Eugene Seoh

Wonderfully emotional show. The cinematography presents like a beautiful dramatic anime focusing at times on the subtleties of the minute uncontrollable actions that we often cannot perceive in real time as well as the static shots that really highlight the motion that surrounds the background. I don't know how but from the first episode I could feel the weight and drama of the story. I could sense the longing and desperation without knowing the backgrounds of the characters fully. It was just genuine emotion from the onset. My favorite thing about the show is that we have ordinary characters with simple mundane lives. It isn't some wildly fantastical tale of immeasurable proportions but a simple timeless tale of normal, boring people. But the story-telling that is woven is just instantly a classic. The story and plot line itself have an amazing cadence and an ebb and flow that is captured and written so seamlessly that it draws you in with a sense of frustration, anxiety, hope, lust, and an allure that I cannot emphasize enough in words with just how mesmerizing it actually is. It's just brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant with how it tugs at your heart strings. Brilliant with how it draws you in and pushes you away and then pulls you back in again. First Love is one of my all time favorite songs by Hikaru Utada, as I'm sure it is for many others. There is a reason she is Japan's all time greatest artist and in large part because of this one singular song. This drama embodies the essence and nostalgic quality of this song so much so that I feel like these characters and story could and should be mine. It is a beautiful rendition of what the title of the show tries to embody. There is a depth and beauty to the show itself, but I don't think it could have been acted out better than it was. I was in tears from the moment I started watching because of how real the subject matter, the message, the acting, the directing, cinematography, and music were all put together into an amazing orchestra of brilliance. There was so much thought and precision it feels like in crafting this story. The nuanced use and play of words, the poetry, really just everything. Cannot praise this anymore.