What Happens When Every Bishounen In Town Joins The Tennis Team?

Review: The Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ouji-sama/Teni Puri
Updated: 9/17/03

This article was written approx. 6 months ago, so some technical information may be a bit incomplete (there may be more CDs and video games out now, for example). This is the fault entirely of the editor and not of the contributor.

Anime/Manga/Games/Merchandise/Music/Fandom

Reviewed by: Lime-kun

Title rating: PG for anime and manga, though some episodes contain mild violence and "objectionable" dialogue.

-80+ anime episodes (2001-present), still running
-19+ manga volumes (2001-present), still running
-1 TV special (at least), complete
-5 video games (at least) on various platforms
-19 CDs and Maxi-singles (at least) to date

For a sports series, I must say I'm impressed. A lot of anime/manga based on sports (in my opinion) often feature boring character designs, predictable plots, and single matches that can take episodes to conclude. Prince of Tennis, however, breaks the barriers of its genre stereotype. It provides you with quick, action-packed episodes that are neither overly drawn-out nor predictable. The numerous characters are well-developed and speak excellent dialogue. Not only that, but the music is catchy. Tired of the same of sci-fi/fantasy fare for your anime? Read on.

The story is simple enough. Ryoma Echizen is a 12-year-old tennis whiz with various North American competitive awards under his belt. He lives with his father in a giant, dojo-like mansion in Japan. When he transfers to a new school, he instinctively tries out for the prestigious Seigaku Tennis team ... but little do the older club members know this first-year student will blow Seigaku tennis away.

Anime

Although the idea of watching two people hitting a ball back and forth in a rectangular court may seem incredibly unamusing at first glance, Prince of Tennis is anything but that. The show's structure is simple but still warrants interest; with plot twists and turns, the discovery of new skills, and decent character development, PoT can keep even the most skeptical otaku yearning. The best feature this show boasts is that it can be the same thing every episode without being repetitive. Each time Ryoma steps onto the court, a new opponent awaits him, eager to test the abilities of the "first-year rookie." Will you care if Ryoma wins? Ooooh yes.

The show's animation is a bit more than decent and well-utilized. Movements on the court are just fluent enough to make the ball actually seem to fly, and the animation takes an even better turn when the characters are bearing their rackets in full-swing. The characters are great; each player is distinctly likable or unlikable and is emphasized by one of the series' many BGMs (background songs). Unfortunately, a lot of the Seigaku players are made out to be serious, which can be confusing when trying to tell them apart (a few of the characters have the same expressions on their faces and the same tones of voice), but this problem is greatly aided by the characters' distinct physical features. Each character looks different from the last, which can be an incredibly hard thing to do--anyone who's tried their luck at doujinshi knows what I mean. >_<

If I had to complain about anything, it would be about the episode structure. PoT desperately needs at least some change every once in a while; I mean, the first eight-odd episodes happen on the same court or in the same locker room. Even though the episodes beyond the first 10 start to pick up the pace a little, it wouldn't be that much of a strain to have a beach episode, a birthday episode, or something beside a match ... but no. Still, don't think this manages to really hurt the show--in PoT's case, it doesn't.

The anime is very, very faithful to this original Shounen Jump title. In fact, after reading the first few chapters it's evident that even some exact lines hit both mediums. The drawing style, too, is similar. The anime follows the manga pretty much chapter by chapter, and there are few (if any) filler episodes (commendable; filler episodes are often ... *cough*boring*cough*). The only small thing that bugs me about the manga is that the proportions sometimes seem a bit off in the art, but maybe it's just me.

Since the anime and manga are so similar, pretty much everything to be said about the manga is in the anime section. No, really, I'm not lazy at all.

Echizen prepares to sock that logo into orbit.

Games

The first thing I noticed from the screenshots of the five Prince of Tennis games were the spectacular-looking cut-scenes. These integrated pieces of anime are so extremely close to the animation of the TV program's that at first I thought I was looking at screenshots. In "Sweat & Tears," a Prince of Tennis Playstation sport/simulation game released by Konami in Japan (2002), the beautiful anime cut-scenes were even developed directly for the game. The actual gameplay graphics aren't up to par with some newer games on the market--cute little chibis (munchkins) running around the screen to hit balls back and forth--but neither were the graphics of Lunar: Silver Star Story and I didn't hear any cool people complain. Out of the scarce information I could extract, "Sweat & Tears" appears to consist of regular matches, training exercises, and (wee!) mini-games. Everybody loves mini-games! And if you don't, go sit in a dark corner somewhere.

Next up are the four Game Boy Advance PoT games ... and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to come by English info for these things. In 2003, there were two consecutive releases: "Cool Blue" and "Passion Red." Since the difference between the two is not apparent, I presume they were a typical money-grubbing market scheme featuring the same gameplay but with different characters or whatever so kids nag and cry until they have both versions. Instead of the gorgeous anime cut-scenes, this time we're treated to beautiful manga pictures presented in lush graphics magically supported by GBA's little system. Gameplay seems pretty generic; crazy little chibis bobbing up and down a court again. Wee-hoo. But yes, seriously, wee-hoo!

