Never Hollowed By The Stare

Ouji-sama no Hanryo wa Batsuichi Arafou – Shiramatsu

Tatsumi Yagasaki, a corporate writer who is tired of life, is forced to help Prince Nico of Rasheed Kingdom, who came to Japan to produce a guide book about it. Being dragged by the Prince everyday made Tatsumi very exhausted but he was touched by seeing Nico’s honest and innocent smile.

When he woke up the next day he realized that he and the Prince did it (they had sex). Tatsumi was afraid of the ‘death punishment’ as a consequence, but he saw Nico who was happy and embarrassed at the same time.

Because of the old custom of “spending your life with the person you gave your virginity to”, he was forced to become his “partner”!. A love story that transcends the social status and nationality of a divorced around 40 year old and a Prince!

On the one hand, The Prince’s Companion Is Batsuichi Around 40 is a cute, age-gap, forced proximity romance between a 36-year-old corporate writer, Tatsumi, and the adorable Prince Nico, the royal ambassador of the Kingdom of Rasheed.

Prince Nico immediately latched on to Tatsumi after he was rescued by the latter while wandering around the city. They then worked together on a project, a Japanese guidebook for Rasheed. Their forced proximity led to intimacy, and suddenly, the prince declared Tatsumi his partner for life.

It’s easy to be swept away by the story. It’s fun, humorous, and earnest. Tatsumi also has aspirations as a novelist, and Nico’s enthusiasm and all-out support for his writing are contagious!

However, most of these are something we have already seen many times. The Japanese concept of an exotic foreign prince usually defaults to the vaguely Arabian character design we see on the cover, and Prince Nico is yet another stereotype. However, I couldn’t help but love his joyful character.

Also, the prince did most of the heavy lifting with his energetic, sunshine personality, while Tatsumi was rather boring, IMHO. Tatsumi has issues and insecurities, bemoaning his old age (36!), divorced status, and failed writing.

Though a mixed bag, this manga is still a win. Read it for Prince Nico!

If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi or PayPal. Your donations will help keep this website going. Thank you so much!