If you want to read my review of First Love, read this post. In ファーストラブ, Yuki Makabe is a psychologist who tries to understand why a newsreader, Kanna Hijiriyama, murdered her father in such a brutal way and refuses to reveal the reason.
Kanna Hijiriyama (Kyoko Yoshine) stabbed her father to death. The victim was a famous painter and lecturer at the Kanto University of the Arts.
“Discover my motives for yourself.”
Yuki Makabe (Keiko Kitagawa) wanted to change society’s simplistic view of personality disorders. Therefore, she decides to write a book about Kanna.
“She is treated completely like a psychopath. We still don’t even know what happened.”
By coincidence, Kanna was a reader of Yuki’s books. Therefore, she agreed to be interviewed. What Yuki didn’t expect was that the lawyer responsible for the case was her brother-in-law, Kasho Anno (Tomoya Nakamura), with whom she shared a love story before marrying his brother, Gamon Makabe.
First Love: japanese movie review
Kasho, as defense lawyer, had already visited Kanna and, in a vain attempt to protect Yuki, he tried to avoid contact between the two.
“You’ll get hurt if you mess with her.”
Kanna had a very difficult mind to understand. She was unpredictable, presumptuous, humble, lively, kind and these facets changed quickly.
“Sensei, please make me a person with a proper sense of guilt.”
Yuki and Kasho would have to work together to understand the trauma and abuse that Kanna suffered in the past. Only then would they be able to deal with such an explosive temper and unravel what was going on in her mind.
“What exactly was the situation that made her panic?”
The two began interviewing people connected to Kanna’s past, ex-boyfriends and her own mother. The versions always differed and, little by little, the stories began to mess with Yuki’s mind.
As Kasho and Yuki discovered the horrible things Kanna’s father subjected his own daughter to, they remembered the horrible things Yuki’s parents did.
“Yuki, you must know how she feels. She’s a lot like you in some ways.”
At the same time that she discovered terrible things about Kanna and remembered her own past, Yuki awakened another part of her memory that had been dormant: her first love, Kasho, her current brother-in-law.
First Love movie review: hikikomori
Yuki is a renowned psychologist who has just released a book about Hikikomori children and she was doing a publicity tour for her book.
Hikikomori is a Japanese term that is used to describe people who are secluded for more than 6 months in their homes or even in their rooms, isolated from the world, except for their family.
Japanese experts say hikikomori is a mental disorder that causes severe social isolation. As if it were an endless adolescence. This social withdrawal can last for years.
Why you should watch First Love
I won’t leave First Love ending explained or a download link here, but if you follow this blog about Japanese movies, you know that I’m a fan of this topic. So, it’s very easy to recommend it to you.
Also, I think Keiko Kitagawa has one of the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen and the soundtrack is really cool. Especially, the song Mukishitsu (無機質).
First Love Trailer
I really feel that you will like this one. So I decided to do this Fāsuto Rabu review. Go ahead, immerse yourself in the story, the environment and the soundtrack.
And come back later to tell me what you think in the comments. This Japanese movie is based on a novel “Fāsuto Rabu” written by Rio Shimamoto, which won the 159th Naoki Prize.
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