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The Prince of Tennis

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The Prince of Tennis
Cover of the Viz English version of The Prince of Tennis volume 1
テニスの王子様
(Tenisu no Ōjisama)
GenreSchool, Sports, Comedy
Manga
Written byTakeshi Konomi
Published byJapan Shueisha
English publisherCanada United Kingdom United States VIZ Media
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runJuly 1999 – March 3 2008
Volumes42 (List of volumes)
Anime
Directed byTakayuki Hamana
StudioTrans Arts
Released October 10 2001 – March 30 2005
Anime
Zenkoku Taikai Hen (The National Tournament)
Directed byShunsuke Tada
StudioM.S.C.
ReleasedMarch 24 2006 - March 23 2007
Anime
Zenkoku Taikai Hen Semifinal (The National Tournament Semifinal)
Directed byShunsuke Tada
StudioM.S.C.
ReleasedJune 22 2007 - January 25 2008
Anime
Zenkoku Taikai Hen Final (The National Tournament Final)
Directed byShunsuke Tada
StudioM.S.C.
ReleasedApril 5 2008 - onwards
Related works

The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tenisu no Ōjisama) is a popular Japanese manga written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was first published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1999, and ended publication on March 3 2008. A total of 379 chapters were serialized, spanning 42 volumes. As of volume 40, the manga has sold over 40 million copies in Japan.[1] The manga is published in English in North America by Viz Media.

The Prince of Tennis was adaptated into an anime series directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo. The anime aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network from October 10, 2001 to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes, as well as a theatrical movie. In April 2006, an original video animation (OVA) continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD. The beginning of the second OVA series was released on June 22 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first. The second OVA ended on January 25 2008, and the third and final OVA is scheduled to start on April 25 2008, as stated in the series' official site.

The series developed into a media franchise and has had numerous other adaptations outside of the animated incarnation. Since April 2003, more than fifteen stage musicals have been produced for the series. An animated movie was released in 2005, as well as a live action movie in 2006. Also, a 22-episode-long live-action television drama began airing in China on July 25 2008. The franchise has also had a long running radio show, numerous video games, soundtracks, and other merchandise or collectibles.

The title is often shortened to Teni-Puri (テニプリ, tenipuri), a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words, Tennis Prince. This is also evident in some of the super deformed episodes in the anime, where all the regulars of Seishun Academy are members of the Teni-Puri family.

Story

Plotline

The series is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy (青春学園, Seishun Gakuen), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high school tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him.

Characters

Note - Names are in Western order, with the given name before the family name.

Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis characters
See also: Seishun Academy
Ryoma Echizen (越前 リョーマ, Echizen Ryōma)
The protagonist of the series, Ryoma is the son of Nanjiro Echizen, who was formerly known as "Samurai Nanjiro" during his days as a professional tennis player. Ryoma gains the nickname "Samurai Junior" later in the series. He makes his first appearance when he criticizes a high school student about his tennis knowledge in a subway. He always says: "Mada Mada Dane" which means in English is "You still have lots more to work on." Ryoma Echizen is voiced by Junko Minagawa (Japanese Version) and by Neil von Black (US Version).
Kunimitsu Tezuka (手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu)
Tezuka is the captain of the tennis club and a third year student at Seishun Academy. He is an incredibly talented player and went to Nationals the year before the series took place. Tezuka is serious about everything he does, and he is very strict — one of his trademark phrases is "Don't let your guard down."
Shuichiro Oishi (大石 秀一郎, Ōishi Shūichirō)
Oishi is a third year student at Seishun Academy and the vice-captain of the tennis club. Along with Eiji Kikumaru, he is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair," a doubles team that made it to Nationals the year before the series takes place. Oishi is a very responsible character and cares deeply about the team.
Shusuke Fuji (不二 周助, Fuji Shūsuke)
Shusuke Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy and is approaching fifteen years of age at the beginning of the series. He is given the title "genius" (天才, tensai) due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Fuji is often seen with a calm and content expression on his face, with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling. However, when he is excited or provoked, or when playing seriously, Fuji reveals his sharp eyes.
Eiji Kikumaru (菊丸 英二, Kikumaru Eiji)
Eiji Kikumaru is a third year student at Seishun Academy and is part of the "Golden Pair," along with Shuichiro Oishi. Using his acrobatic play, he can return almost any ball, even those that seem out of human reach. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team, with an exceptional talent for seeing fast moving objects.
Takashi Kawamura (河村 隆, Kawamura Takashi)
Takashi is a soft-spoken person off the court, very gentle and shy, though still outspoken and stubborn when he makes a decision. However, he becomes extremely aggressive and loud once he grabs a racket. This change in his personality is marked by him shouting "Burning!!!"
Sadaharu Inui (乾 貞治, Inui Sadaharu)
Inui is a highly intelligent player. He plays what he calls "Data Tennis," which involves collecting and analyzing data for a player in order to determine their weaknesses. He is even able to determine the exact probability of certain shots being successful. When he is cut from the regulars after the first Seigaku ranking matches shown in the series, Inui creates the training menus for the team. More often than not, this involves contests or races of some kind, with the loser being forced to drink one of Inui's many infamous concoctions.
Takeshi Momoshiro (桃城 武, Momoshiro Takeshi)
Momoshiro is known as Seigaku's number one rascal. He is an aggressive baseliner. For a short time, he is cut from the regulars after losing to Inui and Tezuka during Seigaku's second monthly ranking matches. As the player who is the most open and friendly with everyone, Momoshiro is connected to everyone on the team on some level.
Kaoru Kaido (海堂 薫, Kaidō Kaoru)
Kaido's nickname is "Viper," which fits him well as his signature move is the "Snake Shot," a curving forehand that keeps his opponents running. He wears a bandana and often exhales, making a sound similar to a snake. Kaido does not like his nickname, and often reacts badly when called that within earshot. He and Momo are rivals,

