The Prince of Tennis. My newest anime obsession. Since it's so unknown and I've had this burning need to share this obsession, I decided to try and write a thorough review for this series and hope it might interest future fans to a series they never would look twice at.
Humor, rivals, a side of romance, and bishonen galore--what more could you ask for? I never thought that I could love a sports anime this much, but it has quickly become a favorite. I advise not to judge it based on being a Tennis/sports anime since there is so much more to this series. It has an -outstanding- cast of characters. It's truly the characters that make this series such a joy. Whether you're like my dad and in it for Tennis, or my friend and in it for the pretty boys, or like me (in it for it just being such a well-rounded and fun anime series--though the bishonen of the series has inspired me to draw guys more..^__^), this series has a little for everyone. Where the matches come across more like duels, cute punks rule the court, and nothing is ever boring, tennis has never looked so good. (Note: I've quoted a bit from ponta.org's character profiles mainly because I can't stand trying to find a way to say something that's been said so well already.)
CHARACTERS
Echizen Ryoma--------------Ryoma is the star of the show, the prince of tennis himself. A 12-yr old tennis prodigy, absent minded with a blunt personality that amuses me to no end. He has a talent for irritating the people around him--whether from his own smart and intentional replies or just his blunt personality. Socially aloof, but surrounded by a wonderful cast, this kid has his own school fan club. Throughout the series he grows personally and proffesionally with the help of those around him. He is an ace with a raquet and has an unerring ability to adapt on the tennis court and finds himself through some pretty tough games thanks to it. As Fran from ponta.org says, "he's a little punk you can't help but love." I've found his character slightly comparable to those of Akito (Kodocha-Child's Play), Hanazawa Rui (Hana Yori Dango), and possibly some aspects of Sasuke from Naruto.
Other Info: Left & right handed. Techniques: Drive A, Drive B, Twist Serve, Split Step, Nitouryuu, Twist Spin Smash, Buggy Whip Shot, Cyclone Smash (and an uncanny ability to learn/imitate an opponent's attack in the middle of a game).
Tezuka Kunimitsu--------------Tezuka is our wonderful team captain. If you want to relate Oishi as the "mother" of the team members, Tezuka would be the father. The cool, silent type. He doesn't smile much but hey, neither does Ryoma and we have enough other characters to do the smiling. He truly is the heart and soul of the team. A captain that the members can look up to. He's an exceptional Tennis player, almost as good as they get. "If not for an injury to his left arm, Tezuka would be undefeatd in every tournament match he has ever made an appearance at. Tezuka is the biggest supporter of rookie Echizen, helping him to find his own style and helping him to grow. Tezuka wishes for Seigaku's bright future more than he cares for his own health, and constantly pushed himself forward to better the team." (ponta.org - AniPuri/characters)
Fuji Syusuke--------------Fuji definitely ranks among the coolest. He's known as the "prodigy" and ranked second only to Tezuka. He's the guy who always has the closed-eye smile (how does he see?) but his whole look changes when he opens those pretty blue eyes and gets serious. Fuji's also the only one who can withstand (and seem to -enjoy-) Inui's "Special Energy Drinks" (that I believe are deadly to anyone human). In the end, you've gotta love Fuji.
Kikumaru Eiji--------------"'The Acrobatic' Kikumaru is the fun loving member of the team. Together with Oishi he forms the 'Golden Pair' of doubles tennis. Kikumaru has excellent eyesight for movement and is the most flexible of the Regulars. Kikumaru is normally very easy going...unless of course you use the last of his precious toothpaste."(ponta.org - AniPuri/characters)
Kikumaru is one of my favorite characters. He's so... loveable. The teddy bear, the toothpaste, getting his new sneakers, his cool acrobatic play. It's all good.
Momoshiro Takeshi--------------"The 'Rascal of Seigaku', Momoshiro is the most outgoing of the Regulars. The first to challenge Echizen, Momoshiro displays his friendliness to the freshmen early. Momoshiro absolutely hates to lose, especially to his arch rival, Kaidoh. He's has a very hot blooded personality, but always seems to end his anger with a bright smile.When not practicing Momoshiro enjoys riding his bicycle and eating hamburgers. Double hamburgers. And more usually...." (ponta.org - AniPuri/characters)
Kaidoh Kaoru-------------- Meet the Viper. When I first was introduced to Kaidoh... I thought "Psycho." He has the creepy, psyche you out, evil snake glare, and attitude to go with it. His name Viper came from his Snake shot and his posture/looks on the court. Kaidoh wasn't my favorite in the beginning, but as I saw more of him I got addicted. He's a great character who you can root for and laugh at And he DOES have a soft spot somewhere me thinks.. ^__^
Oishi Syuichiroh-------------- "The mother of Seigaku. Oishi is the Vice-Captain of the team and with good reason. He isn't as flashy as the other Regulars, but he's very reliable and steady. He cares very much for each player and always tries to think of little ways to brighten morale. Oishi is also half of the national Golden Pair doubles team with Kikumaru."(ponta.org - AniPuri/characters)
Inui Sadaharu-------------- Inui is one of the cool brainy types with an inner evil streek.
