‘Tokyo In April…‘ finally aired its live adaptation!
Adapted from Haru’s manga of the same name, the story is about two (old-time) friends, Kazuma and Ren who encounter a variety of issues. Will they be able to overcome this and start over to become something more? Let’s find out on BLtai’s recap of the first episode of ‘Tokyo In April Is…”.
Episode 1: Can We Start Over?
The story starts with Kazuma returning to Japan from America and entering a new company. He states how special Tokyo is to him because his first love is there. Upon entering the office, he sees an old friend named Ren, and notices that his last name changed to “Ishihara” from “Saotome”. Ren acknowledges Kazuma after a pause and shuffled his hair, a thing he used to do back in their school days.
Ren is as popular as ever, and because of this, people asked Kazuma what he was like when they were classmates. This lead to Kazuma reminiscing about their past when they were younger. He remembered when he first entered his class where he first met Ren. He just came back to Japan from America as well, and it was the middle of the semester which made it difficult for him to adjust. Their classmates bombarded Kazuma with questions about him and America, and seeing how distressed he is, Ren told the class that a teacher was asking for Kazuma. Instead of going to the teacher’s office, however, Ren leads Kazuma to the rooftop to his relief. Kazuma was grateful to Ren for getting him out of an uncomfortable situation. There, Ren introduces himself and feeling immediately friendly, shuffled Kazuma’s hair. Back home, Kazuma wonders why Ren changed his last name.
The next day at a meeting, Kazuma was about to talk to Ren when his boss asks him to do a report on the additional leave for all employees. Kazuma questions the specificity of the report, saying that it probably should only include overseas employees, not all, but his boss scoffs and said he should just do what he was told. Ren stays inside the room and clicks his pen.
Once again, thinking about the past, Kazuma remembers when Ren asked him to watch the fireworks together. He felt a bit of disappointment when he saw that it was not just the two of them, but their group of friends. However, things worked out as he wished, because he got out late and was unable to find their friends on time, except Ren, who was actually waiting for him. The two of them watched the firework show together while Kazuma tells him that he is grateful to Ren because now he is happy that he is in Japan because he got to meet him. Ren, visibly touched, started to say something but stopped, amidst Kazuma’s insistence.
Back in the present, Kazuma’s boss was told off about his mistake regarding the report, which Kazuma already told him earlier about. Instead of taking accountability, Kazuma’s boss blamed it all on him and started to publicly embarrass him. Ren stopped him and told him that he recorded their earlier conversation using his pen and played his voice on it. Kazuma’s boss looked humiliated.
The two old friends meet up at the rooftop and finally had the time to speak alone. Kazuma apologizes to Ren, saying that he’s sorry he still has to look out for him. Instead, Ren says it’s okay and invites him to meet up again tonight to watch the fireworks together like they did when they were kids. Ren asks him to bring ice cream.
