Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (2011)

1 - First Impressions Are the Most Lasting.

Onodera begins work at his new position at Emerald, and is harshly introduced to their production cycle by being thrown into the mess of their burned-out phase, in which everyone appears brutally overworked and exhausted. He is shocked to find them transformed the next day into composed and energetic people who spiritedly show him the basics of manga editing.

1 - A Good Beginning Makes a Good Ending.

Onodera leaves the office to visit the bookstore and thinks about how it has felt whenever Takano has touched him, but he dismisses these thoughts. At the bookstore, he runs into Yokozawa, and as they leave together, Yokozawa demands that Onodera move to a new home. Onodera argues that it his none of his business and teases Yokozawa that maybe he and Takano were dating. Yokozawa confirms this suspicion and Onodera realizes that Yokozawa doesnt like him because he is protecting Takano. Back at the office, Onodera overhears a conversation between two women, one of whom saw Takano and Yokozawa together the night before. Takano invites Onodera to dinner, and though Onodera declines, Takano makes the plan anyway. Onodera tries to avoid having dinner with Takano, but Takano catches him and they go to dinner at Takanos apartment. At dinner, Onodera becomes intoxicated and drunkenly confesses that Takanos behavior has an emotional effect on him. The next morning, Onodera awakens to find himself naked in Takanos bed, unable to remember the events of the previous night, but pain in his hips and back leads him to realize that he and Takano had had sex. Despite this obvious evidence, he openly denies this taking place.

2 - A Man Has Free Choice to Begin Love But Not to End It.

As Onodera continues learning the ropes of manga editing and publishing, his interactions with Takano become more tense and uncomfortable. Takano eventually realizes who Onodera is, later revealing his identity to Onodera as his first love from high school, bringing back memories of being used and tossed aside, even though, as Takano explains, they were fuelled by a gross misunderstanding. He is left conflicted in regards to his true feelings toward Takano.

2 - One Cannot Love and Be Wise.

Onodera reflects upon how he imagined Christmas would be when he and Takano were together 10 years ago. Onodera runs a manuscript over to the printers and upon arriving back at the office, he receives an email from Takano telling him he can go home. As the elevator door opens, he sees Takano and Yokozawa talking and when the leave together, Yokozawa asks what Onoderas plans are for the 24th, which happens to be Takanos birthday. Yokozawa then implies to Onodera that he and Takano are still together, and he warns Onodera again to stay away from Takano. Onodera wishes Takano a happy birthday and as they part, Takano requests Onoderas company on a drive for his birthday gift. On the drive, Onodera reflects on his feelings toward Takano, and Takano reveals the true nature of his relationship with Yokozawa and reminds Onodera that he has loved him for 10 years. They kiss, and Onodera admits to himself that he cannot resist Takano.

3 - Lingering Love Breeds Mistake.

As Yoshino struggles to meet a looming deadline, he wishes his assistant Yanase could help but doesnt ask, knowing Hatori despises him. Yanase appears of his own accord and helps finish the project but Yoshino collapses from overwork. On awakening, Hatori tells him he was rushed to the hospital and has slept for two days. After Yoshino recuperates, Yanase reveals he has romantic feelings for him. Just then, Hatori walks in and immediately exits. After not hearing from Hatori for a week, Yoshino arranges a meeting between them. When a gloomy Hatori says he expects ...

3 - In Love There Is Both Dotage and Discretion.

After Takano and another staff member have a heated argument in the Emerald office about an underprinted publication, Onodera sees the two of them later having a seemingly friendly conversation in the lobby, stirring a sense of jealousy within him. Perturbed by the fact that this bothered him, he begins avoiding Takano even more, prompting Takano to confront him about the situation before it begins affecting their capacity to work together.

4 - Delay in Love is Dangerous.

Yoshino is conflicted between his fondness for Hatori and his friendship with Yanase. Hatori makes a movie date with Yoshino but cancels at the last minute due to work. That same day, Yoshino becomes upset when he spots Hatori with an old high school girlfriend. While brooding over the incident, Hatori calls Yoshino, who hangs up on him. Yanase invites Yoshino to his house, where they recall Hatoris former girlfriend from high school and Yanase implies that Hatori is cheating on Yoshino. Hatori phones and Yanase tells him he intends to make Yoshino his boyfriend. ...

