is a Japanese multimedia franchise by

Broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cla ...

. The original game of the same name was first released on the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 200 ...

on June 24, 2010, and since its release, the game has spawned multiple sequels and rhythm game spin-offs. The series has also been adapted into several manga series. An anime adaptation by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex- Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division ...

began airing in 2011, titled , which was then followed by three sequels, a 2019 animated film titled ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Kingdom'', and a 2022 animated film titled ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love ST☆RISH Tours''. The franchise has been well received in Japan, with thousands of music CDs sold and charting on mainstream music charts. The games have been awarded "Best Consumer Game" in Dengeki Girls' Style Otome Game Awards 2011.

Gameplay

''Uta no Prince-sama'' is a comedy and romance

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

in which the player assumes the character of Haruka Nanami. ''Uta no Prince-sama'' follows a branching plot line with multiple endings; depending on the decisions that the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in a specific direction. There are seven main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, three of which are initially available (four in ''All Star''). Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player must replay the game multiple times and make different choices to change the plot progression. The player must also complete various

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than t ...

s, which affect the different endings.

Plot

With dreams of becoming a composer and someday writing a song for her favorite idol, Haruka Nanami enters the Saotome Academy, a prestigious performing arts school made up of students who are either vying to become an idol or a music producer. Haruka becomes acquainted with six of her classmates, who are all competing to become idols. For her project, she must team up with another student as an idol-producer team, and if they are successful, they will join Shining Agency after graduation. In addition, romance is strictly prohibited at their school.

Media

Games

Main games

* ''Uta no Prince-sama'' was first released for the

on June 24, 2010. The game's theme song, " Ao no Tsubasa", was performed by Mamoru Miyano. The game was later remastered for a

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...

port and released on August 11, 2011 under the title ''Uta no Prince-sama Repeat''. It also released on

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

on December 19, 2019. * ''Uta no Prince-sama: Amazing Aria'' was released on December 23, 2010. The theme song, "Amazing Love", was performed by

Takuma Terashima is a Japanese voice actor and singer born in Ishikawa, Japan. Terashima graduated from Tokyo Announce Gakuin, voice training school. He had initially belonged to Holypeak until December 2008, and then to Production Baobab up until September 2011 ...

Kenichi Suzumura is a Japanese voice actor, narrator, and singer who is affiliated with and a representative of INTENTION, a voice acting company he founded in March 2012. He voiced Morley in ''Macross 7'', Hikaru Hitachiin in ''Ouran High School Host Club'', Ma ...

, and Kisho Taniyama. * ''Uta no Prince-sama: Sweet Serenade'' was released on February 10, 2011. The theme song, , was performed by Mamoru Miyano,

Junichi Suwabe is a Japanese voice actor and singer from Tokyo. He is affiliated with Haikyō. His popular roles include Omega Zero in Megaman Zero 3 , Keigo Atobe in '' The Prince of Tennis'', Victor Nikiforov in '' Yuri!!! on ICE'', Grimmjow Jaegerjaque ...

, and

Hiro Shimono is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with I'm Enterprise. His notable roles include Ayato Kamina in '' RahXephon'', Akihisa Yoshii in '' Baka and Test'', Haruka Kasugano in ''Yosuga no Sora'', Keima Katsuragi in '' The World God Only K ...

. * ''Uta no Prince-sama Debut'' was released on May 24, 2012. The theme song is "Innocence" and performed by Mamoru Miyano. * ''Uta no Prince-sama All Star'' was released on March 7, 2013 and introduced the characters Quartet Night. The theme song is "Quartet Night" and was performed by

Tatsuhisa Suzuki is a Japanese voice actor and singer from Ichikawa, Chiba. He is affiliated with I'm Enterprise and Lantis. He is the former lead vocalist of Oldcodex, in which he performed under his stage name Ta_2. Biography '' Shūkan Bunshun'' reported t ...

