Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi - World's Greatest First Love (anime TV series), via Crunchyroll

I've also seen the title of this series written as Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi. This series is 24 episodes long. As far as I know, there aren't any more seasons planned.

It was tempting to review each romance separately, but I resisted.

Synopsis:

The series image is a little misleading - it looks like there's only one couple, but there are actually storylines for four separate couples. Every one of the main characters is in some way involved in publishing, specifically shoujo manga publishing. Individual episodes deal with only one couple at a time - romantic storylines are not mixed within episodes.

Onodera x Takano - This is the series' main couple. Their story is told in episodes 1-4, 7, 11-14, 17, 19, and 22-24. Onodera is the son of the head of a major publishing company. He was happy as a literature editor, until he learned that everyone thought his successes were due to nepotism. Wanting to prove himself, Onodera quit his job and got an editing position at another company. Unfortunately, although he wanted to edit literature, he got assigned to the shoujo manga division. He figures he'll stay for a bit and then transfer to the literature department, but he finds himself actually enjoying his work (when he isn't exhausted by the pace and everything he has to learn). He also finds himself torn over Takano, his brilliant and handsome boss. Onodera doesn't remember right away, but not only did he and Takano know each other in high school, they were also lovers. Onodera had a huge crush on Takano, but a Big Misunderstanding pushed them apart. Now, Takano is determined to make Onodera say "I love you" again, and Onodera is equally determined not to fall in love again. Yokozawa, from the sales department, was Takano's lover after Takano and Onodera broke up, and he's less than pleased by Onodera's presence and Takano's interest in him.

Chiaki x Hatori - Hatori is another shoujo manga editor, in the same department as Onodera and Takano. Hatori and Chiaki's story is told in episodes 5-6, 10, and 15-16. Hatori has been secretly in love with Chiaki for years, but Chiaki never even noticed. Now, Chiaki is a shoujo manga artist/writer who hides behind his pseudonym out of fear that his fans will be upset if they find out he's male, and Hatori is his editor. Chiaki notices the tension between Hatori and Yuu, Chiaki's friend and one of his manga assistants, and assumes that the two men have feelings for each other. When he and Hatori become a couple, Chiaki thinks Yuu is upset because Chiaki took Hatori away from him, not realizing that Hatori and Yuu were both interested in him. Can Chiaki figure out who he really wants to be with and save his friendship with whichever man he doesn't choose?

Kisa x Yukina - Kisa is yet another shoujo manga editor in the same department as Onodera, Hatori, and Takano. Kisa and Yukina's story is told in episodes 8-9 and 20-21. Kisa may look young, but he's actually 30. He doesn't feel like his life is going anywhere. He's doing well in his career, but he hasn't accomplished anything special, and he feels like anyone with a bit of training could do the work he does. He doubts the series' he edits will ever be as successful as anything Takano has edited. All his friends are getting married, while he is not only gay, but also unable to settle on any one guy. Kisa isn't even sure he can really fall in love - he only ever seems to be interested in his lovers' handsome faces. There's one particular face he's been attracted to for a while now - that of a sales clerk named Yukina who's in charge of the shoujo manga section at the bookstore he works at. Yukina is young, vibrant, and seems very much heterosexual. When he indicates an interest in Kisa, Kisa isn't sure what to think. How could someone like Yukina be interested in him? Can their relationship survive Kisa's grueling work schedule?

Isaka x Asahina - This couple's story is told in episode 18. Isaka is the senior managing director of the publishing company all the series' shoujo manga editors work for. He's also the son of the head of the company. At one point, he wanted to be a novelist, but he later figured out that his real talents lay in finding future bestsellers. Isaka has had a crush on Asahina since they were children, when Isaka's father took in Asahina's family. Isaka thinks that Asahina, now his secretary/caretaker, is in love with his (Isaka's) father.

Review:

Wow, this show was addictive. When I first started watching, I was a little iffy about it, because I was kind of annoyed by some of the things the characters did...and then I noticed that I had just watched 6 episodes without hardly realizing it.

What I'm currently reading and watching

The amount of posting I've been doing lately has been pretty sad, compared to the amount of stuff I've been reading and watching. I thought I'd do a quickie "first impressions" post - I haven't finished any of the things listed below yet, so keep in mind that my opinion of them may change. Ideally, you'll be seeing full posts for all these things at a later date.

Reading:

• The Innocence of Father Brown (e-book) by G.K. Chesterton - I picked this up as a freebie from Project Gutenberg. It's more a collection of short stories with Father Brown in them than a novel. I'm almost done with it and I have no idea what I'm going to write about it. I don't think it's really all that bad, but it's not for me. The resolutions to the mysteries have often not been satisfying to me - Father Brown relies more on characters' consciences than on the law, so stories would sometimes finish while I was still waiting for someone to bring in the police.
• Double Dare (book) by Vicki Hinze - I'm almost halfway through this book and less than thrilled with it. The "virus and body doubles at the mall" craziness could have been a lot of fun, but I feel like Hinze must have written most of Maggie and Justin's romantic scenes in another novel, because I'm not feeling their romance at all.
• I Hunt Killers (book) by Barry Lyga - This is one of my ARCs. I haven't gotten very far into it yet, but it looks like this is an attempt to create Dexter for teens. The main character's father was a notorious serial killer who did his best to teach his skills to his son. I'm not sure, yet, what direction Lyga plans to take things.

Watching:

• Brave 10 (anime TV series) - If I finish this series, it will only be after much perseverance. I hate the main female character, and the fight scenes aren't nearly good enough to overcome my hatred of her. I finished episode 4 yesterday, and the only reason I'm still watching is because an enemy from a previous episode has returned and shows signs of a seriously masochistic crush on another character. He should be good for some laughs, and maybe he'll kill the main female character in a fit of jealousy. I can only hope.
• Chihayafuru (anime TV series) - Megan gets a giant "THANK YOU!" for recommending this show to me. When I first started watching it, I said it looked like a cross between Hikaru no Go and Sand Chronicles. I still feel that way. Every episode of this show has me grinning with excitement and joy, as much, if not more, for the outcomes of the Karuta matches as for the wisps of romance.
• Recorder and Randsell (anime TV series) - Each episode is very short, which is a good thing, because the premise is too thin to survive in longer episodes. For some unexplained reason, the main characters are an older sister who looks like a child and a younger brother who looks like a young man. The series' jokes and gags are all built around this. For instance, there's a recurring joke involving the brother walking home with his school friends and getting chased by the cops, who think he's a would-be child molester.
• Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi - World's Greatest First Love (anime TV series) - Oh man. This series is kind of terrible, but I am so addicted to it. Really, really addicted. The day I started it, I watched 6 episodes without hardly realizing it. A single episode of Brave 10 feels like an eternity, while a single episode of Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi feels like nothing. Part of this series' appeal is getting to learn a bit about manga creation. An even bigger part of this series' appeal is the overflowing buckets of emotion. Supposedly these guys are all adults (these are all romantic relationships between men, by the way), but you wouldn't guess it from the way they avoid telling each other anything. Also, there are love triangles galore.