Notable differences

The anime is quite different from the manga version. For example, in the anime Niou and Yagyuu did not cosplay each other in the regionals, whereas they did in the manga. However, all the radios, mini dramas, CDs and games make references to this and act as if it had always took place. Thus, someone who only watched the anime might be confused by the different portrayals.

Notable differences include the addition of table tennis scenes and billiard scenes in the anime. Episodes in the anime also deal with Kevin Smith and the U.S. West Coast Team, whereas the American team does not exist within the manga. Events in the anime also take place at a different time than when they take place in the manga; in the tournament where Seigaku is supposed to face off with Midoriyama, they switch the tournament draw in the anime, and put Jyousei Shounan to face Seigaku instead. Also, Ryoma faces Rokkaku's captain, Aoi Kentarou, in the Prefectural Semifinals, while the manga puts Kaidoh against him.

Also, while the manga makes an attempt to try and explain how some of the seemingly impossible moves are performed, such as the Tezuka Zone and Kikumaru's Seal Steps, the anime does less and sometimes even exaggerate them to a point where it becomes almost magical. This is possibly also due to the fact that the anime uses animation and naturally some effects are enhanced, but at times the anime seems to deliberately exaggerate the effects in order to parody itself. In the animated movie, Tezuka's skill and power has been compared to that of the meteorite which led to the extinction of dinosaurs in a lengthy clip; even the author found it so exaggerated that it was funny.[citation needed] Another instance is Ryoma's anime-only Cyclone Smash, which blows Sanada away completely, unlike many powerful smashes in the manga series which only blow away the opponent's racket.

Media

Manga

Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis chapters

The Prince of Tennis manga was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan on July 1999, and ran until March 3 2008, spanning a total of 379 chapters divided into 42 tankōbon. As of Volume 40, the manga has sold over 40 million copies in Japan.[1] The manga is published in North America by Viz Media.

The series was put under hiatus when Konomi was injured in an accident during July 2006, but publication resumed in September 2006.

Anime

Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis episodes

The anime series, directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network from October 10 2001 to March 30 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes.

In April 2006, an original video animation (OVA) continuation of the anime began to be released over a span of seven DVDs. The beginning of the second OVA series was released on June 22 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first. The second OVA finished on January 25 2008, containing six episodes over a span of three DVDs. The third and final OVA is scheduled to start on April 25 2008, as stated in the series' official site.

On April 24, 2007, Viz Media released the first The Prince of Tennis box set in the United States.[2] Viz Media has also opted to not include the Japanese opening and ending themes, instead using electric guitar music. However, the original music themes can be found in the DVD extras of disc 3.[3] As of January 15 2008, four box sets have been released by Viz. The four box sets contain the first 50 episodes of the series.[4]

In contrast, Japan has released a total of 45 DVD volumes for the entire 178 episodes of the anime series.

Movies

The Prince of Tennis - The Two Samurai: The First Game is the first animated film of the series. It was released in Japan on January 29 2005.

