Jump to content

The Prince of Tennis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.225.83.114 (talk) at 20:59, 31 January 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
The Prince of Tennis
File:Prince of Tennis promo.jpg
Prince of Tennis Logo. From left to right: Fuji, Tezuka, Inui, Kaido, Kawamaru, Momoshiro, Kikumaru, Oishi, and Ryoma
GenreAdventure, Sport, Shōnen
Created byTakeshi Konomi
Manga
Prince of Tennis
Written byTakeshi Konomi
Published byJapan Shueisha
Anime
Directed byTakayuki Hamana
StudioTrans Arts Co., J.C. Staff, Production I.G
Anime
'Zenkoku Taikai Hen (The National Tournament)
Directed byShunsuke Tada
StudioM.S.C.
Related works

The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tenisu no Ōjisama) is a popular manga and anime series. The manga is written by Takeshi Konomi, who has also written a manga called Cool. The manga is published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan, and is published in English in North America by VIZ Media. The series was put under hiatus when the author was injured in an accident during the Summer of 2006, but publication resumed in September 2006, after a hiatus of slightly over two months.

The anime series, produced by Trans Arts Co., J.C. Staff, Production I.G, premiered across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network, airing between October 10 2001 and March 30 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes. Beginning in April, 2006 an OVA continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD.

The series has produced a half-hour weekly radio show, over 100 music CDs, several games, movies, multiple live-action musicals and a large selection of merchandise. On 13 May 2006 the live-action adaptation film, The Prince of Tennis, was released in Japan.

The Prince of Tennis anime has been announced to be a part of Cartoon Network's new online broadband service called Toonami Jetstream. It began streaming July 14, 2006. The anime began airing on Toonami's Saturday night block on December 23rd.

The show is currently airing on Saturday as stated, but the episodes are not being aired in complete order. Saturday the 13th had episode 6, and the 20th is airing episode 9. The same thing, but with greater skips, is happening with MAR (Märchen Awakens Romance), which started at the same time.

In the Japanese, German, and English versions of the manga, the chapters are identified as "Genius" (Genius 1, Genius 2, etc).

Plot

The manga is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Gakuen (青春学園 Seishun Gakuen), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot on the regulars team. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.

Characters

Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name.

Players

Seishun Gakuen

  • Regulars
  • Other players
    • Masashi Arai (荒井将史, Arai Masashi): second year in Seigaku's tennis club who will probably end up a Regular his third year.
    • Masaya Ikeda
    • Daisuke Hayashi
    • Satoshi Horio (堀尾聡史, Horio Satoshi): Know-it-all first year in the tennis club with "two years of tennis experience". Main source of comic relief. Horio has very little faith in Ryoma, but as the story goes on his faith in Ryoma increases.
    • Kachiro Kato (加藤勝郎, Katō Kachirō): first year in tennis club who is a voice of reason for Horio.
    • Katsuo Mizuno (水野カツオ, Mizuno Katsuo): Basically the same as Kachiro, but Katsuo is not featured as much.

Notable rival schools

  • St. Rudolph Gakuen (私立聖ルドルフ学院中学校)
    • Yoshirou Akazawa (Captain)
    • Takuya Nomura (Vice-Captain)
    • Hajime Mizuki (Manager)
    • Yuuta Fuji
    • Shinya Yanagisawa
    • Atsushi Kisarazu
    • Ichirou Kaneda
  • Yamabuki Middle School (私立山吹中学校)
    • Kentarou Minami (Captain)
    • Kiyosumi Sengoku (Vice-Captain)
    • Taichi Dan (manager)
    • Jin Akutsu
    • Masami Higashikata
    • Ichiuma Kita
    • Inakichi Nitobe
    • Touji Muromachi
    • Tsubasa Nishikiori
  • Hyotei Gakuen (私立氷帝学園中等部)
    • Keigo Atobe (Captain)
    • Yuushi Oshitari
    • Ryou Shishido
    • Choutarou Ootori
    • Gakuto Mukahi
    • Jiroh Akutagawa
    • Wakashi Hiyoshi
    • Munehiro Kabaji
    • Haginosuke Taki
  • Midoriyama (緑山中学校) (manga only)
    • Yasuyuki Kiraku
    • Masato Takase
    • Wataru Kitamura
    • Takuma Minamoto
    • Itto Habu
    • Junpei Kongawa
    • Akane Tsuta
  • Jyosei Shonan (城成湘南中学校) (anime only)
    • Takahisa Kajimoto (Captain)
    • Reiji Shinjou
    • Hiroshi Wakato
    • Youhei Tanaka
    • Kouhei Tanaka
    • Shou Ota
    • Daichi Kiriyama
  • Rokkaku Chuu (市立六角中学校)
    • Kentarou Aoi (Captain)
    • Kojirou Saeki (Vice-Captain)
    • Ryou Kisarazu
    • Hikaru "David" Amane
    • Harukaze Kurobane
    • Marehiko Itsuki
    • Satoshi Shudou
    • Ryou Kisarazu

