Shigatsu no Tokyo wa... (2023)

Toyko In April Is...a good start with a weak ending

Overall: I would categorize this series as more slice of life/realistic with angst but also sweet moments too. The beginning was very promising but it kind of fell apart a bit with too many flashbacks, plot cliches and a rushed ending. I give it a slight rating boost because it did try to tackle some social issues. Aired on GagaOOLala and Viki. 8 episodes about 23 minutes each.

Content Warnings: workplace bullying and several major content warnings which I've added in a spoiler comment

Note: the characters in the past are 15 years old

What I Liked
- tackled more serious issues
- there are hints to certain story elements and as we go on we get more explanation
- younger actors did a good job, I thought it was good they kept it PG in the flashback in episode 3
- good consent in episode 3's flashback
- good morning after, avoided the cliche
- there is miscommunication/poor communication but it's mostly understandable
- sweet moments
- consequences shown for 1 trash character
- production value (use of colors, light)

Room For Improvement
- too many flashbacks including scenes we just watched in the recent present, it made the series feel choppy
- ending felt rushed
- instant reconciliation for that mom, she didn't even apologize for the huge amount of pain she directly caused, ugh
- in episode 3 I wish they had just left it at Ren saying sorry because it was odd/unrealistic that Kazuma did not correct him
- being in the rain and the other thing that happened in episode 3 do not cause a fever/illness but because of the timing that is what the viewer is led to believe
- gay for you trope
- (end of ep 7) people can have a freeze response but I think if they had made Sanada's actor a taller person it would have made more sense
- Yagami makes no sense to me at all
- the pretty single tear down the center of the cheek crying doesn't work for me
- several running cliche scenes

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Grounded and natural tackles various serious topics

Really love this show. It's been a while since I saw grounded bl tackling serious topics while also staying interesting and portraying realistic characters. I don't mind characters being over the top sometimes like in other bls , because it's still just a fictional show, but once again missed these kind of shows that just feels real and genuine. This might be one of my favorite BL shows including Old fashion cupcake, and Blueming. Would love to see more shows like this that just doesn't portray lightheaded subjects and doesn't shy away from portraying serious issues.

As a manga reader, I was impressed by how accurately this show portrayed it. There are literally scenes that could be put side by side and also really glad that they didn't cut dark themes that take place in the manga. I honestly didn't think they would dare to portray this kind of story. Here I want to give kudos to the director and screenwriter , because I feel she was able to realistically portray the show while balancing between manga and show, as to my opinion there weren't any filler scenes. Additionally, as the screentime is always limited to 30 min , I am glad she was able to balance it well. Now I have seen few comments saying that it didn't do justice to manga, but I feel like it's up to each person, cause personally I feel like they showed all the important scenes without losing too much context.

As for the acting, personally I liked it. It feels very grounded and natural and if you have seen some animes/ manga getting updated into live action , you know how cartoonish it can get cause sometimes actors would struggle to find balance between manga and real acting and get it mixed up. I really like subtle expressions of Ren's actor, I think he was perfectly casted and was able to find that balance , as it felt like a real person with real feelings and I could relate to him. Again will mention shows like Old fashion cupcake and Blueming, where in the same way it feels so natural , characters just make you sympathize with them.
Also liked Kazuma's choice of the actor, again feels very natural, though reading manga at first I thought he didn't fit the image but later as I continued watching the show, I feel like he was also chosen well, as he was able to deliver Kazuma's gentle character quite well and his affection towards Ren and tender gestures were also delivered well.

Now, as for the kids actors, some ppl complain that showrunners shouldn't have chosen real 14 year old actors to play them, however, actually I didn't mind. Acting is still acting, and there are tons of shows which have 14 year olds or even younger portraying such provocative scenes though I didn't think it was provocative but just unsettling, which is the point , as the scene in the manga also makes you feel uncomfortable. There are some shows like Shameless where there are tons of provocative episodes and in the first season Ian's actor was only 15 and his character had to make out with the actors who were in 30s like Mickey and Cash's actors, which apparently no one has problem with. Again even with Shameless, as long as the actors have chosen themselves to portray a certain role , I don't have a problem, cause acting is acting. As for this show, I liked the portrayal of the teenage actors as well as it felt very natural.

Although some people might disagree with me, and call the acting is bad, again I feel like it's up to each person. Cause there are tons of shows out there, in which for some ppl certain actors didn't sell out their roles and for some ppl portrayal was quite solid. I think the only problem or minor issue was for me sometimes the crying on the scenes which could have another takes, but in overall for me it was very natural throughout the whole series. I usually don't judge a whole show to have bad acting just because of couple of clunky scenes, and instead evaluate it based on the whole show and how it made the characters feel , in this case, fleshed out , natural and sympathetic.

Again another thing, why i liked the cast and feel like they perfectly fit their roles is because the chemistry between two leads was really great. There are so many BL shows or usual shows that have 2 actors who are trying very hard to portray their characters but there is no chemistry between main leads. I think for me same type of well executed chemistry was again in Blueming, Old fashion cupcake, Cherry magic, To my star, Minato's laundromat(cute chemistry). In Tokyo in April , I really loved all these subtle expressions of two main leads especially Ren's, and of course it was adapted from manga, but their domestic scenes are the best. Like they would be just calmly chilling together or cooking together , and the amount of fluff there is immeasurable. I honestly think affectionate scenes are 100x times better than all those passionate sexy scenes in Thai BLs. Honestly watching these 2 characters together made me feel very lonely and wanting a comfy relationship like this haha. Their scenes didn't feel awkward or clunky at all, and it just felt very natural and like a real life couple, which convinces me that actors were able to connect well before shooting for this show.

As for the music, really love both opening and ending songs. Especially the ending song is perfect for these characters. However, I wish there were more musical scores, cause the ones we have are really nice and wish there were more of it in the show.

I feel like we need more shows like this that have some depths and serious topics. I am not against comedic BL shows and lighthearted ones like Cherry Magic or Minato's laundromat( perfect summer light show) all of these shows are necessary and provide great escapism from the real tough world we have. But at the same time those shows are prevalent and it's quite refreshing to see shows like Tokyo in april and in which characters who play mid 20s office workers actually act and feel like them in real life. Honestly missed shows like this and would like to see more shows having emotional depth, characters that feel very real and natural.

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