Even earlier than these games were their 2002 GBA predecessors: "Genius Boys Academy" and "Aim at the Victory!" You can probably figure out what the gameplay is like from the previous games, even though these graphics aren't as good as the others (obviously). By what I made out from the little English found on the official Japanese website, one of the games may be an RPG (role-playing game), but I'm not sure that's true--it may be more text-based than action-oriented, if that's what they mean. If you happen to have these games, please contact me and I'll give you my address. No ... just kidding. Maybe.

Merchandise

Beside the extensive library of PoT games, there's quite a bit of merchandise that can rarely be found. On the Internet, by me, to be exact. The most common PoT good seems to be the trading card series which I managed to stumble upon in my "local" anime shop. After buying about 3 packs (at 6 bucks each, mind you), I've come to the conclusion that they're mostly just high-quality screenshots from the anime for your viewing and trading pleasure. I was even lucky enough to receive a rare metallic Ryoma-kun as my first card. Like a little Japanese schoolkid, I shout hooray! It seems a lot of money went into these cards; it has 3 series to itself, each following the anime accordingly (series one cards cover episodes 1-14, for example). I think they must sell quite well considering the different binders created to house the cards, and since I read on a website that there are unconfirmed rumors of a fourth series coming soon.

Since I have no card scans, I'll explain: each set is pretty basic, with about 70 screenshot cards, 12 character cards, 5 special ultra cards, and the obligatory checklist. These are definitely good buys for fans--finding high-quality, large images from PoT can often be difficult.

Now, we all know every anime series has its diehard fans. Since every diehard fan has a need for merchandise, it is in fact possible to buy the official Seigaku High School Tennis Club uniform. Yes, an actual thread and cloth uniform available only through the official anime website. It costs 10,000 yen and was made available in 2002, though I really don't know how long they were available for ... but I know I sure as heck want one.

(Ed note: I caught a very pretty girl at Otakon 2003, who happened to look quite a bit like Echizen, wearing said uniform. She's got the bishounen thing down pat.)

Of course, I've only just scratched the surface of the extensive list of PoT merchandise: keyholder sets, pins, rulers, post cards, travel sets, and mouse pads are just a few examples of PoT swag. All the information you could possibly need on these products (such as photos and prices) can be found here.

Music

You read the sentence at the top of the page correctly; there are currently at least 19 PoT CDs and counting. Oh yes, and believe you me it took plenty o' counting. First of all, Prince of Tennis has had 3 opening theme songs and the same number of ending songs, probably the most remarkable of these being Kimeru's "You Got Game?" and "Make You Free." Most of the opening and ending songs are generic rock obviously created for anime, but they're pretty good as far as theme songs go. The next set of CDs are the character vocal collections (at least 9 so far) and each main character's Maxi Single, which features a voice message and song sung by that character's voice actor.

Don't get me wrong, though--not every seiyuu can sing. In one of the songs the guy doesn't even try; the entire chorus is sung by backup vocalists and he just speaks in-between them. The most remarkable piece of the character song collection is probably Takeshi Momoshiro's single "JUMP," but calling him "the most talented of the bunch" isn't really saying much. These CDs are usually released in sets of 3 every half-year or so and were still being produced the last time I checked.

Between the 2 OSTs and all the singles, I'd say the PoT music is average if not better. It's definitely worth the time if you're a PoT fan; I would recommend buying them if you can manage to find them, as they're owned by a pretty obscure label. Good luck!

Fandom

One day, I was surfing around the Internet, minding my own business, when a thought suddenly struck me--I would look for PoT stuff on eBay! I went over to the acclaimed website, searched for Prince of Tennis goods, and what did I find? ... but yaoi, yaoi, and a little more yaoi just in case you didn't have enough previously. Most of the search results as I continued to surf were strictly yaoi, too. If you think I'm kidding, go see for yourself; regardless if you're into that kinda stuff, I've come to the conclusion that 90% of the PoT fandom is yaoi. (Ed note: Like most Japanese manga featuring two or more bishounen in the cast.)

In terms of fansites and other webpages concerning PoT, English sites are quite scarce. But don't be sad just yet--there's one PoT website so full of rare info, so full of content, and so in Danish that this review wouldn't have been possible without it (although being in Danish, admittedly, has little to do with that). This savior in website form is http://www.prince-of-tennis.de. Please, if you have the time, check it out! I really should've asked permission to use some of their info in this review, but I'm lazy and undeserving and really didn't think about it. Oh look, a shiny object! *Woo....*

Overview

In closing, PoT is definitely worth your time. There's something here for everyone: action, pretty boys, decent music, good voice acting, and even some shounen ai for the drooling fangirls. I give Prince of Tennis 4.5 stars out of 5. This little tennis pro really delivers ... or should I say serves?

Lime-kun is the first contributor to join Sleep is for the Weak and does much better research than the lazy, overfed staff. Send Lime-kun your praise and blame that final pun on the editor who stuck it in.

If Echizen ever loses his passion for tennis, he can always enter the Olympic trials for Short-Distance Staring.

Text copyright © Lime-kun, September 2003. Pictures are copyright © their respective owners and are used without permission for this nonprofit review.