フェンシング部のエース・カニンはイギリスで暮らす22歳の青年。しかし実はエムマリー国の王位を継承する資格を持つ一族の一つ、アッサワテーワーティン家の息子だった。それを知らずにこれまで生きてきたカニンは、突然チャランと名乗る男性にエムマリー国に来てほしいと言われる。チャランはカニンを見つけ、国に連れ戻す任務を負ったアッサワテーワーティン家の護衛官だった。祖国に向かう道中、彼らは何者かに命を狙われてしまう。やっとの思いでエムマリー国に到着したカニンだったが、彼を待ち受けていたのは熾烈な王位継承争いだった。 それと同時に、主人とボディーガード、身分の違う２人の運命の歯車も動き始める。 「カニンを守り、世話をし、一族への忠誠を尽くす」と誓うチャラン。 それぞれの思惑と想いの行方は…。
_“In every age, power remains with those who win.”_ _**The Next Prince** (2025)_ is still one of my favorite dramas for the story, its message, and the romance. It’s not just the cute and funny moments that left an impression on me, but also the underlying emotional pain the characters have to go through all to crown the future king of Emmaly. Though there are a lot of flaws such as not being riskier with the darkness of the plot and the world this story is set in, it’s still an exceptional watch in my book. The editing, (most of) the performances, and the cinematography truly sold me on this forever being in my top ten favorite Thai dramas EVER. You can tell how much effort the cast and crew put into making this story memorable. Even though there were some misses on different plot points, I think this series does a good job at its message on the monarchy’s (any and every government fr) responsibility to the people it governs. I’ve seen this show enough times to be confident in my critique. I didn’t read the novel so I can’t speak from that context, but as someone who spends a lot of time analyzing tv and film, this is still very much a win in my book.
