Pop stars Yoshinori Masakado and Noel Kawashima go vertical in ‘Chat Boy’

The lights dim in the theater at Imagica Media Studio in Tokyo’s Takeshiba neighborhood, and the press settles in for a movie exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and humanity.

Then, the screen narrows to a third of its original size.

It’s the least surprising twist in “Chat Boy,” a nearly two-hour drama made for smartphones. But seeing a vertical video projected in a movie theater still has a certain surreal quality to it — like watching a TikTok in IMAX.

“(This screening) made me think it’d be fun if someone tried a vertical-video movie theater someday,” says Yoshinori Masakado, who plays the protagonist, Utsumi, after the screening.

“Yeah, and then the screen would cost one-third less,” adds co-star Noel Kawashima, drawing laughs from the room.

Noel Kawashima (left) from the J-pop group Travis Japan and Yoshinori Masakado from Ae! Group tackle issues surrounding artificial intelligence and loneliness in their latest film, “Chat Boy.” | CECIL FUNG

His joke gets at the unusual economics of vertical drama. The format is closely associated with microdramas: short, serialized stories that took off as a format in China in the late 2010s and are built around quick-hit episodes designed for mobile viewing. Companies such as Gokko Inc. have made vertical-first dramas their main business as the format has risen in popularity in Japan, while dedicated platforms including Bump and Tatedora have emerged alongside established short-form video platforms.

The format has piqued the interest of many of Japan’s established entertainment agencies, too. Starto, the talent agency behind some of the country’s biggest male idol groups, launched S Drama earlier this year, putting its stars into short-form productions made specifically for vertical screens.

“Chat Boy” is the latest example of the agency’s efforts, pairing Masakado, a member of Ae! Group, with Kawashima from Travis Japan. The plot follows Utsumi (Masakado), a seemingly confident manga editor whose dependence on AI chat tools has become an addiction. When government regulations suddenly prevent him from using the technology, he turns to a shady company peddling AI-powered humanoids designed to circumvent the new restrictions. Things get complicated when one of the androids happens to be a dead ringer for Utsumi’s former high school classmate Fujino (Kawashima).

“I was shocked when I first found out it was a vertical drama,” Masakado says. “It comes down to scale. It felt like we were constantly being filmed in close-up.”

Kawashima leans in close toward Masakado’s face to demonstrate just how close “close-up” could get.

“Now’s your chance,” he says to the press photographers waiting to snap pictures.

Micro-dramas and vertical dramas are rising in popularity on social media platforms. | CECIL FUNG

Vertical drama changes more than the shape of the final image. According to Masakado, the director and crew explained that shooting vertically effectively shrinks the amount of usable space in the frame. There is less room to arrange actors, props and backgrounds, meaning filmmakers have to think differently about how they construct a shot.

Sometimes that means putting as much as possible into the frame. Other times, negative space becomes the point.

“Chat Boy” also demonstrates the evolution of the form. Early versions were often divided into two- or three-minute episodes that were built for scrolling. While “Chat Boy” has also been split into smaller segments for YouTube Shorts and social media, its full length is closer to a conventional film: nearly 120 minutes, with English subtitles and enough plot to make the audience forget, at least temporarily, that the screen is the wrong shape for a cinema.

Its thematic ambitions are also broader than the romance-heavy stories that helped establish the genre. “Chat Boy” looks at the rise of AI and how it impacts a person’s humanity, and it hints at where the form might go as a younger generation encounters it in their feeds.

“The fact that this can also shrink down to a size that fits in the palm of your hand is one of the great developments of the (current) Reiwa Era,” Masakado says. “It feels like a new visual experience.”

“Chat Boy” can be seen in full at the S Drama YouTube channel. For more information, visit @esu_dora on TikTok, Instagram or X.