Tomodachi Game (Japanese: トモダチゲーム, Hepburn: Tomodachi Gēmu; lit.'Friends Game') is a Japanese manga series conceptualized by Mikoto Yamaguchi and written and illustrated by Yuki Sato. It was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from December 2013 to August 2024, with its chapters collected in 26 tankōbon volumes. A television drama adaptation and two live-action films premiered in 2017. An anime television series adaptation produced by Okuruto Noboru aired from April to June 2022. A second television drama adaptation titled Tomodachi Game R4 aired on TV Asahi from July to September 2022.
Premise
Yūichi Katagiri was taught the value of friendship when he was young, and it is thanks to his group of four friends that he is able to enjoy high school life today. When their class's school trip funds are stolen, the five are dragged into the mysterious Tomodachi Game as a result of someone's debt. The friendship of the five will be put to the ultimate test against the promise of wealth there.
A seemingly ordinary high school student from a poor family who is forced to participate in the Tomodachi Game to pay off a collective debt. Throughout the games, a ruthless and manipulative side of his personality emerges, showcasing his formidable talent for deciphering rules and manipulating opponents. Yūichi possesses a dark past, having killed his two adopted parents. Despite later revelations that he originally conceived the Tomodachi Game as a child, he now seeks to destroy its administration.
One of Yūichi's friends participates in the Tomodachi Game alongside him. Raised with a strong sense of morality by her policeman father, she is well-liked among her peers and has a crush on Yūichi. Having accidentally lost their class's trip funds, she inadvertently paid the admission fee for their game. After being released from the second round, she is bullied by classmates out of suspicion and hatred, leading to her disappearance. She reappears as a hostage after her father investigates the game, later rejoining as a participant to find the truth behind the Tomodachi Game and learn about Yūichi's past.
One of Yūichi's friends participates in the Tomodachi Game alongside him. He is calm, reserved, and brilliant, often achieving top marks in school and demonstrating strong capabilities in negotiation and mediation. It is revealed he participated in the Tomodachi Game before, accumulating debt from a past betrayal by friends. He originally bore great hatred for his childhood friend, whom he blamed for that betrayal and his father's death, intending to use the current game to demoralize her. After learning the truth behind his father's death, their relationship is restored. Following the second round, he accompanies Yūichi for the remainder of the games, winning his trust.
One of Yūichi's friends participates in the Tomodachi Game alongside him. The son of a politician, he grew up without financial worry and possesses a carefree, honest personality. After being released from the second round, he is bullied by classmates out of suspicion and hatred. When asking his father for money, he is instead accused of murdering him and the attempted sexual assault of another participant. He joins the third round to prove his innocence in stealing the class trip funds. After having his name cleared, he inherits his father's debt and follows Yūichi into the Adult Tomodachi Game. However, upon learning Yūichi's role in his father's financial corruption, he ultimately betrays him.
One of Yūichi's friends participates in the Tomodachi Game alongside him. She is initially kind, timid, and highly gullible, with a genuine interest in manga. Following her release from the second round, she joins Yūichi for all subsequent games. Her past involves extreme bullying and claims of having "worked as a prostitute" without conducting night service. A far more cunning and wicked side is revealed, including secret dealings with figures from Yūichi's past, whom she met before high school. She is responsible for the murder of another participant's father to frame Sawaragi, executing this as part of her plan to force everyone into the Tomodachi Game.
She joins the third game under the guise of having advanced to this stage alone but joins Group C. In truth, she is one of the administrators of the Tomodachi Game, sent to spy on Yuichi. A very cheery and sly girl, Maria is in charge of observing Yuichi and hindering other participants in various games when needed. She later develops a crush on Yuichi finding his face and personality when he is ruthless and merciless charming.
A buxom administrator with long, blonde hair. Initially introduced as the administrator in charge of observing Group K for Game #3: Friendly Hide and Seek, but is usually in charge of monitoring Kei Shinomiya specifically. Nicknamed "Tama-chan" by those close to her.
A mascot character from a popular in-universe anime series, Manabu-kun is the host to the various games, and usually dresses up in disguises to fit the game's theme. He will introduce the games, explain the rules and whatever else this particular game requires. However, he never directly interferes with the players unless necessary.
The shortest member of Group K appears to be its most innocent but is actually the mastermind behind its near-victory in Hide-and-Seek. A genius who rivals Yūichi, he joins the Adult Tomodachi Game specifically to challenge and defeat him in mental combat. After being bested by Yūichi in Friend's Prison, he joins his team as a replacement for another member. Upon gaining the team's trust, Yūichi acknowledges him as a comrade, and the two assist each other during the All-Bet Gambling event.
The leader of Group K volunteers to be the hider during Friendly Hide and Seek. After dropping out of school to help his family's business, he enters his team into the Tomodachi Game as a last chance to win the national high school basketball tournament and settle a large debt. Following the conclusion of the third game, he is supposed to participate in the Adult Tomodachi Game but is implied to have disappeared. It is later revealed that he is alive and that another participant took his place in the game.
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Shawn Gann (English)
A thug who kidnapped Yutori and incited Yuichi to rescue her under the guise of a Tomodachi Game. After being threatened by Yuichi and subsequently arrested for posing as an administrator, Kuroki joined the Adult Tomodachi Game hoping to get revenge on Yuichi. Later, it is revealed that Yutori orchestrated her kidnapping and asked Kuroki to do so. His first name is presumably Satoru (さとる), according to his ex-girlfriend Minami.
