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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This review may contain spoilers
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.Was this review helpful to you?
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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This review may contain spoilers
The Song - First Love - by Utada Hikaru Got Me!
I was drawn to this drama because of the song "First Love" by Utada Hikaru -- SO MANY MEMORIES...I decided to watch this drama because of the song which I heard when the trailer flashed.
I would say that I actually kind of like this drama but it is a little too slow-moving for me... I think it could be one of those "healing" types of dramas (yet again). The acting is pretty good. I think the young version of the FL is very attractive. She has an X-factor of sorts but the young version of the ML seems a bit too dorky and he smokes too much for my liking. I have dropped this for now but, I may pick it up again. :) As it's just 9 episodes long, I think that I can, perhaps, find time for it? I'm not sure... I do prefer dramas with more of a Fun Element and more of a Dramatic Element though. :)
The OST for this drama should be good though. Going to listen to First Love by Utada Hikaru again and reminisce.
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C'est l'essence de ce drama. Un premier amour maladroit, touchant et d'une pureté absolue. Ni mystère. Ni rebondissement.
Et pourtant, cela fonctionne. Encore. Et toujours.
On sourit. Des étoiles pleins les yeux. L'histoire touchante de ce premier amour nous émeut. Pas une seule fois, je n'ai douté de la fin de cet amour. Ennuyant? Que nenni,
Le scénario est simple mais astucieusement construit autour d'un enchevêtrement de passé et de présent. C'est redoutablement efficace, permettant au spectateur de suivre simultanément leur hier et le résultat immédiat sur leur présent.
Nous survolons à chaque minute des flashbacks semés tout autour d'eux. L'atmosphère y est donc léger, illuminant l'écran de leur histoire et de leur douleur. Ici, ce n'est pas seulement une question de premier amour mais aussi de choix et de décision qui nous forgent. Les protagonistes suivent ce chemin difficile qu'est la vie et nous serions tenté de penser qu'ils ont pris la mauvaise décision, mais cela serait dénier ces moments où ils ont su construire ou un mariage ou une relation. Bien sûr, parfois, cela ne dure pas. Cela se finit parfois par une rupture. Un divorce. Ces aléas à la vie si nécessaire. Afin d'avancer et de comprendre. La valeur d'un premier amour.
Je crierais pas à l'extraordinaire, pas en ce qui me concerne, mais j'ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à suivre ce drama. Je n'ai certes pas eu des papillons au ventre ou de coeur en émoi, cependant, la douceur des épisodes m'ont bercé et j'avoue avoir eu une pensée nostalgique à mon premier amour.
Je ne vous cacherai pas que Satoh Takeru est la raison qui m'a mené ici, j'ai pu tout de même apprécié le jeu de Mitsushima Hikari mais surtout de Yagi Rikako et de Kido Taisei. Ils ont su me transmettre leurs émotions à travers un jeu sincère.
Drama léger où est banni toute frustration, nous suivons avec simplicité un amour qui aura duré envers et contre tous.
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El amor rompiendo todas las barreras
Esta serie me pareció muy romántica y tierna.Me gusta cómo se da la línea temporal, mostrando a la audiencia la actualidad y el pasado a la par.
Es difícil que una historia así se de en la vida real, un amor tan sincero, que se da a primera vista y que parece perfecto, en cada encuentro y como sus vidas los llevaba a encontrarse; pero, justamente eso, es lo que me atrae de las historias y series como esta. Te hacen pasar un buen rato, ilusionar y enamorar, desconectándote de la vida real💜💜💜
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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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Je n'ai jamais autant pleuré de larmes de joie
Je n'ai jamais regardé un drama aussi émouvant, et pourtant j'en déjà regardé pas mal !Je n'ai jamais autant pleuré devant une œuvre, et ce sont des larmes de joie, tellement la mise en scène et le scénario m'ont permis de m'attacher aux personnages et de ressentir leurs émotions.
Les acteurs sont au sommet de leur art, les musiques sont tellement belles, la photo est magnifique.
Ce drama est une véritable pépite que je conseille absolument pour tout le monde, pas uniquement pour les fans de romances. Je pense que personne ne peut être insensible à cette histoire.
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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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