I Give My First Love to You

Takuma is eight and has a heart condition. His father, a doctor, tells him his life will be short. The doctor's daughter Mayu is at the same hospital; the two have been together since childhood. Mayu promises to marry him. Takuma does not accept it; he builds no future for himself and tries to keep her away from one. Years pass. Mayu studies medicine. Takuma is in hospital and does not want her to come. Then one day Mayu finds a box, and what is in it shows what Takuma was thinking. Takehiko Shinjo directs. Masaki Okada plays Takuma and Mao Inoue plays Mayu; Tetta Sugimoto and Yōko Moriguchi are in the cast. It is a Japanese production. The source is Kotomi Aoki's manga. The film did well at the Japanese box office and reached a young audience. The matter it treats is a child growing up knowing the length of his life; the film does not use the illness as a surprise. The narrative spreads over years and carries the two from childhood into adulthood. The narrative does not justify Takuma's keeping away; the choice harms Mayu. The last section proceeds through photographs and letters. Its limit is method; the emotional steering is high, the narrative conventional, and the ending where expected. Who it is for: viewers who like Japanese youth melodrama and manga adaptations. Who it is not for: the emotional dose is high, it is conventional, and the ending bitter.