My Younger Prince
私の年下王子さま
Storyline
The whole story, ending included.
Young men, the 'princes', court older women on trips and dates. Only the princes may confess, and a woman no prince confesses to has to leave.
My Younger Prince is an ABEMA dating show that brings together 'princes', young men mostly 25 or under, and 'grown-up women' mostly 25 and over. They meet on trips, dates and house parties, while an unseen butler texts them orders, such as to kiss. The confessions belong to the princes. A prince may confess as often as he likes, however many times he is turned down; a woman who is never confessed to is made to leave, and newcomers take their places. Yukina Kinoshita hosted the first two seasons from the studio, with the singer Thelma Aoyama among the guests.
The first season streamed from July to September 2018. On a trip to Izu, Aoi makes the first confession, to Manata, who asks him to wait. On the trip's last day Riku confesses to Chiha and Kei to Reina, and both are asked to wait; Ryuta, who also wants Reina, is turned down. Nappi, whom no one has confessed to, goes home. At the next round of confessions Kei and Reina, and Riku and Chiha, become couples. No one confesses to Manata, and she leaves; Aoi writes to her that he could not bridge how differently they saw love, or take on all the hurt of her past. Three new princes and three new women join, and in a special round the women vote for the princes. Aoi, with no votes, is out.
The last trip is to Nasu. On the final day Tomoki confesses to Serina, who had spent the trip drawn to Ryuta, and she says she is not yet free of those feelings. Ryo confesses to Asuka, and she accepts. Misamisa, who joined midway, tells Ryuta she loves him, but no prince comes forward for her. Satoru and Ryuta both confess to Ayu. She turns down Satoru, her first choice from the start, saying she cannot give him all of her heart, and chooses Ryuta, whom she had refused once and who kept coming back. The season ends with four couples. A second season followed that winter, and a third, subtitled '100 Princes', in 2021 and 2022.
Starring
Yukina KinoshitaHost
The studio host of the first two seasons, who watches the trips on screen and reacts to each confession.
Thelma AoyamaPanel
A singer on the studio panel from the first season, who returned to co-host the third alongside Eiji Wentz.
Ryuta NishinoParticipant
Ryuta, an actor among the first princes, turned down by Reina, who keeps pursuing Ayu until she chooses him on the last day.
Ayumu TakeuchiParticipant
Ayu, one of three women who join midway, courted by Satoru and Ryuta, who turns down her first choice and accepts Ryuta.
Riku TanakaParticipant
Riku, one of the first five princes, who confesses to Chiha in Izu, is asked to wait, and wins her yes the second time.
CHIHAParticipant
Chiha, one of the first four women, who asks Riku to wait on the Izu trip and accepts him at his second confession.
Why it matters
My Younger Prince reverses the age gap that Japanese romance usually takes for granted, putting women of twenty-five and over opposite men younger than they are, and it sold itself as the grown-up woman's dream come true. Its rules tell a more familiar story. The young men confess; the women wait to be confessed to, and a woman nobody chooses is sent home, so that being older is something a younger man's attention has to redeem. The show calls a woman of twenty-five grown-up, which says more about the market it imagines than about the women in it. An unseen butler orders kisses by text, and the kisses become plot. Yet the last day belongs to Ayu, who turns down the man she had wanted from the start because she could not give him her whole heart. The question the season leaves open is whether being pursued and being chosen are the same thing.