At 25:00 in Akasaka

A Japanese masterclass in not communicating

Correct me if I’m way off base here, but Japanese culture leans heavily on indirect communication and emotional restraint, right? So you’d think that would make people masters at reading between the lines—picking up on body language, tone shifts, microexpressions, the whole unspoken symphony of human interaction.

Not in this show.

These two refuse to communicate in any meaningful way, instead committing to the art of the internal monologue like it’s a competitive sport. 95% of the runtime is just them thinking at each other, and by episode three, it starts feeling like emotional telepathy gone wrong. Sure, without this, you wouldn’t have 10 episodes of something, but I see that as a writing problem.

The pacing is sluggish, the characters are infuriatingly oblivious (one more than the other), and the chemistry? Let’s just say it’s on an extended vacation.

The main characters, for example. I could maybe understand why Asami was drawn to Yuki back in their university days, but in the present? I got nothing. Yuki has all the personality of a paper napkin, except even a napkin can be useful. “Social anxiety” is not a personality trait, but that’s about all he’s got going for him. He’s a bundle of nerves with self-esteem so low it probably needs professional intervention. Asami must be into extreme mental gymnastics because Yuki is a gold medalist in twisting reality to convince himself Asami doesn’t like him. It’s honestly impressive.

I dunno, man. The other day, I had some guys over installing parquet flooring. Conversation eventually died down, so I just sat there watching them work in silence. That was more engaging than 10 episodes of this, so do with that information what you will.

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Acting, even in front of you

The pacing of this drama was a near-masterclass, at least to me. With an exciting lead-in, the MLs' relationship seemed to move at break-neck speed (on the surface) but was full of reflection, fear, and carefully said words. Many might disagree, but I found the flashback episodes a perfect "interruption" to dive deeper into both their current mentalities and past states, which put actions taken when they met again into a whole new light. I felt excited seeing everything laid out and awaiting their next interaction, armed with all the new information presented to me. In particular, I loved the execution of Asami's story.

Final note: I must say, the love scene? Felt like I was watching living, breathing art comprised of two people brimming over with feelings, desperately needing and reaching for each other, physically connecting, all while begging with their eyes, "Please, stay. Please, be here with me." Take notes, other dramas! Take notes!

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A fun take into the behind-the-scene-of a BL drama making while being BLs

A passionate rookie actor Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke), lands a role to be the co-star of a famous actor he knew back in university days, Hayama Asami (Komagine Kiita). As the filming process starts, Shirasaki starts wrestling with his feelings of his character and in real life, as he confronts how he feels about himself while exploring how he really feel about Asami.

This is a delight, wonderful, and fun take into the behind-the-scene of a BL drama while also being a BL. It explores the opposing personal insecurities of Yuki & Asami who are in different stages of success, Yuki feels a burden to find authenticity in his role while Asami has the burden of being successful, Amidst unrequited love and burgeoning feelings, they unite beautifully well on screen. Lovely flirting moments and the instant chemistry really draw me in, and those are my two essentials when it comes to enjoying a romance.

There’s a moment of frustration, but it was endearing to realize the reason behind this twist is due to their own fear of failure, not only in love, but also in career. Both of them want to succeed as actors but afraid that they're not good enough to succeed in. I think this conflict was handled well compared to other dramas. The final episode was perfect and sexy, it had me blushing a lot, leaving me feeling so happy! Would recommend to anyone for the unique storyline, you get intimacy, shirtless caresses, yearning... all those goodies!

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Final thoughts

Firstly, how the writers used Shirasaki character did not frustrate but rather confused me. It is established that Shirasaki is an awkward character who is very impulsive and candid about his thoughts and feelings regardless of the social atmosphere. We see this in many instances; one example is how back in college he voiced is objections to script changes regardless of who is in charge. Therefore what confused me is how this same individual did a complete 180 turn and became so hesitant in voicing his feelings openly. At first I summed it up to him being in love and its effects but later on I found that I was just making an excuse for this contradicting characterisation by the writers. If I am to stick to characterisation of Shirasaki in the beginning of the series as well as every other instance in the series that does not include romance, I expect him to just blurt out his feelings unabashed. Him being candid and awkward is his whole personality so could liking someone be that substantial that he becomes a reluctant personality? Yes, he thought that Hayama had long lasting feelings for someone else and yes, he is inexperienced in love but again with his demeanour one would expect him to blurt out something of the effect to, "I think I am starting to like you!", the moment he had an inkling that he liked Hayama. Could it be that JBL writers are so dedicated to the penchant of making characters stubborn, hesitant and frustrating that charactersation is bound to bend to its will?

