Tokyo’s cherry blossoms won’t be around for much longer, but the good news is that you’ll have plenty of titles to turn to on Netflix once sakura season ends. Fresh additions coming this April include Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car', which is inspired by a Haruki Murakami short story and won the Best International Feature award at the Oscars last year, as well as a new live-action series based on the hit manga ‘Kimi ni Todoke’. (Note: regional restrictions may apply.)
From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke
Synopsis: Sawako Kuronuma, a shy and introverted high school student, often hides behind her long black hair and is known as 'Sadako' due to her resemblance to the ghostly figure from the horror film 'Ring'. Despite this, her classmate Kazehaya shows her kindness and slowly helps her to break out of her shell, revealing Sawako’s bright and lovable personality.
Overview: 'Kimi ni Todoke' is a new live-action adaptation of a shojo manga of the same name by Karuho Shiina. The 12-episode series features a refreshing and subtle take on romance, devoid of clichés and exaggerated characters. It is a feel-good and easy-to-watch show that will leave you with a smile on your face.
Available now.
Invisible
Synopsis: Takafumi Shimura is a detective in a special investigative task force that's responsible for solving unresolved cases undercover. Due to his controversial methods of bringing criminals to justice, he was recently demoted to lieutenant. That’s why it comes as a surprise to everybody when an anonymous figure offers to help the Metropolitan Police Department uncover cases that they're not aware of, with one condition – the figure will only work directly with Shimura.
Overview: Written by Yoshihiro Izumi, this ten-episode series was originally broadcast on TBS in the spring of 2022. Issei Takashi ('Whisper of the Heart', 'Wife of a Spy') takes the lead as Shimura.
Available April 1.
Drive My Car
Synopsis: Based on Haruki Murakami's 2014 short story ‘Men Without Women’, ‘Drive My Car’ follows the story of Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a theatre director who is grieving the sudden loss of his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima). While working on a new production of Chekhov's ‘Uncle Vanya’, Yusuke casts a young actor named Koji Takatsuki (Masaki Okada) to play the lead in his avant-garde adaptation. What Koji doesn't know is that Yusuke picked him because he was the man with whom Oto had an affair before her death.
In an attempt to resolve the unexplained mysteries Oto left behind, Yusuke uses his chauffeured car journeys to work every morning to listen to cassette tape recordings of her reading his plays aloud. Though Yusuke spends most of his time in his own head, he begins to confide in his 20-year-old driver Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), who in turn opens up to him about her own losses.
Overview: Last year, ‘Drive My Car’ won the Academy Award for Best International Feature, marking Japan's first win in the category since 2008, when Yojiro Takita's 'Departures' was declared Best Foreign Film by the Academy. The praise didn’t come out of left field for the movie, which took the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2021 and also won the Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film – an accolade Japan hadn’t won in 62 years.
Available April 12.
Skip and Loafer
Synopsis: Mitsumi Iwakura is a reserved, ambitious high school student who has long had her sights set on leaving her small town to become a trailblazing politician in Tokyo. After moving from Ishikawa to Tokyo and joining a new school, however, Mitsumi starts to feel the strain of juggling her studies without a social life to keep her sane. Luckily, Mitsumi’s classmate Shima notices her struggles and makes it his mission to show her that there is more to life in Tokyo than studying alone all day.
Overview: Slated for its world premiere in April 2023, this new series from PA Works animation studio is based on Misaki Takamatsu's eponymous hit manga series. The episodes are written and directed by Kotomi Deai, whose numerous credits include 'Kimi ni Todoke' and 'Sword Art Online'.
Available April 12.
My Daddy
Synopsis: After losing his wife eight years ago, Kazuo Mido (Tsuyoshi Muro) is now a single father to his teenage daughter. Mido lives a relatively peaceful life working as a pastor at a small chapel, but when his daughter is diagnosed with a serious illness, he has to brace himself for his world to be turned upside down once again.
Overview: Directed by Junichi Kanai ('Choki, 'Again'), this heartfelt 2021 drama set in Wakayama is a bittersweet exploration of life, death and what it means to be a family.
Available April 15.
More from Time Out Tokyo
This Omotesando café is serving Pikachu afternoon tea for a limited time
Blue Bottle Coffee opens a café and tasting room in a 100-year-old Kyoto townhouse
Sunshine 60 Observatory in Ikebukuro is reopening as an indoor park in April
See all the spring flowers in bloom at Garden Necklace Yokohama for free
Ashikaga Flower Park's famous wisteria are blooming early this year
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