First Love

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First Love

2019

1h 48m

Crime

Drama

Comedy

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

121 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

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Critics Consensus

First Love's blend of violence, comedy, and romance might seem disparate -- but for director Takashi Miike, it's just another wildly entertaining entry in a filmography full of them.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Yes, it's preposterous and at times hyper-violent, but the tongue is always firmly in its cheek. Until it's cut out.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 3, 2020

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Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

A small release, but if you're looking for something different to see, please let me recommend this one. It's not like any other film out.

Feb 20, 2020

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

Kôji Endô's thundering jazz-rock score amplifies Miike's tendency towards playful cartoon excess.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 16, 2020

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

... tough, silly, violent and thoughtful by turns; if you enjoy extreme cinema, find someone who feels the same, kick back, and enjoy the internecine world of First Love...it’s an ideal introduction to Takashi Miike and the auteur’s work...

Rated: 4/5

Jun 10, 2025

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Dolores Quintana

Dolores Quintana

This film is not only an excellent addition to Asian crime or Yakuza cinema, but it is also a rip-roaring comedy with a big beating heart.

Dec 28, 2022

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Dan Bayer

Next Best Picture

Every time Miike could go completely off the rails, he reins himself in, pulling back where barging ahead would make this an even more memorable (if messier) experience.

Rated: 7/10

May 13, 2022

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john c

Not enough violence / I wanted a yakuza blood bath!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/19

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Lúcio Leonardo P

Entertainment that pleases as an action film, even if the plot uses the stereotypical romance based on its short story. It's violent, brutal, with well-orchestrated fights and a plot with accusations between the lines. We have a fable that uses comical attempts (with small successes) to provide a certain relief in its aggressiveness and that works well with the cliché of first love, in the last yakuza.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

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Darren D

"First Love" a brilliant & dark humoured love story from Takashi Miike & if you're familiar with his work, it's made in the manner you would expect, with blood, gore & severed heads, as two young down on their luck people accidentally come together & get tangled up with courrpt cops, stolen drugs & gang warfare.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

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Gareth D

Absolutely insane, weird, dark, gory and fast-paced. Loved it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/17/23

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william d

I got a real kick out of this one.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Becca S

Miike in the style of a Tarantino crime film and it goes hard!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

Full Review

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Takashi Miike

Director

Masataka Kubota

Leo

Nao Ômori

Otomo

Shôta Sometani

Kase

Jun Murakami

Ichikawa

Sansei Shiomi

Actor

First Love: Movie Clip - Hit it!

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First Love: Movie Clip - Cat Out of the Bag

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First Love: Trailer 1

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First Love: Teaser Trailer 1

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Synopsis

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

Director: Takashi Miike
Producer: Misako Saka, Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Masa Nakamura
Distributor: Well Go USA
Production Co: Oriental Light and Magic, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Comedy
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $218.3K
Runtime: 1h 48m

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