Love isn’t just about youth and firsts. For many of us, love isn’t something that happens in our twenties. Sometimes, it shows up long after we’ve settled into a life we didn’t mean to build, after the routines, the work, the quiet loneliness, and the quiet comfort.

In 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 (adapted from the manga 40 Made ni Shitai 10 no Koto by Mamita),we meet Tojo Suzume (Kazama Shunsuke), a man who’s spent the last decade cycling between work and home, single and settled. But with just three months to go before his 40th birthday, a wave of urgency hits, that feeling that time is speeding up and something’s been left behind. So, he makes a list: ten things he wants to do before 40. Simple human things. A takoyaki party. A new look. Maybe even fall in love.

But when his younger coworker, Tanaka Keishi (Shoji Kohei), accidentally discovers the list, things take a turn. Keishi offers something unexpected: to help him check the list off, together.

From that moment, the show begins to reveal a gentle, slightly awkward, but undeniably charming connection between two people who, on paper, don’t have much in common. Suzume is quiet, reserved, a little out of step with the world. Keishi is outgoing, confident, and warm. But they both share an obvious quiet craving for connection, and a curiosity that builds scene by scene.

As a 40-year-old woman myself, I truly related to Suzume. The first two episodes of 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 hit on something I think a lot of us feel but don’t always say: “How did I get here already?” The hobbies I enjoy, the soft clothes I wear, the comfort of a home filled with tiny, silly joys … none of those things have changed since my 20s and 30s. But time? It keeps going. And sometimes, we don’t realize how long we’ve been drifting until something, or someone, shakes us awake.

By episode two, that relation to Suzume’s character only deepened. His shy hesitation. His careful lifestyle. Growing up as a bisexual woman in the conservative deep South, I recognize the way Suzume tucks himself into a version of life that’s safe and unassuming. And I understand the risk of letting someone in.

What I loved most about these early episodes is how quietly they build something meaningful. The pacing is slow but never dull, filled with glances, silences, and moments that say more than words. There’s no rush, no big declarations. Just two people figuring out if they’re allowed to want something more.

Shoji Kohei brings a lovely steadiness to Keishi, and Kazama Shunsuke gives Suzume a vulnerability that’s immediately endearing. Their dynamic is full of potential, especially as the show hints at the deeper fears and feelings each man carries with him. There’s sweetness, but there’s also tension, especially the kind that comes from age gaps, workplace dynamics, and the quiet weight of societal expectations.

So far, 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 is shaping up to be exactly the kind of story I love most: slow-burn, character-driven, with just enough heartache tucked beneath the warmth.

If you’re looking for something soft, sincere, and a little bit soul-searching, give it a watch. This one might sneak up on you in the best way. Check it out now on GagaOOlala.

Rating- 4 out of 5