Secondly, while I understood the reason for Hayama being aloof, I felt that its justification could have been explored a little more. His mother's failing modelling career, if I remember correctly, caused her to become depressed which affected how he was socialised. She told him to smile and not show his teeth and how she placed such great emphasis that he was a pretty face that he internalised that he was a pretty face to everyone and no one cared to see beyond his attractiveness. We see where in his adult life in college and even after becoming a celebrity he was adulated to the point that he became a cynosure. However this had an adverse effect on Hayama as it solidified what his mother ingrained causing him to become an eccedentesiast. Now ,what I would have liked to see is an interaction between his mother and him during high school to see how her words on him just being an attractive face affected him. This is his teenage years, a very critical time in one's development into adulthood where a lot of socailisation takes place so I would have loved to see how his mother's influence further ingrained the belief that he is just a pretty face. I also would have loved to see an in person interaction or phone call between his mother and him during the shooting of the series starring Shirasaki and himself to see how her words still affect him.

This all brings me to my major point which is that Shirasaki's personality being the opposite to Hayama's should have been the push towards Hayama defrosting. This patent antithesis was the reason why Hayama fell for Shirasaki in the first place, and the fact that this was established should have been built on to show how Shirasaki broke down Hayama's walls gradually instead of them just showing these walls shaking in reaction to jealousy, but lo and behold in true Japanese fashion Shirasaki had to become this stubborn and reluctant character right up until the very end.

Anyways, onto some minor points (I am rapping it up I promise lol), I did not like the theme song because I thought it did not fit the atmosphere of the series. However what I did like most about the series is that it was original in story-line in how it intertwined the romantic development of the characters with the characters they were acting as in the series they where filming. I also liked how they explored the effects and experiences of becoming an actor and celebrity through Shirasaki, and the fact that it was not only his first big role but he was also paired with a celebrity provided for a unique perspective of things; especially since right now Net is paired with a new actor due to the split of NetJames (Bed Friend) and his new acting partner has been receiving some unwarranted backlash.

yup that's it lol

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One of the Most Mature Romances in a Long Time

It can be much easier to admit feelings while hiding behind a character who’s supposed to feel them than to admit them to someone real who has the power to break your heart.

That’s precisely the kind of safety Hayama Asami (Komagine Kiita) hides behind when he offers to fake date his new costar Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke) in order to help him learn about love.

In the Japanese BL At 25:00 in Akasaka, adapted from Natsuno Hiroko’s manga series 25 Ji, Akasaka de, the lines between art and life begin to blur for insecure but passionate rookie actor Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke), after he lands a role in a BL drama opposite a famous actor he knew in his university days, Hayama Asami.

As the series unfolds in an interesting alternating POV that highlights both characters’ insecurities and growing feelings, viewers are thrown into an intense look at the unrequited love for Shirasaki Hayama has carried since university while Shirasaki discovers love for the first time with Hayama.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/22/at-2500-in-akasaka-series-review-ep-3-to-10/

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it's nice if you skip most of it

(PLEASE READ! SKIP TO THE END FOR SUMMARY OR IF YOU DON'T WANT DETAILS.)

I'll make this short, the story was alright. the acting was pretty good, and the cinematography was nice (in a way). The problem is the execution, in a way.

Important complaints:
The timeline was confusing, character development didn't make sense, the scenes were dreadfully long. Like the monologues were longer than the actual meaningful scenes. They served no purpose. There was major miscommunication, although it was slightly understandable and I don't mind it. Whoever story boarded this/the screenwriters did not do a good job. Many fans are saying that people are complaining about the miscommunication too much, but the miscommunication isn't the problem. If they want miscommunication, then fine. However, they did an absolutely horrid job on showing misunderstandings and miscommunication. half of the episodes were either the black haired guy having mood swings/being cold or just very confusing timelines. I could skip most of the second half of the drama (besides for the ending) and still understand everything. They also made the black haired guy stupid for no reason, they didn't think about the character's personality before writing about their reaction to a certain situation. The first half of the drama was so great, it's such a shame. It feels like after the midway point, anything that happened in an episode got completely erased and had no meaning in the next. There's so much more that I could complain about but you get the point,
execution = 👎

