Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi (2019)

Wow, this is one of the best dramas I have seen in a while.
The plot may seem simple, but do not let it fool you! You will be in for a good watch!
The drama touches into deeper aspects of life, and how one should continuously strive for their dreams no matter how impossible it may seem. This drama teaches the audience the importance of working hard for one's success and even if you don't reach your dream goals, you may be able to help others and guide them to the path that will help reach their goals.

While some people are against student-teacher relationships, Junko is very careful in this drama to not be in a relationship with her students while they are her students, so you do not have to worry about that. She does not break any laws or rules here because she is not in any relationship with her students while teaching them. The chemistry between Yuri and Junko is absolutely wonderful, and Yuri is super mature for his age. I would even say he's even more mature than Junko herself and even as mature as the other male competitors in this drama. The character development for Yuri is amazing, and we can really see how much he has grown as a person mentally.

Watching this drama, you can't help but rethink about your own life and values. Just because I didn't reach my dream, should I give up? Is it worth helping others reach the same dream that I myself couldn't do? Do I have confidence in helping others succeed when I myself did not in the past? These are some of the questions that come to mind when I watched this show, and it really made me think about my future.

Overall, I loved both the plot and romance of this drama, and this is must watch if you want something light or fun to watch while still having a deeper story behind it all :)

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It's been a long time since I've been this giddy with happiness watching a drama. A fresh (pink) air of breath XD Each episode was better than the previous one. And every time I finished an episode, I couldn't wait for the next week, so I'd rewatched the last episode and couldn't think of nothing else for the following days XD

As the J-netizens said, I would like to think Yuri was the heroine of this drama. I loved how supportive was everyone of him. There isn't a single bad character here. And all 3 rivals were nice, handsome guys who wanted nothing more than Junko's happiness. Each one of the guys had their amount of support from the netizens, I am not sure who was the most popular. But since episode 1 I had my favorite, and that is because I am a huge fan of manga-Shinkumi <3

I have yet to watch the final episode subbed, but just watching it raw I loved it (I covered my eyes but peeked between my fingers in the last scene). I'll write a proper review (with a proper rant over this actor whom I fell head over heels) when I finish the last episode subbed.

Favorite scenes, in no particular order:
- The "heroine in a dating game" (but the whole study camp made me happy)
- The "betrayed" look in front of Junko's house
- All the hugs (kyaa they were all amazing, the most romantic I've even seen)
- every time my fave smiled
- Nishioi and Miwa were funny, but together they were hilarious

Favorite drama of the year? XD too early to tell but I loved it so much I am having drama withdrawal symptoms ^_^ And listening to the OST ("Happy birthday" by back number) isn't helping ^_^

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My wish is to be an adult like you

***Not sure if what’s in here that may be considered major spoiler but there might be minor ones so proceed with caution***


I got recommended this drama over 2 months ago by a user whose name I forgot (i feel awful and I apologize ). I did watch it at that time and in all honesty, it's the drama that pulled me out of a very long drama slump. This drama has two of my favorite tropes - age gap and noona romance!

The drama revolves around Junko Harumi and her three suitors. Once a model student in her middle and high school days, life hasn't been going smoothly for her after she failed to enter Tokyo University. Now 31, she works as a tutor at a private institute where things are not so great. Her romantic life isn't doing any better either. It is at this point in her life that she meets Kyohei Yuri and becomes his tutor. While she worries and shows frustration about things not working out in both her career and her love life, Janko is very oblivious to notice the 3 men that show interest around her. Masashi Yakumo is her smart cousin that went to Tokyo University, who's had feelings for her for a long time. Kyohei Yuri is a disorderly high school student she's tutoring and Kazuma Yamashita is Kyohei ’s teacher in high school.

