Kieta Hatsukoi (2021)

Loved it

Guys, what can I say? I loved this show! I had it on my Viki Watchlist for months, but never watched it, because the plot sounded a bit cheesy and I’m generally not a huge fan of stories, that are based on misunderstandings. But when I saw all the great reviews on here, I gave it a shot and didn’t regret it for one second.

The story is nothing groundbreaking. But it’s a well written and beautifully developed tale about love and friendship with loads of funny moments. (When Cinderella-Aioki threw that shoe down, I giggled like an idiot.)

The characters are properly fleshed-out, realistic characters, that are not without flaws, but are respectful, easily likeable, and just keep growing on you. I have such a soft spot for Aioki, who is goofy and sometimes silly, but also so incredibly kind and just a great guy. Seeing him develop feelings for Ida, without tormenting himself because he was falling for a guy, was such a breath of fresh air and really warmed my heart. Ida on the other hand is such a serious character, but nothing but respectful towards Aioki and his feelings and we can practically see how Aioki worms his way into his heart. I loved how Idas complete face changed whenever Aioki made him smile.
And the two other main characters Hashimoto and Aida are brilliant too.
How often are female characters made to be the villains in Bl series - we get none of that BS here. Hashimoto is the kind of girl everybody would love to have as their best friend.
And Aida is that kind of buddy who is slightly clueless and can be a tad insensitive but is willing to learn and there for you when it counts.
I loved them all, including the side characters and had such a joy following the story episode for episode that I will definitely be watching this again.

There is not a lot of skinship, but it just works the way it is and I didn’t find myself missing anything.
I know this is based on a popular series of mangas and there are more stories that could be told, so I’m really hoping we will see more of this series in the future. Loved it!

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Pure Innocence... Experiencing Firsts and How-tos of Love together~! ♡

As Expected of Japanese way of story telling. It was silly, weird and hilarious (in a positive way) all at the same time. They've always had this unique spark and mood of their own that only them can execute and showcase perfectly.

Hmm, how do I say it... Probably a breath of nice and fresh air after being exposed to heavy plotted dramas for such a long time. This drama made me feel awkward & shy because of Aoki's silliness while feeling warm & inspired towards Ida's way of accepting and understanding things even when it's supposedly 'weird' in generals point of view.

A Production who truly invested so much effort and time to showcase and convey how 2 guys will react to their first love considering it to be rather unusual and uncommon. It was like an introduction to trial and error of love and affection.

Definitely a 'Must Watch'~!! A drama that will make you feel all the butterflies roaming all around your system over and over again.

Story - 10, Although the drama was short but it was able to showcase the proper ways of how to deal and express ones intention and affection towards another in a nice and cool manner. More so, this drama made me feel inspired and enthusiastic towards love again.

Acting/Cast - 10, Awesome set of Actors/Actresses. The one who stood out the most to me is probably Michieda Shunsuke. This guy is full of emotion and expression that I wonder how the hell does he managed to show all of them in split-seconds. Would also like to commend Meguro Ren, Fukumoto Riko and Suzuki Jin for making the Main Cast lively and complete. All of them added their own color and spice to this drama.

Music - 10, I so love all of the songs but unfortunately Johnny's still sucks in putting their songs on mainstream platforms. I was still mad on how It's not available on Spotify. Like, come on! It's 2022. I've suffered so much downloading songs before with JUMP & Kisumai. Do I have to do it all over again?

Rewatch Value - 10, Instead of saying that I would never be tired of watching this drama over again. It was more of a precious memory I would love to watch again whenever I feel demotivated and disheartened towards love. It has that 'Cheer Up' vibe you'll want to watch just incase you suffer from a heartbreak or so.

Overall - 10, It was a precious and delicate story I would love to treasure for a long time. I would love to recommend this to people who's feeling demotivated because of love and also suffering from fear of confessing and showing their affection towards their loved ones.

IF you find my reviews helpful please let me know.

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Fluffy and Invigorating.

I used to watch this underneath my blanket as I did not want anyone to think that I'd gone insane by seeing my demonic grin.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for some quick and fluffy drama with angelic and innocent characters.