Good things:
-It had a pretty promising and strong beginning.
-The ending was almost the only entertaining part, so that's nice
-The cinematography was great in the times you didn't fall asleep
-The acting was really great sometimes but also not, at the same time. I mean, the actors were great at acting out important situations like a human, but they couldn't take into account how the character would act. They also didn't think about how previous things that happened to the character would affect how the character would act in the future, so they could work on that.
-The editing was nice
-I liked the addition of background characters in some scenes, it made it feel more natural. (though that is probably also the camera crew's doing)

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I feel like if they cut like a fourth of the episodes and put in the plot without stretching it out, it would actually be pretty nice. If they also put some more thought into the characters (in all ways, the writing, cinematography, acting, etc.), that would be great. The camera crew did great, though. They did their best to make the dreadful long and stupid scenes to work and look nice.

I would definitely not rewatch it, but I will at least attempt watching the sequel (when and if it comes out). If you are going to watch this, I recommend putting episode 6-9 in 2x speed, or at least just know that it's okay to skip boring scenes and that you will miss out on nothing. I hope this review helps the community!

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New trend: forming a main couple with star actors in JDramas?

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when life finally offers insecure and hesitant rookie actor Yuki Shirasaki (Taisuke Niihara) an important role in a television drama in which he must portray a homosexual character in a relationship with popular actor Asami Hayama (Komagine Kiita) as co-star , and given his inexperience in love, he decides to make the best of the situation... looking for a real experience.
This is how he goes to a gay bar with the aim of finding someone to sleep with to experience a full-fledged apprenticeship and to be able to incorporate the emotions acquired into the character to embody. There, he meets Hayama, his co-star in the television series, a superstar in the world of entertainment and modeling, who in college shared the same film study club with him.
How will Shirasaki react when Hayama offers him his body? What will happen between the kōhai and inexperienced in matters of love Shirasaki when the senpai Hayama proposes to form a "romantic relationship for the sake of character development" until filming concludes? What will happen between these two very different people when filming ends?
And, while Shirasaki gets to go through a lot of fake "official first moments" with Hayama—her first real kiss, her first real date, her first sexual encounter, her first role in a television series, her first leading role in a non-theatrical play or his "first coming out", he is surprised that among the lies, emotions flourish, feelings grow and they fall in love. In other words: what seems like a solid plan soon turns into emotional chaos that will lead them to…
The series raises questions about the nature of falling in love (is it a pure matter of instant chemistry or a difficult process of adaptation to the other?), the transition to adulthood and the acceptance of sexual identity.
Based on the manga series "25:00, in Akasaka" by Natsuno Hiroko ('25ji, Akasaka de' / 25時、赤坂で), first published on November 24, 2018 by Shodensha, the action adaptation real with the same name, is directed by Horie Takahiro ('Death Kyun Loop Wa Tomaranai!) and Kawasaki Ryo ('Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2' and 'My Strawberry Film').
Based on a script written by Aso Kumiko, known for writing the script for 'Inochi Aru Kagiri Tataka e, So Shite Iki Nukunda', throughout the plot and the false courtship, the characters discover that love can arise even in the terrain of deception. The viewer might think that this is a classic tender story framed in a romantic comedy-drama, but in reality, it is full of script twists that exceed any expectations.
From the TV Tokyo channel, the series seeks to capture the audience with a formula that combines humor, drama and love through a pseudo-romantic relationship that off-screen leads to a touching and beautifully crafted love story that explores the complexities of relationships within the entertainment industry and between actors.
The cast is reinforced by renowned figures from Japanese cinema and television such as Takuma Usa, a figure known for his participation in other romantic dramas such as 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower', 'Kiss × Kiss × Kiss: Melting Night' and 'Cool Doji Danshi'. Accompanying Usa in supporting roles is Shoma Nagumo, from 'Kiss x Kiss x Kiss: Love ii Shower' and 'Minato Shouji Coin Laundry'. The cast is completed with Atsushi Hashimoto, who began his acting career in 2004 in the film 'Water Boys 2'; Moemi Katayama, actress who in 2019 played the character of Kohiruimaki Himeko in the romantic series 'Ossan's Love: In the Sky', and Shinohara Yushin, known for his intervention in the film 'We Couldn't Become Adults', who together contribute memorable performances. It is, truly, a luxury cast.