Shouta Aoi , is a Japanese singer and actor. Under the stage name Showta (stylized as "SHOWTA."), he debuted as a singer with the song "Negaiboshi" in 2006 and released his first studio album, '' Eve'', in 2008. In 2009, he left his agency and briefly relea ...

, Showtaro Morikubo, and

Tomoaki Maeno is a Japanese voice actor. Career He attended the Amusement Media Academy and the Japan Narration Actors Institute. He worked as a part time assistant and experienced three years of custody, recruiting registration and six years of laying down ...

as Quartet Night. *''Uta no Prince-sama All Star After Secret'' was released on March 12, 2015 for the

. The game is a sequel to ''Uta no Prince-sama All Star'' and is centered on Quartet Night, with the members of STARISH appearing as extra routes. The theme song is "Marriage" and was performed by

, Showtaro Morikubo, and

as Quartet Night.

Spin-off games

* ''Uta no Prince-sama Music'' was released on November 24, 2011 and is a music rhythm game spin-off of the main series. The theme song is "Welcome to UtaPri World!!" and was performed by

, Kisho Taniyama, Mamoru Miyano,

, and

as STARISH. * ''Uta no Prince-sama Music 2'' is the sequel to the first rhythm game spin-off and was released on September 5, 2013. The theme song is "Color Full Music." * ''Uta no Prince-sama Music 3'' was released on January 28, 2015 for the

. * ''Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live'' is a rhythm gacha game released on August 27, 2017 in Japan for the iOS and Android systems. The Global release was on January 24, 2018. It was co-developed by Broccoli and KLab and saw releases in both Japanese and English. The Global is scheduled to end service on December 26, 2022.

Music

''Uta no Prince-sama'' has seen the release of multiple CD releases, with

handling the music for the games and King Records handling the music for the anime. All songs in the franchise are produced by

Elements Garden Elements Garden is a Japanese group of music composers, or a "music production brand" as they call themselves. They generally produce music for video games, anime and recording artists. They are attached to Aria Entertainment. The group was for ...

. " Fly to the Future" by Quartet Night and " Ultra Blast" by STARISH sold over 11,000 physical copies within its first week and were both some of the top-selling anime singles of 2018. "Fly to the Future", "Ultra Blast", and " God's S.T.A.R." were certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

Stage plays

''Uta no Prince-sama'' has also inspired a series of stage plays, with the characters playing roles in a stage production and select characters appearing in certain plays. Music of the stage productions were later released onto CD. The first series, titled , featured the stage plays ''Masquerade Mirage'', ''Tenka Muteki no Shinobu Michi'', and ''Joker Trap'' from 2013 to 2014. The second series, titled , featured the stage plays ''Bloody Shadows'', ''Pirates of the Frontier'', and ''Everybuddy!'' The third series, titled ''Shining Masterpiece Show'', was screened at Gallery AaMo in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

from February 23 to April 15, 2018, with each of the three stage plays rotating every month. The plays featured were ''Lost Alice'', ''Trois: Ken to Kizuna no Monogatari'', and ''Lycoris no Mori''.

Anime

The March 2011 issue of '' Newtype'' magazine announced that an anime television adaptation franchise would air during the summer. Titled ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%'', the series was produced by

, with Yuu Kou directing the series, Tomoko Konparu supervising the scripts, and Mitsue Mori adapting the game's original character designs. The anime series began its broadcast run on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

, Gunma TV, and Tochigi TV on July 2, 2011 (July 3, 2011 at 12:00 AM). The video streaming service Niconico simulcasted the series to audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The second season premiered on April 4, 2013, under the title ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 2000%'' (うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪マジLOVE2000％) on

TV Aichi JOCI-DTV, branded as , is a television station in Nagoya, Japan operated by the Aichi Television Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (TVA; ja, テレビ愛知株式会社, Terebi Aichi kabushiki gaisha) and is an affiliate of the TX Network. Broadcast ...