Nationals Competition Rival Appearances

  • Higa Middle School (比嘉中学校)
    • Eishirou Kite (Captain)
    • Yuujirou Kai
    • Hiroshi Chinen
    • Kei Tanishi
    • Rin Hirakoba
    • Shiranui
    • Aragaki
  • Saint Icarus
    • Richard Sakata
  • Makinofuji Gakuen
    • Hagi
    • Kadowaki
  • Nagoya Seitoku
  • Tsubakikawa
    • Kotoha

Others

  • U.S./American Team/Western United States
    • Kevin Smith
    • Arnold Ignashov
    • Bobby Max
    • Tom Griffey
    • Terry Griffey
    • Billy Cassidy
    • Michael Lee

Supporting Characters

  • Sumire Ryuzaki (竜崎スミレ, Ryūzaki Sumire): Coach of Seigaku's tennis club, as well as the former coach of Ryoma's father.
  • Karupin: The Echizens' mischievous and surprisingly intelligent Himalayan cat.
  • Sakuno Ryuzaki (竜崎桜乃, Ryūzaki Sakuno): Coach's granddaughter and first year who clearly has a crush on Ryoma Echizen. A sweet and extremely shy girl who started playing tennis inspired by Ryoma's example and works hard to sharpen her skills.
  • Tomoka Osakada (小坂田朋香, Osakada Tomoka): first year who is Sakuno's best friend. Also is president of the Ryoma Echizen Fanclub. She's a loud, somewhat pushy and energetic tomboy who likes cheering on the Seigaku team loudly and always catfights with Horio.
  • Nanjiro Echizen (越前南次郎, Echizen Nanjirō): Ryoma's father and former tennis pro. Nanjiro is currently a monk. His name is spelled Nanjiro Echizen in the English manga and Nanjirou Echizen in Roman characters in the Japanese version of the anime.
  • Nanako Meino (菜々子, Nanako): Echizen's college-bound cousin who lives with Ryoma and his father.
  • Mamoru Inoue (井上守, Inoue Mamoru): Reporter for Monthly Tennis magazine who follows the Seigaku team and is a big fan of Nanjiro Echizen.
  • Saori Shiba (芝砂織, Shiba Saori): Photographer for Monthly Tennis who follows the team with Inoue.
  • An Tachibana (橘杏, Tachibana An): Kippei Tachibana's younger sister who supports Fudomine, she gets along well with the Seigaku members especially Momoshiro, whom she helped to regain his spirits when he was dropped off the regulars line. She's a second year player in the Fudoumine tennis club for girls.
  • Richard Baker: The coach of the U.S./American Team.
  • Rinko Echizen: Ryoma's mother and Nanjiroh's wife.
  • Banjii (aka Banda): Coach of Yamabuki's tennis club, and the coach of a previous school that defeated Seigaku in the past when Echizen's father was on the team.

Episode List

Main article: List of Prince of Tennis episodes

TV Show

The television program The Prince of Tennis is slightly different from the manga version. While most of the story and characters such as Ryoma Echizen, Takeshi Momoshiro, Shusuke Fuji, etc. are the same, there are small story-changes in the animated version because the author, Takeshi Konomi, thought it would be too boring to watch what fans have already read.

  • For example, table tennis scenes and billiard scenes exist in the TV version, but not in the manga.
  • The television series has already ended while the manga has not. There are 178 episodes and 330 chapters up till now. A year after the end of the TV show, they began releasing OVAs, made to adapt further events in the manga. 13 episodes are planned, with 11 having already been released.
  • Some schools are exclusive to the anime (Jyousei Shonan) and others are exclusive to the manga (Midoriyama).
  • Some events take place at different times. For example, Kirihara visits Seigaku in the manga prior to the District Regionals, but he doesn't meet them in the anime until after the Tokyo Prefecturals. Inoue and Shiba also visit Nanjirou much earlier in the anime then they do in the manga, and are introduced earlier (in the manga they don't show up until Ryoma's match against Inui)
  • Also, the anime starts shifting from the manga starting from the Rokakku arc. In the manga storyline, it is not Ryoma who faces Kentaro Aoi, but rather Kaoru Kaidoh.
  • In the anime, Ryoma faces off against Sanada before the Rikkaidai match and gets crushed. In the manga, he plays against Kirihara before the match, activates the State of Self Actualization, and wins.
  • The manga shows growth in tennis skill through modes of self-actualization. The anime doesn't, showing Ryoma's skill only extending to his "Cyclone smash".
  • The episodes in the anime dealing with Kevin Smith and the U.S. West Coast Team do not take place within the manga.

Official Sites

Profiles

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Prince_of_Tennis&oldid=104669171"