The Age of the Gods

Japan's entertainment industry from the beginning of the 21st century to the present is known as its golden age. Japanese culture and entertainment reached unprecedented heights during this period. The finest actors and idols were born in this era, and people say it was the best of times. Countless Japanese idol groups emerged in a veritable explosion, and after fierce competition, the scene settled into a pattern of "one dominant group and several strong contenders."

The dominant group: S Princes, the nation's boy band, with unmatched strength and popularity at the very top. An insurmountable mountain, miles ahead of the runner-up, they have both broad public appeal and a devoted fanbase.

The strong contenders: Groups including Red Fairy, 4U, Graphite, Best Junior, and K2K. These groups carve up the rest of S Princes' market, blending wildness with elegance and coolness with cuteness, and their rising momentum is not to be underestimated.

S Princes / Little Princes (members: Fuji Syusuke, Yukimura Seiichi, and Shiraishi Kuranosuke). In an era when every boy band needs a rapper, S Princes is a rare all-vocal group, with a perfect high, mid, and low range configuration (Yukimura high, Shiraishi mid, Fuji low). Their glamorous looks and superb singing have helped them stand out in an era of cutthroat competition. As an oasis of purity, they enjoy an absolute number-one level of public recognition and devoted fans. They are currently Japan's top boy band. (Manager: Tachibana An)

Red Fairy (members: Marui Bunta, Kikumaru Eiji, Mukahi Gakuto, and Toyama Kintaro). Red Fairy is a group with one vocalist, two dancers, and one rapper. Marui is the lead singer, Kikumaru and Gakuto are the main dancers, and Kintaro is the rapper. Their vocals are average, but everyone can sing. Kintaro, the rapper, is one of the best young rappers in Japan today; it's fair to say no one his age can match him. As a result, the group's rap stands out and gives them a clear advantage. Since all the members are also dancers, they've earned the nickname "Dance Crew." (Manager: Kabaji Takahiro)

4U / For U (members: Kaidoh Kaoru, Kirihara Akaya, Zaizen Hikaru, and Hiyoshi Wakashi). For U also sounds like "four," representing both the four members, each with a distinct personality like the seasons, and the group's founding principle: they exist for their fans. 4U is a handsome young group that's average at singing, average at dancing, and very average at singing and dancing. Every song is a struggle, and everyone gets their turn. While others struggle to make a living, they struggle to stay alive. They are a chaotic mess, with nothing going for them except their good looks, and are consequently mocked as a "pretty-face boy band." But since they're average at everything, they can fit in anywhere. Their official face-saving label is "all-rounder boy band." (Manager: Osh*tari Kenya)

Graphite / Blackstone (members: Momoshiro Takeshi, Kamio Akira, Sengoku Kiyosumi, Jackal Kuwahara, Kawamura Takashi, and Akazawa Yoshirou). In an era when everyone raps, Graphite has the strongest lineup among today's audition-show boy bands: every member is a rapper, and none of them have any weak points in singing or dancing. Lead singer Kawamura has a rich high register and incredible power. They're all tough men, strong performers, and overflowing with testosterone. In a market flooded with pretty-boy groups, they're hailed as the most masculine boy band and are known as the "beastly boy band." (Manager: Tachibana Kippei)

Best Junior / BJ (members: Echizen Ryoma, Aoi Kentaro, Dan Taichi, Urayama Shiita, Horio Satoshi, Kato Kachiro, and Mizuno Katsuo). The group's popularity and abilities are wildly uneven. All-rounder ace Ryoma can match members of the national boy band S Princes in both skill and popularity, but his teammates are so obscure they're practically nobodies. This is a famous one-man group, meaning only one member has a name. Passersby can't name the group and just say, "Oh, the one with Echizen Ryoma in it." Thanks to Ryoma, the group managed to stand out among all the obscure groups and rank relatively high, becoming somewhat well-known. (Manager: Chitose Senri)

K2K / Double K (members: Kisarazu Atsushi and Kisarazu Ryo). A boy band made up of twin brothers. Compared with today's popular boy band format, K2K is more of a band than a boy group. They're highly skilled and have a distinctive style. Their twin advantage (incestuous twin romance), together with their good looks, gives them a great deal of buzz, and the brothers have appeared in quite a few TV dramas as a result. (Manager: Ryuzaki Sakuno)

Tezuka Kunimitsu, twenty-eight, came from serious dramas and is a regular in crime investigation series. An award-winning actor, he is known as the cold-blooded emperor of justice because most of his roles are positive characters. His stern face and deep, distant voice make him seem hard to approach. He speaks little, rarely smiles, dislikes social gatherings, and keeps a low profile, so he has the best reputation among actors his age.

When a cold-faced award-winning actor meets a genius idol, is he simply too deep in character, or has he been planning this all along? Love takes skill, and playing hard to get is a game that never grows old.

