is a Japanese BL manga series written and illustrated by Shungiku Nakamura. In 2011, the manga was adapted into an anime television series. Produced by Studio Deen under the direction of Chiaki Kon, the anime series began its broadcast run on April 9, 2011. An original animation DVD was bundled with the fifth and sixth volumes of the manga series, released in March and September 2011. A film adaptation was released on March 15, 2014.
On December 13, 2016, Funimation announced they had licensed the series, including the OVA. It was released on home-video on March 7, 2017.
A new anime adaptation focused on the Proposal Arc has been announced to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the new Emerald magazine. It premiered on February 21, 2020. In June 2021, the anime was revisited by Funimation's Aedan Juvet where it was praised for its expansion of LGBTQ+ representation in anime.
Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi is a spin-off of Junjo Romantica, another series by the same author.
Plot
Ritsu Onodera, a literary editor, resigns from his father's publishing company, due to his coworkers' jealousy toward his success, claiming that he is simply riding his father's coattails. He applies for a position at Marukawa Publishing in order to move away from his father's shadow, but instead of his preferred department of literature, he is placed in the infamous shōjo manga department, Emerald. He initially considers resigning, especially because he finds his new boss, Masamune Takano, intolerable and unnerving from the very beginning; however, Takano inadvertently convinces Onodera to stick with the job by calling him "useless," his pride forcing him to stay in order to prove his worth. Later, Onodera learns that Takano's old family name was Saga, and that he was an older schoolmate from high school that Onodera fell in love with and confessed to. It turns out Takano still has feelings for Onodera, and he tells him he will make him fall in love with him again. The series shows how Takano slowly achieves this goal, and the obstacles the two face.
There are also two other couples in this show; their stories are shown in later episodes. The characters follow Onodera's fellow editors: Hatori and his longtime friend (and manga artist he's in charge of) Yoshino, as well as Kisa and the attractive bookstore employee he has his eye on, Yukina.
An extra novel follows salesman and longtime friend of Takano's, Yokozawa, as he's swept off his feet following a harsh breakup by attractive widower and single father Kirishima.
Characters
Ritsu Onodera is a 25-year-old jaded literary editor. He is the only son of the head of Onodera Publications, previously working at his father's company in the literature department. Hearing his fellow co-workers accusing him of only getting ahead due to his father's influence, he decides to show that he can be successful on his own by going to work at Marukawa Publishing. After being hurt by his first love in high school when he was 15, Onodera vowed to never fall in love again. His resolve is tested, however, when he is reunited with the boy he once loved, Masamune Takano. With Takano now very much a man and his new boss, things become very complicated for Onodera as he must juggle his career and his feelings for his first love. Before transferring to Marukawa Publishing, Onodera was an editor in charge Ryouichi Sumi, father of Misaki's friend Keiichi Sumi (also from Junjou Romantica).
The 27-year-old Masamune Takano, formerly known as Masamune Saga before his parents' divorce and his mother's remarriage, is the editor-in-chief of the Emerald department at Marukawa Publishing, where he is sometimes referred to as "the Capable." He and Onodera were once in a brief relationship in high school, but split up over a misunderstanding. It is later revealed that, during college, Takano went through a breakdown from his breakup with Onodera, family problems, and other personal issues, which in turn left him with unresolved feelings for Onodera. When both he and Onodera realize who each other are, he promises Onodera that he will make him fall in love with him again, much to Onodera's contempt. In Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi: Takano Masamune no Baai (lit. "Masamune Takano's Case"), the reader sees Takano's perspective on his and Onodera's first meeting and romantic development.
An Kohinata is Onodera's childhood friend and his fiancée, due to an agreement their parents made when the two were kids; however, Onodera does not view her as his fiancée. Sweet, polite and sensitive, An has deep feelings for him, despite being rejected by Onodera (whom she calls "Ricchan") when she confessed her love.