A Mind Refresher
Having been recommended this drama by a friend, this is my first JBL drama.The plot is very refreshing, the characters are interesting, and there is no toxicity in the story. Misunderstandings are resolved in one or two episodes without dragging on. What I adored more than the relationship between the male leads was the friendship between Hashimoto and Aoki, a friendship filled with respect for each other.
Throughout the drama, you are given a glimpse of what it's like to discover and accept your sexuality.
For some fluff and a mind refresher, give this drama a try!
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What you should watch when you feel sad
Can I just say this is by far one of the cutest drama I've ever watched, the chemistry between the lead characters are insane I feel like I'm intruding on something every time the two of them are on screen. Aoki is literally the most adorable male lead I want to pinch his cheeks and Ida is such a warm character he's clueless but wants to learn. Love these two so much, even the supporting characters are wonderful I love the side romance too. Definitely something I'm going to rewatch a million times.Was this review helpful to you?
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Kieta Hatsukoi! A true Gem!
Easily one of the best Japanese BL drama series of 2021. The story line is very easy to follow along and it progresses quite nicely. You really fall in love with all the characters. Unfortunately there’s no kiss, but honestly it isn’t really needed. There’s enough sweetness in this drama series. I also thank this drama for introducing me to awesome J-pop groups like Snow Man and Naniwa Danshi. The sound tracks used in this series, 初ラブ and Secret Touch are real earworms. They will quickly get stuck in your head as you watch this series. Also very easy to rewatch this series too.Was this review helpful to you?
An absolute masterpiece *mwah*
I love Kieta Hatsukoi so much, i rewatched it the day after i watched it for the first time. This series just gives me so much happiness it's unreal. This is one of those series that doesn't need extra romance scenes to be put in, the entire plot fits the characters so well, and the actors did an amazing job portraying them. It shows realistic feelings people could have in romantic situations, and natural reactions to new things. Aoki is very relatable in the sense of overthinking and overreacting, and Iida is very in the sense of ignorance, and happiness just to be around the person, sometimes forgetting to clear up certain feelings they may have. I relate to both characters so much and enjoy this series with my whole heart.Was this review helpful to you?
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Fluffy silliness and light for me
This is what I call a "comfort binge" and i find this enjoyable bcuz the feelings are mutual, damn it's relatable. If you've never been in a relationship especially same-sex relationship with anyone, then ur knees be trembling and u'll get more stutters than usual just like Aoki.The series, for me, projects awkwardness in a good way bcuz let's be real, if u never have any kind of romantic relationship with anyone it'll be awkward who to make a first move, what to do if u start dating and how u behave and contain yourself whenever you're together. Aoki is me and I could see myself being an awkward one in a relationship cuz I don't know what to do when I'm in a relationship.
I would like to point out how interesting the plot. It's not cliche whatsoever. Not like enemies to lovers, friends to lovers that kind of shit we would normally see in other series out there. It's a mistaken identity then as the story unfolds, Hashimoto didn't really have a crush on Ida but on Aida. It was like bcuz of Ida's misunderstanding and Aoki's owning the misunderstanding is just unique to start the plot. It all started bcuz of the eraser. I don't think the plot is that complicated even if the plot twists came in.
There are things I like about this series.
1. Aoki and Ida roleplaying Cinderella. Damn Aoki looks beautiful with that blonde wig. Just imagine how you feel if you're nervous on stage plus you dressed as a female character and partnered with a handsome cutie. I would die gurl. It's the cherry on top for me when Aoki slipped and Ida caught him in his arms. That shot was beautiful.
2. The general awkwardness and uncertainty of Aoki bcuz he's just started to learn what Ida seems to like and dislike. He's sensitive and well-aware of Ida's feelings so he tries not to make him uncomfortable and I think that's natural. The confusion Aoki experience when he doubt why Ida got shocked when Aoki tried to hold hands with him. I feel him, like Aoki needs assurance everytime he does something that might scare Ida. Also that hesitant and fleeing Aoki is very relatable bcuz when u see the one u fell in love with u started to become shy and run away scared to let him know your feelings for him.
3. I love how easy Aoki and Ida reconciled in the end. It's not something troubling. It's like just right considering this is a light series. It should not be that problematic.
4. I love that Hashimoto cleared who she likes and the other girl who had a crush on his mentor or something else. A.k.a. there's no bad bitch cliche who tries to rain on the main leads' parade.
5. I like that Aoki's sub teacher is revealed to have a crush on him. That's just a different plot twist bcuz usually it'll be your friend/enemy or classmate who will be your rival but here is apparently different. It also showed us that Ida once been friends with that person. I love how accepting he is at Ida and Aoki's relationship and he just moved on. There's no war whatsoever.
6. I relate to Aoki's fear about being open loud and proud about his relationship. He's not that ready and considering that it's a same-sex relationship which many people roasts. I love how he just talked that with Ida. I get how Aoki is afraid of their relationship being open to public bcuz that is something a homosexual usually fear when they first get into a relationship with other man. I love how supportive all the people around the two, they're not homophobic or indifferent. It felt good not to see a homophobic character taking shots at gay couple.
As what I've said I relate how uncomplicated this series was but there are still few issues I need to address.
1. The lesser episodes it is the better. I don't think fluffy series like this need 10 eps tbh. I think some other series that have complicating stories should have 10 or more eps just to deliver the plot effectively. For this one, it could be like 7 eps then, boom, done
.