. The first season was released on January 7, 2014, on DVD/Blu-ray subtitled-only format. A third season began airing on April 4, 2015, under the title ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Revolutions'' (うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪マジLOVEレボリューションズ). On June 27, 2015, following the broadcast of the last episode of the third season, the ending message revealed that a fourth season had been confirmed. The fourth season, titled ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Legend Star'', began airing on October 2, 2016.

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

has licensed the first and second seasons for a release in 2014, and has also licensed the third and fourth seasons.

Films

During the ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Live 6th Stage'' event, the staff announced that an anime film titled ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Kingdom'' has been green-lit. ''Uta no Prince-Sama: Maji Love Kingdom'' is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomoka Nagaoka, with Takeshi Furuta serving as chief director. The rest of the main staff and cast from the anime series are returning to reprise their roles. The film was released in theaters on June 14, 2019. The film grossed at box office upon its release. An English subtitled version was screened at

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first w ...

2019. It was announced on March 27, 2021 that the a new anime film ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love ST☆RISH Tours'' has been green-lit, and premiered on September 2, 2022. A-1 Pictures is returning to produce the film, with Chika Nagaoka serving as the director, Maki Fujioka designing the characters, and Elements Garden composing the music.

Manga

''Uta no Prince-sama'' was adapted into several manga series. The first two manga adaptations, ''Uta no Prince-sama'' and ''Uta no Prince-sama Debut'', were illustrated by Utako Yukihiro and serialized in ''

Sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have bee ...

''. The gag comic, ''Uta no Prince-sama PP'' was illustrated by Kotoko Ichi and serialized in ''Comic B's Log''. Alongside of that, several manga anthologies were also released with contributing fan artists.

Reception

''Uta no Prince-sama'' was the 13th top selling franchise in Japan in 2017, with a total of ¥1,667,975,801 in estimated sales. Part of its wide appeal comes from

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

accounts run by the characters, where fans are able to be updated on the characters' music and merchandise activities, and are in turn treated like real-life celebrities.

Games

''Uta no Prince-sama Repeat'' was awarded the Best Consumer Game by ''Dengeki Girl's Style'' for the Otome Game Awards 2011, while ''Uta no Prince-sama: Sweet Serenade'' was ranked #7 in the same category. Syo Kurusu won Best Character, while Tokiya Ichinose ranked #3 and Masato Hijirikawa as #9 in the same category. Over 1 million users downloaded ''Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live'' upon the first week of its release.

Anime

Rebecca Silverman from

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ...

praised ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000%'', the anime's first season, for its music and fluid animation, while citing its weaknesses in the "ridiculous" plot points, poor choice in color, Haruka's character design, and that the characters never "evolve beyond their types." Bamboo Dong from ''

'' called the series "entertaining", but felt the character designs made the characters look more like adults instead of high school students and that adapting from the original video game resulted in the "archetypal" characters having "jerky" character development. The voice actors for STARISH won the award for Best Musical Performance at the 6th Seiyu Awards, while Mamoru Miyano won the award for Best Actor in Supporting Roles. Regarding the series' fourth season, ''Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Legend Star'', Silverman praised the music and character development, but felt that the show became oversaturated with "too many characters", as well as the plot and animation going "downhill." ''Uta no Prince-sama'' has also been linked to the Odagiri effect, as seen in the later anime series where Haruka's role has been increasingly diminished in favor of the relationships between the male characters.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Uta no Prince-sama Official Series Portal SiteUta no Prince-sama Official Anime Site
* * {{A-1 Pictures 2010 manga 2010 video games 2011 video games 2012 video games 2013 video games A-1 Pictures Animated musical groups Anime television series based on video games ASCII Media Works manga Fictional musical groups Japan-exclusive video games Japanese idol video games Japanese idols in anime and manga Otome games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Male harem anime and manga Romantic comedy anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Broccoli (company) games