Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Japanese series ’10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40′ follows a 39-year-old shy lonely office worker Tojo Suzume, single for almost ten years, in the closet, and armed with a little list of things he wishes he could do before his next birthday, hopefully with a new boyfriend.
Directed by Ikeda Chihiro, Kosuge Noriyoshi, the 12 episode series is based on the manga series”40 Made ni Shitai 10 no Koto” (40までにしたい10のこと) by Mamita. The show stars Kazama Shunsuke as primary protagonist Tojo Suzume, while Shoji Kohei plays Tanaka Keishi, a younger co-worker who discovers Tojo’s list and offers to help him out with it. As the two set out to tackle the bucket list, romance ends up being the very first item Tanaka ticks off.
So, ’10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40′ is a lot like the Japanese series ‘Old Fashioned Cupcake’, but seven episodes longer. A runtime that’s overdrawn and needed to be chopped down by at least 4 episodes. Sadly, the chemistry between lead actors Kazama and Shoji never really clicks, hovering between “awkward” and “very awkward” right until the finale. Their dynamic is akin to two colleagues exploring a new city together and trying to become friends.
Maybe some viewers might manage to find ’10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40′ to be a quiet comfort show, watching shy Tojo slowly open up under Tanaka’s brighter energy. But the glacial pacing makes it a slog, and without comedic touches, it lacks the spark it desperately needs. Worse still, the second half keeps shifting focus to side characters, time that would’ve been better spent developing the central romance.
The cinematography is cozy-cute, and most of the things on Tojo’s list are simple, doable, and sweet, like eating ice-cream with lots of topping at a popular store, or getting himself a custom-made pillow. Tojo’s personality is ‘cute but annoyingly self-conscious’, with his house filled with adorable stuffed toys. Honestly, if ’10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40′ was just a buddy-comedy, where the boring Tojo finally gets a charming new friend, maybe this show would’ve been more endearing.
If you’re looking for slow-burn Japanese romances, I’d recommend ‘My Love Mix-Up’ or ‘Cherry Magic’, although they’re both romantic-comedies. For some more recent 2025 J-dramas, you could check out ‘Hishakai Shindo (Depth of Field)’, or ‘When It Rains, It Pours’, they’re more sombre in their tone and themes.
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Fair review, I agree that too much time was spent developing side characters leading to the second half dipping in quality. I think given more time to develop their relationship, it would have been more believable. “Awkward” is the right word. Also, I had a massive gripe with Keishi not telling the other Tanaka coworker the truth when he talks about his gf being a lesbian. I don’t think Keishi should have accepted the apology for the “misunderstanding” because Tanaka was correct all along. If they had just been honest (or implied they were good friends) from the start, there would have been no conflict…as usual. I think I would have much preferred to continue crossing off a list of light fluffy activities leading the two closer together in a cutesy way and just miss all the conflict and side characters drama.