I wonder: Will there come a time when they stop pretending that they are a couple and make it known that they ARE a couple? Will the student be a good apprentice to the sensei?
If someone asked me: What is so special about the series?, I would answer:
- Shows the non-stereotypical or stigmatized image of the homosexual man and same-sex relationships with the purpose of achieving significant changes in the conservative, patriarchal and heteronormative Japanese society.
- The right decision to make the main couple with two acting stars, since Japanese romantic dramas of the LGBT+ genre usually pair a popular, experienced actor with one less known to the public. Apparently, producers and creators of the genre are seeking to implement a new trend, if we take into account that in the recently concluded 'Sukiyanen Kedo Dou Yaro ka' (2024) they also paired two experienced actors who enjoy great popularity, such as Kan Hideyoshi and Nishiyama Jun.
- The use of monologue through which the characters define their traits and the audience can get to know their most intimate thoughts without the need for a narrator to intervene.
- The respect, passion and sincerity of the members of the artistic-technical teams to the original work.
- The forced plot does not take away from the magic of a leading couple that brims with chemistry and dialogues that manage to convey more than one substantial reflection.
- The two protagonists are very funny in this drama with characters that one represents maturity and experience and the other "first-time" naivety in all areas, both in love and sexual matters to those concerning his work as a novice actor.
- Although the script presents the same tricks as many other series of the genre, the truth is that '25ji, Akasaka de' has shares of originality in the evolution and outcome of the plot.
- The value of friendship, of the camaraderie of coworkers and students to help the two protagonists manage the complex emotions that will accompany them throughout the plot, focused on building the love relationship of Shirasaki and Hayama , their successful participation in a television series, and that both discover their authentic selves.
- Taisuke Niihara and Komagine Kiita play a seemingly impossible couple who will have to force themselves to have an initially non-existent chemistry, because they are unknown people chosen in a casting to play two protagonists of a television drama.
- The disturbing innocence of the entire approach.
- The purity of characters who grow without "corrupting", clinging to their first loves and unusual experiences on a film set.
- Its light narrative and good performances hook you from the first frame, making it a fun series.
- A series with a concept developed and outlined as a drama and not as a comedy.
- '25ji, Akasaka de' shows a series of circumstances that could hardly happen to its characters, always maintaining the premise that dramatic moments in real life are usually interspersed with humorous moments.
- The creators wanted there to be a certain honesty in the script and that the actors did not have to react intentionally to the planned moments of humor.
- With the dosage of humor and a choreography of gestures that also extends to intelligent and elegant compositions of shots, those responsible for the series achieve the very complicated task of getting each of the decisions made right.
- The music, the smoothness of the camera movements, the ease of provoking different emotions in the viewer and the palpable complicity of a well-rounded cast make the experience of the episodes something special.
- A series that from the pilot episode captivates the viewer and the illusion that the balance is not lost and those responsible are overcome in the following chapters full of disparate occurrences and interesting situations.
- The idea of ​​a closing with a delicate and tender musical sweep.
- Having two directors with extensive experience in the world of entertainment, whose experiences also as writers combined with the skill and vast writing craft of the accredited screenwriter could perfectly outline both the narrative discourse and the staging or production.

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Series was overall fun

The series is a fun take from the manga. I enjoyed seeing the characters grow alone the way. Its a fund series to watch over all but it felt off at times or dragging its feet with showing the interest. Good actors but I felt there was a lack of chemistry with the leads a bit. I enjoyed seeing the behind the sense work of making the BL. It was a nice fresh take, but the kissing looked more forced then fun and intimate. I felt the ending was lacking a bit as well. Its an overall fun take on a different type of Bl. The actors were good in telling the story but it just felt like something was missing and the story felt longer then needed at times. I over all did enjoy the play and how it all came together.

