Aww look hes so embarrassed!
I decided to give this one a try, and knew that when it got too bad, it would be done for me. However, I ended up finishing both seasons [24 episodes total]. That alone should say something.
Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi was originally a manga and made into an anime last year. The storyline follows three main "couples" that all happen to be involved somehow with Marukawa Publishing. If that name sounds familiar to you, it's because it was the same company in Junjou Romantica - this anime is actually a spin off of it. Junjou Romantica is actually one of the animes that I couldn't finish, so this wasn't something that stood out to me right away.
I will admit that I was a little confused by the different storylines at first, and had to actually make a chart to keep track. This way I could make notes about the specific story line, instead of each episode. I have never watched soap operas, but I imagine that people who do might experience the same problem. So I am going to go about this couple by couple after the jump. It's easy to talk about these couples separately because only once do stories actually overlap.
SHOUTA KISA'S STORY
So, first up I will talk about my favorite couple. They are my favorite because although I enjoy angst, I don't like stupid angst, and I don't like stupid drama. So this one had the least amount.
See? Easy peasy. Well, Kisa is easy...*snort*
The Kisa/Yukina relationship is really adorable - even though things move super fast [from hardly talking to I LOVE YOU], there isn't a lot of force going on. They meet in a bookstore, where Kisa has been watching Yukina under the guise of checking on the manga he is an editor for. Kisa is of course insecure because Yukina is so much younger than him, and there is some drama surrounding his insecurities, but these are all things that I feel could be normal for any new relationship. It's a shame that their story isn't focused on so much, though, since they were my favorite.
Best line from my notes for this couple: "OMG WHAT IS THIS NO WHY"
CHIAKI YOSHINO'S STORY
Next we have the Chiaki triangle. This one was my least favorite storyline.
I have lots of capslocks in my notes for this story line. See, I said I didn't like dumb drama. And I felt like this was justdumb. Or Chiaki is dumb. However is best to phrase it.
See? Least favorite?
Both Hatori [or Tori] and Yuu have feelings for Chiaki, and so of course are both constantly vying for his attention. They have both felt this way since high school, but have tolerated each other because they wanted to be around Chiaki. It's completely obvious that Chiaki leans towards Tori, but also doesn't want to lose Yuu from his life, and he just can't seem to understand that sometimes "that isn't possible." I have to say that I liked Yuu, though he was a jerk sometimes. But hey, it's understandable he was so frustrated when Chiaki was sometimes practically throwing himself at him unintentionallywhile practically in a relationship with Tori. This whole triangle is like watching a bad after school special, just with more heavy petting. It is eventually resolved, but holy crap was it a crazy train to get to the end. I do have to say though that it was still entertaining, as things like "Oh shit no he didn't say that" escaped me several times, earning a smirk from my husband.
Favorite line from my notes: "WTF is your problem chiaki"
In second place: "shit tori is going to walk in omg he is going to walk in"
RITSU ONODERA'S STORY
So the actual full name of this series as a manga is "Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi: Onodera Ritsu no Baai "[The World's Greatest First Love: Onodera Ritsu's Affair]. So I guess it's good that this wasn't my least favorite storyline, since it is considered the main one and we see Ristu the most.
The start of this relationship began back in high school for Ritsu and Takano. They were actually together, each other's first love [hence the title of the show, potentially?], but then there was a misunderstanding and the two broke up. Years later they both end up in Marukawa Publishing, and Takano recognizes Ritsu and immediately wants to be with him again.
"Of course" it isn't that simple though, since Ritsu isn't ready to just jump right back into anything with Takano. Or at least that's what he says, but then he sleeps with him, but then he says he doesn't care about Takano, and then "this is why I can't handle these shows sometimes."
But wait, who are the other people in this chart? Ah yes, there are more reasons why it isn't so simple.
An is actually Ritsu's betrothed. He doesn't acknowledge that it is legit, but she does, and so does his family. So that's problem number one that comes up.
Problem number two is Takafumi. After high school, Takano fell into a dark place because of a lot of personal problems, and Takafumi was there for him, physically and mentally. Due to this, he is very protective of Takano, and blames Ritsu as being part of the reason Takano was ever in that dark place.
Throughout the two seasons there is a lot of touching, kissing, fighting, Ritsu believing it's all fake, etc. All typical BL characteristics. But I do feel like it was less forceful than others I have seen. In the end, he does have feelings for Takano - he just seems to have a hard time really being able to admit that he is able to fall in love again since he had vowed never to do so again. The viewer doesn't get to see how it fell apart in this show, but it apparently is shown in Takano Masamune no Baai - there it's all from Takano's perspective on their romantic development.
Also, I named this chart "Boys are dumb" because at one point I actually typed out ONODERA YOU ARE DUMB in my notes. So, it's fitting.
All in all, I was entertained by this show, despite some of the cliches and stereotypes -I mean, do you see the square jaws on the seme-type characters? I would recommend this if you enjoy other BL anime and manga, but be prepared for a a rotation of plots and sometimes many episodes without seeing specific characters.
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Reference: mark-rayan-pua.blogspot.com