He's all about data and has an unerring ability to make predictions using that data. Most of the team members are leery of his writing in his notebook and find him, at the least, an annoying opponent in a tennis match. He's the type to have analaysed and scrutinized every aspect of an opponent's game and learn their weakness. Despite this, the most fearful (and perhaps humorous) aspect about Inui is his infamous Inui juice... with it, no tennis player is safe (except perhaps Fuji who for some reason LIKES the juice let alone not getting sick from it). 
Kawamura Takashi-------------- Kawamaru isn't a main or one of the more popular characters, but his character is priceless. He's a shy, polite guy who likes to avoid confrontations... until he has a raquet in his hands. It's like jekyl in hyde, he becomes supperrr REGULAR! Uh.. heh.. yeah. He'll provoke, shout, and wins mostly on his out-of-nowhere burning energy. His split-personality with the raquest is played out perfectly and amusingly in all situations.
Other -
Karupin-------------- Karupin deserves a mention. Ryoma has an adorable soft spot when it comes to his cat, and Karupin also provides for some comedy. Maybe this cat doesn't talk, but it's too cute! ^__^
Ryuzaki Sakuno-------------- Sakuno is an extremely shy freshmen who is terrible at anything requiring a sense of direction and has a huge crush on our Ryoma. Ryoma may be a prodigy when it comes to tennis, but he's an oblivious duntz when it comes to love--amusing to watch, though.
Ryuzaki Sumire & Nanjiro Echizen-------------- (picture when both were younger)Ryuzuki is Sakuno's Grandmother, current tennis coach at the school, and used to be the coach of Nanjiro Echizen, Ryoma's father. She can be tough as nails as a coach but has a definite sense of humor.
Nanjiro Echizen is a past famous Tennis Player known as the Samurai--many say he could have taken over the tennis world if he hadn't quit for some reason at a young age. Apparently, he's more amused making fun of his son in private matches. The father's a pervet and a free spirit--the COMPLETE OPPOSITE personality from his serious son. If you know and like Jiraya (the perverted hermit) from Naruto, then you will love Ryoma's father.
SERIES INFO
Anime: The anime is currently over 200 episodes and going. Definitely one of the greater scale anime! It's currently only avaialable fansubbed, though I believe that 4kids will be bringing a Prince of Tennis movie over to the U.S. Will have to see how that turns out.
Manga: The first three volumes are currently out in the U.S. and being released by viz.
Musical: Just because I'm currently so amused by it, I have to mention the live action musical. There's no subtitles, I don't know what they're saying, but seeing my favorite tennis players sing and dance and act on stage... well, once you're a fan of the series, the musical would really be a sight to see. ^__^
When I saw a manga on the shelves around Tennis, it caught my eye, mostly because my dad loves tennis (and I tend to share with him any anime he might like ^_^). Waited a few weeks, eventually decided to get it since I was doing a buy 4 get 1 free at the bookstore, brought it home and LOVED it. I was addicted from the start. I've reread my manga volumes too many times and have been watching the anime.
On a humorous note, this series converted my friend who considered tennis as one of the most boring sports alive, one step down from golf. She shrugged at my apparent addiction to this series, but started watching the anime with me. She now loves this series and is no longer complaining about it being around tennis. I'm amused that she went up to her mom and said, "Mom! I think I'm actually starting to LIKE tennis." Her mom, aware of her dislike of the sport, asked "Why?" My friend shouts back, "BISHONEN!" She even watched a tennis match on TV for the olympics. *Sniff* I'm so proud of her.
So in conclusion, I'd say this is a definite series worth looking into. If anything here took your interest or caught your attention, I'd say go for it. The Prince of Tennis amuses me to no end and I've watched my share of great anime series. Since this was meant to mostly be a teaser for the series, I collected some good websites on Prince of Tennis that are worth going to.
Keep on Dreaming - Ponta.org (Ponta as in the soda(or fruit?) drink that you always see Ryoma drinking ^_^). This site has a lot of humor mixed in with some good info on the series. Character profiles, story info, for the anime, for the musical, graphics, pictures, and various odds and ends. A good place to start to learn more about the series.
http://x.kirika.net/index2.htm - This is another great site with pretty much everything. Large image gallery, character info, stuff to download,
Prince of Tennis Domain - Very thorough. I would go as far as an ultimate site for Prince of Tennis.
Tenpuri - Nice, smaller website for PoT. I mostly go there for the very nice images--official and fanart.
Have any questions, I can try to answer or find out. Comments on the effectiveness of this review would be appreciated as I've never tried to write a review before and like to think I accomplished something by spending the time to make one. Need to decide if I shout ever write another for other less unknown series. ^_^
You're welcome to give a shout if you're a fan! --Star
