Shigatsu no Tokyo wa... (2023)

Tokyo in April is...Unimpressive

Tokyo in April is... felt like it had a lot of potential but got lost along the way. It started out fairly strong, but the ending was weak. I also think a stronger cast would have helped it's case as well, not that they're terrible, just unable to convey some emotions effectively. Despite that, I do give it credit for tackling some serious issues and actually giving them the attention they deserved. Even with it's flaws, there were parts that were well done and I did enjoy aspects of it.

Tokyo in April is... has the feeling of a slice of life drama which I actually quite liked. It centers around Kazuma and Ren, two young men, who met and became friends when they were teens, but were then separated for 10 years before reuniting unexpectedly. The story follows them as their renewed friendship turns to friends with benefits and then develops from there but with drama and angst along the way because what would it be without those elements. Flashbacks are used liberally, some are effective and give necessary background and information, but there are a fair number that are unnecessary and either add nothing or the scene shown was one that happened recently and didn't need to be seen again. Numerous issues were tackled, rape and drugging playing a more central part in the story, but also sexual/workplace harassment, homophobia, and abandonment. Rather than just being issues that were added to cause further drama or problems for the characters, it felt like they were given the attention and respect they deserved. And while I appreciate those issues being addressed, several of them were tied to Sanada who felt like an unnecessary and unrealistic villain. Personally, I would have preferred for the drama to focus more on Kazuma and Ren overcoming their misunderstandings, addressing Ren's trauma and depression, and their healing. Sanada felt almost cartoonish in his villainy. I also found it incredibly unrealistic that he could have taken out Ren. Not only were the circumstances surrounding their encounter unbelievable, but the idea of Sanada, who was much shorter and drunk, being able to subdue Ren was laughable. The ending with Kazuma's mother was baffling because up until the point she stated that her only problem with the two of them was that they were underage when they had sex, it was implied that she took issue with them both being men. It made an already anticlimactic ending even more so.

Miscommunications and misunderstanding is the name of the game between our leads. They've been in love with each other essentially since they first met, but neither had the courage to speak those feelings prior to their separation. Now, 10 years later, there's the same issue. Though they eventually do become friends with benefits, neither is willing to speak his true feelings and so the misunderstanding continues on. Ren's reticence is more understandable. He was aware that he was gay and had feelings for Kazuma when they were teens and even tried to sound Kazuma out though with little success. After they have sex, the first time for both of them, Kazuma falls seriously ill and Ren takes the full blame leading to his family disowning him and shipping him off to France. The experience leaves him deeply scarred, but when he and Kazuma meet again, he hides all of this, keeping it to himself as much out of fear as in an effort to continue to protect Kazuma. Being with Kazuma makes him happy, but he never speaks his feelings and after an encounter with Kazuma's mother brings the past rolling back, he runs away for Kazuma's sake. That's a trope that really needs to die. Kazuma is a bit more complicated in that there's not a clear cut reason for why he doesn't voice his feelings for Ren. He clearly has feelings for Ren as a teen, but perhaps is less consciously aware of them. After his illness, he's shipped back to the US before meeting Ren 10 years later though evidently he did try to find Ren in the interim. But while he is very obviously still in love with Ren after all these years, he doesn't give voice to it. Perhaps it's out of fear, but I didn't feel like a good reason was given. Towards the beginning he repeatedly used the word friend, creating a distance between himself and Ren. If the gay for you trope wasn't so overused, I might not have minded it so much, but here it just felt cliche. So much of what happened could have been prevented if either one of them had simply communicated. Wanting to protect the one you love is understandable, but when it causes more problems, is it really worth it? They were only able to move forward once they were honest with each other and communicated.

The acting was subpart to say the least. Neither actor was emotionally believable in the more serious scenes and any scene where they had to cry, there seemed to be a focus more on aesthetics than actual emotion. As such, they failed to convey anything real and I truly felt nothing. It's disappointing because some scenes could have been quite powerful with better acting. Their chemistry was hit or miss. There were moments when I felt it, but there was a lot where I did not. The actors seemed uncomfortable with physical intimacy in some scenes which didn't help to lend credibility to their characters. While the actors portraying the characters as teens made a lot of people uncomfortable, I felt like that was partially the point and was a deliberate choice. I found them more compelling to watch than the adults. They seemed more comfortable with each other and had good chemistry. They also resembled their adult counterparts enough to be believable.

I found myself a bit disappointed in the production value. There were some scenes that were really beautifully shot, but there were more that were awkward or just ineffective. There was really nothing special about it. The music was also unimpressive. The opening and closing songs were okay, but not great, and the rest of the music was forgettable.

I had hopes that this drama was going to be better than it was and while I didn't hate it, I also didn't love it. It's a pity it couldn't maintain it's momentum of the beginning and instead just became a bit monotonous. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this drama, but given that it's so short, I also wouldn't discourage anyone from watching it either. It's an easy watch and if your expectations aren't too high, you might enjoy it.

