GagaOOLala and TV Tokyo Unveil Groundbreaking Boys Love Series: “At 25:00, In Akasaka”
GagaOOLala is the world’s largest LGBTQIA+ streaming platform and they’ve joined forces with TV Tokyo to create At 25:00, in Akasaka. The series is the first-ever co-produced Boys Love (BL) series adapted from a manga with over 1.2 million sales.
The historic collaboration is a significant milestone in BL cinema and television. The partnership was celebrated at a press conference held on April 15 at TV Tokyo’s headquarters.
Breaking down stigma
The press conference unveiled the much-anticipated public debut of lead actors Kiita Komagine and Taisuke Niihara, alongside co-stars Takuma Usa and Shoma Nagumo. The storyline of At 25:00, At Akasaka follows Yuki Shirasaki (Taisuke Niihara), a rookie actor thrust into the limelight opposite senior actor Asami Hayama (Kiita Komagine). As they navigate their on-screen roles, a “relationship for the sake of their roles” ensues, leading to a poignant love story that delves into the complexities of relationships within the entertainment industry.
The series is a BL drama, a genre which is steadily growing in popularity across Asia. Originating in Japan, the genre follows romantic tropes between two male characters and can differ in representation from innocent crushes to explicit scenes. Though this kind of media isn’t new or revolutionary for Western audiences, it signposts a departure from the more conservative narratives of East and South East Asian plots.
Lead actors Kiita Komagine and Taisuke Niihara shared insights into the unique challenges encountered during production. The series’ meta-structure, a “play within a play,” required the actors to memorise two sets of scripts, presenting a formidable task. They also reminisced about filming kissing scenes and the meticulous efforts taken to ensure authenticity, consulting intimacy coordinators and experimenting with various angles to capture the manga’s dreamy essence.
GagaOOLala will exclusively stream At 25:00, in Akasaka globally (excluding Japan) starting April 18 at 11:30 PM GMT+8, with new episodes released weekly on Thursdays.