With a meagre 22 minutes, Kieta Hatsukoi delivers a fulfilling tale of friendship, romance and comedy that was perfect to ease my tensions and bring a smile to my face. I can't remember a single episode where I didn't stop grinning. It was a form of relief after a week's worth of classes and provided me comfort while I was away from home.

***A small caveat: this drama is really good if you are interested in Character Analysis. The story goes around in circles without major developments, which is, frankly, frustrating. The final two episodes were the weakest, in my opinion.

☆ In the traditional way of Japanese Manga, the story begins with a very diminutive incident of an eraser being borrowed by Aoki Sota, who had a crush on his deskmate Hashimoto-san. Unfortunately, this silly eraser had the name of another student, "Ida". When the eraser takes a tumble to the floor, Ida sees his name on it and Aoki lies about it to protect Hashimoto-san's feelings. And thus begins a tale of misunderstandings and lies. Worse, Aoki is terrified after he finds himself falling for Ida.

☆ Pretty sure that such kids and circumstances might exist only in fictional high schools. When I was in highschool, half of my classmates were raccoons. This drama has the purest, angel-like characters whom I couldn't help but love.
Aoki was a really chaotic character, but I related to his reactions a lot. Hashimoto-san, who has her own parallel storyline, is never once a nuisance, but was truly kind and empathetic about everything.
A very silly premise to begin with, but the very essence of the story goes far more deeper than we see.

There was nothing over the top or expensive about the drama's production, which is plain and simple. But, the convincing performances of the actors, directing and the very humble story pulled me in. There might be a million stories out there that follow the exact same plot, but what makes them stand out is their execution, which was neat and precise.

☆ Now… the very backbone of Kieta Hatsukoi lies in the slow, yet steady character and relationship development. It's personally my first time seeing a character such as Ida Kosuke. He was truly kind and thoughtful, but was unflinchingly veracious. I related to his feeling of being unable to understand the concept of dating or "liking" somebody. There were often times I wondered how things would work out, and Ida literally spelled out what I couldn't express in words. His concern for his friends and classmates, his willingness to give the unknown a try and his care for Aoki were truly heartwarming to watch.

Aoki was much more self aware than Ida, focussing on minute troubles and attempting to be empathetic towards everyone. He was dramatic, going as far as getting inside a plastic trash bag and hiding himself under his hood. Scenes adapted right from the manga came to life, thanks to the immaculate portrayal of the chaotic character by Michida Shunsuke.
I reflected a lot when it came to Aoki, too. He was deeply connected to his emotions and learnt from his friends. His over the top antics and reactions added more humour and liveliness.
While Aoki was more honest and careful , he wasn't reticent when it came to confronting his own doubts about his relationship.

Hashimoto-san and Akkun, despite being secondary characters, are quite pivotal for the flow of the story. Their relationship with the leads and their own storylines, combined with their individual personalities inserted more flavour to it. And a shoutout for Ida's childhood friends and volleyball team, who, albeit not having much screen time, managed to show the depth of their friendship.

☆ The BGM, staying true to the comical genre of the drama, was often funny. There were only two songs featured and I have had them on repeat since the first time I heard them. Both Aoki and Ida belong to Idol Groups, Naniwa Danshi and Snowmen. Coincidentally, despite not being released exclusively for the drama, the lyrics were apt for the plot.

Overall, a really soft drama to enjoy and obsess over.

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Finished watching the last episode of Kieta Hatsukoi aka. My Love Mix-Up today. This series started off very strong for me, with great casting and a good story set-up. However the ending was kinda anticlimactic for me and a bit disappointing.

Story: Let’s talk about the story. The relationship between the two leads start off as a mix-up when Ida sees his name on an eraser that belongs to a student named Aoki who sits behind him in class. The eraser actually belongs to the girl named Hashimoto but Ida believes Aoki has a thing for him because of the eraser. This mix-up starts a romance between the two but not really. It felt like the two leads were never really lovers but just good friends. I couldn’t feel that connection between them that lovers should have. I know this was more of coming of age thingy but even when they were confessing their love or asking each other out on dates, it felt like they were just asking a good buddy where they would eat or what they were gonna do to kill time. Like most Chinese bromance series, My Love Mix-Up didn’t have that “intimate moment” that actual BLs usually do. So basically I’d categorize this series as a bromance series and not a BL. Cherry Magic, Japan’s another hit BL also didn’t have any kissing scenes between the two leads but somehow they made it clear that it was a BL series and not just another bromance trap. So I give the story 6/10

Acting/Cast: I loved the cast and their acting was great. The leads and the support characters were 10/10 in the looks department and well as the acting. It was a pleasure just to look at the cast even though the story had a fallout by the end.