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Looooooove it

This series omw. I looooooove it. Dont know what it is with these Japanese and korean shows but the story lines does wrapped you in. I watched and had to rematch now am awaiting episode 6. Its the chemistry, the dialogues just has you in your feeelings. This is another one of my favorite bl of 2023. The eighth sense was another one. First time watching these actors and they didnt disappoint. Waiting for that supervisor to get his because he is tooo dutty, but all in all this is definitely a rewatch for me. If anyone knows any good chineese, Japanese and Koreans you can let me know in the comments. Complete and one of my favorite rewatch bl

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Surprisingly mature plotline, well-written and well acted

I really did not expect this series to have such mature themes. But I also expect nothing less from a Japanese series, the industry has somehow mastered the idea of showing sublime stories with mature written characters. Japanese books, films, series have this theme going on where even if there is happiness, a river of melancholia flows underneath of it.

The two young actors have performed their roles very very well. In fact it is their acting that created the bare bones of the future plotline.

The inability to suppress the feelings, the inability to be clear and say what you want, the feeling of guilt, the prejudice of people, even of the near and dear ones, unhelpful society can lead a young mind to self destruction. Ren tried to commit suicide in a feeing of shame and guilt of forcing his best friend into having s*x with him. Unbeknownst to Ren that it was not forced. And Kazuma's illness too was not his fault. But he suffered all the pain and shame alone.

And when the two finally had their chance encounter, both confused, one by the guilt that does not leave him, one by his love for Ren. The plot thickens. The plot heats and bursts out.

The end is okay, it falls a little flat. I guess the director did not want to focus much on the subplot even though it is a factor to bring Kazuma and Ren closer.

The perfect series to binge watch in a short time. Quite well rounded I must say.

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Tokyo in April is lightly confusing at times but good balance between fluff and issues

Falling in love with your best friend at 15 is complicated... Raging hormones, tabus and disapproving parents complicate things further and before you know it you are torn apart and 10 years have passed... Which is where this story takes of, as these two meet again in a not so well functioning office setting we the viewers a thrown back and fourth in time as the story unfolds (both past and present) this drama tackles well known issues in a pretty decent way.

The romance has slightly confusing yet fun to watch development, and the plot of this drama has that too making this that is more suitable to binge than space out (as I did).

The casting of the young versions does not match the older as they look more like the other guy... I would also have wanted to see more from the past than the present as that story was the more interesting one of the two.

Sakurai Yukis acting could have been better, it wasnt bad but there is a noticeable gap between him and the other male lead Takamatsu Alohas acting skills.

All in all an ok watch that could use a few more episodes to fully explore both past and present.

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Explicit sexual tension with a purpose

Another Japanese BL brought something new to the audience. Not your typical romantic drama with an overdramatic storyline. This show wins in terms of uplifting the concept of narrating sexual desires in the mind of a young individual. At first, I was too stunned for having such bed scenes between two students. Yet, I love how they showcase the pros and cons of the main character and how they tackled each of their problems for their respective character development.

Ren is definitely a handsome man and I love his manly yet cute facial expressions. The friend-with-benefits episodes were too hot, especially when they mentioned that they almost have an intimate activity every single day. However, it is not romantically entertaining since lust overcomes love between these two grown men.

I ended up scoring the show not so high but not so low, simply because of its overall impact. It wasn’t the best but I can guarantee they are better than most airing BLs nowadays. I love how the couple ended up being on each other’s side without any of them holding back anymore.

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Like:
+ The story is pretty interesting. I like the plot of childhood friends meeting after a long time period and come closer again. And it's definitely different from the shows I watched before about this topic.
+ The start was really good. I liked the pace in which the story was told.
+ We get enough information to stay interested, but not too much to get bored after revealing everything all at once. It was a pretty exciting show.
+ It's pretty serious. Talks about serious topics and I think it would be important to put a content warning in it, but I guess we are not that progressive that shows have such things like books. ^^'
+ The production is nice. The different color shadings in different kind of scenes were nice to watch.
+ I really like the soundtrack!
+ They choosed child actors who actually fit to the adult version of them!
+ The actors were all good. Imho not absolutely great, but they did an okay job. I was a bit awkward in emotional scenes, but the more intimate scenes were great! Didn't make me uncomfortable at all and weren't overdone. It was sensitive and nice to watch without having to cringe about.

Room for improvement:
- I didn't really feel the chemistry between the actors. The actors were a bit stiff sometimes.. even tough I remember that I liked the actor of Ren more. He was a bit more charming I guess.
- The ending.. I think, after like episode 5 or 6, it was just too dragged with a lot of flashbacks. They should have told more about the story (I still have some open questions..) instead of dragging it for like forever with flashbacks and useless repetitions.
- After a good start it was a bit disappointing that they lost it towards the end. The pace was annoying and the open questions bother me.
- The ending was too rushed.

Overall I liked this drama. It was interesting, exciting, sensual and didn't make me uncomfortable with the scenes with a lot of naked skin. I am a really open person, but shows sometimes tend to make it weird and awkward with intimate scenes. But this one was well done. Although the actors were sometimes too stiff, these scenes were absolutely great (by both actors!)
I even wished for more intimate scenes with some progress in their relationship to show how they come closer and more comfortable with each other.