Shh! Don't give it away...

Male pregnancy. Set in the Chinese entertainment industry. If this is a dealbreaker, please steer clear. Thank you for your cooperation.

Oni Jujiro: A director who specializes in crime dramas and horror films. His works emphasize violent aesthetics and have a hard-edged style. An internationally renowned director, he swept the Cannes Film Festival with a horror film and is hailed as a commercial-film genius. His life motto is, "The difference between a horror film and a crime drama is the state of the culprit's existence."

Oishi Shuichiro: From an academic background. Humble and modest, he became famous for appearing in historical dramas and is regarded as one of the entertainment industry's universally nice guys. A die-hard Red Fairy fan.

Sanada Genichiro: Thirty years old, came from historical dramas, and is an award-winning actor. He likes talented actors and looks down on actors who started in idol boy bands. He has publicly criticized young pretty-boy celebrities many times, saying they're all flash and no substance and seriously damaging the industry's standards. Idol fans have attacked him en masse, and he remains on their blacklist.

Tachibana Kippei: Graphite's manager. A very forceful man whose temperament matches Graphite's tough-guy image. Through sheer determination, he took Graphite from the brink of disbanding to become a hit boy band. He can be called the soul of Graphite.

Sengoku Kiyosumi: An outgoing and lively man who gets familiar with people quickly. His catchphrase is "Lucky," and he's known as Lucky Sengoku. They say he changes girlfriends more often than his teammates wash their socks.

Akutagawa Jiro: Atobe's son, reportedly fathered by Irie. Nineteen years old and the son of a wealthy family, he is innocent, kind, and a little absent-minded. He's a huge fan of Marui from Red Fairy, a group under his family's company, and is currently Red Fairy's top spender. Marui and the others like him because he's pure-hearted, but his fanatical pursuit of his idol also gives Marui a headache.

Kabaji Takahiro: Atobe Keigo's childhood friend and personal bodyguard, Atobe being the heir to the Atobe conglomerate. Five years ago, when the conglomerate entered the entertainment industry, Atobe appointed him manager of the new group Red Fairy. He's tall and imposing, but not much of a talker and never socializes. Because he's big and can fight, Red Fairy's fans regard him as the group's guardian deity.

Atobe Keigo: Thirty-five years old and heir to the Atobe conglomerate. Though busy with work, he cares deeply about the entertainment industry's development. He dates both men and women, enjoying both sides of the industry, and has been linked to numerous award-winning actors. He has also swept up all the top actresses, earning him the nicknames "award-winning actor killer" and "the entertainment industry's great benefactor."

Nioh Masaharu: An award-winning actor and cosplay enthusiast. He became famous quickly after starring in The Vampire Count. Eccentric and outrageous, he has a terrible reputation. Because of his unusual relationship with Atobe, everyone assumes Atobe keeps him. Rumor has it that Atobe's younger son is his child, but this has never been confirmed.

Fuji Yuta: Fuji Syusuke's younger brother, seventeen years old and a first-year university student. He has a cross-shaped knife scar on his forehead, handsome, well-defined features, and a youthful air. Kind and pure-hearted, he is often referred to as "Syusuke's little brother" because his older brother is so famous, which has caused friction between them.

Echizen Ryoga: A well-known author who specializes in stream-of-consciousness horror novels. Easygoing and unconstrained, he is notoriously late with manuscripts and is one of the publishing industry's most loved and hated authors. He calls himself a wandering poet. He's also very handsome and has lots of fans. Signing events are often so crowded that people can't move, which has led to many complaints.

Echizen Ryoma: A member of Best Junior, sixteen years old, and from a family of performers. His father was once the famous award-winning actor Echizen Nanjiro. Ryoma himself is aloof and tsundere. Since he's handsome and young, his fans are mostly elementary and middle school students, and he often appears in Mary Sue fiction.

Inui Sadaharu: Well-dressed and handsome, he wears black-rimmed glasses that have hidden his eye color for years. One of the hosts of the national variety show Take Off Your Clothes. The other two hosts are Yanagi Renji and Mitsuya Akuto, and the three are collectively known as the Tokyo Trio of Perverts.

Irie Kanata: Former saxophone player who successfully transitioned to film and television, becoming an award-winning actor. Sweet-looking, with a performative personality. Rumor has it that Atobe kept him while he was a saxophone player, and that he later gave birth to Atobe's eldest son, Jiro.

Byodoin Houou: A famous director with violent tendencies who once went to prison for fighting. He's notorious in the industry and specializes in martial arts and suspense films. He has won countless awards and was once an actor, one of the few in Japan to achieve the grand slam. There are rumors that he has a male lover, but their truth has yet to be established.