Music: The series had good music too. The songs “Secret Touch” and “My First Love” are very catchy and fitting for the series. It’s also cool that Meguro Ren who played Ida was singing the song “Secret Touch” with his band and Michieda Shinsuke who plays Aoki, sang “My First Love” with his group. So 8/10 for the music.

Rewatch Value: Unfortunately, I would not be watching this series again. It wasn’t a bad series and I can tell that it’s very popular in the BL community at the moment. However the level of intimacy that I expect in a BL was not present in this one. 5/10 for rewatch value.

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama "Kieta Hatsukoi" is a story of a series of misunderstandings.

The drama starts on a cute note and continues that lighthearted, sweet atmosphere till the very ending. The main lead is adorable, too boot, with plenty of lovely moments that he executed brilliantly. The love story was equally adorable and the main couple had great dynamics, which helped a lot. The second couple was enjoyable too, but had a messy process. And, admirably, the first part of the drama was better than the second one, which was pleasing, yes, but started to slow things down a little.

Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Probabily one of the best drama i've ever seen

I literally have nothing bad to say about this drama, it's literally perfect. The story it's cute and it goes smooth for the whole drama, the characters are characterized really well and they have a lot of development during the series, they're probabily one of the best and most realistic and healtiest couple i've ever seen, the bisexual rappresentation of the protagonist is on point, it really shows both a crush for a girl and a man without stereotype none of it. The slowburn it's awesome, and the problems and fights are super realistic for teen like them. I personally love Aoki cause he acts exaclty like me, in literally evrything i watched in the drama, it was like watching in a mirror. Best jdrama i've ever watched so far and in my top3 dramas i've ever seen in general, i hope more people give it a try, cause it's totally worth it and i really hope for a second season.

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Japanese Bl's have done it again!!!!

The true definition of wholesome!! A must watch if you want something simple and heart warming. Perfectly executed. The drama isn't overtly focused on sexual tension and skinship in the way that most BL's are and yet it's so satisfying to watch. The story is really well written and it tackles first love and the issues of sexuality in a really nice and subtle way.

Dont miss out of this great drama get in and watch as soon as possible. A lot of people have compared it to Cherry Magic and I can totally see why everyone would make that connection. It's got the same relaxing atmosphere and focus on emotions. I predict it might be the same in that there won't be a kiss but it will still be a drama that everyone will rewatch loads of times.

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At first, I really liked this drama. There's space for cute dramas just like there's space for realism and/or angst. One isn't better than the other, it really depends on what mood you're in. So...

Like I said, at first, I really liked it. But the longer it went, the less I understood Aoki and by the end, he really got on my nerves. IMHO, Ida hat the patience of a saint. I mean, after one date, Aoki already wanted a love declaration but at the same time, he wanted Ida to lie to his friends about dating him. He wanted to hear Ida say that he loved him, but when Ida did, Aoki told him not to say it out loud like that because it was embarrassing. It felt like Aoki truly didn't know what he wanted and it was no wonder that Ida was so confused. It was really irritating. Aoki could be very kind and selfless but also a complete idiot and the latter was far more prevalent in the second half.

Overall, it wasn't a bad series but not really something memorable.

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Doesn't need a kissing scene to make a romantic story

The funny misunderstandings led to a light yet romantic relationship. The contrast between the main characters' personality really mixed up well into a harmonious chemistry. It just shows how exemplary the writer who polished the storyline. Majority of the scenes is humorous which I am proudly like about this series. Being a 10-episode series with more than 20 minutes in length each is also one of the highlights. I would definitely be re-watching this when I need to de-stress.

A must-watch for watchers who wants to laugh and have a good time.

(PS: Stay alert to the funny Aoki-Hashimoto duo! Hahaha)

EDIT: I re-watched it and now it deserves an upgrade from 8.5 to 9.

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