The drama shows how not getting into Tokyo University has affected Junko. Her relationship with her mother, her confidence in her own self, her feeling jaded about the trajectory of her career and romantic life. It also shows her innocence and her kindheartedness. The only thing about this woman the scriptwriters did that irked me is she pulled out her back every other episode and they use that as a sign of her “getting old”. People I promise you 31 is not that old and we in our 30s don't need to walk around in canes. What is happening! T_T

Anyways, Junko may have had an unfortunate setback in life but she was compensated by having three wonderful men vying for her affection. I love that all the men were non-problematic, genuinely nice, and mature men each bringing their own strength to the table. If I wasn't slightly biased towards one of them, I at one point was thinking she should just take all three and start her own harem. I kid, I kid... (maybe :P)

I enjoyed a lot of things about this drama and the romance. I understand to some people a student/teacher relationship is not something they like. But the relationship is developed in a nice way and no lines were crossed while they were in a teacher/student relationship. I think one of the things that I liked about this drama is the similarity to a real-life event from my childhood. We had a teacher whose love life was like a legend when we were in high school. It is said that this teacher fell in love with a girl when she was still his student. But he never made a move, in fact, he was so unforgivingly strict with her she was convinced he hated her. He waited until she finished her 1st year of college before asking her out. They are married with kids and known as having a very close relationship. It's like one of those romances you find in novels or movies so you can imagine why their story would be popular. Watching this drama actually took me back in time and reminded me of a story I had long forgotten.

*️⃣To the person who recommended this to me, thank you so much!!! I enjoyed this very much. So much so I had the urge to run out and dye my hair pink and the only thing that stopped me was my hairdresser not being available.

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AN AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL

Let me start off this review by saying that I`m a HUGE fan of teacher/student relationships and all the tropes that follow. Yes I`m aware that sounded quite weird, but what I mean is like how some are attracted to sparkly vampires and others are attracted to shallow sadists, I am hugely attracted to relationships with big age gaps, since their clichés are usually still somewhat bearable and the problems that arise in such a relationship are interesting to discuss. Now, I`m NOT condoning grooming, manipulations nor other machinations of ill taste. But there is something special about these kind of stories.

I`ve seen this drama three times now and I love it, for all the fluff and innocence it holds. Kyoko Fukada is a GREAT choice for this role, not only for her grand talent, as after this drama I took a look at some of her catalogue and was pleasantly surprised by the versatility I found, which I didn`t expect, but also for novelties she injects in her character. I love her as a clueless, innocent cram school teacher Junko, who reached her early thirties without ever experiencing love and believe it or not, especially in Japan, her case is pretty common, in regards to romantic experience. She still lives with her parents, and her mother is genuinely overbearing because her child couldn`t`ve fulfilled her dreams of being accepted to Todai and thus somehow, helping her mother become more accepted. It is an antiquated way of thinking which still plagues many cultures, so that is also relatable, even to me and I`m barely hitting my early twenties. Yes, she`s airheaded, bordering on completely clueless and that`s exactly why this couple is plausible. Yuri-Yuri( I love that nickname) is effectively more emotionally mature and he`s the one who largely pursues their relationship. My second favorite is Yamashita, an old childhood flame, who has grown up to become a reformed delinquent teacher and is admittedly, mostly my type. This may be an unpopular opinion, but as much as I enjoy Masashi`s character, waiting for 20 years on something you haven`t even questioned is such a dumb thing to do as an adult and the pairing of Junko and Masashi would quite literally be the most frustrating dynamic to watch, ever. They are equally as confusing, so that would be awful. As much as this drama is sweet, cheesy, simple, it is also heartwarming, hopeful and fresh, in a way. Typically, most student/teacher relationships are dramatic, dower and for the lack of a better word, heavy to stomach. So, in that way, this drama IS original.

Also, I like the heavy juxtaposition between Miwa and Junko, if anything, just to drive the point home of how not in control Junko`s life is. Like Miwa said in the first episode:"At least I married. I married someone whom I loved. And then I got divorced."I would`ve been so mad if Miwa didn`t get her happy ending. Also, chemistry between Junko and Yuri is top-notch. It is seriously overflowing. Ryusei Yokohama did such a good job with this role that now I can`t see his other dramas(yes, it`s a personal problem, it happens sometimes). He`s also a juxtaposition to both Masashi and Yamashita. He is much more decisive and emotionally intelligent than Masashi, but is also more innocent and childish than Yamashita and is the best option for Junko(on an unrelated note, can I just have everything Junko is wearing in this drama?It`s all stunning). Their relationship develops naturally, without rush and/or immediate sexual gratification. Which brings me to my issue with the drama. I wish we saw more skinship from both of them. I understand this was done because Yuri was still underage and it`s icky, but I just can`t believe that a hormonal 18-year old can control himself that much, it`s funny. At least some caresses or kisses would`ve been fine.
Also, this drama IS still a romcom and is not exempt from clichés, but here it doesn`t bother me.

