Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on August 16, 2012 at 4:29 AM

Not for those uncomfortable with BL; the back button’s easy enough to find in that case. Don’t blame me if you choose to read on.

Story: Much of a cookie-cutter fairy tale, it’s mainly something for fans to lay back and enjoy. Similar to “Junjou Romantica”, there’s three parallel sub stories shoujo-style connected with each other; each of these stories displays love, jealousy, and the problems that can come with both. Nothing complex, this is mainly a story of genuine love, and pretty much toned down in comparison to Junjou - which sure does it better IMO. Sticks to the manga and even delivers some background info on the manga world :D . Switching between the different storylines isn’t always done smoothly as it may need a moment of orientation at the beginning of each episode, but at least those who watched Junjou might be used to it. :P Mainly, this is one full cup of sugar - not entirely realistic, but nothing controversial either in here (unless you count the theme in itself -.-).

Characters: First things first, some charas look a little similar to each other so in the beginning it might be somewhat confusing to figure who’s who. (Junjou’s a lot worse on that matter.) Other than that, not much to be said -- almost all people in here work in the manga business in one or another way XD , work attitude and ethics are displayed well, and there’s a varied range of characters, although they as well might be a little typical here or there.

The dialogue, true to the story, isn’t overly creative, but has good flow and entertainment value.

The art style can seem somewhat simplistic at times, but is still well-done to cute, and facial expressions convey a grand portion of the comedy. Animation in itself is up-to-date; what would wear it down a little is the music, as it can be pretty badly timed (and the second opening sounds like straight from an action anime O.O).

Entertainment: Humour works well and constantly, be it in dialogue or facial expressions, and actually doesn’t get boring throughout the series. Overall? It’s fluff, a few laughs, romantic lines, and sparkles *sighs and digs herself a hole in the fluff cloud underneath her* Heartwarming, cheerful, essentially a feel-good rom/com, perhaps lacking in reality connection, but still highly recommended to anyone who wants a first adventure into the BL world. Anyone who enjoyed Junjou Romantica is likely to enjoy this as well.