On May 13 2006, the live-action adaptation film, The Prince of Tennis, was released in Japan.

Band of Princes/ Kick the future: it's a short clip with background music and some scenes. It also shows seigaku's and other school's teams singing in a band, at a live concert.

Video games

The Prince of Tennis franchise has spawned many different video games. The vast majority of these are either tennis games or dating sims.

Additionally, characters from The Prince of Tennis appeared in the Shōnen Jump based video games Jump Superstars and Jump! Ultimate Stars.

The following game titles are all preceded by "The Prince of Tennis" and all dates are for the Japanese release:
Game Boy Advance
Nintendo DS
PlayStation
  • The first PlayStation game was simply titled The Prince of Tennis, which was released on February 20 2002.
  • Sweat and Tears was released on September 26 2002.
PlayStation 2

Others

The series has produced a half-hour weekly radio show, nearly 200 music CDs, several games, movies, multiple live-action musicals and a large selection of merchandise.

International distribution

The Prince of Tennis was 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 23, 2006, though some episodes were initially skipped. Beginning on February 24, 2007, the episodes aired, restarting at the beginning, going in order. However, it is now off Toonami and Toonami Jetstream as of December 3, 2007.

In the Philippines, The Prince of Tennis aired weekdays on QTV 11 (now Q 11) (part of its afternoon anime block "Anime Revolution"), but later ended. Although, due to popular demand, The Prince of Tennis was aired back on Q on the same time slot. It later moves to GMA 7, airing on weekdays. The anime also airs on the anime cable channel Hero TV.

On August 16 2007, Japan's Nikkan Sports newspaper announced that China, which began airing The Prince of Tennis anime series in the summer of 2006, will be producing a live-action drama of The Prince of Tennis manga. Shooting of the series began in October 2007, and it is expected to begin broadcast sometime around June 2008, just before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[5][6]

Reception

Though The Prince of Tennis has become a successful franchise, spawning several adaptations like an anime, original video animations, musicals, movies, radio shows, and video games, the series has received both positive and negative reviews. When a popular anime and manga news website, Anime News Network, reviewed the first DVD box set released by Viz Media, they commented that "Prince of Tennis is among the dregs of the genre." They go on to say that it is "boring" and "lacks the human drama necessary to get audiences to care who wins or loses."[3] 'Anime on DVD', however, comments that the show "takes the usual themes in sports shows and applies them masterfully."[7] DVD Talk takes more of a nonchalant view, commenting that the "series is okay but not great" and that it has some charm, which will make you not regret watching it.[8] When Spectrum Nexus, another manga and anime reviews website, made an overall review of the entire anime series, it comments that the show takes "its time to evolve into a very enjoyable series" and that one should "remember the spectacular matches and the characters you found yourself admiring along the way."[9]

Despite the reviews, there is no doubt that the series is vastly popular in Japan. When TV Asahi, a television network in Japan, conducted a nation-wide survey for the one hundred most popular animated television series, The Prince of Tennis anime came in twenty-seventh place.[10] They also conducted an online web poll, in which The Prince of Tennis placed eighteenth.[11] Nearly a year later, TV Asahi once again conducted an online poll for the top one hundred anime, and this time, The Prince of Tennis anime advanced in rank and came in eighth place.[12] They also surveyed Japanese celebrities for their favorite anime, where the series only came in sixty-eighth out of the top one hundred.

References

  1. ^ a b ""Shōnen Jump Japan Ends Prince of Tennis and Muhyo and Roji"". 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 1 (DVD Box Set)". Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  3. ^ a b "Review - The Prince of Tennis DVD - DVD Box Set 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  4. ^ "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 4 (DVD Box Set)". Viz Media. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  5. ^ The Prince of Tennis adapted into a live-action drama in China. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
  6. ^ Nikkan Sports article announcing China's plan to produce The Prince of Tennis live-action drama series. Nikkan Sports. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
  7. ^ "AnimeOnDVD Review - Prince of Tennis Box Set 01 (of 0)". animeondvd.com. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  8. ^ "DVD Talk Review - The Prince of Tennis Box Set, Vol. 1". DVD Talk. 2007-04-24. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  9. ^ Prince of Tennis Anime Review. thespectrum.net (2006-10-07). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  10. ^ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2". Anime News Network. 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  11. ^ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network. 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  12. ^ "Japan's Favorite TV Anime". Anime News Network. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
Official sites
Profiles
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