Princely Young Man
The Princely Young Man is the Spear Counterpart to The Ojou, being a young male of elite status, either by wealth, social position or sheer force of personality and popularity.
Like The Ojou, he is rarely a Blue Blood, but he is either treated like royalty by those around him, or acts as a prince might, either stuck up and demanding respect, or regal and aloof towards his 'subjects'. Usually he is rich and his parents have a very high place in society, possibly in the form of a government job or ownership of an important company or corporation, which he might be expected to inherit. He is granted a great deal of respect by the 'commoners' around him due to this, looking up to him and deferring to his wishes. It's extremely common for an Instant Fanclub to spring up in his wake, often in the form of admiring fangirls with hopes of being his girlfriend. This popularity often allows him to have a high position in the Absurdly Powerful Student Council. He often has an Army of Lawyers or Corporate Samurai at his beck and call, enforcing his authority or acting as protection. He probably also has a Battle Butler, Ninja Maid or Old Retainer who follows him around, doing his bidding. The Princely Young Man very often acts as the Love Interest of a female protagonist (particularly in Shojo. Reverse Harems often have many of them in varying types), or as a villain, heading the Student Council against the protagonist.
Like The Ojou, there are a few common types, though how strictly a character adheres to the types varies. These types include a Prince Charming type, an Ice King type, a male Yamato Nadeshiko type, and a Spoiled Brat type. To read about how these types tend to play out, read the Analysis for this page.
The Ouji is the Japanese term often used for this, but it has certain other connotations depending on the context. Often it's translated to "Young Master", which these characters might be addressed by, especially by their servants, should they have them.
See also The Ojou for the Distaff Counterpart. Compare Man of Wealth and Taste, The Wise Prince, The White Prince, Spoiled Brat and The Proud Elite.
Anime and Manga
- All the boys in Ouran High School Host Club. In particular, Tamaki fits the Prince Charming type and Kyoya fits the Ice King Type with some elements of the Yamato Nadeshiko type.
- The two rich boys from Uta no Prince-sama. Masato is the Ice King type, though a rather nice one, and Rin is the Prince Charming type, right down to Something About a Rose, the blond hair and Instant Fanclub.
- Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho is the Prince Charming type with shades of the Yamato Nadeshiko type. He's not rich or nobility but he's treated that way by girls at school, and has a superior air because of the knowledge that he's a high-class demon.
- Gouiche from The Familiar of Zero is the Prince Charming Type.
- Hanabusa Miyabi from Ore-sama Teacher is unrepentantly a Yamato Nadeshiko type.
- Austria from Axis Powers Hetalia is a mix of the Ice King type and the Yamato Nadeshiko type.
- Helmeppo from One Piece is definitely the mean, pompous buffoon Spoiled Brat type of this, the way he uses his father's rank and reputation to get what he wants, but eventually does a Heel Face Turn. Then we have Sanji, who isn’t treated as a prince at all, but who very often imagines himself as one.
- James from Pokémon comes from an absurdly rich family and grew up with scads of tutors trying to teach him everything a rich kid should know... but as a member of Team Rocket and sort of a big idiot, Despite being a villain he's more of a Prince Charming-type than a Spoiled Brat version of this trope.
- Touga in Gravion fits the composed variety, and forms an Odd Friendship with the largely manners-less Eiji often driven by his quiet curiosity about the "real world".
- Romeo Candorebanto Montague from Romeo X Juliet, in addition to being the Mad Dictator's Handsome Son, is the male Yamato Nadeshiko type to a T. His best friend Benvolio di Frescobaldi also is like this, but once his family is stripped of its noble status, he adapts to peasant life very quickly and happily.
- Yuna Roma Seiran from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, a Spoiled Brat, proves why letting one of these gain power can be a really, really, bad idea. Luckily eventually they Dropped A GOUF On Him.
- Ninzaburo Shiratori from Detective Conan is this and a rather competent policeman. While not a bad person, he can be kind of an Upper Class Twit when at his very worse. Also his former classmate Fumimaro Ayanokouji, who actually is from Royal Blood according to Satou.
- And naturally, more than one of these dudes are among either victims, witnesses and/or culprits in the series..
- Victorique's half-brother, Grevil de Blois is a Princely Young Man to her Oujo in Gosick.
Comic Books
- From Batman Comics, Damian Wayne is the Spoiled Brat type, but instead of being a King he wants to be seen as the next Batman. Meanwhile, Richard "Dick" Grayson is the Prince Charming type and tries to help Damian to fix his issues; it looks like it's working, as Dick is one of the few persons Damian seems to respect.
- Damian's father Bruce Wayne aka Batman himself counts, as he often plays a Prince Charming and Spoiled Brat type in public but in private he's actually an Ice King type.
Film
- Danny Saunders in The Chosen was kind of a type 2, ice king type.
- Kamen Rider:
- Sano Mitsuru from Kamen Rider Ryuki was thrown out and forced to get a day job. His rich father hoped it would build Mitsuru some character. It didn't.
- Kamishiro Tsurugi from Kamen Rider Kabuto. His personal motto is, "I am the man who will replace God and slash with a sword". He eventually discovers that his family coffers are more empty than he had ever imagined (as in, completely) and resolves to restore his family wealth whilst learning about the joys of "the common people", becoming much more quirky and likeable in the process.
- Sieg from Kamen Rider Den-O, an arrogant Imagin who claims that "the world revolves for [his] sake" and initially sees the DenLiner crew as his servants. Hana punches some sense into him, though, and he warms up to the others a lot quicker. Bonus points for his predominantly white color scheme.
Literature
- Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter is unquestionably a Spoiled Brat type.
Live Action TV
- Daniel Grayson from the TV show Revenge is a Prince Charming type.
- Simon Tam in Firefly. A rather nice version of the Ice King type.
- Sebastian Smythe from Glee is also a Spoiled Brat type. He gains command of the Dalton Academy Warblers and makes many references to his family's affluence.
Video Games
- Jorge Garcia from Backyard Sports is a Spoiled Brat type in the early games, and an Ice King type in the later games.
- The male Lords in the Fire Emblem saga tend to fill in different types of this. Eliwood in particular is a good example of the Yamato Nadeshiko type, while Innes is a textbook Ice King one.
Web Original
- Phase, Ayla Goodkind of the Whateley Universe. Born into the richest family on earth, and used to having his own way all the time. When he turns into a mutant and gets kicked out of the family, he finds out he doesn't know how to do anything, including use a can opener or a microwave. He just about has a coronary seeing what a real grocery store is like.
Western Animation
- Prince Blueblood from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic at first appeared to be the Prince Charming type, but turned out to be more of a Spoiled Brat.