Hatsukoi (2022)

A contemporary take on 90s melodramas that doesn't quite capture what made the classics great

Before someone complains to me that I should be judging the drama on it’s own merits rather than comparing it to 90s melodramas … it’s clear that this drama was attempting to be a 90s-style melodrama; an updated version of course, but the fact that it was inspired by Utada Hikaru’s “First Love” is enough to indicate what the main influence was, even without all the other elements adapted from the genre (major plot lines, emphasis on the idea of fate, etc.). This is also why I think it's misguided to criticize this drama for having a cliché story; that's literally the point. Personally, I feel it was only partially successful in making a contemporary version of the classic genre.

I have to say that I was hoping this would feel a bit more like 90s melodrama than it did. It does have the plot of a 90s or early 00s melodrama (you have to wait until the end of episode 3 for the melodrama to kick in), but the tone and atmosphere of the drama was a more contemporary take on the classic melancholy that was a bit too mellow for my taste. I have really enjoyed some dramas with very mellow atmospheres, but a melodrama really ought to have more painful angst. It was also strangely lacking in dramatic scenes … and I don’t mean that I needed hair-pulling or anything like that, but everyone just seemed so calm all the time. I think they were probably trying to update the genre by giving it more understated stylings … I’m not sure it entirely succeeded. I definitely believe it’s possible to convey a rollercoaster of emotions with subtlety, but in this drama I sometimes felt that I was on a kiddiecoaster instead.

The one aspect of the drama that 100% worked for me was the storyline portrayed by the younger versions of the leads. The youthful romance was so cute and charming, and I really enjoyed the dynamic between the younger actors (Yagi Rikako, Kido Taisei). Those parts were also set in the late 90s and early 00s, which means they had the most classic feel. But this is not to say that I think the contemporary setting was the biggest problem with the storyline of the adult characters; the more recent storylines seemed slightly bland or a little lacking in depth at times. I don’t think this was the fault of the actors (Mitsushima Hikari and Satoh Takeru were good) as much as the writing (Kanchiku Yuri). We probably needed more interactions and relationship development between the older versions of the leads, because there’s only so much you can rely on a backstory played by different actors, especially when that backstory happened 20 years ago and the people concerned have changed drastically in that time. Although there were a few scenes that did really work for me, more often than not I felt the 2018 storyline had little impact (the last couple episodes in particular were pretty underwhelming; rather than a heart-wrenching climax, it was just … meh). The amount of focus the story placed on the son’s romance with the dancer girl didn't help either. Although I think this drama had quite even pacing, there were times when it felt slow (and this was always in parts with the older actors), because I wasn’t equally invested in all aspects.

I’ve seen a few complaints about how the flashbacks were done, but personally I think the nonlinear storytelling was executed quite well. It managed to reveal the past gradually over the course of the nine episodes without leaving the viewer feeling as if they’re missing necessary background information that had not yet been provided at any point. It also managed to draw some parallels between the past and present, so the flashbacks often seemed to have purpose beyond just dumping information on the viewer. Although they used more than two timelines, I never found it confusing.

Though this may be somewhat a matter of personal taste, I wish the soundtrack (Iwasaki Taisei) had used more classic ballads, either from the 90s and 00s or new songs written in that style. I think perhaps they avoided this so that Utada Hikaru’s “First Love” would stand out, but old dramas typically relied a lot on their music for their atmosphere, so using a soundtrack of predominantly more contemporary music took away from the classic feeling. This is not to say the music was bad, but I think there’s not much that can replace a poignant ballad if you’re looking for emotional impact, and emotional impact was often just the thing this drama was lacking. The way the music was edited into the drama was done very well, though.

The cinematography (Shinde Kazuma, Nakamura Junichi) was beautiful; almost certainly the most gorgeous cinematography I’ve seen in a J-drama.

Overall, this drama was well-made, and although I would have liked to see it bring out the classic atmosphere more, others might be happy that it leaned more towards the contemporary style. Emotional poignancy is the aspect that I really found to be missing. It was there at times, but not throughout. Unfortunately, some aspects of the story were rather lackluster, so despite certain moments that I loved, it didn't leave as lasting an impression as I think I think it had the potential to.

Content warning: There was a really random, out-of-nowhere sex scene (I think in episode 5?), and there was zero reason it needed to be as explicit as it was.

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