4 - Adversity Makes a Man Wise.

The author that Onodera has been overseeing suddenly falls ill along with all of her helpers near the publication deadline. He rushes to the distant Hokkaido to assist her personally, despite protests from his superiors. As the entire editing staff stands on the end of their nerves, Onodera barely makes the deadline with the finished manuscript. He later falls asleep on the train with Takano, and finds himself sleeping in the same bed as Takano the following morning, flustering his emotions and pushing him further into refusal to open himself to Takano.

5 - Follow Love and It Will Flee Thee, Flee Love and It Will Follow Thee.

Onodera receives a call at work from An, a girl his parents arranged to be his fiancée, who wants to meet at his apartment that night to give him a New Years present. Takano overhears the conversation and ask Onodera if she is his girlfriend, which he denies. Later, as they approach their apartment building they see An waiting for Onodera. Takano again asks if she is his girlfriend and An is taken aback when Onodera answers No. After An departs, Onodera is concerned that Takano misunderstands his relationship with the girl and contrives a way into his apartment. ...

5 - Love Is Lawless.

This episode introduces a new set of characters - Chiaki Yoshino, a male author who releases shōjo manga under the female pseudonym Chiharu Yoshikawa; Yoshiyuki Hatori, his manager and childhood friend; and Yuu Yanase, his chief assistant, who is on rough but unclear terms with his manager. Hatoris increasing coldness toward Chiaki begins to take its toll on their friendship, and when pressed on personal matters, Hatori becomes distant. Chiaki later sees Hatori and Yuu in an alley having what he interprets as an argument between lovers. Growing distraught with confusion that begins to affect his ability to write, Chiaki slowly realizes his feelings for Hatori. However, Hatori later confesses his love for Chiaki, much to his surprise, along with admitting that he had changed Chiakis management behind Chiakis back, fearing that his confession would put their relationship on bad terms. This forces Chiaki to admit his own budding feelings.

6 - Love is Without Reason.

Marukawa Publishing executive Isaka Ryuichiro is in love with his assistant Asahina Kaoru. He recalls when they met as children, through the time when Isaka hoped to become a writer. One night Isaka suddenly kisses Asahina and his affections are rejected. Asahina quits Marukawa to become assistant to Isakas father. When Isaka confronts Asahina about this, the latter confesses his love for Isaka, explaining he had earlier rejected him because he thought Isaka already knew of his love and was making sport of him. Shaken by the confession, Isaka wonders how they could ...

6 - Go to the Sea, If You Would Fish Well.

After an onsen trip, Chiaki is burned out and can hardly concentrate on work. The emerging love triangle between him, Hatori and Yuu compounds his inability to focus as well. Later on in Chiakis apartment, Hatori informs him that he must attend an upcoming party because his manga will be made into an anime and he must meet the people in charge. Hatori offers to pick a suit for Chiaki, but Chiaki prefers to go shopping with Yuu instead, sparking jealousy in Hatori. After Yuu leaves, Hatori makes tries to kiss Chiaki, upon which Chiaki pushes Hatori away because he feels that Hatori is moving too fast. This upsets Hatori and he leaves. During the party, after meeting the anime staff, Chiaki sees Hatori surrounded by many women, including Ichinose Erika; a top writer who is known to have taken a liking to Hatori. Chiaki, feeling that Hatori is comfortable with the writer, becomes jealous and promptly leaves the party with Yuu. Hatori eventually arrives at Chiakis place because he still needs to discuss some corrections with Chiakis manga. Chiaki smells perfume on Hatori; feeling that the writer at the party may have gotten too close him, he becomes angry. Hatori reassures Chiaki otherwise and also confesses his jealousy about Chiaki and Yuu, feeling that Chiaki favors Yuu over him. Chiaki also reassures him and Hatori tells him that he loves him, and will continue to tell him until he can never forget. The morning after, Yuu admits to Chiaki that he is in love with someone, but when Chiaki asks who the person is, he simply says that Hatori knows the person well, leaving Chiaki puzzled and confused.

7 - Actions Speak Louder Than Words.

