25 Ji, Akasaka de (2024)

Best Skip This One

I'm not sure what it is about this drama, but it's just too dull.

It's strange to say this because both actors can act decently in other dramas, but in this one.... I'm not sure what it is.
They really lack chemistry... and their acting is dull.
Also, the story itself isn't the best story.
The manga was better.

•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•

Shirasaki is trying to get his foot into the acting world. He gets cast in a BL drama where he plays lovers with Hayama, a popular model turned actor. Hayama is also Shirasaki's film clubmate from when they were in university, although they didn't interact with each other at the time.

Shirasaki, who's never been in love, hits a wall when trying to portray love, so Hayama suggests they become lovers. While pretending to date, Shirasaki starts to develop feelings for Hayama. Hayama, on the other hand, seems to have an unrequited love from his college days that he can't get over.

So.... The plot of the story isn't too bad. It's not anything special, but it's a decent watch.
However, there is some angst and major miscommunication.
Shirasaki and Hayama are both quiet and neither wear their hearts on their sleeve.
They both bottle up their emotions, thoughts, and everything, hiding their true colors, which is where the angst and miscommunication come in.
This is also where both actors struggle to portray the characters, which unfortunately dragged the drama down.

•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•

Both Shirasaki and Hayama's actors are decently talented.
Both actors aren't household names, but they have been in quite a few dramas and movies.
However, they are both still rookie actors, learning their craft.

As stated earlier, the characters of Shirasaki and Hayama are quiet and don't wear their hearts of their sleeves.
This types of character are difficult to portray due to their lack of dialogue, only using body language.

Shirasaki is naive, yet straight forward. His actor, Niihara Taisuke, has a hard time with both sides of Shirasaki. Both his naive side, and straight forward side, comes off as two different characters. It's due to this that it's hard to pinpoint what Shirasaki is thinking. Furthermore, since Shirasaki is quiet, he needs to express himself more with his body language, which is not Niihara's strongest suit. Shirasaki's innocence, jealousy, and longing just come off as indifference because of Niihara's lack of expression during the quiet scenes.

Next is Hayama. Hayama is the cool kid that can talk to everyone and anyone, but doesn't really say his true feelings. His actor, Komagine Kiita, tried his best and was able to portray Hayama's popular side quite well, but seemed to have a hard time acting out Hayama's "true personality," which is his vulnerable (and quiet) side. When Hayama is talking and being the popular kid, Komagine's acting is on point, however, when Hayama is lost in his thoughts, quietly thinking about Shirasaki and plotting his next course of action, or even being quietly jealous, Kogamine struggles. You can see that he's trying to act with his body, but his facial expressions sometimes fall flat.

Lastly, maybe it's because both actors struggle with acting without dialogue, that both Shirasaki and Hayama don't seem to be the perfect match made in heaven. We don't get to see the longing and jealousy that Shirasaki and Hayama hold for each other despite being told that they are pinning for each other. So yeah... no chemistry between the actors.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•

I didn't really hate the drama, but I could have gone without watching it.
The story is decent, but the acting isn't amazing, which pulls the plot down significantly.

This drama is about two actors that end up falling in love with each other and having really good chemistry that they end up becoming really popular after the drama is aired. Unfortunately, reality doesn't follow fiction, as I live in Japan and no one is talking about this drama. (Compared to My Beautiful Man, where it was everywhere and everyone was talking about the drama.)

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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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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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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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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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El final de los jueves japoneses

Este año coincidieron tres obras japonesas al mismo momento y At 25:00 at Akasaka es a la última que tenemos que decirle adiós, lo que, ciertamente, nos deja con una sequía de producción nipona hasta nuevo aviso.

El drama no es, probablemente, el mejor que he visto en los últimos tiempos y, aunque la producción y la actuación son de alto nivel, es cierto que el producto en su conjunto pierde por decisiones directivas y de guion. También es verdad que últimamente orbito más alrededor de producciones que no utilizan la falta de comunicación como elemento central de las problemáticas de sus personajes.

En cualquier caso, ha sido muy agradable compartir estas 10 semanas con Kiita y Taisuke. Estaré esperando esa segunda temporada que se deja caer al final del último episodio.

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Tecnicamente excelente, mas um tanto arrastada

Algo que não pode ser negado é a imensa qualidade que esse BL tem. A cinematografia é impecável, a trilha sonora é perfeita, as atuações são excelentes e a direção realmente consegue trazer esse toque de delicadeza, timidez e o despertar de uma relação cheia de desentendimentos e sentimentos não ditos.

O problema é que esse BL acabou sendo lançado alguns meses depois de I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama, outro BL japonês que foi lançado no final do ano passado e que tem literalmente o mesmo plot. É a mesma história de um ator tímido e retraído que nunca teve sucesso e precisa fazer um BL com um ator famoso que ele teve contato no passado e que é secretamente apaixonado por ele.

E o problema é que o ritmo flui muito melhor lá do que aqui. Os dois maiores problemas que eu tive aqui foram o Yuki, um personagem um tanto sem graça e entediante e a forma como o roteiro decidiu enrolar até o último episódio para que os personagens finalmente conversassem.

E isso infelizmente acaba afetando muito o ritmo da série a ponto da narrativa se tornar repetitiva em alguns momentos.

