First Love (はつ恋) 24 years old

This coming-of-age story from Japan opens just after 17-year-old Sataka has gotten dumped by her boyfriend. When her mother is hospitalized with a malignant stomach ulcer, Sataka is left alone with her emotionally repressed father; whiling away the hours one day, she comes across a love letter written to her mother 24 years earlier. Deciding to track down the letter's author, Sataka eventually finds Shinichiro (Hiroyuki Sanada), an overweight slob who was abandoned by his wife years earlier and now spends his time hanging around pachinko parlors. Determined to clean him up and reintroduce him to her mother, Sataka nags Shinchiro until he finally agrees to her demands, and a gradual friendship develops between the two as Sataka drags him to the gym and a clothing store. But once Shinchiro's makeover is complete, he turns the tables on his young friend, and when the time comes for him to meet Sataka's mother, all concerned parties find themselves embarking on a new phase in their lives.

Credits

Hiroyuki Sanada as Shinichirô Fujiki

Rena Tanaka as Satoka Aida

Mieko Harada as Shizue Aida

Mitsuru Hirata as Yasuhito Aida

Makoto Satō as

Hineki Mito as

First Love Cast

Name	Character
Hiroyuki Sanada He was 39, now 63 years old	as Shinichirô Fujiki
Rena Tanaka She was 19, now 43 years old	as Satoka Aida
Mieko Harada She was 41, now 65 years old	as Shizue Aida
Mitsuru Hirata He was 46, now 70 years old	as Yasuhito Aida
Makoto Satō He was 42, 49 years old when he died
Hineki Mito
Masaki Nishina He was 17, now 41 years old	as Akihito Tatara

First Love Crew

Name	Department
Joe Hisaishi as Music. He was 49 (now 73) years old	Sound
Masahiko Nagasawa as Writer. He was 35 (now 59) years old	Writing
Ivan Turgenev as Novel. He was 181 (64) years old when He died	Writing
Tetsuo Shinohara as Director. He was 38 (now 62) years old	Directing

First Love (24 years)

Release day: Saturday, April 01, 2000
Runtime: 113 minutes