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In the Japanese drama Welcome Back, First Love (おかえり、初恋。), two classmates who were always on their own in high school meet again at a reunion ten years later. So much of what happens now answers a day from back then. Flip the cards below to see the same moment, ten years apart.
Episodes 1–3 have aired. Episode 4 airs late Thursday, Oct 29 (Japan time)
Spoilers ahead: the cards cover the story and lines up to Episode 3. Haven’t watched yet? Bookmark this page for later.
Episode 1A blond delinquent, reunited after 10 years
Ice pop
In the middle of class, Taguchi suddenly says he wants an ice pop. When Shiori says the school shop won’t be open now, he thinks for a second:
じゃあ抜け出すかThen let’s sneak out.
Ice pop
Ten years later, on a hot day, her office hands out ice pops. The moment she takes one, she thinks of him again.
ふとした瞬間に思い出すIt comes back to me in unguarded moments.
Side by side
Unable to fit in with her class, Shiori escapes to an empty spot and finds blond Taguchi already claiming it. When she says she can’t fit in with everyone, he says:
じゃあ俺と一緒だなThen you’re just like me.
Side by side
At the reunion ten years later, she’s sitting alone in a corner again. He walks over and asks:
座っていい？Mind if I sit here?
Ear piercing
The first time they talk, she tells him his earrings look nice. He asks if she wants to touch them; flustered, she says she couldn’t.
似合ってて素敵だと思うThey suit you. I think they look lovely.
Ear piercing
He’s dyed his hair black and taken out the earrings, but the piercing holes are still there. This time, she really does reach out and touch.
おかえり、田口君Welcome back, Taguchi.
Once more
After sneaking out of class together for ice pops, just before they part laughing, he says casually:
じゃあまた抜け出すかLet’s sneak out again sometime.
Once more
Ten years later, it’s her turn to work up the courage and ask if they can be close again. He leans in, and his answer is a little more than she expected:
友達以上になAs more than friends.
Episode 2Feelings hidden for 10 years
Lunch
At lunch in high school, he looks at her tiny bento, asks if it’s enough, and hands her a bread roll from the convenience store:
なあ、弁当そんなに足りんの？Hey, is that little bento really enough?
Lunch
Ten years later, at lunch together, he asks the same thing, then feeds her a bite from his own plate:
相変わらずそれで足りんの？Still eating just that much?
The book
Telling him about a novel she loves, she accidentally spoils it and hurries to apologize. He says:
そうやって説明してくれた方が読んだ時が楽It’s easier to read once you’ve told me about it like that.
The book
Ten years later, he pulls out the newest volume of the same series:
山根さんがきっかけで読むようになったんだよYou’re the reason I started reading, Yamane.
The character like him
She says her favorite character in the novel is a bit like Taguchi. As she starts to explain what she likes about him, he cuts in, embarrassed:
それちょっと恥ずいからいいわThat’s kinda embarrassing. You don’t have to say.
The character like him
Ten years later, he’s the one who asks. She blushes and can’t get the words out:
どこが好きなんだっけ？So what was it you liked about him?
See you tomorrow
As lunch break ends, he says he’ll probably be here after school too, and leaves her with:
また明日なSee you tomorrow.
See you tomorrow
One night ten years later, she waits for him at the office and tells him what she’s kept inside for so long:
また明日って言えるのが、すごく嬉しいI’m so happy I get to say “see you tomorrow” again.
Episode 3What “like” really means
Apart
Back in high school, he once told her coldly:
もう俺に話しかけんなDon’t talk to me anymore.
Apart
Ten years later, he confesses, but she can’t bring herself to answer. At last she says what she’s afraid of:
もう離れるのは、嫌だI don’t want us to be apart again.
One bite
Sharing food in high school, he says the point isn’t just having someone there:
誰かじゃなくて誰と食べるかよIt’s not about eating with someone. It’s about who you eat with.
One bite
On a date ten years later, she gives him a bite, and he remembers this happened before:
山根と食べるとおいしいよFood tastes good when I eat with you, Yamane.
Holding hands
At a summer festival in high school, they held hands once. That night, when they reach the fork in the road, she waves and says:
じゃあ私あっちだから、また学校でねI go this way. See you at school.
Holding hands
Ten years later, he admits his heart was racing when they held hands at the festival. On their date, when someone tries to chat them up, this time she’s the one who takes his hand:
こうすれば、もう、声かけられないよねThis way, nobody will try to talk to us again, right?
Like
On the festival night in high school, walking beside him, this is what she thought to herself:
それでも、隣にいられればよかったEven so, just being by your side was enough.
Like
Ten years later, she gives the feeling a name and says it out loud:
田口君のことが、好きですI like you, Taguchi.
おかえり。
You’ve flipped every memory. Everything said ten years ago got its answer ten years later.
See each episode’s best moments (episode guide)New cards are added after each episode airs. Next update after Episode 4 (late Thursday, Oct 29, Japan time).
The drama is based on the manga of the same name by Kamemizu Tora (かめみずとら). It first appeared on X in 2021; as of October 2026 the Japanese edition is up to volume 7, and it’s still ongoing. A Traditional Chinese edition is published in Taiwan by Ching Win Publishing (青文出版社).
With only 30 minutes a week, the manga is a nice way to fill the wait between episodes.
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It has 8 episodes. It airs on MBS in Japan every Thursday at 1:29 a.m. late night (technically early Friday, Japan time). If there are no breaks, the finale, Episode 8, airs late Thursday, November 26.
Shiori Yamane and Ryosuke Taguchi were the two kids in their high school class who were always on their own. Ten years later, they meet again at a class reunion. The story moves back and forth between high school and now, and many present-day scenes echo something that happened back then.
It is based on the manga of the same name by Kamemizu Tora (おかえり、初恋。). It first appeared on X in 2021; as of October 2026 the Japanese edition is up to volume 7 and still ongoing. A Traditional Chinese edition is published in Taiwan by Ching Win Publishing.
New then-and-now cards are added after each episode airs. For air dates and episode titles, see the episode guide article.
Sources: MBS official site, Real Sound, Japanese Wikipedia. Lines are short quotes from each episode; English translations and story summaries are our own. Stills: ©2026 Welcome back, First love. Production committee, MBS.
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