Normally I am more into fluffy RomComs (at least this is what I watched since I started with asian shows) but I really really liked this show. I didn't expect it, tbh, because I watched a lot of dramas in the last days, which weren't that good. So "Tokyo in April is..." was a great, refreshing surprise, even if it's definitely more serious and not fluffy at all.

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Lovely Interpretation of the Manga

I read the manga a few years ago, and I was not disappointed by this adaptation. I loved the story, and the acting, especially Sakurai, His facial expressions alone would carry me away. They had to censor the manga, but I think they did a great job in the adaptation. It stuck to the main points of the manga, and did not shy away from the heavy parts. The story includes child abuse, child abandonment, homophobia, drugging, raping, and sexual harassment (of women), and teen sexuality. All of these topics were handled in a sensitive, yet realistic manner. Children have no power, but once Kazuma reaches adulthood and graduates from university, he moves back to Japan, wanting to reunite with his first and only love Ren, As usual per BL world, Kazuma ends up being hired by the same company Ren works for, so they reunite right away.


This is the first Japanese BL where I felt actual sexual chemistry, I'm so used to the Ken doll, dead fish kisses. The Kazuma character expresses his love in ways that a real lover would. It charmed me. Except for Ep 6 (too many flashbacks), I enjoyed this series from start to finish.

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Handsome couple, interesting story, odd pacing and acting?

The main reason I was interested in this drama was Ren, he is unbelievably attractive and his acting was pretty good as well. I don't really have any remarks on it. Kazuma's acting was a lot more awkward, escpecially because of his facial expressions. The rest of the characters were decent and provided more of a side role. I did like the French guy at the end, his acting was noticably the best and he was really handsome as well. Overall, this is a short BL with sweet moments and a decently interesting story. I recommend to watch.

I do want to add that I found this BL to be a bit more realistic than other BLs, where one's reputation because of their sexuality could change and how people can deal with it in a realistic way.

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"Follow Your Heart."

Despite the ratings, I think this is one of my favorite short dramas from Japan. I can see why it appeals to only a limited audience -- the leading characters are definitely not the conventional ones. While I'm pretty much accustomed to seeing the 'popular smarty pants' and an introverted silent/chaotic mess, its the first time I'm coming across characters who are both calm and composed. And the overall aura of this series is surprisingly dark/unhappy.

Takizawa Kazuma has just returned from overseas and landed a job in the HR department of an advertising firm. To his surprise, he runs into his former best friend and first love Ishihara Ren, whom he had lost connection with when Kazuma had fallen ill in high school. However, the Ren he knows now refuses to indulge about his past and has changed his surname. They fall back into their old habits and Kazuma keeps his feelings for Ren a secret, even resorting to a friend-with-benefit arrangement, to keep it hidden. But, Ren seems to be hiding something much more bigger than he imagined.

The story has a plot, particularly dealing with workplace harassment. But, the entire journey is worth only for the characters alone -- if they grow on you, per se.
Saotome Ren/Ishihara Ren is one character whom I respect. Not because of how loyal he was to everyone he came across, but how pure he was in his intentions. I can practically hear my parents telling me why I should never fall in love at a young age because that's exactly what happens to Ren.
I enjoyed Kazuma's sunshine like personality; but, I do think that he a bit too naïve when he was young.
[It's lucky that Ren's instincts were correct, otherwise this would be a certain tragedy. ]
I have to say, I was satisfied with both the actors' portrayal of their roles, even if Ren's crying scenes did not have actual tears. But, then again, was it intentional?

The supporting characters such as Ryunosoke and Hide weren't just there to exist, but provided insights about the remaining characters. I liked how we were shown how both Ren and Kazuma saw each other through their own lens'.
The pacing was surprisingly good. The flashbacks from childhood that were interspersed with the current timeline managed to capture my attention and pique my curiosity. Both the child actors were excellent and well casted. I hope to see both of them in bigger roles in the future. [Loved the ending song, One Day, which seems to be more suitable for the darker theme rather than the sunny opening.]

I'm writing this review after quite a long break, so it's already a win that I'm able to recall both the characters' names and their stories. It might not be for everyone, but this was just an almost perfect watch for me.

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An OK-to-watch, not very excellent, as we may expected but it could be done better.

This drama has an epic source material with very deep story that could shake our souls, but unfortunately it is poorly excuted by the production team. They missed so much and instead of becoming another peak melancholic drama of Tunku Shower, its quality fell in the middle. The acting and chemistry in the first half of the drama is not giving and it could be done better if they cast experienced actors instead of idols or new actors because this drama is so heavy in terms of emotions. Crying scenes are bad and dry. What's more, casting 14-yo children in to sensual scenes makes us feel uncomfortable, let alone their weak acting skills.
In addition, the writing and directing is also not satisfactory as they skipped so much tiny yet important details from the source materials and the story seems rushed in some scenes. Color grading is a crime in this drama, that orangey color compromises the aesthetic values of the film frame and of course, affects cast visuals.
In general, it would be an OK-to-watch, not very excellent, as we may expected but I must say it could be done better.
I recommend you all find the manga because it can't be missed.

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