Entretanto, não deixa de ser um BL incrível e muito bem produzido. Apenas faltou coragem e criatividade em criar um desenvolvimento mais ousado e diferente para os personagens.

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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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When actors confuse their character's desire with their own

The meaning behind the title of J-BL At 25:00 in Akasaka remains obscure (to me, at least), but the series itself delivers solid, if unspectacular, BL entertainment. Among the recycled tropes deployed here are secret crush, fake relationship, failure to communicate, BL-within-the-BL, and flirtatious co-workers who create misunderstandings between the lead characters. While none of those concepts suggest originality, the mixing and matching of these shopworn tropes imbues the series with a degree of freshness sufficient to elevate the final product. Building the series more around character psychology than story action likely blunted the potential “seen this” reaction from viewers, who get caught up instead in understanding the lead characters. They are compelling enough to hold our attention. Akasaka also offers yet another iteration of the “wannabe actor/singer/idol breaking into show business” plot. This version of that overused trope arrives complete with a full-scale BL series in which our lead characters have been cast as the romantic leads. This BL-within-the-BL is used to great effectiveness because it is grounded in the realism of “show business as job” rather than the histrionics of “show business as glamor.” A sprightly start in the first several episodes and a finale that pays off viewers’ patience with sweet couple moments bookend several middle episodes that laboriously ponder along in circles. The series may not linger long in anyone’s memory, but its strengths surely warrant watching.

Shirasaki Yuki is an aspiring actor who lands his first major role in a forthcoming TV series adapting a BL manga. To his surprise, his co-star turns out to be onetime acquaintance Hayama Asami, now transitioning into acting after attaining fame and wealth as a model. Shirasaki begins the series intimidated to be paired opposite someone who has already achieved noteworthy professional success, albeit in a different field. Despite overlapping at the same university, with Shirasaki two years younger, the two are essentially strangers. Astute observers of Shirasaki's mannerisms will, as early as the premiere episode, suspect that that version of events may not be entirely true, but Shirasaki does not number among the astute. His lack of professional experience engenders such feelings of inadequacy that the character grapples with Imposter Syndrome for nearly the full ten episodes. He mopes his way through much of the series as he grapples with those feelings. (For someone who has supposedly just earned his big professional break, all this moping seems excessive.) Meanwhile, Hayama proves almost as depressive as he struggles to balance his prior romanticization of student-Shirasaki against the novice actor in front of him. When Shirasaki confesses that his own absence of any romantic history leaves him unsure how to approach the portrayal of his character, Hayama proposes the two spend quality time together in a “fake” relationship. This attempt to “get into character” lets the series depict Shirasaki and Hayama in numerous couple situations that will also come up in the rom-com story they are playing in. Later, Shirasaki will grapple with the confusion of whether a growing attachment to Hayama is real or is merely a reflection of his character’s attraction to Hayama’s character.

In place of a proper side couple, Akasaka has the two characters in the faux-BL, portrayed by Shirasaki and Hayama. These avatars of the “real” characters become a pseudo-side couple because many scenes for the drama-within-the-drama are staged for our benefit. We either witness the production on set or we join Shirasaki and Hayama as they watch their scenes back during the TV broadcast. As our leads struggle to articulate their connection to one another, the process of rehearsing and performing for the TV series sheds insight into their growing bond. Two fellow actors in the TV show also contribute to the character development. Sakuma Hajime is the most veteran actor in the troupe, and he offers insight into the craft of acting and the price of celebrity. He functions to make the main characters think even more about the way actors root performance in their own emotional intelligence. Joining the company of actors halfway through, Yamase Kazumo plays a love rival in the fake series. Ditto, for the real actors. Yamase’s flirtatious interactions with Shirasaki, both on- and off-camera, stir jealousy in Hayama. His behind-the-scenes attentiveness further discombobulates Shirasaki, who can scarcely process his burgeoning attraction to one co-star. The new character's casual, off-hand approach to sex contrasted sharply with Shirasaki and Hayama, each of whom seemed to overthink everything. The scenes featuring Yamase injected a jolt of energy into some of the series’ more languid episodes, rescuing many scenes from lapsing into the somnolent. The presence of Yamase provides another example of the series using the fictious TV production to both mirror the main story and to amplify its emotional beats.

At 25:00 in Akasaka does far more character building than the typical BL series. While this approach also accounts for the slow-burn to the Shirasaki-Hayama pairing, viewers who enjoy a studied character psychology in their dramas will appreciate the result. Likewise, the worldbuilding is fully realized, with the show-within-the-show attaining a more prominent function within the plot than any other such series since Lovely Writer. Where that series played with the connection between an author’s emotional state and the worlds he creates on paper, this series plays with the connection of actors creating their performance. Both stories succeed in creating a meta-narrative that not all shows-within-a-show manage to pull off. Ultimately, the series is too slow-slow burn for greatness. It wears its thoughtfulness like a burden. The middle episodes, in particular, prove circular and slow. Akasaka narrowly falls short of this genre's elite series; yet, it surely numbers among the many, many BL series that deliver solid entertainment and the satisfaction we BL fans all feel when two young men—finally!—recognizing they like one another.

Note: each episode includes a brief tag following the credits and “scenes from the next episode.” Some merely replay a significant moment from earlier, while a handful offer a new interpretation of that prior scene. The scene chosen for the finale episode proved an especially well-chosen final view of our lead characters.

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