10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40
10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 is a Japanese manga series by Mamita. It was serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine Magazine Be × Boy since June 7, 2022.
A live-action television drama adaptation was broadcast on TV Tokyo from July 5, 2025, to September 20, 2025, as part of their programming block.
Plot
In three months, salaryman Suzume Tōjō will turn 40 years old. Having a midlife crisis, Suzume creates a list of 10 things he wants to do before he reaches that age, as follows:Suzume's list is discovered by Keishi Tanaka, his subordinate and a popular employee at his company. Keishi confesses to Suzume that he, like Suzume, is gay, and that he will help him complete the list as his boyfriend. As Suzume completes each task with Keishi, each experience has him discover a new side to him, and eventually he develops a romantic attraction to him.
Characters
;Suzume Tōjō;Keishi Tanaka
;Suzuko
Media
Manga
10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 was written and illustrated by Mamita. It was serialized in the monthly boys' love manga magazine Magazine Be × Boy since the July 2022 issue released on June 7, 2022. The chapters were later released in two bound volumes by Libre under the BBC Deluxe imprint. The volume release featured several illustration revisions and included three new short stories.In October 2024, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series for North American distribution in English.
In 2023, Mamita stated through an interview with that they focused on showing how creating a list could change a mundane daily routine. The cover illustration of the first volume shows Suzume fulfilling a task on his list that did not appear in the manga. In April 2025, Mamita stated during a fan event that they had wanted to create a story depicting an older man, but they later felt that the story would not work well if the main character was 39 or 40 years old, so they instead made him a 37-year-old man who worked with his subordinate to accomplish things before he became 40 years old. Initially, Mamita had wanted to create a subgenre called "older man succubus" and the story was originally conceived as a science fiction story that featured a Western-looking older man succubus descending to Earth.
Audio drama
An audio drama adapting the manga was released onto CD by Libre under the Cue Egg Label. The first volume was released on April 12, 2025, with its limited edition featuring a manga booklet.Television drama
A live-action television drama adaptation of 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 was announced on May 28, 2025. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo as part of their programming block from July 5, 2025, to September 20, 2025, with a total of 12 episodes. Additional broadcasts include TV Osaka, Television Saitama, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, Television Hokkaido, and TV Kyushu. The series is directed by and Noriyoshi Kosuge, with Yō Saitō in charge of the script and in charge of music. The opening theme song is "Sumire" by and the ending theme is "Maboroshi" by. It was streamed internationally outside of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand through GagaOOLala.Producer stated that in an interview with ' that a live-action television drama adaptation of 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 had been heavily requested, and the manga's publisher Libre had given the rights to TV Tokyo, having been impressed with their late-night television dramas. Several office scenes depicted in the show were created for the drama adaptation, and episode 8 featured original screenplay.
The series stars Shunsuke Kazama as Suzume and as Keishi. Sobue stated that Kazama was the top choice for Suzume though internal staff discussions, due to his age and because the director, Ikeda, had previously worked with him in the live-action television drama adaptation of the manga '. The staff chose Shōji for the role of Keishi, describing his audition as "relaxed, yet sincere."
Additional cast members include as Kaede Tanaka, Riko Takayama as Akane Utagawa, and Keisuke Watanabe as Shō Yoshizawa. Sobue stated that their roles had expanded from the original manga, and that Takayama had also been cast at the insistence of Ikeda, who had also worked with her in Hatsukoi, Zarari. from the comedy duo was cast as Keisuke Kuroki, an original character created for the drama adaptation. Sobue had created the character while imagining Hirako working at an advertising agency and had personally asked him to play the role. Voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi provides the voice of Suzuko. Sobue asked Mitsuishi to play the role, likening her to her roles as Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon, and that she had cast Mitsuishi as Suzuko because Suzuko "watched over" Suzume just as Misato had watched over Shinji Ikari and how Sailor Moon had "been by side since childhood."