Uta no Prince-sama
A multimedia franchise of romance, music, and idol training.
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Uta no Prince-sama is a Japanese multimedia franchise by Broccoli, originating from a visual novel released for the PlayStation Portable on June 24, 2010. The series has expanded into multiple sequels, rhythm game spin-offs, manga adaptations, and an anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures that began airing in 2011. The franchise has been commercially successful in Japan, with music CDs charting on mainstream charts and the games receiving industry awards.
Media
The original game, Uta no Prince-sama, was released for the PlayStation Portable on June 24, 2010, with the theme song "Ao no Tsubasa" performed by Mamoru Miyano. A PlayStation Vita remaster titled Uta no Prince-sama Repeat came out on August 11, 2011, and a Nintendo Switch version, Uta no Prince-sama Repeat Love, followed on December 19, 2019. Additional games include Uta no Prince-sama: Amazing Aria (December 23, 2010), Uta no Prince-sama: Sweet Serenade (February 10, 2011), Uta no Prince-sama Debut (May 24, 2012), Uta no Prince-sama All Star (March 7, 2013), and Uta no Prince-sama All Star After Secret (March 12, 2015).
A rhythm game spin-off, Uta no Prince-sama Music, was released on November 24, 2011, followed by Music 2 on September 5, 2013, and Music 3 on January 28, 2015. Uta no Prince-sama: Dolce Vita was announced for PlayStation Vita on June 24, 2016, later ported to Nintendo Switch and cancelled for Vita; as of June 2024 it remained in development, and a teaser trailer appeared on January 10, 2026.
Reception
In 2017, Uta no Prince-sama was the 13th top-selling franchise in Japan with estimated sales of ¥1,667,975,801. The game Uta no Prince-sama Repeat won Best Consumer Game at the Dengeki Girls' Style Otome Game Awards 2011, and Sweet Serenade ranked seventh. Syo Kurusu won Best Character, with Tokiya Ichinose third and Masato Hijirikawa ninth. Over one million users downloaded Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live in its first week.
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the anime's music and animation but criticized its plot, color choices, and character design. Bamboo Dong found the series entertaining but noted that character designs made characters look older than high school students. The voice actors for STARISH won Best Musical Performance at the 6th Seiyu Awards, and Mamoru Miyano won Best Actor in Supporting Roles. For the fourth season, Silverman praised the music and character development but felt the show suffered from too many characters and declining plot and animation.
The series has been linked to the Odagiri effect, with Haruka's role diminishing in later anime in favor of male character relationships.
More in Anime television series based on video games
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Uta no Prince-sama (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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