Hajimete Koi o Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi~ A Story to Read When You First Fall In Love tells the tale of a woeful woman named Junko Harumi (the always charming Kyoko Fukada) who at the age of 32 is dumped by her fiancé and threatened to be laid off at her cram school teaching job in the same week, and is now realizing she has been living a life with nothing to show for it.
As a youth, Junko ’s life was to excel in school and get into the prestigious Todai University, but when she doesn’t get in, her life is turned topsy turvy and the once determined girl has been replaced by a defeated “whatever will be will be” kind of girl. Even worse is the realization that her goals for Todai weren’t even her own, but expectations that her overbearing mother had put on her. Now without a goal and against the stern disapproval from her parents, Junko must re-evaluate her path.
She is walking down the street lost in her own thoughts about getting dumped by her fiancé when she is cat-called by some juvenile delinquent boys on motorbikes. Once they realize that Junko isn’t some young girl but rather a kind of old lady, they back off, playfully calling her Paisen (older classmate). Junko is properly miffed but does take notice of the seeming leader of the boys, a teen with bright pink hair.
The next evening after getting the news of her possible lay-off, she is once again deep in thoughts when she comes across the delinquent boys playing with fireworks in a parking lot. She sighs, remembering her own wasted youth…when she is accidentally hit with a pail of water!
The boys apologize before realizing it’s the same old lady from the day before, and as a dripping Junko trots off, the boy with the pink hair offers her his jacket.
She is making her way home when she is stopped by a cousin of hers, Masashi Yakumo (Kento Nagayama), who is a Todai Grad and flashy go-getter. “Just the guy I DIDN’T want to see!” she thinks, but he treats her to dinner and she forgets her problems for awhile. What she doesn’t know is that Masashi is secretly in love with her and is delighted that she is single again!
The next day at work, an important dignitary has come to the cram school to try and get his hopeless son educated. Junko is stunned to realize it’s the same Pink haired boy from the last few days!
Turns out his name is Yuri Kyohei Yuri (Ryusei Yokohama) and he has no interest in enrolling in the cram class, which he makes vocally clear. But when the stoic father begins berating him and calling him worthless, Junko gets her gumption up and scolds the father, turned and telling Kyohei that he shouldn’t let anyone tell him what to do with his life. “Don’t end up like me!” she begs.
Now with getting fired from her job an almost guarantee, she drowns her sorrows with her best friends, the classy and svelte Miwa Matsuoka (Yumi Adachi) and the sexy and genki Mon-chan (an insanely adorable Marin) who remind her that she once had some fighting spirit in school and that she should try and recapture the feeling.
The next day at work she turns in her resignation when who should show up at the school but Kyohei himself! He tells the astounded Junko and boss Umeoka (Namase Katsuhisa) he wants to try and get into Todai. But Junko senses that he’s only doing it to defy his father, and refuses.
Fate steps in, however, when a few days later she meets the boys again, and, after hilariously helping them get away from the police, has a heart-to-heart talk with Kyohei where she realizes he truly wants to learn.
Sitting with him in the park til night, Junko instructs him best as he can...
...and when he manages to do okay on the test, he pleads once again for Junko to teach him. And thus Junko goes from being “Paisen” to “Sensei”!
Hunkering down to study (along with Mika Eto (Ai Yoshikawa) as potential foil...)
Ahhh, this feels like it will be a wonderfully cliched but entirely heartwarming drama to slip into on a cozy evening with likable characters you want to spend time with! Kyoko gives yet another warm n fuzzy performance and I’m sure I’m gonna enjoy this one!!!
