King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm facts for kids

Quick facts for kids King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Masakazu Hishida
Written by	Jou Aoba
Starring	Tetsuya Kakihara Tomoaki Maeno Toshiki Masuda Junta Terashima Soma Saito Tasuku Hatanaka Taku Yashiro Takuma Nagatsuka Masashi Igarashi Yuma Uchida Shouta Aoi Shunsuke Takeuchi
Music by	Rei Ishizuka
Studio	Tatsunoko Production
Distributed by	Avex Pictures
Release date(s)	January 9, 2016 (2016-01-09)
Running time	60 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Money made	¥800 million

King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm is a Japanese animated movie from 2016. It was made by Tatsunoko Production and Avex Pictures. This film is part of the Pretty Rhythm series by Takara Tomy. It tells a story about characters who were not the main focus in the TV show Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live, which aired from 2013 to 2014.

The movie first came out in only 14 theaters on January 9, 2016. But it became super popular! Because of this, it was shown in many more theaters across Japan and made a lot of money. Its success led to a whole new series of movies and shows called the multimedia franchise. There was even a stage play based on the film in 2017. King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm also helped make "cheer screenings" popular in movie theaters. In these special screenings, fans can cheer, sing along, and use glowsticks! The movie was followed by a sequel, King of Prism: Pride the Hero, in 2017, and another one, King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars, in 2019.

Story of the Film

The Pretty Rhythm series is all about "Prism Stars." These are like idols who perform amazing figure skating routines. They sing and dance while doing special moves called Prism Jumps. Their performances are called Prism Shows. The audience scores these shows based on how much they love them. This movie's story happens about one and a half years after the Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live TV show.

The story begins when a character named Louis Kisaragi gives Shin Ichijo a special locket. Louis tells Shin to go see a Prism Show by a group called Over the Rainbow. Shin is completely amazed by the show! As he bikes home, Hijiri Himuro notices Shin's special "sparkle." Hijiri sees that Shin has potential and asks him to become a Prism Star trainee at Edel Rose Academy.

Shin meets his new classmates at Edel Rose. But he soon learns that the academy is in trouble. It only has nine students left. Most of the school's money and students have moved to Schwarz Rose. This rival academy is run by Jin Norizuki.

Shin also meets the members of Over the Rainbow: Koji Mihama, Hiro Hayami, and Kazuki Nishina. They tell him how their strong friendship helped them perform well. They also share stories about the challenges they faced in Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live. Later that day, Shin meets Louis again and thanks him for inspiring him. Louis simply introduces himself and gives Shin a hug.

That night, Hijiri worries about Jin's plans. He reveals that other groups, like Happy RAIN and Bell Rose, managed to escape Jin's control. To help Edel Rose pay off its debts, Koji gets a chance to make music for a Hollywood movie. Hiro decides to focus on the next big Prism King Cup tournament.

While Kazuki is practicing, two other characters, Taiga Kougami and Alexander Yamato, confront him. They are upset that Kazuki left street-style Prism Shows for academy-style ones. Alexander challenges Kazuki to a battle. They perform to the song "EZ Do Dance" using Kakeru Juuouin's special Prism System. The duel ends in a tie. Meanwhile, Koji helps Shin practice for Prism Shows. Koji is impressed by Shin's talent and gives him a song called "Over the Sunshine!" as a reward.

After Koji accepts his new job abroad, Over the Rainbow performs a farewell concert. With the group now split up and Edel Rose's future uncertain, the other students feel very sad. But Hijiri and Koji encourage Shin. Shin then performs "Over the Sunshine!" with Hiro and Kazuki. This performance reminds everyone of the excitement they felt when they first saw a Prism Show. The show is a huge success, and Edel Rose decides to keep going! At Schwarz Rose, Jin gathers his students, including Louis, and tells them they must defeat Edel Rose.

In a short scene after the credits, we get a hint about what might happen next. As everyone gets ready for the next Prism King Cup, Hiro finds out he can't perform his song "Pride" anymore. Louis has been given the song instead.

