Mr. Contest 2025,” a contest to determine the “coolest high school boy in Japan,” was held in Tokyo on April 29, and Yusuke Narazaki (17), a high school sophomore from Hyogo Prefecture, was selected among the 15 finalists who made it through the 20,000 applicants and the various preliminary contests. Yusuke Narazaki (17), a second-year high school student from Hyogo Prefecture, was selected from among the 15 finalists who had won each of the 20,000 entries to the competition. Photo: Model walking by Yusuke Narazaki, the coolest high school boy in Japan At the moment the grand prix was announced, “I did it! and burst into tears of joy. I have been thinking for a year that I would definitely win the Grand Prix and prove that I am the best. But one year ago, I wasn’t good-looking enough to participate in Mr. Contest. I made a lot of effort with diet and exercise, and I’m really happy that I entered the competition and won the grand prix. It was tough balancing schoolwork, but I was also in the tennis club, so suntanning was a problem (laughs). (Laughs.) It was hard work, including all those little things.” Looking back, he said, “My dream is to become an actor. I admire Tatsuya Fujiwara, and I want to become an actor who can move people’s hearts,” he said emphatically. The Grand Prix winner will receive a cash prize of 500,000 yen, the right to appear in “TGC teen 2026 (tentative),” the appointment as the next year’s contest ambassador, a one-year supply of colored contacts from CandyMagic, and a visual model contract and 200,000 yen in gift certificates from SPINNS. In addition, the runner-up for “High School Boys” was Enokida Kazuo (18), a high school senior from Miyazaki Prefecture. The “Mr. High School Boy” contest uses an entry and judging process based on the lifestyle of high school students, and allows viewer participation in the process of determining the grand prix winner. In the past, the contest has produced a number of currently active actors, including 2016 Grand Prix winner Kyoya Honda, 2017 Grand Prix winner Fumiya Takahashi, 2018 Runner-up Rio Komiya, and 2021 Grand Prix winner Hitoshi Matsumoto.
