Around 40: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

39-year-old Ogata Satoko is a highly capable psychiatrist who is single. She's forthright, a caring older sister and reliable in her job and in private. Her interests are staying in luxurious Japanese inns and watching stand-up comedy videos.

Satoko hasn't had a boyfriend in the past five years. Nevertheless, she derives satisfaction from work and isn't worried about her finances. Among her good friends that she hangs out with are 35-year-old Morimura Nao, her junior who proclaims that she won't marry, and 39-year-old Oikawa Sadao, her peer since high school. Satoko is happily enjoying the single life.

At an alumni reunion as everyone is on the verge of 40, Takeuchi Mizue, her good friend since high school who is now a full-time housewife, rushes Satoko into action. "If you want children, you should marry now" and "It's women's happiness", but both are lost on Satoko, who isn't convinced.

One day, Satoko attempts to cheer up Nao, who is downcast over a shocking incident, and goes to her favourite hot-spring inn. There she coincidentally encounters a breakup between a handsome but somewhat odd man, Okamura Keitaro, and his girlfriend.

Series details

• Title: Around 40
• Format: Scripted
• Language: Japanese
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 2008-04-11
• Final broadcast date listed: 2008-06-20
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: TBS
• Network country: Japan
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 31605
• IMDb ID: tt1204222
• TVDB ID: 107771

Cast and credited roles

• Yuki Amami — Ogata Satoko

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2008-04-11; final listed air date 2008-06-20; episode order: 11.

Source and licence

Adapted from Around 40 on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.