So, if you are looking for an excellent Japanese drama, this is the one as 2019. and 2020. have proven to be amazing years for Japanese dramas altogether.

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Firstly, I have to admit I did not pick this up initially because of the premise. I'm not opposed to age gap, only that a look at student/teacher relationships is not my first preference when there is a plethora of genres to choose from. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try after having watched and enjoyed Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru and this drama stars the same lead, Yokohama Ryusei.

I was so pleasantly surprised by how tastefully the makers turned, what some would consider taboo subject, into a story with a lot of heart and laughter. Although this is mainly about the heroine teacher, Harumi, the star of the show is truly 17 year old student, Yuri, played by Yokohama Ryusei. The drama follows Yuri's transformation from a pink haired delinquent to serious student with aspirations to get into one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, and the teacher and all the adults who guide and support him as he rises to the challenge. The way he progresses towards that goal while having a major crush on his teacher, was a delight to watch. Not only does he have to battle Math, English and Modern Literature, he has to battle two other suitors for the attention of the leading lady. Yuri may be the youngest, but I found him the most mature out of all the characters in the story. His conviction and determination to reach his goal, his earnest, sincere feelings for Harumi, and his youthful simplicity in seeing things for what they are and acting on that (unlike the "adults" who choose to put up filters to fit the confines of their adulthood) had me rooting for him. I was so impressed by Yokohama Ryusei's nuanced performance, I am now a huge fan. And I will never see pink hair the same way again!

I liked Harumi as well, played by Fukada Kyoko, whom I thought was effortlessly charming. Her character is easy-going, understanding, and truly wants what is best for those around her. I can see why Yuri falls for her and though mostly platonic at first, there is no doubt she cares for Yuri from the very beginning.

You may be disappointed if all you came for is the romance. It is the driver of Yuri's desire to become studious but it is not the main focus. Regardless though, I still found that smaller part of the story extremely romantic. This is especially evident in one of my favorite scenes of the drama, where Yuri and Harumi finally opens up to one another. There is no music, no fancy editing; it is simply raw emotions on full display. I was struck by the superb acting on both fronts, especially from Yokohama Ryusei.

I found many of the other characters likable, if somewhat, cartoonish. But then again, this is a drama based on a manga and being a Japanese drama, has that quirkiness to it. There are many memorable and witty lines, with lessons to be learned from both adults and students alike. All in all, a great watch. Don't be put off by the premise and give it a try!

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The rating of this drama will probably depends of the nationality and age of the viewer and not the plot itself.

This drama was funny, exciting and got emotional a lot deeper in the story line, but it was well plotted, realistic when it comes to how studying works (not like other dramas where the not so bright child suddenly becomes an ace) and regarding love. You won't know who to ship with Harumi.
Firstly I was like "NO, this isn't right" with where the plot was heading, but understanding another ones feeling, well that is indeed something totally else.
Phrases I loved from this drama:
"Isn't love enough?"
"the brain doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'NO'
and "I'm old enough to make my own choices"

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Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi immediately struck a cord with me. It resonated with me. Harumi Junko is a quirky adult. A woman burnt out on the track of her current life and "failing" by everyone else's standards. The magic is that she begins to wake up. That other people see her in a different light. Such as the three men who wind up being her harem. (Had to toss that in reverse harem joke really helped pull me in to this drama! The screen caps of that and Yuri's hair was everything!) Her biggest wake up is seeing a student at the cram school being scolded and ridiculed by his father, enter Yuri. Yuri the fearless pink haired boy who can see the benefits of being a weird adult and making your own goals to follow.

Weird adult.

That is the main theme of this drama. In fact, it's the main theme behind love, happiness, and not falling prey to just being normal. This all led to a very quirky and fun drama. For a bit.

