Short Drama The Final Lesson - Only Survivors Graduate -
Lead Actor Yusei Yagi wins Best Actor Award at the 1st Asia Short-Form Drama Awards
Nippon TV Honored with First International Award for Short Drama Excellence

Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV), Japan's leading multiplatform entertainment powerhouse, announced that its short drama series The Final Lesson - Only Survivors Graduate - has received an international award. Lead actor Yusei Yagi of the dance and vocal group FANTASTICS has been awarded the Best Actor Award at the inaugural Asia Short-Form Drama Awards, held in Busan, South Korea on May 28, 2025. His performance in Nippon TV's original short drama series, released in full on the short drama app UniReel on November 26, 2024 (total of 43 episodes), received high acclaim. UniReel is the Japan-specific version of ReelShort, a popular short-form vertical drama app in North America.

The Final Lesson - Only Survivors Graduate - tells the chilling story of a music teacher Takeshi Maruyama (played by Yagi), who gathers his students of Class 3-F at Mirai High School-those responsible for driving his colleague and romantic partner, Rie Imaizumi (played by Miona Hori), to her death-into the music room on the day before their graduation ceremony. There, under the guise of a "final lesson," he initiates a deadly game of retribution. Yagi's intense and unhinged performance has generated significant buzz, capturing widespread media attention.

The 1st Asia Short-Form Drama Awards was established with the aim of setting a new standard for the drama industry in Asia and promoting the global expansion of Asia-originated content. A key feature of the awards is the comprehensive evaluation of innovative storytelling and platform strategies in the digital age, as well as competitiveness in the international market. At the awards ceremony, winners were announced across 10 categories-including the Grand Prize (Best Work Award) and Best Actor Award-selected from approximately 1,000 short titles distributed across 15 countries and regions. The eligible works and performers were from Japan, China, and South Korea, with productions completed by April 2025.

[Comment from Lead Actor, Yusei Yagi, FANTASTICS]
　This is Yusei Yagi from FANTASTICS, and I'm truly honored to have received the Best Actor Award at the 1st Asia Short-Form Drama Awards. When my manager told me the news, I was really surprised, and knowing it's the very first award of its kind made it feel even more special.
　In The Final Lesson, I played a role that made me reflect deeply on life and how we connect with others. It challenged me both emotionally and mentally, and I feel like it helped me grow as an actor by opening new creative sides of myself.
　During filming, I had a discussion with Mr. Tsutomu Suzuki, the producer, and we decided to try a unique approach to build tension-I kept my distance from the student actors even off-camera, and we had separate waiting areas. It created a real sense of separation that added to the performance, though I do feel a little bad if I scared them at the time.
　I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who was part of this project. Moving forward, I want to continue approaching each role sincerely-as a person, an actor, and an artist. Thank you so much for your continued support.

[Comment from Tsutomu Suzuki, Producer, Nippon TV]
　We created this "wildly punk" project with the vow to leave behind proof of our existence through film. I'm truly delighted that it has been honored with such a meaningful award.
　Mr. Yusei Yagi delivered a stunning performance as the protagonist-a teacher and a monster-with remarkable intensity. His portrayal of madness was so gripping that it gave us goosebumps on set, bringing raw realism to the story. The passionate performances of the young actors who responded to his energy elevated the piece even further.
　I extend my deepest respect to the actor Yusei Yagi's dedication and passion. Congratulations on this well-deserved award.

ABOUT NIPPON TV
Nippon TV is Japan's leading multiplatform entertainment powerhouse, as well as owner of streaming giant Hulu in Japan. Nearly 90% of its content IP is fully owned by Nippon TV and the company has been active in bringing its content to the international market in the form of anime, ready-made programs, formats, and through co-production partnerships.
One of the biggest successes for the nation's finest producer of all genres of programming is the Emmy Award-winning Dragons' Den/Shark Tank, a globally successful business show format that has 52 versions in more than 186 countries across all continents of the world. Additionally, their hit drama series Mother has also achieved global success as the most exported scripted format out of Asia, with its format sales to South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Thailand, China, Spain, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, The Philippines, and Greece.
The company is also known for its viewer-engaging show Old Enough!, streaming on Netflix in over 190 countries and recently adapted in Mongolia and Canada, BLOCK OUT, an action-packed game show format that has been adapted in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Spain, and the Netherlands, the award-winning unscripted format Sokkuri Sweets, produced as Eye Candy for The Roku Channel in the US, UK, Canada and the Netherlands for NPO1.
Nippon TV has also been producing anime series since the 1950s and acquired Studio Ghibli in 2023, making the Academy Award-winning studio its subsidiary. As evident by the company's success, Nippon TV is leveraging its coveted platform to revolutionize digital media in an ever-changing industry to solidify its presence and brand as a global media leader.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-tv/