Characters and Voice Actors

Here are some of the main characters and the talented voice actors who play them:

• Tetsuya Kakihara - Koji Mihama
• Tomoaki Maeno - Hiro Hayami
• Toshiki Masuda - Kazuki Nishina
• Junta Terashima - Shin Ichijo
• Soma Saito - Yukinojo Tachibana
• Tasuku Hatanaka - Taiga Kougami
• Taku Yashiro - Kakeru Juuouin
• Takuma Nagatsuka - Leo Saionji
• Masashi Igarashi - Minato Takahashi
• Yuma Uchida - Yu Suzuno
• Shouta Aoi - Louis Kisaragi
• Shunsuke Takeuchi - Alexander Yamato
• Toshihiko Seki - Hijiri Himuro
• Daisuke Namikawa - Ryo Yamada
• Showtaro Morikubo - Rei Kurokawa
• Shinichiro Miki - Jin Norizuki

How the Film Was Made

The director of the Pretty Rhythm series, Masakazu Hishida, always thought the male characters from Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live were important. When these characters, known as Over the Rainbow, appeared in the final episode, the staff wanted to make a new TV show about them. This idea was first turned down. When they tried to make it into a movie, that idea was also rejected. The staff were told they needed to prove that fans really wanted this project.

So, from 2014 onwards, the team kept promoting Pretty Rhythm and PriPara at events. They would sometimes hint that Over the Rainbow might return to see how fans reacted. When the full version of Over the Rainbow's song, "Athletic Core," got a lot of positive feedback, they made a whole album of songs just for them. In 2015, Over the Rainbow even appeared in another movie, Gekijō-ban PriPara: Minna Atsumare! Prism Tours. If people chose a certain path in that movie, it ended with a teaser for Over the Rainbow's comeback.

The movie was very successful, especially with "cheer screenings" where fans would come many times with glowsticks. Because of this huge fan support, Avex Group finally said yes to making the King of Prism movie.

Over the Rainbow's return was officially announced at an event in 2015. A video clip showed they would be back in a 2016 film called King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm. Many of the same people who worked on past Pretty Rhythm projects came back for this film. This included director Hishida, CG director Yoshihiro Otobe, and character designer Mai Matsuura.

During a live online talk on December 22, 2015, Director Hishida explained that the film had limited time and money. The staff had to decide how much story they could fit into 60 minutes. He mentioned that even though the movie was about the Prism King Cup, it would end before the tournament actually happened. At that time, they didn't plan for a sequel because they weren't sure if King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm would be a hit. The scene after the credits was added just to show what could happen if they made another movie.

The film was released in Japan on January 9, 2016. Special 4DX screenings, which add motion and effects, were available in 26 theaters starting June 18, 2016. King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm was shown for 100 days in South Korea, with over 90,000 people seeing it. The Los Angeles Film Festival also showed the film on September 16, 2017.

Sequel Films

King of Prism: Pride the Hero

As mentioned, a sequel wasn't originally planned for King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm. The post-credits scene was just a hint for a possible future. But because the first movie was so successful, a new movie called King of Prism: Pride the Hero was announced in 2016. It was released in theaters on June 10, 2017.

King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars

In 2018, King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars was announced. This project was both a series of movies and a TV show! The movie version was made of four films, each combining three episodes. These had limited "cheer screenings" from March to May 2019. The TV show version started airing on TV Tokyo on April 8, 2019.

Soundtrack Music

The music for the movie was created by Rei Ishizuka. The official soundtrack album, called King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm Song & Soundtrack, was released on April 27, 2016. This album was very popular, reaching #4 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart in Japan and staying on the charts for six weeks.

All songs written and composed by Rei Ishizuka. 

Other Media

Stage Play Adaptation

A stage play that combined the stories of King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm and King of Prism: Pride the Hero was created. It was called King of Prism: Over the Sunshine!. The play was shown in Osaka from November 2-5, 2017, and in Tokyo from November 8-12, 2017. Masanari Ujikawa directed the play. Jou Aoba, who wrote the movie's script, and Rei Ishizuka, who made the music, also worked on the stage play.

The cast for the play included:

• Shohei Hashimoto as Shin
• Koji Kominami as Koji
• Taishi Sugie as Hiro
• Takuto Omi as Kazuki
• Shojiro Yokoi as Yukinojo
• Ryoki Nagae as Taiga
• Yoshiki Murakami as Kakeru
• Yuzuki Hoshimoto as Leo
• Ryota Hirono as Yu
• Taiki Naito as Louis
• Spi as Alexander
• Yamato Furuya as Joji
• Masashi Igarashi played Minato again, just like in the movie.

Manga Series

A manga version of the story was also made. It was called King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm Party Time. Sumika Sumio drew the manga, and it was published in a magazine called Monthly GFantasy.