Backstage Prince - Recommendations

• OVA (1 ep)
• 1992

Mio Hagiwara is a young and upcoming actress who has a fairly normal life -- high school, fame, and a well-known idol singer for a best friend. There is only one thing missing from her life: love. Enter Ichiya Kumagai, a budding film director with funding for a hot new flick, and an eye out for Mio. With tensions rising and love on the rise, the show must go on!

• TV (23 eps)
• 1984

Young Maya’s passion is drama and the theatre -- so much so that sometimes her grip on reality wavers. Most consider her to be a lost cause, destined to live with her head in the clouds… but things change when the legendary actress Tsukikage sees potential in Maya; and when she offers to train her, Maya eagerly accepts. Yet the road to fame is paved with hardship; with strong rivals to test her and close friends to spur her on, will Maya be able to reach her ultimate goal?

• TV (51 eps)
• 2005 - 2006

Maya is a dreamy young girl whose clumsiness is matched only by her absent-mindedness. While others have given up on her, the legendary actress Tsukikage sees her hidden potential and offers to take Maya under her tutelage. Maya loves the theatre more than anything, and as there's not much she can do about it at home, she chooses to run away with Tsukikage. The world of theatre is harsh, however, especially for a naive young girl far away from home. While she finds new friends who support her, her mentor has powerful enemies and Maya is often on the receiving end of their ruthless plans. In face of the adversity, Maya must constantly fight to develop her skills to catch up with her unbelievably talented rival, Ayumi, if she hopes to inherit Tsukikage's legendary role: The Crimson Goddess.

• OVA (3 eps)
• 1998 - 1999

Maya is a young woman who spends her afternoons at school and her evenings helping out with the family restaurant, but secretly she loves acting and is lucky enough to see the play Madam White Rose one day. Afterwards, she is cast in the school production as Bibi, the sad and pitiful girl. Troubled by the role, Maya seeks out advice from a mysterious woman who tells her to 'wear Bibi's mask'. Through that experience, Maya realizes that the stage is her true passion, and she sets off to fulfill her dream to be a great actress, great enough to play the role of the Crimson Goddess. But is she as talented as her rival, the famous Ayumi?

• TV (102 eps)
• 1996 - 1998

11 year-old Sana Kurata is a positive, upbeat child actress with a rather odd life. She was adopted as a baby by an eccentric novelist who wears a live squirrel in her hair, her acting career is managed by a (former) homeless man who Sana unabashedly claims is her "gigalo", and at school her teacher has completely lost control of her classroom due to a group of blackmailing bullies led by "demon child" Akito Hayama. With her whole class in danger of failing, Sana decides she's had enough of Akito's nonsense at school and challenges him. The whole school is ready for a showdown as these strong personalities collide, but as the two very different kids learn more about each other, something unexpected happens. Is it possible for sworn enemies to become fast friends?

• TV
• 2025

Middle school left Uka Ishimori with nothing but scars—to the point where she's forgotten how to laugh or cry or even say “hello.” But a chance reencounter with a boy with lemon-colored hair invigorates her, giving her hope that maybe, just maybe, life can be that much sweeter if she finally reaches out for help.

• OVA (1 ep)
• 1994

Welcome to Hijiri Academy! Completed only as of this year, freshmen are the only students who walk its halls; and now, a student body has been elected. As newly-appointed vice president, well-liked and cordial Midori Saejima knows she has her work cut out for her, in more ways than one: she’s been in love with the president, Akira Sudoh, ever since she secretly saw him care for a stray kitten one rainy night. As Midori’s feelings continue to grow, she finds herself more and more convinced that Akira has a girlfriend, much to her dismay. Will Midori come to terms with her feelings and confess, or accept that her love may be unrequited?

• OVA (1 ep)
• 2014

• TV (3+ eps)
• 2024 - ?

Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first-year who has always been ambivalent about love, preferring instead to have a lively life with her family and friends. So when she sees her schoolmate, Hananoi-kun, sitting in the snow after a messy, public breakup, she thinks nothing of offering to share her umbrella. But when he asks her out in the middle of her classroom the next day, she can’t help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way…

• TV (13 eps)
• 2021

Like the Takarazuka Revue, the young women who go to the arts academy Kouka Kageki High School play all the parts of musical theater, be they female or male. Narata Ai is a jaded former idol performing female roles—her roommate, playing male roles, is bright-eyed country girl Watanabe Sarasa. From the school to the stage to the rest of their lives, there is no challenge these young women can't face with their passion for performance.