2. I dislike how meddling Aida was in his first appearance in the series. I thought he made thing worse when Aoki really caught feelings for Ida for real. He just rain on Aoki's parade. I hate when Ida replied that he's relieved that it's just a misunderstanding. I was like a dagger to heart. Imagine hearing that from your crush, it hurts like hell.
3. Not a fan of last-minute problem. This is like when all comes to an end then a problem pops out. This happened when Aoki broke up with Ida and that's just stupid. I would prefer them being lovey-dovey all throughout in the Illumination Festival. Not really digging that issue.
4. Not a fan of Aida and Hashimoto. They did not really do something special so that's that.
I don't think I have many things to add anymore. I laid all I could think of about this series. It's not bad it's just good. Good that you'll need it after watching a very complicated series. Like u need a refresher or a calm drama just to take a break. Overall I think it was a good series that is a comfort series.
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Enjoyed the high school friendship part, not fully convinced by the romance and its evolution
The premise of the story with the misunderstanding and triangular/rectangular relationship is very interesting. It reminded me of some Shojo mangas I read as there are a lot of classical storylines: the class school play, the class building activities...A lot of fun high school moments that I enjoyed to see here. It is not that innovative but it is very fluffy and sweet to follow. Unfortunately, I started to progressively be disinterested after the 1st half of the drama as the story stagnated. I felt there was a bit too much of repetition in the main relationship with not a lot of progress nor evolution in the second part of the series. Comparatively, I felt that the narrative arc of the secondary couple was stronger and had a better flow in terms of development.Overall the acting was quite good in the more comedic moments, when the story does not take itself too seriously. When the tone was more serious, I had some trouble believing in what was happening on screen. I liked the two main leads but I felt there were better conveying friendship than romantic sparks.
The soundtrack was really nice with some pop songs enjoyable and fitting the high school romance thematic. The production was satisfying, in line with standard from the genre.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a Japanese BL high school series. The scenario is very reminiscent of classical high school Shojo manga storylines, so if you are familiar with and enjoy those, this drama will likely be a comfort and comfy watch for you as it was for me. Even though I have some nitpicking regarding the pace of the romance and its evolution, I still enjoyed the watch.
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Wholesome Factory?
This was so wholesome😭! I consider myself a genius for figuring out that Hashimoto likes Akkun and not Aoki. Quick to finish because it doesn't drag on. All the episodes have something exciting or interesting in them. Okano being a tad homophobic but changing (?) his mind was great! Ida having supportive friends is fantastic too. Ida trying to understand why Aoki is afraid of being out was wonderful to see since Ida hasn't experienced homophobia directly. Ida taking Aoki's worries/problems seriously instead of brushing them off was an incredible show of communication that is often lacking in BLs. The last scene with Hashimoto and Akkun being responsible for turning on the Christmas lights was adorable!Was this review helpful to you?
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not my fave but still cute.
this one im kinda not sure where to rate it cuz i actually liked it but some parts i really didn't. i really liked the romantic scenes in this bl, a lot of them were so cute and tropey and i found them really cute. i didn't like the actual plot and story of the romance, because it was really tied up and far fetched. i mean the two mains didn't even like eachother like that before, and one of them even really liked someone else at the start. to switch it all up (and i means ALLLLL UP) is a little crazy, i mean i guess it could happen but it didn't even take place over that much time so like... also some of the acting threw me off, like ida isn't really emotinal at all so it's kinda hard to see romance from his side. and aoki was a little cringey in the japanese bl way, and it became a bit too much sometimes. idk their relationship just didn't seem very strong, and i didn't see much of a connection. though besides that the romantic scenes were cute and it was pretty high quality on the production side.Was this review helpful to you?
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The cutest cliché
Are you looking for something that would cause you some diabetes? This BL is perfect for you then!!!!Aoki is the cutest person ever, he’s the most babyboy ever. Hashimoto is also the cutest babygirl ever and WHAT A GIRL POWER WE HAVE WITH HER.
Both main and support couples are the absolutely cutest. The way the main couple slowly falls in love, how Ida realizes how much he loves Aoki, it’s everything. Both their friends are so supportive and that’s beautiful honestly. Such a cute and funny story. This BL is literally going to make your heart feel warm.
It’s definitely a must to watch and it’s so healthy, bc everything about this whole show screams HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP AND HEALTHY FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their acting was everthing, and they really did an amazing job showing their emotions. Supportive friends and classmates.
The soundtrack/ost, omg it makes the whole thing even better.
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The best japanese BL!!!!
this series is so good, literally every character is so fun to watch! The story is great and this is probably the funniest, cutest and most interesting jdrama i have watched. The friendship between all of them is so pure and I am glad there was no villain in this story. So simple and cute, def recommend !! Fell in love with every actor/actress :)Was this review helpful to you?
Lighthearted and cute
This was a really cute and fluffy drama and my first foray into japanese foray. I think it did a really good job portraying the innocent love in highschool and the confusion and even struggles that comes when acknowledging one's sexual preferences. But if you are looking for a deep plot, this won't be it. Shunsuke did really well in acting as an unconfident person who is struggling with his sexual preferences and I also love his chemistry with Meguro Ren. The acting wasn't particularly very difficult to do, that's why I ranked it slightly lower. But Meguro really does know how to charm his audiences. I think it's really a good rewatch if you are feeling down as the innocent love between the MLs will make you giggle and squeal in excitement. The OST was quite good, much better than some of the other JDramas.Was this review helpful to you?
