108-396: The Prince of Tennis manga and anime series has a large cast of fictional characters created by Takeshi Konomi ; many have appeared in the musical and film adaptations. The cast of the series is largely made up of the members of the various tennis teams for the schools portrayed in the series, their coaches, and various family members and supporters. The main character of the series
216-747: A media franchise , including a long-running radio show, numerous video games, well over 250 soundtracks and CDs, and other merchandise. Since 2003, more than fifteen stage musicals adaptations have been produced. An anime film premiered in January 2005. A live-action film premiered in May 2006. A 3DCG film premiered in September 2021. A sequel to the manga, titled The New Prince of Tennis , began serialization in Shueisha's Jump Square in March 2009, with
324-426: A cast change, Hiroki Aiba (2005–2007, 2008), Yūta Furukawa (2007–2009), Taito Hashimoto (2008–2010), Ryo Mitsuya (2010–2012), Yusuke Yata (2012–2014), Yuki Kamisato (2015–2016), Fuma Sadamoto (2016-2018), Ibu Minaki (2018-2020), and Haruki Mochida (2021-). Voiced by: Kenjirō Tsuda (Japanese); Erik Davies (Viz Media dub), Stephen Kelly (Funimation dub) (English) Sadaharu Inui ( 乾 貞治 , Inui Sadaharu )
432-483: A doubles pair, because the two rivals know each other so well. Momoshiro develops an affinity for playing doubles and even masters it, despite expressing a preference for singles. He loses his position as a regular after losing to Inui in the ranking matches. When Oishi injures his wrist before the match against Hyotei, Momoshiro takes his place to form a makeshift Golden Pair with Kikumaru. After that, he keeps his regular spot when Tezuka leaves for rehabilitation. He becomes
540-588: A made for DVD release sequel, Zoku June Bride . In 2007, after nearly a year away from musicals, Shirota returned to stage and starred as Anthony Hope, the cheerful young sailor, in the Japanese stage production of Sweeney Todd . The musical opened on January 5, 2007 and ran through January 29, 2007, at the Nissay Theatre with additional performances during February in Osaka. Shirota then began appearing in
648-414: A main supporting actor in the film adaptation of Gettsu Itaya 's semi-autobiographical novel, Waruboro and was released on September 8, 2007, as principal filmography began on September 20, 2006. Before October 2006, Shirota finished filming for his third movie, Heat Island , which was released on October 20, 2007, and is based on the book of the same title written by Kakine Ryuosuke. Shirota played Aki,
756-590: A member of the second-generation Seigaku cast. He made his debut as Tezuka on January 8, 2005, in the Side Yamabuki performance in Osaka . That same year, his role as Tezuka was carried into the live adaptation film of the manga and marked his first major film appearance. He also released a Best Actor's album in 2005, for his role as Tezuka. On March 29, 2006, in the Dream Live 3rd Live concert, he along with
864-597: A monthly column written by Shirota. This column is titled "How are you?" and usually features one picture taken by Shirota. He, with Hirofumi Araki , also attended the opening night for the Advancement Side Rokkaku feat. Hyotei Gakuen of Tenimyu on August 3, 2006, to support Hiroki Aiba and Kousuke Kujirai . Shirota has dated " Seventeen " model Keiko Kitagawa and actress Misako Yasuda. In October 2011, he became an honorary fan of FC Barcelona . Shirota has an older brother named Jun Shirota, who
972-459: A new English dub . After Funimation was unified under the Crunchyroll brand in 2022, the series joined its namesake streaming service . The anime television series was followed by a three original video animation (OVA) series which adapted the "National Tournament" arc. The first 13-episode OVA was launched on seven DVDs from March 24, 2006, to March 23, 2007; The second 6-episode OVA
1080-409: A new one the moment the opponents eyes leave his first location. This gives the opponent the impression that there are two of him for a doppelganger type effect, though the anime gives him the ability to hug and high five his after image, making it slightly unrealistic. Eiji's favorite color is red; he enjoys brushing his teeth, wandering around pet shops, omelette rice, fried shrimp, and shaved ice. He
1188-458: A person out or send them running to the restrooms, which motivates the team to train harder as the drinks are used as punishments. The negative effects of the drinks are resisted by a few, namely Fuji. He is portrayed by Hirofumi Araki in The Prince of Tennis live-action film . Inui's data tennis allows him to predict the probability of a shot taking place although other factors can disrupt
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#17327760242211296-571: A school that is known for its strong tennis club and talented players. Shortly after entrance, Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen, securing himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle 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
1404-609: A series of Prince of Tennis musicals began. Each year sees two musicals based on the storyline come out in the summer and winter, with a 'Dream Live' performance each Spring, featuring numerous actors and past songs. Each storyline musical adapts a single arc of the manga, typically one specific match against a team. Due to the aging of the actors, all the main characters have been recast several times. The Prince of Tennis: Futari no Samurai ( テニスの王子様 二人のサムライ The First Game , Tennis no Ōjisama Futari no Samurai The First Game , lit. "The Prince of Tennis – The Two Samurai: The First Game")
