How bad is first class on Japan Air in comparison with the newly renovated American Airline flights?

Just flew back on a JAL airplane that was a codeshare flight with AA. I was in cattle class on JAL, but have one word of caution for 1st/business class (on the lower deck) - make sure you do not have a seat in the last row. I was surprised to see those are smack in front of the toilets. The seats at least seemed roomy and reclined far back.

I've only flown on business class, not 1st. New seats, but I didn't feel the seat went down completely flat. Though food and service were superb.

I flew JAL first class JFK-NRT-JFK. The food and service were superb. In fact, the food was so good that it is the reason that I developed an appreciation for Japanese cuisine. The space and comfort in the Skysleeper Solo seats is excellent. A good amount of privacy. The FAs were fantastic on the outbound trip.

The cabin was a bit overheated and I could not find a fan. The seat controls were pretty nifty but I didn't find the seatbed to be very good for sleeping. It's a leather/vinyl seat and they provide a quilted seat sheet that fits over the seatbed but it slipped around.

No reason to go hungry on those flights. And the only reason you would be sober on arrival is if you wanted it that way.

Business class on JAL NRT-DPS-NRT was great, one of my best trips ever.

My only complaint for the JAL first class sky sleeper solo seat is the position and the size of the tv screen. It's small and at awkward angle and after watching it for a while my neck started to hurt!