Production
Pretty Rhythm director Masakazu Hishida had stressed the importance of the male characters of Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live, and with them debuting as Over the Rainbow in the final episode, Hiroko Nishi and Takeshi Yoda had wanted to develop a late-night 13-episode television series that would focus on them, but their original plan was rejected.[4] When it was reworked into a film, it was rejected again, and the staff were told that if they were able to provide evidence that the project would work out, then it would be approved.[4] From 2014 onward, the staff continued to promote various Pretty Rhythm and PriPara series at events, occasionally teasing Over the Rainbow's comeback to test the fans' feedback. When the full version of Over the Rainbow's theme song, "Athletic Core", received positive feedback,[5][6] a character song album centered on them was produced.[7][8] In 2015, Over the Rainbow appeared in the movie Gekijō-ban PriPara: Minna Atsumare! Prism Tours if the audience chose to view route 4, which ended with a teaser for their comeback.[9][10] The film was financially successful, with fans attending the cheer screenings multiple times with glowsticks. Avex Group finally approved the film project after attending the cheer screenings.
Over the Rainbow's comeback was later confirmed at an Edel Rose event in 2015, where a VTR clip show announced that they would return in a film project in 2016 titled King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm.[11][12][13][14] Staff from previous Pretty Rhythm projects returned for the film, including Hishida,[12] Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live CG director Yoshihiro Otobe, and character designer Mai Matsuura.[12]
During a live stream on December 22, 2015, Hishida addressed criticisms about the Pretty Rhythm series and revealed that the film project was given limited time and budget, leading the staff had debated how much of the story they could fit in 60 minutes.[15] He mentioned that despite the focus on the Prism King Cup, the film would end before the characters even attended the tournament.[15] At the time, a sequel to the film was not planned due to the uncertainty of King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm's financial success, and the post-credits preview was added to suggest what would happen if they were to create a sequel.[15]
The film was released in Japan on January 9, 2016.[16][17] 4DX theater screenings were available in 26 theaters on June 18, 2016.[18] King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm was screened for 100 days in South Korea, with over 90,000 people in total attendance.[19] The Los Angeles Film Festival screened the film on September 16, 2017.
