‘First Love’: a lot of of a fling than a real romance

As Hollywood studios retain to plumb new depths sorting out pre-existing intellectual belongings to adapt, they could look to Japan’s growing subgenre of films and television shows primarily based wholly on songs. There’s been an everyday drip of them over the previous couple of years, spinning yarns from common hits by manner of artists from Akiko Yano (Koji Fukada’s “Love Life”) to Mika Nakashima (Kojiro Hashimoto’s “Snow Flower”).

Now there’s “First Love,” a luscious and stunningly stupid Netflix series stirred up through the name 1999 ballad through Hikaru Utada and its 2018 grown-up counterpart, “Hatsukoi.” the primary may be a wistful breakup song, free while Utada became merely sixteen; the latter is AN lyric to the fun of finding love over again, additionally down the road.

Writer and director Yuri Kanchiku — UN agency helms all 9 episodes — makes use of those rudimentary tips because the premise for a story spanning 20 years, following its characters from the primary flush of adolescent romance to the disappointments and 2d potentialities of 30-some factor adulthood.