is a Japanese manga series created by

Ai Morinaga (28 April 1981 – 2 August 2019) was a Japanese manga artist from Okayama Prefecture. Among her best-known series are '' Your and My Secret'' and ''My Heavenly Hockey Club''. Morinaga's last work was '' Kirara no Hoshi'', which was published in ...

. The manga series, published by Kadokawa Shoten, ran from 1996 to 2000 with a total of fourteen volumes. After the regular series ended the author came out with another special volume about the other siblings within the Yamada Family called ''The Tale of the Yamada Family''. A

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

series adaptation was broadcast in 2007.

Plot summary

Tarō Yamada is smart, athletic, and very handsome. He seems perfect on the outside, but he's actually dirt poor due to his mother's reckless spending habits and his always-gone father. Although never once does he admit it, everyone at school thinks he is a very humble rich boy because of his good looks. However, at home, he must care for his six younger siblings, who share a one-bedroom place with him and his mother.

Live-action drama

Taiwanese TV drama

The manga was adapted into a 45-episode

Taiwanese drama Taiwanese drama (, also known as T.W. drama) refer to dramatic programming of television programming extended stories usually dramatizing relationships through the general range of ten to forty one-hour episodes. They are produced in Taiwan and hav ...

titled ''Poor Prince'' () starring

Vic Zhou Vic Chou () is a Taiwanese actor and singer. He is a member of the Taiwanese boy band F4. Career F4 Chou rose to fame for his role as Hua Ze Lei in the highly popular Taiwan television series '' Meteor Garden''. At the conclusion of the series ...

Ken Chu Ken Chu () is a Taiwanese singer, composer, actor, cook; and a member of Taiwanese Mandopop vocal quartet boy band F4. Educated in Singapore (Boon Lay Secondary School), he speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English. Biography Chu was worki ...

Annie Yi Wu Chin-yi (; born March 4, 1968), better known as Annie Yi () or Annie Shizuka Inoh ( ja, 伊能静, Inō Shizuka), is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer. Early life and education Wu Chin-yi () was born on March 4, 1968 in Taipei, Taiwan ...

Edward Ou Edward Ou () was born on 16 October 1980 in Taiwan. He is a Taiwanese actor and TV host. He graduated from Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School in 1998. Ou is junior to other Taiwanese entertainers such as Barbie Shu, whom he co-starred with in the ''M ...

and

Will Liu Will Liu (; born 7 October 1972) is a Taiwanese singer, dancer and composer. Background He is well known for his album ''Caihong Tiantang'' (彩虹天堂; "Rainbow Heaven") and is known as good friends with Taiwanese artists Jay Chou and Show ...

. It was produced by Comic Ritz International Production (可米瑞智國際藝能有限公司) and Angie Chai ( 柴智屏) as producer. It was broadcast in Taiwan on free-to-air Chinese Television System (CTS) (華視) from 11 August to 8 November 2001.

Japanese TV drama

山田太郎ものがたり / Yamada Tarō Monogatari : Tale of Yamada Tarō
From July to September 2007, Japanese television network TBS aired a dramatization of the story, starring

Kazunari Ninomiya , often called , is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, presenter and radio host. He is a member of the Japanese idol group Arashi. His career began in the entertainment industry after joining the Japanese talent agency Johnny & As ...

as Tarō and

Shō Sakurai (born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, news anchor, host and former radio host. He is a member of the boy band Arashi. Sakurai began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent ...

as Takuya, Tarō's wealthy best friend who occasionally offers Taro a helping hand. The Japanese version of the drama has received higher ratings and is generally more popular than the Taiwanese version. The opening theme song is "''

Happiness Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. ...

''" by

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...

, the Japanese musical group, which the two stars are members of.

References

External links

Official Website of "Yamada Taro Monogatari"
on TBS * 1996 manga Ai Morinaga Kadokawa Shoten manga Kadokawa Dwango franchises Kin'yō Dorama 2007 Japanese television series debuts 2007 Japanese television series endings 2000 comics endings Manga adapted into television series {{manga-stub