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Backstage Prince (極付 楽屋裏王子,
Kiwametsuke - Gakuya Ura Ōji
?) is a manga by Kanoko Sakurakoji. Was serialized in
Shogakukan's manga magazine Betsucomi in 2004 and 2005 and collected
in two bound volumes.
It is licensed in North America by Viz Media, which serialized it in Shojo Beat magazine
from October 2006 to March 2007.
Story
Akari is an average high school girl who fails to see why the
other girls in her school are so interested in Ryusei, a young
talented kabuki actor also
attending their school. Akari happens to run into Ryusei at school
and accidentally ends up bruising Ryusei in the stomach with her
bookbag. By chance, Akari ends up following a cat all the way to a
kabuki theatre and runs into Ryusei once again.
To make up for her mistake, she volunteers to become Ryusei's
assistant until he is healed. The reclusive and socially inept
Ryusei accepts only because she gets along with his pet cat, the
very one she followed all the way to the theatre. When Ryusei is
finally better, Akari realizes she has fallen in love with him and
Ryusei has also come to reciprocate.
However, their relationship is put to the test by Ryusei's
profession and popularity and those who disapprove of their
relationship, especially Ryusei's strict father and Naoki, another
kabuki actor who loves Akari.
Characters
- Akari
- The protagonist, who is in love with Ryusei. She at first was
not interested in boys like Ryusei and was even less interested in
Kabuki. After a series of events, Akari becomes Ryusei's assistant
and later his girlfriend. She does poorly on her exams due to
running along with Ryusei's hectic schedule. When Ryusei's father
refuses to accept her as Ryusei's fiancee, Akari inadvertently
drives Ryusei away in her sadness but, is later engaged to ryusei
in the end
- Ryusei Horiuchi
- A handsome and talented Kabuki actor professionally known as
"Shonosuke Ichimura". He is Akari's upperclassman in school, but
tends to be anti-social and avoids other people. He loves Akari and
she is the only person he opens up to. He later announces on
television that he intends to marry Akari. When she rejects him
after his father refuses to accept their relationship, Ryusei
becomes ill because he overworked himself. Upset, Akari cries and
apologizes and notices Ryusei is crying as well. He, at one time,
thinks of quitting Kabuki for Akari and himself to have a normal
relationship. His succession name as a kabuki actor is Shoen
Ichimura. engaged to akari in the end
- Toshiya Ichimura
- An elite actor in the kabuki theatre and Ryusei's manager. He
acts friendly toward Ryusei, despite Ryusei's anti-social behavior.
He is the one who initially suggested that Akari become Ryusei's
assistant and is constantly trying to help Ryusei become more open
with other people. He is also Miyuki's younger brother.
- Ryusei's father
- Shozaemon Ichimura; Ryusei's strict father, who disapproves and
refuses to allow Ryusei to date Akari. He fails to see that Ryusei
does not perform as well when Akari is not nearby. After Ryusei
announces on television that Akari is his fiancee, Akari attempts
to get permission from Ryusei's father to marry his son, who tells
her she will never be good enough to marry his son since he is a
"thoroughbred" in rien.
- Miyuki Ogawa
- A beautiful Kabuki actress and Toshiya's sister. She is very
talented and also comes from a famous family from Rien. At Ryusei's
request, she pretended to be his girlfriend so that the media would
not bother Akari. Ryusei's father would like nothing more than for
her to marry his son, despite Akari and Ryusei's relationship. She
is quite friendly and somewhat devious when it comes to asking
people for favours, like rides around town.
- Mr. Ken
- Ryusei's cat, who is actually smarter than he seems. He leads
Akari to the Kabuki theater's backsatge entrance, which leads to
her meeting with Ryusei. When Ryusei is busy, Akari takes care of
Mr. Ken. Initially, Mr. Ken is the only one Ryusei feels
comfortable around.
- Naoki
- Another Kabuki actor and Ryusei's rival for Akari's affection;
he is not from a family who has traditionally performed Kabuki and
usually performs the role of women in plays. When Ryusei is away
performing in London, Naoki befriends Akari and helps her learn
more about Rien. As a result, Naoki causes a rift to form between
Akari and Ryusei. When Naoki and Akari meet again, she ends up
rejecting his offer to date him. Despite this, his feelings for her
do not change and he continues to pursue her affections and helps
her out when he can. He remarks that Akari and Ryusei's
relationship resembles a Michiyuki, where two lovers are
walking side by side to a sad fate.
External
links
Shogakukan
Viz Media
Wikis
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