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Give it a chance and maybe you'll be surprised like me

Premise: I'm writing this review because I personally found some comments about this drama to be unfair in some part. I'm writing this to maybe reach those who are indecided (like I was) before giving this show a chance.
I admit I was influenced by personal matters while forming my opinion, the characters and overall mood of this drama spoke to me on a deep personal level.
The story is quite mid, sure, it's fair to admit it. Nothing new nor nothing special or notable. Two guys who find each other again on the set of a drama years after graduating from the same university. One has a crush on the other (not telling more). Easy so far. Work gets in between them as they act protagonist and co-protagonist in a bl.
The mood, lighting, music of this drama make everything extremely basic, realistic, somebody might say flat. Instead, in my eyes, there is tenderness, quietness, slow flowing of normal human life under a careful lense. The cinematography is very good and helped a lot in conveying all those emotions, giving us beautiful framings and shots.
The actors did a wonderful job, especially on the last episode. Man, it was worth everything. They deserve recognition for the job they did and the chemistry was definetely there. You get to know the characters little by little, with their fragilities and imperfections. Miscommunication is in the right place here, the characters have one thing in common: they keep everything to themselves until they explode. I found that very fitting for the situation and their characterization. I generally hate that but appreciated it this time around. They felt very human to me, lonely in a crude, realistic way, and passionate about something they believed so much in that it shaped them. That's what I felt most.
Tension was there, every episode called me to the next, and seeing them faking acting while acting was wild. That is NOT an easy thing to do and they delivered perfectly.
I 100% recommend it because it's a very simple story but the execution is remarkably beautiful. I say to you reading this: give it a try, look into small things, get in the mood and empathize with the leads. This series surely resonates more with souls that have a passion, an objective in life that fuels them to the core. It's not just a love story.

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hard to judge because it has it's lengths

The best thing the show did, was not starting with a sex scene as the manga did.
What was frustrating was the lack of communication overall, but especially on Asamis part. He was in love for years and still can't communicate properly when he has the chance. Of course, if both are in love they don't really need words to convey their feelings, but if the partner is inexperienced, shy and never experieced love in his life, it would help tremendously. They should have shown Asamis reason to love Yuki in Episode 2 also much earlier to give the viewers more to work with and to better understand him, I think to do that in episode 7 was a bit late.

Besides that, the series was beautifully crafted, cinematography was great and they tried to be sensual all over. The mellow pace was not a negative for me per se, but the series draged on a bit. Even with this flaws the MLs did act a wonderful job and only failed with the kissing scenes which was a bit disappointing.

So in summary a good show with some flaws but enjoyable to watch.

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Pretty Darn Good

I don't have much to say cause this was one of those J-BLs that's pretty freaking good, but not great enough to be memorable. However, throughout my watch, I enjoyed myself fully. I'm starting to like these kinds of tropes with the leads in a BL falling for each other in real life, it might just become another one of those concepts that garner it an automatic watch.

Let's Dive In.

Yuki and Asami's dynamic was the cutest. You get a little bit of that bubbly seme/stoic uke trope, but not so cutthroat. I adored the way Asami treated Yuki and watching the younger slowly fall in love. My only real negative about them is that a very minor, very minuscule mishearing drove the entirety of the plot at the end. Yuki literally just could've asked Asami who he was talking about, and that would've killed off an irrelevant 3 episodes, and a couple of non-sensical crying scenes. Oh, and their kisses, minus a couple of them, were all pretty bad. But besides those two things, I really enjoyed them.

Speaking on the production itself, so many amazing and beautiful transitions happened in this that looked fantastic. Whoever was behind this definitely took their time to craft these very creative transitions, and I really enjoyed them .

Ratings:

Story: 8/1 0 - gets a little eh by the end, but most of it is good.

Acting: 9/10 - It's good! I liked Taisuke (Yuki)'s acting the most. I like seeing the difference between his actual character and the character he played in the series.

Music: 6/10 - didn't pay it any attention.

Recommendation Value: 7/10 - I really like it, but like I said earlier, it's not too memorable since the ending kind of dies down the hype of this. However, I think it's a beautiful story told, so I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.

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Such a unique show!

I LOVED it. I honestly don't get negative reviews. Such a unique setting of filming a movie, actors playing actors, cinematography, plot - it all just came together. In a way it's a show for introverts, with its slow pacing, great dialogues and no exagerated drama. There's not a single cringe or trivial moment, everything is mature and quiet in the best way possible. I only wished actors could "act more with their eyes" - but I guess they have a whole life ahead to hone their acting skills even more. I'm definetely gonna rewatch it later.

A bonus point for great skinship, kisses and NC.

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