I was addicted by HKwSHnYH's quirkiness. The amazing chemistry of Harumi and Yuri. Not to mention the awesome Yamashita, the bad boy turned teacher! Man that man had swagger! *shivers* Masashi (yes a cousin it's normal in Japan and actually many countries) was a lovable lead who was an annoying doormat who eventual kind of won you over. Characters actually had real relationships! Such as Harumi and Miwa! Miwa is Harumi's best friend. A bold and strong woman who loves Harumi and supports her no matter what. I how how she just wanted to wake Harumi up and help her find love. Because Miwa is a weird adult! In fact, Miwa was my favorite character and also had the best romance of the entire show! Which I will not spoil, but I will say Miwa's romance was my everything at the end. Because I had become so involved, and because Harumi's romance took a turn for the boring.

The thing to remember is that this story evolves around a woman who spent her whole youth studying. Then she gets a job as a cram school teacher and spends her whole adult life studying. Which is fine, that's her thing and joy! For a while you can feel her love growing back for it and you can't help but feel excited with her. There's a fine line with that type of material. The first hint was in episode 5 when the studying aspects took over. Then episode 6 and 7 were such wonderful episodes. Sadly after that HKwSHnYH's burned out. Focusing too much on studying and not balancing out the real story. Losing all the hot romance between Yuri and Harumi. It broke my heart. Because this is what the drama was supposed to be about! It can be argued that HEA ended on a happy note, but it was waste to. Because after being deprived of the fire of Yuri and Harumi's romance I wanted to see glimpses of them as weird adult together. Instead the writing takes pains to ruin that. (My review of episode 10 really delves into it.)

Maybe the writers thought they couldn't keep things innocent if they kept it up? I don't know. The things that made HKwSHnYH so wonderful and joyful got lost. They drug out heavy ideas and stories. Such as the tension behind Harumi and her mother, only to waste time and then rush the resolution any way.

Harumi is the most willful oblivious person I've watched in a drama in a long while. Which soon bogs down the last episodes and leads to a rushed and disappointing last episode. Yes, I got a HEA! With an amazing confession and proposal by Harumi. The fire I had grown to love. Not the stupid actions and fears she has in how she handled many other parts of the final episode.

The music of HKwSHnYH is really fun and fits well. The actors do a wonderful job! I mean it! The way they play off each other is wonderful. Especially since they're a quirky group of weird adults. Props need to be given to the actors of Yuri and Yamashita. Not only were they bringing their A game in the pursuit of Harumi, when allowed, they played off each other in such amazing ways. Honestly their scenes together were my favorite. This was comedic timing and reactions at it's best here.

The first 7 episodes were such fun. I can't regret that! I enjoyed myself so much and had a joyful smile on my face during that time. Sure the writers lost their way and the fire of Yuri/Harumi, but despite all that it was a satisfying enough ending. I'm greedy and I loath it when I'm denied what could have been a truly A-mazing drama. I realized that I had wanted to see the passion continue with Yuri and Harumi, duh. Things were rushed wrong and then not rushed right to show us glimpses of Yuri and Harumi as weird adult couple. I did get a wonderful side couple that made me happy, and technically another one. The HEA did bring back the Harumi that made me, and our three male love interests, love her so much. It was one heck of a HEA scene to make up for the whimper that Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi sadly went out on.

Also, I will never regret this drama for Yuri's hair. Who knew pink hair could be so sexy! Every lighting and scene was magic just to see him rocking it. Bravo. Bravo.

