guess I put it on a higher level. However that being said I still enjoyed this show than most bls recently. The actors were great and them mains together make a great couple as well as the supporting characters. I love how much Ida and Aoki care about each other even though they are shy about it. For sure do recommend this bl if your looking for something cute. I liked it!Was this review helpful to you?
Melted my cold, cynical heart
When I started to watch this series, I didn't expect to love it this much. This series may not be perfect, but it definitely becomes one of my favorite series this year.[Story]
The plot is actually very simple, you can literally summarise it in one sentence lol. This series is more on character driven rather than plot driven, so some people may find it frustrating at how slow the development was. However, I love how this series portray (almost) realistically the inner struggle of gay-teen couple in conservative country. The other strong point of this series is how lovable all the characters were, even the supporting roles, that I ended up care for all of them. It is the first time that I love both main leads equally, usually one of them will annoy me at some point. Ida and Aoki are truly the bestest boys.
[Acting]
Surprisingly, I love the acting in this series. Usually the acting in Japanese drama bother me a lot as it's kinda 'anime-ish'. Kudos for Aoki for having so many silly expression without making me cringe. I also love Ida's acting, his character is actually the one that more tricky to be portrayed. I am glad he wasn't just a stoic, one-dimensional calm character. The acting of all supporting roles are also superb. Shout out for Rumi and Hiromu, the first het cp that I truly enjoy in BL lmao.
[Music]
I love both the OSTs, and how fitting the lyrics are. Wish there were more OSTs, though
[Rewatch value]
Man, the number of rewatch that I have done is sickening lol. I am usually the type that move on so fast to another series, but this series managed to make me rewatch it so many times without skip.
[Overall]
I gave this series full score for how much serotonin it gave me. This from a person who is usually very picky and cynical about romance drama as I am easily cringe at sappy romance. I do hope there will be season 2 for this series, but for now I am satisfied with how this series end.
Was this review helpful to you?
It's cute but repetitive
When this started, I loved it - the characters are interesting, with Aoki having cute freakouts and Ida being this sexy clueless overserious guy, and a series of misunderstandings cause them to accidentally draw together, and not the usual way where one trips and the other catches him and they stare at each other until they turn gay.But then it bogs down into an endless cycle of very similar breakdowns in communication that reduces the story to running in circles to prevent the couple from getting together. The problem is that the crises are all so similar that I lost all sympathy for Aoki and wanted Ida to find someone less mentally unstable, and frankly stopped caring about whether or not they'd end up together. Either way would have been equally fine to me. I was actually more invested in the straight couple, which at least had a progression in their relationship.
TBH, the avoidance of affection starts to feel homophobic - I realize this is aimed at younger audiences, but similar stories with a straight pair don't have the same pathological aversion to depicting romantic interaction.
The quality of the production is high, the dialogue is cute, the acting is excellent, and the music is fine, if not particularly notable. I can't imagine rewatching any of it, since it already feels like I watched the same episode ten times. I'd recommend it if you like cuteness, but not if you think romance should be more than holding hands for about 10 seconds.
Story: 6 - too repetitive, although the starting premise is clever and the first few episodes are really engaging.
Acting: 9 - very good all around.
Music: 7 - it's appropriate and never annoying, but there's nothing extraordinary about it.
Rewatch: 5 - I doubt I'd rewatch it, although I might want to go back and stare at Ida and listen to him speak.
Overall: 7.5 - the "suggested" rating is lower, but I don't think it deserves less than a "C". It was cute and well-done, but it's just not memorable and I'll likely forget about it fairly quickly.
Was this review helpful to you?
Is is worth watching??
I don't want to spoil you guys and I just want to say that the drama will convey and relate to the societal problem regarding to the genre and relation which will make you attached to the drama. The track of the drama is a perfect match to the atmosphere which adds spice and spark to the story. When it comes to the actors, they play their role as if its them, its suit to them especially Michi ;) he is so cute and funny at the same time.In addition, the drama will make you kilig all throughout because the chemistry between the two protagonist is perfect and skyrocket. Also, the second couple is a good addition to the story. All in alll the drama is worth of watching. I recommend it so watch and grab your food and pillow.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute and fluffy
This is my first Japanese drama, as well as my first BL drama, so I had no idea what to expect.I'll be honest. If it wasn't for the exceptional reviews and a pretty high ranking, I wouldn't have watched this. The plot didn't interest me nor did I watch for an actor/actress that I like. ('Cause of course, my first JP drama.) The story is cute but after the camping trip, there wasn't really anything that I looked forward to watching.
The main characters were fine, but I never truly "loved" any of them. I usually love the supporting and guest characters, but in this drama they all just annoyed me.
I thought the acting was pretty good. Aoki (Michieda Shunsuke) was the stand-out because he has great facial expressions. Meguro Ren, who plays Ida, also did a good job at acting as an aloof, but also a sympathetic person.
There are 2 OSTs in total.
➀ Snow Man - 'Secret Touch'
➁ Naniwa Danshi - 'First Love'
I loved that the two leads also sang the OSTs in their respective bands.
After watching this drama, I think I could be a future fan of BL. I need to watch more BLs to decide if that's the case though.
aight byeee~
Was this review helpful to you?
Recommended, and you will probubly love it more than I did
Foundational Romance Tropes: mistaken identity, love triangle, secret crush, friends to lovers, ace/demi repThere’s something about this show that pushes absurdity to its cartoon limit but stays genuine to the high first love school experience. Kieta Hatsukoi ended up being kind of Cherry Magic + Light On Me X Make it Right with good pacing and so many unexpected twists in angst and miscommunication that despite it being classic live action yaoi it felt fresh and new to the BL world, also a touch frustrating. Clearly Japan is back to reminding us WE STARTED IT ALL, SUCKERS!
Aoki is the drama queen to end all drama queens, the meme fairy to end all meme fairies. While Ida is ace spectrum demigod rock we all leaned on to survive Aoki’s madness. And they’re surrounded by truly awesome friends (a hallmark of, and my favorite thing about, high school BL). All the characters were so endearingly awkward, earnestly sweet, and desperate to do the right thing and not hurt each other that the show became utterly lovable while still being teenage angst incarnate. Japan can get pretty over-expressive and childish in their yaoi adaptations and this is no exception - Aoki is SUCH A SPAZ, the biggest chaos-baby drama-llama to ever bizilla his way through a BL. SO EXTRA. I suffered quite a bit of second hand embarrassment that was, occasionally, too much for me. Maybe because Ida is so obviously demi, I could see all along it would just take him more time, it’s annoying that Aoki couldn’t and made no effort to understand Ida. So while I very much enjoyed this BL, it kinda lost me to frustration at the end, even as the final episode left me smiling. I think these aspects will work against it for me in rewatch potential, which is one of my main ways I rate BLs, so... hence my 8/10.
But i honestly think most BL fans will like it more than that.
Was this review helpful to you?