Oshitari Yuushi: An art-film director and well-known author, acclaimed for his delicate, lingering style. He has won numerous awards and is Japan's youngest director to achieve the grand slam. A romantic and a womanizer, he's a notorious playboy, and many of the entertainment industry's beautiful actresses have had romantic rumors with him. He and Atobe are birds of a feather and often share sex partners.

Otori Chotaro: The third young master of the Atobe family, seventeen years old and reportedly fathered by Nioh. A famous pianist with a gentle disposition and a tall build, he is currently studying in the UK. He's back in Japan for his school's holiday and is generally considered the most sensible of the Atobe children.

Momoshiro Takeshi: A hot-blooded man with a fitness-focused, sporty style and spiky hair. He's the typical sunny hunk and has taken many roles as the second male lead in idol dramas and as a police officer in crime dramas. But he's quick-witted, with a bit of cleverness beneath his careless demeanor.

Ibu Shinji: A pretty boy and a leading example of deadpan acting. His performances are often criticized. He delivers his lines fluently but with no change in tone, like a horror-film narrator. Neither his expressions nor his lines show any emotional fluctuation, so netizens mockingly say he should go make horror films. Sanada has publicly criticized him many times in the past.

Mizuki Hajime: Once a rising star among managers, he was highly regarded by the industry. But luck was not on his side. At the height of his career, he took over a boy band about to debut after a talent show. Who knew that the group would be unemployed from the moment they debuted? Mizuki was trapped for two years, and all his glory was destroyed by that audition-show boy band. When the group disbanded, he was thrown out along with them. After hitting a dead end everywhere, he was eventually out of work for so long that he ended up on the streets. With nowhere else to turn, Yuta took him home.

Mitsuya Akuto: One of the Tokyo Trio of Perverts and Yanagi Renji's senior. Known as the number-one beauty in Japanese broadcasting, he has countless admirers but is only fit to be admired from afar. One of the archetypal femme fatales, he's rumored to have broken the legs of several obsessive admirers. His fighting ability is terrifying.

Taki Haginosuke: Atobe's classmate and friend, a newly acclaimed actor who often appears in art films. Gentle and unconcerned with competing, he was once Atobe's secretary and lover, and was deeply trusted by him. He later entered the entertainment industry for reasons unknown. Rumor has it he's Hiyoshi's biological father, but he hasn't confirmed it himself.

Yagyuu Hiroshi: Once a singer-songwriter who specialized in delicate, lingering melodies. His lyrics were gorgeous and sorrowful, earning him the title of Prince of Love Songs. He later stepped behind the scenes and opened a modeling agency, where he is both owner and manager. His agency's top model is the British male model Lilyan de Sagittarius.

Kite Eishiro: A native of Okinawa and a stunt performer. He has studied martial arts since elementary school and trained at Shaolin Temple in China. Together with childhood friends like Kai, he formed a stunt team called the Higa Crew. He has been in the entertainment industry since age fifteen and is a regular stunt double in major productions. Having left home without connections, he was often bullied, which made him violent and cunning.

Sakaki Taro: Head of the Atobe family. Meticulous and disciplined, he pursues an elegant and extravagant style. He can be rigid and insensitive, and what he says goes in the family. He loves music and was a famous musician when he was young, writing many songs for the entertainment industry.

Saeki Kojirou: Fuji's childhood friend, who has long competed with Shiraishi for the top spot on Japan's handsome-men rankings. Hailed as a national treasure of good looks, he is a leading man for idol dramas and is handsome yet low-key. The first person whose fate was changed by his face.

Tezuka Kunifuu: Tezuka's cousin. He used to be a private bodyguard, then went into the arms business. Unlike Tezuka, whose stern face makes him hard to approach, Tezuka Kunifuu has a gentle air and treats people kindly, like a refined gentleman. Aside from their looks, he and Tezuka have almost nothing in common.

Tokugawa Kazuya: Once Japan's highest-paid male supermodel, hailed as the top man in the Japanese modeling world. Patient and low-key, he left the runway a few years ago for unknown reasons. His current focus is charity work.

Watanabe Osamu: Sixteen years younger than Sakaki Taro. In his youth, he was debonair and unconstrained, and was said to be very popular with women. His main profession is acting. In middle age, his disheveled, unconventional charm made him a hit as the most popular kind of mature man at the time, earning him the nickname "the nation's uncle."

Taneshima Shuji: Dark-skinned with white hair, handsome, and lean and athletic. He's an easygoing, unconstrained, and hearty man. He and Irie were childhood friends, and he had a crush on him since childhood. When they first entered the entertainment industry, they confessed their feelings and became lovers, but later separated because of various misunderstandings.

Mouri Juzaburo: Lead singer of a famous rock band. Since he's over 1.9 meters tall, the public calls him the "giant of the rock world." Later, the exceptional quality of his albums and his outstanding professional skills earned him widespread recognition, and the nickname gradually came to mean a leading authority in rock.

Premise: The love between a cold-faced award-winning actor and a genius idol