First Love: Hatsukoi (JDrama) (2022)

Profile:
Drama: First Love (First Love 初恋)
Network: Netflix
Episodes: 9
Release Date: November 24, 2022
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot: They were each other’s first loves, but a tragedy broke them apart. Years later, they meet again as adults.

Main Cast:
Takeru Satoh / Taisei Kido – Harumichi Namiki
Hikari Mitsushima / Rikako Yagi – Yae Noguchi

Review:
Wonderful leads. I love the high school version – they were full of love and passion and energy. You will just think where did it all go wrong?

Using amnesia as a plot device to keep them apart for years. They had their first major fight but why is it so shocking as to cause severe amnesia? And her friends and her MOM did nothing to tell her that she has a boyfriend!!! The mom even told Namiki to go away and she burned all his letters.

Her mom was selfish, wanting her to marry the rich doctor and look what happened to her! She had to drop out of school, get married young and have a kid, get insulted and divorced at a young age. And lonely for the next 20 years.

The adult version were great too but they were both broken and sad. Can you imagine if the mom didn’t keep them apart, they could have fallen in love all over again when they were still in their 20s? Because it’s fate.

I also liked the small bonding between Namiki and Yae’s son, even when they didn’t know who they were.

I realized that Tsunemi was also a wonderful person, when we finally get to see how they first met. It’s just too bad Namiki never got over Yae, and she will never be able to get his heart.

Eps 8 and 9 had me crying so hard, tears won’t stop falling.

I also loved the ending. Together, their dreams finally came true!! 🥰

It was a little confusing that the timelines kept jumping from past to present.

Rating: 8.5/10

Love is Blind Japan (2022)

Profile:
Show Name: Love is Blind: Japan
Producer: Netflix
Date Released: February 8, 2022
No. of Episodes: 11
Country: Japan

Plot: This is a dating reality TV show where a group of men and women tries to find their future partners for marriage. Each contestant goes on pod dates without seeing each other. If both decides they like each other, the guy proposes and the girl accepts, and they get engaged. The engaged couple then lives together for 3 weeks and decide if they want to push through with the wedding or not in the final episode.

Review:
I’m so happy my 2 favorite couples from the pods actually made it to the end!!! I thought they both had chemistry and something special from the start and I was right!

Ryotaru and Motomi were so cute together. When I saw Ryotaru dye his hair black to meet her parents, I also felt his sincerity. No wonder Motomi’s strict father accepted him. And funny that three months later, Motomi’s hair was blonde too and she had another color change later. Nice to have a hairstylist husband!

I loved Midori and Wataru out of all the couples. They were so similar and looked so good together. Up til the end i was worried that Midori was going to say no! Good thing she said yes! I think Wataru will take care of her and Lupin.

I also liked Mori, too bad he wasnt able to handle Minami who was a little different and quirky. I also think Minami should not be afraid to show her true self but she also needs to learn to listen and change when needed.

The rest of the couples looked like they really weren’t going to make it because they were all too different. They probably just got caught up in the pods and pressured to choose.

I think judging a person not by their looks is a good thing but a lot of them also decided with their hearts in the pods and not using their heads.

Like accepting a proposal from a 23 yo because he said he wants a family then getting disappointed when he said he’s not ready. She should have taken age into account and not just because he said all the right things.

Another guy also lied to the girl to make him seem better than he really is.

The older guy (i was even rooting for him at the start) who expected too much from the younger girl and wasnt very tolerating. Even the way he speaks during the interviews were harsh and put all the blame on the girl. I thought the girl had relationship issues due to her trauma and he didnt understand her. So im glad they didnt marry. I like her and hope she finds her partner too.

Looking forward to season 2!

Rating: 8.5/10