Hatsukoi (2012)

I have started this show after putting it off for so long. I thought it would be very slow paced, boring and a little bit stretched out. But no, I could not have been more wrong.

It was perfect. Don't get me wrong, this is very real, very slice of life and therefore not full of actions. But despite that, after each episode I wanted to see more, know more about the story, the characters and know what will happen. The pace was great, I didn't even think once that it was boring.

The acting was one of the best I have seen. It was very mature. But the story is very mature so they did great. I daresay I liked the acting the most in this drama. Everyone made the story so real, so easy to believe, I really felt myself part of it, part of how they felt. I was close to bursting into tears many times, so expect some very deep emotional development in the story. It's not sad as in depressing however, it's just focused on "life". But most of the time it was simply "moving".

The story touches upon a very delicate topic, but I did not find anything that happened in the show upsetting. Much attention was paid to making sure that every little issue is dealt with and therefore this brought great satisfaction for me as a viewer. I had no questions in the end, I found no gaps the story didn't fill.

The best word to describe this drama is "beautiful".

If you like the genre (and the sometimes sad but deep dramas) then I am sure you'll appreciate what a gem this really is.

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