I Give My First Love to You

Takuma knows from childhood that his heart condition may cause him to die before turning twenty. Believing his time is limited, he tries to push Mayu away at the end of junior high because he wants to spare her the pain of loving someone who will die young. He hopes that if he distances himself, she can move on easily and build a future without him.

As children, they overhear doctors say Takuma may not live past twenty, planting the seed of his sacrifice.

Takuma plans to attend an elite high school thinking Mayu cannot enter such a prestigious institution. However, Mayu works hard and succeeds in passing the entrance exam, even becoming the first-year student body representative. When she confronts him in the school hall, she proves she will not be pushed away and refuses to let his plan succeed.

Their childhood vow to marry at twenty shows Mayu's determination to stay in Takuma's life.

Teru Uehara is another heart patient who reconnects with Takuma at the hospital. She has the same terminal heart condition and is dying. Before she passes away, Teru makes a final wish to experience her first kiss. Takuma honors this dying wish and kisses her, which causes temporary tension with Mayu despite understanding Teru's circumstances.

Takuma meeting another patient with his condition foreshadows the reality of his own fate.

Kou Suzuya is a classmate who expresses interest in Mayu and asks Takuma to step aside. After Takuma wins a 100-meter race against him, Kou leaves school alongside Mayu and Takuma but is struck by an oncoming train at a railway crossing. His death is tragic but becomes crucial because he is registered as an organ donor, potentially giving Takuma a chance at life through a heart transplant.

Kou's earlier suggestion that Takuma give Mayu to him hints at his unresolved feelings.

After Kou becomes brain-dead from the train accident, Mayu discovers he is the donor heart available for Takuma. She chooses to hide this information because she knows Takuma would never accept a heart from someone he considers a rival or potential threat to their relationship. She wants to spare him the emotional burden of knowing his potential savior is Kou.

Mayu's protective nature throughout the film explains her decision to shield Takuma from painful truths.

Takuma eventually learns the donor heart comes from Kou and refuses the transplant. He cannot accept an organ from someone who pursued his girlfriend and whom he viewes as a rival. Additionally, Takuma has made peace with his fate and believes he should not take another person's heart, especially from someone whose family might still be grieving.

Kou's family's initial refusal reflects the same moral conflict Takuma experiences.

Despite Kou being registered as an organ donor, his family initially refuses to allow the heart transplant when they learn the recipient is Takuma. They are moved to tears seeing Kou's emotional attachment to Mayu and hope for a miracle that might save him. Their refusal comes from grief and inability to accept Kou's death so suddenly, even though he had previously chosen to be a donor.

Kou's registered donor status shows his generous nature, contrasting with his family's initial reaction.

After refusing the transplant and suffering a severe heart attack, doctors give Takuma very slim chances of recovery. In a poignant moment of faith and will to live, Takuma prays for even a little more time. Miraculously, he pulls through and recovers, which allows him to spend precious additional time with Mayu before eventually returning to the hospital.

The film establishes Takuma's resilience and the power of his love as central themes.

During their honeymoon trips, Takuma gives Mayu a handwritten will he wrote when they were eight years old. This document represents his lifelong commitment and his acceptance of his fate. By passing it to Mayu, he ensures his love and wishes remain with her, symbolizing that even from childhood, he intended to leave everything to her.

The will connects back to their childhood vow made at age eight in the hospital.

After Takuma dies from a second heart attack, Mayu reads his final letter on the hospital rooftop. She then takes his urn to a church to perform a symbolic wedding, fulfilling the promise they made as children to marry when they turn twenty. This act represents her commitment to their vow and her way of honoring their love even after his death.

The childhood vow to marry at twenty directly leads to this final act of devotion.

The film ends with a flashback to when Takuma and Mayu first met at age eight in the hospital. This circular structure emphasizes how their entire relationship began with his heart condition and how their love developed from that initial meeting. The ending reinforces the film's meditation on love, memory, and the fragile nature of life.

The opening scene establishes the hospital as the place where their story begins and ultimately concludes.

After initially refusing, Kou's family eventually allows the heart transplant. Moved by signs of emotion they see in Kou, perhaps through his interactions with Mayu and his apparent feelings for her, they reconsider and honor his registered donor wish. This decision reflects their recognition of Kou's generous nature and their acceptance that his death can give life to another.

The family's change of heart parallels Takuma's own journey toward accepting survival.