While preparing for the companys New Years party, Onodera gets a call from his mother, who pesters him about his engagement to An and asks him to escort her from a wedding that coincidentally is taking place in the same hotel as the company event. At the party, Onodera encounters Yokozawa, who accuses him of slacking at work but Takano defends him. Onodera is surprised to find An waiting for him since he had told his mother he couldnt see her. An reiterates her love for him but Onodera tells her he cant love her the way she wants him to. An asks if he loves ...

7 - Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before Them.

The episode begins with Ritsu having another flashback dream, in which he sees Saga sleeping in the library and tries to find out what book he was reading, but runs away when he thinks Saga is about to wake up. Afterwards, Ritsu wakes up and goes to work. At Marukawa, Ritsus assignment is to make his first proposal as a manga editor to publish the manga hes supervising as a book. It is initially rejected by Takano, so he stays late at night working on it. Later that night, Takano helps Ritsu with his proposal, even though Ritsu didnt want his help. After a while, Takano suddenly kisses him to break the tension, and consequently gets hit by Ritsu. Yokozawa then arrives and sends Takano to meet someone. When hes alone with Ritsu, Yokozawa proclaims Takano as his property, and doesnt believe Ritsus words about not having any relation with Masamune other than that of boss-subordinate. At a bookstore the next day, Ritsu meets an old female friend from his previous job, and they go for drinks. She gets drunk, stumbles, and falls into Ritsus arms. This is seen by Takano, who had just arrived with Ichinose Erika, a female writer, to discuss work (Ritsu misunderstands this and feels jealous). When he arrives home, Takano accuses him of not working hard enough. Takano makes another pass and admits to being in love with him, but Ritsu (who is still wary of admitting his love for Takano) runs away and leaves Takano alone in his apartment. The proposal meeting day arrives and Ritsu is quite nervous, but Takano tries to cheer him up on the way to the meeting. In this episode another Junjou Romantica character appears; Isaka Ryuichiro.

8 - Love and Envy Make a Man Pine.

Kisa has the perfect boyfriend in Yukina but is riddled with doubts about their relationship. He is concerned his heavy work schedule prevents them from being together often and interprets Yukinas understanding of the situation as a sign of indifference. Kisas fears are heightened when a colleague tells him shes getting married because a job cant provide the same stability as a relationship. When Kisa finally makes a date with Yukina, hes delayed because of a work commitment. When he calls to explain, Yukina suggests they put the date off and an angry Kisa hangs ...

9 - Love is Blind.

Believing Yukina has cheated on him, Kisa becomes distracted at work and wont respond to Yukinas messages. Accidentally answering one of Yukinas calls, Kisa tells him their relationship is over. That night, Kisa reflects on Yukina and realizes he knows little about him as their time together was mostly spent having sex. Kisa receives a call from an old boyfriend and agrees to hook up with him since hes no longer seeing anyone. The man arrives and just as he and Kisa start to kiss, Yukina appears, slaps Kisas face and tells the other man to leave. Inside Kisas ...

10 - Love Goes Never Without Fear.

Onodera enters the office elevator with Yokozawa and Takano, who he is coming down with a cold. Onodera is jealous when Yokozawa touches Takano to take his temperature. Takano corners Onodera in the lunch room and reminds him of what he told fiancée at the New Years party. Onodera tells him he only told her he loves someone else due to circumstances. The next morning, Onodera hears that Takano is out of the office due to illness and he wonders if anyone is taking care of him. That night he brings medicine for Takano but Yokozawa answers the door and the two get into ...

11 - Love Makes The World Go Round

Takano and Onodera share a moment in the rain and talk about their time in school. A few startling truths are revealed that may change their opinion about each other.

12 - After a Storm Comes a Calm.

Meeting Ryouichi Sumi and the advice from Hasegawa have put doubt into Ritsu Onoderas heart. He remembers the reason he transferred to Marukawa and wonders if he can continue to work as a manga editor. While he is struggling, Takano asks him if he wants transfer to the literature department. A call from an author interrupts Onodoeras thoughts, and the author expresses her gratitude for his work and gives him encouragement. Onodera relays her praise to Takano, who further shows his approval of Onoderas work. While at Onoderas place, Takano tells Onodera of the history between him and Yokozawa. As Onodera is immersed in his own thoughts about the two, Takano once again confesses his love for Onodera. This is the finale of season 1.

12 - Love is a Bitter-Sweet

Takano remembers how he fell in love with Ritsu and his problems with his family. This is the season finale.