Tokyo Friends (東京フレンズ, Tōkyō Furenzu) is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on television but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. Each episode is approximately 70 minutes.
![]() | This article does not cite any sources. (September 2020) |
Tokyo Friends | |
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![]() Tokyo Friends DVD cover | |
Genre | Romantic comedy |
Starring | Ai Otsuka Eita Rio Matsumoto Masanobu Katsumura Yōko Maki Mao Kobayashi Ryuta Sato |
Opening theme | Friends (フレンズ) |
Country of origin | Japan |
Original language | Japanese |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Producer | Ueda Hiroki |
Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
Running time | 46 min. (approx) |
Release | |
Original network | TBS |
Chronology | |
Followed by | Tokyo Friends: The Movie |
The Tokyo Friends Premium Box was also released which includes all 5 episodes, a bonus DVD, and 12 postcards. Although this is a very typical Tokyo-story and was never aired, it was quite successful probably because it was Ai Otsuka's debut as an actress.
Rei Iwatsuki moved from her hometown Kōchi to Tokyo to pursue her dreams. On arrival, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant and met guitarist Ryuuji Shintani. Ryuuji liked her voice and invited her to join his band as the vocalist, The Survival Company (also known as Sabakan). The two started a relationship but then broke off when Rei wanted to write her own songs.
Rei met other girls also working in the restaurant, Hirono, Ryoko and Maki, all in pursuit of their own dreams, and became good friends with all of them.
Tokyo Friends: The Movie was released on DVD on December 13, 2006.