# Tokyo in April Is... (2023)

> Two childhood friends reunite as coworkers a decade after being forcibly separated, and one's cold distance forces both to face what was left unsaid.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/145561

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Network: MBS
- Cast: Sakurai Yuki, Aloha Takamatsu, Tsuyoshi Furukawa, Ayano Aya, Takeno Sena, Mitsunobu Jiyo, Nao Okabe, Shingo Nakayama
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28212824/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: melancholic, intimate, restrained, bittersweet

## What critics say

Critics broadly praise the series for its restrained, emotionally resonant handling of a long-buried childhood bond and its lead performances.

## Synopsis

Tokyo in April Is... (2023) is a Japanese boys love drama series adapted from a manga and broadcast on MBS. Childhood friends Takizawa Kazuma and Ishihara Ren reunite as coworkers after a decade apart, and Ren's cold demeanor pushes Kazuma to confront the past and the emotions neither of them ever spoke aloud. Flashbacks show the two as teenagers, when their bond was broken by a painful event that sent them to different countries. Supporting colleagues and family fill out the cast. The engine of the story is the slow excavation of a long silence: each stolen glance, awkward workday exchange, and late conversation chips away at years of distance. The series runs for a single season, a compact limited series rather than an open-ended saga. Its atmosphere is restrained and melancholic, with a quiet intimacy that lingers on what goes unsaid. Fans of Heartstopper, Normal People, and the gentle emotional register of Japanese romance dramas will find resonance here. Its mature themes of trauma and longing make it a serious, adult take on first love and reunion.

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