Ryusei Taneda (種田 流星, Taneda Ryūsei)
A former host club and a playboy participating in the Friend's Prison game. He also cleared Tomodachi Game twice.
Minami Fudo (ふどみなみ, Fudou Minami)
Kuroki's ex-girlfriend and participant.
Saori Miyabe (宮部 沙織, Miyabe Saori)
A former Housekeeper of the Shibe Household who was forced to work for unknown reasons, she bore a great hatred to the Shibe family. She became the first witness during Shibe's trial game to vent her anger, but later regains Shibe's trust and faith and later become a ally to Yuichi during the prison game. It was also revealed she was Shibe's first love that inspire him to like the "big sister types".
Game #2.1: All-Bet Gambling
Team Kamishiro
Shinji Shiba (司馬真司)
The son of Taizen Shiba and Yuichi's adoptive older brother with a shady business who first appeared as an assistant to Kamishiro in the Gambling games. Raised by the same person who taught Yuichi, it was known he could be the strongest and the same level of genius as his own brother. It was known that he worked with Kokorogi at the past manipulating several events with her; which includes Sawaragi's capture in middle school, and the murder of Mikasa's father. It also implied that he was responsible for Sawaragi's large scar on her chest.
Saika Kamishiro (最下 神代)
The elderly leader of the Kamishiro Team who claims to have the "God Eye" for being able to see through the opponents trick.
Team Kaidou
Tsukasa Kaidou (司 街道)
A detective who infiltrated Tomodachi Game to investigate by participating with his group and daughter. He later works with Yuichi to end Tomodachi Game.
Satone Kaidou (里根 街道)
The daughter of Tsukasa Kaidou who has extraordinary senses.
The father of Shinji Shiba and the adoptive father of Yuichi who was the one who taught him about the value of money over the world. He was revealed to be one of the three people Yuichi killed at the past.
Yuichi's adoptive mother who raised him to be a better person and taught him the value of friends over money. She was revealed to be one of the three people Yuichi killed at the past. But unlike with Taizen, Yuichi felt heavily remorse when killing Yuka.
Media
Manga
Tomodachi Game, conceptualized by Mikoto Yamaguchi and illustrated by Yuki Sato, was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from December 9, 2013,[13] to August 8, 2024.[14] Kodansha collected its chapters in 26 tankōbon volumes, released from April 9, 2014, to October 8, 2024.[15][16]
In May 2023, Kodansha started publishing the series in English on their K Manga digital service.[17]
In June 2022, another television drama adaptation produced by TV Asahi, titled Tomodachi Game R4, was announced. It was directed by Takurо̄ Oikawa, Hajime Takezono, and Toshiaki Kamada, with screenplays by Takuji Higuchi and Shinya Hokimoto, and Yoshinori Nakamura composing the music. The series features members of the Johnny's Jr. boybands, HiHi Jets and Bishonen as cast members. It was broadcast for eight episodes on TV Asahi from July 23 to September 10, 2022.[5][44]
Live-action films
Two live-action films, Tomodachi Game Gekijō-ban (トモダチゲーム 劇場版) and Tomodachi Game Gekijō-ban Final (トモダチゲーム 劇場版 FINAL), premiered in Japan on June 3[45] and September 2, 2017,[46] respectively.
Anime
In November 2021, it was announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation by Okuruto Noboru. It is directed by Hirofumi Ogura and written by Kenta Ihara, with Satomi Miyazaki designing the characters, Michiru composing the music, and Hiroto Morishita directing the sound at Studio Mausu.[2] The series aired from April 6 to June 22, 2022, on NTV's AnichU [ja] programming block and other channels.[a] The opening theme song is "Double Shuffle" by Nana Mizuki, while the ending theme song is "Tomoshibi" by saji.[47][48]Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia.[49]Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and began streaming it exclusively on Disney+/Disney+ Hotstar in May 2022.[50]
An English dub by Crunchyroll premiered on April 19, 2022.[51][3]
"It's a Game Where You Wait, and Wait, and Wait... and Keep Waiting" Transliteration: "Matte Matte Matte... Machi Tsuzukeru Gēmu da yo" (Japanese: 待って待って待って…待ち続けるゲームだよ)
Yoshinobu Kasai
Kenta Ihara
Jin Tamamura
May 25, 2022 (2022-05-25)
9
"Hurry Up and "Switch Sides"" Transliteration: "Sassato "Negaeri" Shiro yo" (Japanese: さっさと“寝返り”しろよ)
^Nippon TV lists the series premiere at 25:29 on April 5, 2022, which is effectively 1:29 a.m. JST on April 6.
^ abcInformation is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
^Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12:00 a.m. JST on Hulu Japan, d Anime Store and other streaming platforms, an hour and 29 minutes before the original air time on NTV.
^This episode aired at 1:49 a.m. JST, 20 minutes after the original air time.
^ abThis episode aired at 2:19 a.m. JST, 50 minutes after the original air time.
^This episode aired at 1:34 a.m. JST, 5 minutes after the original air time.
^番組表 2017年4月24日 (in Japanese). Chiba TV. April 24, 2017. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021. 22:30トモダチゲーム【終】【出】吉沢亮 内田理央 ほか▽＃４第４話（全４話）コックリさんゲームは友一の機転によりクリアできたが、同時に友達の中に裏切り者がいるという疑心を生むこととなった。友一の心は疑心に支配されていく。
