Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Japanese spinoff has innuendo, drinking, and heart.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Modern Love Tokyo
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
A Japanese adaptation of the series Modern Love, MODERN LOVE TOKYO is a seven-episode series that depicts various forms of love. From a working mother's journey toward gaining a better understanding of what loving a child really means, to a hard-edged journalist making an unexpected emotional connection, each vignette offers a different interpretation of what love is, and the ways it manifests in people's lives.
Is It Any Good?
Like the U.S. version, this Japanese series spinoff offers heartwarming performances inspired by personal essays from The New York Times column Modern Love. Each narrative, one of which is animated, offers a unique combination of lightheartedness and emotional moments of feeling and introspection that are more earnest than melodramatic. Meanwhile, the insights they each offer are universally understandable. Overall, Modern Love Tokyo is a compilation of very human stories that highlight how love can be both complicated and simple at the same time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the challenges that come with adapting a TV show created in one country to an audience from another. Are there topics or narrative styles from the U.S. television industry that don't translate well, or are considered inappropriate, in other countries?
What messages does Modern Love Tokyo offer about love? Are these message specific to Japanese culture? How do they compare with the conversations about love in the U.S. version of the series?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 21, 2022
- Cast : Ryô Narita , Natsuko Kurata , Nana Eijura , Asami Mizukawa
- Network : Prime Video
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Friendship
- Character Strengths : Communication
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate