Kieta Hatsukoi Review

Also Known As:  消えた初恋, Vanishing My First Love, The First Love That Disappeared, Faded First Love, My Love Mix-Up!

Synopsis: A small incident involving an eraser, led four students into learning about love, and finding out who they are in love with.

Genre / Themes: Comedy, Romance, Drama, School

Country: Japan

Released Date: October 9, 2021

Note: This review contains some spoilers.

Review Start!

STORY

When I watched the opening scene of the first episode, I initially thought this was going to be a typical story about a girl and a guy fighting over one man. Fortunately, it wasn't like that, not at all.

It was more about modern teens, being open-minded, and accepting. You will see how our main couple -- Aoki and Ida are in love with each other, even though at first they never dreamt of their partner having the same gender as them.

And there are also their friends who even though have figured out what's going on, they didn't think of anything bad like bullying or ignoring them. In fact, they were totally understanding, and it's just really nice to see that's how they responded.

CAST

Shunsuke Michieda as Aoki Sota

First of all, he's very cute, more than 100%. Second, in terms of acting, I would like to commend his physical comedy skills. The one I liked a lot was him trying to hide from Ida in episode six. 

Ren Meguro as Ida Kosuke

For playing someone who doesn't know much about falling in love, I can say he did a good job. But... on their first date as a couple, he was out of character (lol). It's like he's totally enjoying his time with Shunsuke (kyaaaaa!), and he forgot about being Ida for a moment.

Riko Fukumoto as Mio Hashimoto

Her character Hashimoto has great chemistry with Aoki. Both of them can look adorable and funny at the same time. One thing I consider funny about her was every time she's not in a good mood. Yes, she might seem quite scary, but for some reason, she can be cute while being angry (lol).

Jin Suzuki as Hayato 'Akkun' Aida

He's the best friend that every gay/bi guy would want to have. After realizing the situation between Aoki and Ida, he was very apologetic, and I'm sure Aoki couldn't ask for a better buddy.

His relationship with Hashimoto also helped his character development. I can say he matured because of her.

Seiichi Tanabe as Masahiro Taniguchi

For me, the best supporting character in the series. His huge amount of wisdom has helped nurture the minds of the people around him.

WRITING

For the last episode... I had some issues with Aoki's personality, but I found out why he was like that in the end.

As an out person, I really didn't like how Aoki reacted when Ida told him that he confessed to his friends that they were a couple. Instead of jumping to conclusion that only negative things will happen once people knew about them, he should have asked first how his friends responded.

Instead, the only solution he thought of was to dissolve their relationship at once. Even if he thought about the well-being of Ida, or of them both, he should have fought for their love. Just like when he defended their love from Ryohei.

Another thing was if Aoki already knew that Ida's friends didn't mind them being a couple. Then why didn't he make up with Ida before he left for the practice match?

Instead of saying goodbye via text, he should have told him he's not worried anymore, and just simply make peace with him.

So, WHY?

I realized... it's because...

Aoki has a Tsundere persona!

Yep, that's it. They're both young, so it's totally fine if they still lack some wisdom. They have plenty of time to learn about each other, and how to deal with things, just like their teacher, Mr. Taniguchi.

And this was just an extra critique...

It's funny that they didn't seem to be bothered about the lights suddenly opening up. I mean, if Aoki was too worried about other people knowing about them, he should have noticed and maybe looked around to whoever was responsible for it.

Lastly... I really liked the writers made sure there were no dull moments in a scene. An example was in episode four (around 18:40):

After Aida held the hand of Hashimoto and said he'll apologize to Aoki. There's a guy on the left trying to hold the hand of the girl beside him, but, she rejected him (lol)!

TECHNICALITIES

There's no opening song/credits here, and I love it, haha! -- "Let's go straight to the good stuff."

The boy band Snow Man where Ren Meguro is a member sang the insert song Secret Touch. While, Naniwa Danshi where Shunsuke Michieda is a member, performed the ending song Ubu Love (Beginner Love).

Another important aspect that made this show marvelous was the cinematography! I love the lighting and distancing of the main subject/s in the scenes on this show. Almost every shot was well done.

WATCH OR SKIP?

VERDICT: Definitely a Watch! I've seen this show twice, and I still get the exact feeling when I first watched this. 

Notable Quotes

Ida: There's no reason to act as if your feelings never existed.

Hashimoto: There's nothing gross about falling in love with someone. You need to cherish that feeling.

Taniguchi: After doing this job for decades, you encounter lots of different students. They each have their own individual character. I think it's a teacher's job to watch over and protect that individuality.

Aoki: Once there was no going back, I finally understood. I honestly and truly did... love you.

Ida: What's wrong with not being like most people?

Aoki: You can't just look at people and sigh!

Ida: You say I look calm, but all I can think about lately is you.

Favorite Shots