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Why is Japan so obsessed with student-teacher relationships? I get it that they view everything differently compared to the rest of the world like age in relationships, etc. but the amount of cliched and generic student-teacher Kdramas is almost endless and this one is no different. I don't even know why they bothered making a reverse harem outta this when the other two love interests are nothing more than side characters and the main love interest AKA the student gets the most of the screen time. Hell, the very plot is Junko teaching this kid so why bother making it a reverse harem at all when its obvious that the student's gonna get the girl aka teacher. Not to mention the dramatic cliches there are in this show like the girl falling down the stairs and the guy catching her. If you want your typical cliche student-teacher Jdrama, then this for you but if that sorta thing is not your cup of tea, then might I recommend you to not watch this. I was actually shipping her cousin with Junko who was in love with her for 20 years and was kinda pathetic about it to the point that you felt sorry for him despite his success in life. But as cliche as ever, the childhood friend never gets the girl in both anime and Jdramas apparently. The other two love interests other than the student were actually part of her childhood which make them another victim of the childhood friend rejection trope. Either way, I dropped it after episode 3 when I realized how plain and obvious it was that the student was gonna end up with the teacher due to the other two love interests barely getting any screen time at all. I mean, if you're gonna have a reverse harem, at least put some character development in the love interests instead of just pushing the main couple. Isn't the point of a harem to keep the viewer guessing who the protagonist is gonna end up with? Well, this show totally fails in that aspect!

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A Reverse Harem packed with study tips!

There are two ways to look at this show, one, it is a reverse harem story, with a female protagonist who is so dumb at relationships that you might feel the need to break the fourth wall and flick her head and two, it is such a motivating show filled with study tips and quotes, that you might wanna drop everything and start studying or working towards your dream. And I was very much fascinated by the latter part that I graciously ignored the former aspect, howsoever, the cliched and outlandish romance of a teacher and student. Although she waits till he joins Todai, it was just too unrealistic for me. I might wanna rewatch this again for the numerous motivating quotes.
I really loved the "Happy Birthday" by Back Number which depicts the sadness and yearning of the Male lead.
Overall, it is a very enjoyable show given that I haven't found the substitute jdrama which gives so much motivation to excel in life.

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List of Favourite quotes
1. What are you going to do if you can focus only when you’re comfortable? A human brain can’t understand the word “no”.
2. Life being hard is not the same as being unhappy. You both worked hard in your own way. There’s no point in comparing like that.
3. People who’ve worked hard in sports, people who’ve studied hard, people who worked hard finding their purpose in life, people who’ve worked hard to make their parents proud, and people who’ve worked hard to overcome loneliness. Everyone takes the same exam and your result determines your path. That’s what makes it an exam. There are no excuses.
4. Raising your score is like going on a diet. You don’t just raise it a little bit at a time. If you reinforce your foundations and keep practising, you’ll see a drastic change one day. It’ll come even more drastically if you haven’t studied much before so look forward to it!
5. This world isn’t always filled with good people, but if you keep trying, I promise you’ll always find people who will become your allies.
6. But regardless of work or something else, as long as you’re striving to reach the top, you’ll always have to make tough decisions.
7. Your dream will come true if you work hard. That’s not something I want to lie about. Everyone is working just as hard but only a fixed number of students can pass.

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I admit, the first time I watched it, it was super cute and I was in a romantic mood, and it just seemed so enticing.

But guess what, people, there's still the insane craziness of a high schooler falling in love with his tutor who is FOURTEEN YEARS older than him. Only in fiction would this ever be remotely thought of as okay. In real life, it's not okay, will never be okay, and shouldn't be okay. If he was 24 and she was 38, yes, probably, because at least then he's an adult. But he's barely 16 when they meet. It doesn't matter that Junko is the most clueless female lead on the planet. It means I don't hate her, but it doesn't make it okay.

And I wholeheartedly disagree with folks who want to pretend this is just a drama for entertainment purposes. Entertainment shapes our thinking and before you know it, we've compromised. So no, despite the cuteness of the drama and the actors, this drama is not okay. It's helping to spread the lies that relationships between students and teachers might be fine under certain circumstances. Which means it's actually lowering the expectation of child protection.

In a real-life circumstances, Junko and Yamashita would have been together because they're the only actual LOGICAL match. And he would be so damn easy to fall in love with for practically any woman. She wouldn't have been such a nitwit, and she would have caught on to Yuri's feelings long before and set him straight or found him another tutor. But nope, we're in dramaland which means reality can sometimes take a break at the door, like in this instance.

I wanted to keep loving this drama, but I can't. Which depresses me slightly, but is also freeing in that I can now discern what I will accept and won't in dramaland based on my own moral center.

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