First Love (2019) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

First Love is set primarily in Kabukichō, a neon-lit entertainment district in Tokyo known for its late-night crowds, bars, boxing gyms, and constant sense of danger. The gritty streets of this underworld backdrop serve as the main stage where the characters' lives intersect with yakuza activity and urban crime.

• tokyo
• kabukicho
• setting
• location
• entertainment district

Kabukichō functions as a dangerous urban playground where boxing gyms, a Chinese restaurant, and yakuza operations intersect. The district's perpetual sense of danger shapes every character choice, with its neon nightlife and cramped streets providing a constant backdrop of crime and survival that drives the entire plot.

• kabukicho
• tokyo
• setting
• underworld
• yakuza
• neon nightlife

First Love is set in present-day contemporary Tokyo, featuring rain-soaked streets, modern nightlife, and the city's relentless pace. The timeframe centers on today's metropolis where fate and luck collide on every corner, blending economic pressures with urban violence.

• present day
• tokyo
• time period
• modern
• contemporary

First Love explores three core themes: Love & Survival, where romance becomes a lifeline pushing characters to risk everything; Crime & Duty, examining yakuza power struggles and the tension between loyalty and self-preservation; and Truth & Illusion, centering on a hospital misdiagnosis that shifts characters' identities and purposes.

• themes
• love
• survival
• crime
• duty
• truth
• illusion
• meaning

The film portrays love as a lifeline that redefines what it means to live when death seems imminent. Between Leo and Yuri, a fragile romance blossoms as they choose to protect each other despite looming death and addiction, pushing both characters to embrace risk and courage.

• love
• survival
• romance
• leo
• yuri
• relationship
• desperation

The yakuza in First Love are central to the crime narrative, with power struggles and betrayals driving the plot. Characters like Kase demonstrate calculating ruthlessness, while Gondō represents the precarious balance of power in the district. The underworld's codes force characters to weigh loyalty against self-preservation at great personal cost.

• yakuza
• crime
• underworld
• gangsters
• kase
• gondo
• loyalty
• betrayal

Leo is an up-and-coming boxer who works at a Chinese restaurant in Kabukichō. After receiving a dire brain tumor diagnosis, he decides to fight for a future with Yuri, embracing bold, impulsive courage to protect those he cares about despite believing his time is limited.

• leo
• boxer
• main character
• masataka kubota
• protagonist

Yuri is a resourceful and enigmatic prostitute whose path crosses with Leo in Kabukichō. Caught in a dangerous game involving corruption and deceit, she becomes entangled in the world of murder and intrigue alongside Leo, with their relationship becoming a central driving force of the story.

• yuri
• prostitute
• main character
• becky
• romance interest

A hospital misdiagnosis reveals how perception shapes reality in First Love. Leo believes he is dying from an inoperable brain tumor, only to discover the diagnosis was a mix-up. This twist shifts his purpose from despair to courage and compels both characters to redefine their identities.

• truth
• illusion
• diagnosis
• misdiagnosis
• tumor
• reality
• perception
• twist

The underworld serves as both setting and conflict driver in First Love. The film depicts a complex web of yakuza, corrupt police, and triads whose competing interests create the dangerous environment Leo and Yuri must navigate. Characters like Monica and Ichikawa highlight the interconnected web of loyalties and organized crime's reach throughout the urban landscape.

• underworld
• crime
• yakuza
• triad
• corruption
• police
• organized crime