Wow. I certainly did not expect the first episode of Hatsukoi to be this good. I came to this dorama not really enthused because affair doramas usually fizzle out cause nothing really happens at the end but found myself awed by the execution of the story.
Kumira Yoshino is Midori, a happily married speech therapist with a son who finds out that she has cancer. Her first love, Mishima (Ihara Tsuyoshi) is a doctor specialising in liver cancer and the only doctor in Japan able to operate on her. Hatsukoi takes its time building up the characters until Midori and Mishima meet. Midori and her husband Jun are happy but its not the so cheesy its too happy. *cough* Beautiful Rain *cough*
Mishima also has his issues. He was married to his mentor's daughter and then divorced her before moving to France. Mishima has come back to Japan in order to operate on his mentor. When Mishima finally meets Midori and realises who he is, she proclaims that she doesn't want him operating on her. Hhmm, something to look forward to.
What is interesting as well is that Jun doesn't feel like the throwaway husband who should not be married. In fact he comes across as a strong and sympathetic character. I hope that the writing will be able to stay strong. The scriptwriter is Nakazono Miho who wrote Call Centre no Koibito, OL Nippon, Star no Koi and my favourite, Yamato Nadeshiko. I've yet to watch Age 35 Koishikute which is sitting in my HDD.
The most impressive thing for me was the directing and acting. It looks like a Wowow dorama. Softer lighting unlike your usual jdoramas which have no darkness at all. Awesome music that rises and falls. It feels like I'm watching the first half of a pretty good movie. No idea who the director is but I'm pretty sure he/she is a movie director.
Hatsukoi also reminds me of Sekachuu with the high school flashbacks. Even if the rest of Hatsukoi turns pear shaped, ep 1 is still worth watching, kind of like the first episode of Shokuzai. Must contain my excitement and be prepare to be disappointed while hoping it turns out to be good.
This show benefits tremendously from adroitly interlaced flashback scenes that are more interesting to watch than the present scenes.
ReplyDeleteWith each flashback, the writer manages to peel a layer of mystery at the same time adding a dimension to the overall storyline.
I've watched up to ep 3 and this is a solidly screwed together show.
Akiramike, you're so dependable in your judgement. I just checked out ep 1 and it was very, very good. I probably wouldn't have watched it without your recommendation, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteyep same here. Cos of you, I checked it out and really liked the atmosphere and execution of this drama that feels like a cinematic experience! keep blogging for us!
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