There's nothing like binge-watching a drama series that stars some of the biggest names in J-pop.

As princes in their own right, Japanese-Filipino singer/actor and GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE leader Alan Shirahama and Hokuto Yoshino of The RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE have been stealing the spotlight with every scene they appear on PRINCE OF LEGEND. Between their natural charisma and remarkable talent, these two performers certainly have a way with making you sit on the edge of your seat.

Now that the PRINCE OF LEGEND franchise is available to stream on Netflix globally, the world will now finally have the chance to witness their charms as they compete for the title of "prince" at St. Brilliant Academy firsthand.

Bandwagon caught up with Shirahama and Yoshino to talk about their work on Prince of Legend, how they prepared for their roles, and the music their characters would listen to.

How did you feel about appearing in Prince of Legend?

Alan Shirahama: Originally, Prince of Legend was a film in which Ryota Katayose played the leading role, so I thought I would do my best to be a good complement to him. I was surprised to find out that I was going to act as a very different character and partly different story which would link back to the initial Prince of Legend show.

My character, Dolly, is not a prince, but a rags-to-riches aristocrat instead. It was a fun and lively shoot with actors of the same generation who are active in various genres of movies and TV dramas.

Hokuto Yoshino: When I first heard I was going to be acting, I was honestly delighted! There were so many performers and princes participating in this project, I learnt a lot from everyone so it was a very valuable experience!

Being part of Prince of Legend, who would have thought that my first drama was to be a prince? It was tough, but because the director and team did their best to match the characters with our individual personalities, it encouraged me to do better. I’m glad I was able to add my own personality to it!

[POL出演の感想 ？

白濱亜嵐: 元々はPOLは片寄が主演を張って出演していた作品だったので、自分は片寄を引き立てられるように臨もうと思っていたのですが、どうやら話を聞いてみるとまた別軸の貴族の話だったので驚きました。様々なジャンルの映画やドラマで活躍している同世代の俳優達が集まっていたのでとてもワイワイした撮影で楽しかったです。

吉野北人: 初めて聞いた時は素直に嬉しい気持ちでした！多くの出演者、王子達がいらっしゃったのでとても貴重な経験でした！初のお芝居が王子役だったので大変でしたが、自分らしさも加えることが出来たと思います！]

In what ways did you prepare for your role on Prince of Legend?

Alan: First of all, I felt that I had to create a very exaggerated role because I knew that normal acting would not be enough for this character. I decided to overdo it a little bit in my acting. Just like shonen anime, where there is a show of high action and abilities from characters, I tried to make my character look like it came out of a character from a manga or an anime.

Hokuto: As this was my first drama, I had to take a few lessons and learn to understand my character/role, followed by developing it further to match what was expected of the prince character I was acting as.

[POL参加への準備 ？

白濱: まず普通のお芝居じゃダメだなと思いかなりデフォルメした役作りをしなきゃなと感じて、芝居も少しやり過ぎなくらいオーバーにしようと考えました。漫画やアニメの登場人物をイメージしました。

吉野: 初のお芝居だったので、何度かレッスンもさせていただき、役を作っていきました！]

What has been the most exciting part about being on Prince of Legend?

Alan: I was amazed at Dolly’s lines because I was saying things that I would never say on a normal day. I even thought to myself “What am I saying?” Dolly’s script was something I had never done before as an actor, so it was very exciting to be very out of character in that sense. I got to play a character that wasn’t me. 

Hokuto: In the first movie, it would have to be the battle scene of the princes. The battle is to see who can win the title of Prince of Legend. I was a little embarrassed at that time because there were so many performers and extras that I had to act in front of. As part of the battle, the activities I had to do was a princess/bridal carry and a ‘kabe-don’ (wall kiss).

I also had the opportunity to watch the scenes of other princes, and they performed their scenes so beautifully and easily that I felt a bit jealous!

[POLで最もエキサイティングだったこと？

白濱: 自分でも何言っているんだろうと思うほどの、普段使わないセリフ回しです。ドリーのセリフは今までの役者経験に無いものだったのでとても刺激的でした。

吉野: 王子バトルでのシーンです。多くの出演者やエキストラがいる中でお姫様抱っこや壁ドンなどあったので当時は恥ずかしさが少しありました！他の王子様達のシーンも見ていたのですが皆さん軽々と美しくこなしていたので悔しかったです。。。]

What kind of music do you imagine your character listens to? Did you listen to these songs while immersing yourself in your role?

Alan: All of these are classics, but these are the three songs I imagined the Dolly character to be: Johann Sebastian Bach - 'Air on G String', Aram Khachaturian - 'Masquerade - Waltz', Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- 'Dies Irae ( Day Of Wrath) from Requiem Mass K.626'.

Hokuto: My character, Koki Tendo is someone who wants to be a better person for the girl everyone likes. These songs fit Koki Tendo: Tatsuro Yamashita - 'Christmas Eve' and Hikaru Utada - 'First Love'.

[ 演じたキャラが普段聞いてそうな音楽は？キャラに合っていると思う曲は？役作りにそれらを聞いていたか？ 

白濱: G線上のアリア、仮面舞踏会、レクイエム 怒りの日。全てクラシックですがドリーのイメージはこの三曲です。

吉野: 山下達郎さん／クリスマスイブ、宇多田ヒカルさん/First Love。]

If you could recommend one Japanese band everyone should listen to, on top of GENERATIONS and The RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE, what would that other band be?

Alan: Eiichi Otaki, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Happy End. These are my favorite Japanese artists. Especially Happy End is a pioneer in Japanese rock music. They have only released three albums, but they are legendary and I listen to them often.

Hokuto: Recently, I listen to HIRAIDAI a lot!

[RAMPAGE、GEN、TRIBE以外の一般的なJapanese bandでレコメンドはありますか？

白濱: 大滝詠一、山下達郎、はっぴぃえんど。僕が好きな日本のアーティストです。とくに「はっぴぃえんど」は、日本語ロックの先駆けにもなっていて。三枚しかアルバムを出していないのですが伝説的な三枚でよく聞いています。

吉野: 最近では、平井大さんを良く聴きます！]

Kizoku Kourin - PRINCE OF LEGEND is available for streaming on Netflix.