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This review may contain spoilers
A wonderful story, and a better sequel
Don't we just love it when anything defies all expectations? I'm not a fan of sequels, that's the truth but every so often, there's a gem that gets me to change my tune and I am glad to report At 25 in Akasaka S2 is one of them.
Because we see, the problem with sequels is that they tend to fall into the same drumbeat we've come to expect - the relationship with no real progress even after ten years, the couple who just can't communicate despite promising to actually open their mouths and talk every second episode in the previous season, or the love (who doesn't incite any) interest who just refuses stay off screen - the options are endless.
But thank goodness they knew what to write. No awkward moments between Shirasaki and Hayama like they started dating yesterday, no unnecessary love triangles and rivals, and no misunderstandings that had anything to do with their relationship - actually, no misunderstandings. We need to recognise how precious that is in sequel land, we don't get this often!
The actual conflicts stemmed from the main focus (save Shirasaki and Hayama of course) of this season, something that actually made sense in the grander scheme of things. Their careers.
How do you balance a romantic relationship once you stop working together is a good base, but they developed that into dating as two very public figures, into how do you mediate the fact that you're actually rivals in love and turned up the heat by focusing on their personal struggles as actors besides just having to compete with each other!
It is inspired storytelling in a lot of ways, though the idea behind the conflicts are simple, they are layered in a way that escalates the tension with each episode. The reactions of both the leads were also in tune with their personalities we discovered back in S1, with a bit of change, which credit to actually writing them as characters who can grow. They're not perfect, they change and develop as actors and humans throughout the ten episodes, right up until the ending and it was great.
Coming to the characters, Shirasaki and Hayama were completely amazing. Though there were some choices they made that I specifically didn't agree with, they weren't anything huge, and most importantly - those choices made them more flawed, more human. There's no awkwardness in their relationship (thank you again), it felt mature and grounded, they talked to each other, understood each other, what more do I want.
I also enjoyed Sakuma and Yamase, they provided some great perspective to our leads and were part of some great relief scenes.
Rounding out the roster is an incredible new character - Kuroki Keita - who.. well, did wonders for the story plot wise and character wise.
I love the way this show kept surprising me.
My only real complaint would be that Shirasaki and Hayama got a lot of chances and room to grow as a couple, but not as many as I would've liked to just take in just how great a couple they already were. By that I mean I would've liked more scenes of their playful and flirty interactions.
I very much enjoyed this sequel, it was truly well done and if you loved S1 (I did), chances are you'll love this just as much or maybe even more! Totally recommend.
Because we see, the problem with sequels is that they tend to fall into the same drumbeat we've come to expect - the relationship with no real progress even after ten years, the couple who just can't communicate despite promising to actually open their mouths and talk every second episode in the previous season, or the love (who doesn't incite any) interest who just refuses stay off screen - the options are endless.
But thank goodness they knew what to write. No awkward moments between Shirasaki and Hayama like they started dating yesterday, no unnecessary love triangles and rivals, and no misunderstandings that had anything to do with their relationship - actually, no misunderstandings. We need to recognise how precious that is in sequel land, we don't get this often!
The actual conflicts stemmed from the main focus (save Shirasaki and Hayama of course) of this season, something that actually made sense in the grander scheme of things. Their careers.
How do you balance a romantic relationship once you stop working together is a good base, but they developed that into dating as two very public figures, into how do you mediate the fact that you're actually rivals in love and turned up the heat by focusing on their personal struggles as actors besides just having to compete with each other!
It is inspired storytelling in a lot of ways, though the idea behind the conflicts are simple, they are layered in a way that escalates the tension with each episode. The reactions of both the leads were also in tune with their personalities we discovered back in S1, with a bit of change, which credit to actually writing them as characters who can grow. They're not perfect, they change and develop as actors and humans throughout the ten episodes, right up until the ending and it was great.
Coming to the characters, Shirasaki and Hayama were completely amazing. Though there were some choices they made that I specifically didn't agree with, they weren't anything huge, and most importantly - those choices made them more flawed, more human. There's no awkwardness in their relationship (thank you again), it felt mature and grounded, they talked to each other, understood each other, what more do I want.
I also enjoyed Sakuma and Yamase, they provided some great perspective to our leads and were part of some great relief scenes.
Rounding out the roster is an incredible new character - Kuroki Keita - who.. well, did wonders for the story plot wise and character wise.
I love the way this show kept surprising me.
My only real complaint would be that Shirasaki and Hayama got a lot of chances and room to grow as a couple, but not as many as I would've liked to just take in just how great a couple they already were. By that I mean I would've liked more scenes of their playful and flirty interactions.
I very much enjoyed this sequel, it was truly well done and if you loved S1 (I did), chances are you'll love this just as much or maybe even more! Totally recommend.
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