1512-447: A serve. Tezuka is noted for being rather distant during practices and never smiling. However, he truly cares about his team and always tries to help them improve. At the nationals match against Sanada of Rikkaidai, Tezuka uses another special technique opposite to "Tezuka Zone" called "Tezuka Phantom" which forces the ball out of the cour, but the side effect injures his left arm. At the end of The Prince of Tennis II Chapter 37, Tezuka
1620-473: A shy personality without his tennis racket, but he becomes extremely aggressive and loud once he holds a tennis racket, referred to as Burning Mode. He often shouts various English words like "Burning!", "Great!", "Come on, baby!", "Shocking!", "Victory!", and "Delicious!" while in Burning Mode. During his first year, he had a lot of power, but lacked control to the point where most of his shots were outside
1728-572: A street gangster who moves around Shibuya (a district in Tokyo) causing trouble and accidentally obtains a large sum of money that belongs to a crime group; however, the money once belonged to an illegal casino operated by the Yakuza and both groups are after the money. After Shirota's run as Charles Lindbergh in the 2007 year-end Japanese production of the Take Flight musical, Shirota starred in
1836-548: A string of dramas, the first being the TV drama , Dignity of Haken , featured Shirota as the half-Spanish Ryuto Amaya, premiered on January 10, 2007, on NTV and ended its run on March 21, 2007. Shirota next appeared in his second TV drama appearance, in the April 2007 drama, Seito Shokun! , which is an adaptation of the manga series, Seito Shokun . He played Ken Mizuhara, a physical education teacher. In his third TV drama role of
1944-636: A variation on the standard topspin serve where the ball is hit with a combination of both topspin and sidespin, allowing the ball to bounce high and curve toward the receivers' face. His arsenal of skills also include the Drive A, B, C, and D, the Cool Drive, the Samurai Drive, and Cyclone Smash. His strengths include his ability to analyze his opponents' abilities during the match and adapt his own play accordingly to take advantage of their weaknesses. He
2052-484: A voice actress. Despite Fuji and Yukimura being third years, they are also voiced by voice actresses. In the anime series, Fuji's voice actress is Yuki Kaida who also voices Fuji's sister, Yumiko. For the live-action adaptation film of The Prince of Tennis , Tenimyu actor Hiroki Aiba portrays Fuji. In Musical: The Prince of Tennis , Fuji has been portrayed by actors Kimeru (2003–2005), Takashi Nagayama , who stood in during Remarkable 1st Match Fudomine due to
2160-523: A year on the Japanese program, Hanamaru Cafe , as part of the Hanamaru apron team, often leaving set for locations and displaying prizes for viewers during game corners. During this time, Shirota won the role of Kunimitsu Tezuka , the stoic captain of Seigaku Middle School's tennis club, in the Prince of Tennis musicals series, Tenimyu . From 2005 to 2006, he became the third actor to play Tezuka as
2268-534: Is Ryoma Echizen , a 12-year-old tennis prodigy who joins the Seishun Academy tennis team. The main cast is rounded out with the other eight regular players for Seishun, all of whom have various special abilities at playing tennis. Beyond them, there are many rival schools whose players reappear during the course of the series. The protagonists of the series all attend Seishun Academy ( 青春学園 , Seishun Gakuen ) , or Seigaku ( 青学 ) for short. The school
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#17327760242212376-440: Is a highly intelligent player, who uses Data Tennis . He constantly collects and analyzes data of other players in order to predict where they hit to next and how. While he collects data pertaining to tennis, he also collects personal pieces of data, such as favorite things, personal habits, and where they have been. This, combined with his almost robotic analytical nature the fact that his eyes are rarely seen (appearing only once at
2484-418: Is a third year student at Seishun Academy . The middle child of three, he has an older sister, Yumiko, who is very attractive and admired by his friends; his younger brother is Yuta, who was a student at Seigaku, but transferred to St. Rudolph. Fuji is a leap year baby, only getting to properly celebrate his birthday properly every 4 years. He is given the title "tensai", or genius, due to his tactical skill on
2592-405: Is actually an extremely strict and disciplined leader, and a brilliant tactician on the court. His competitive nature is a stark contrast to his more timid public personality. He seems to easily become embarrassed as Kaido, but is also seen practicing proper etiquette more so than anyone else in the series because of his consideration for others. Oishi plays the mother in the tenipuri episodes. Inui
2700-428: Is aloof from his teammates but highly regarded. He is a good student (he has been known to correct the teachers and terrify them while doing so simply through his presence), president of the student council, and is popular. His catch phrase, "let's not be careless!" was painfully learned in his first year. As a new player, he was stronger than his seniors, and tried not to embarrass them by playing with his right hand (he
2808-414: Is also an actor and a singer. His other siblings are Maria, Rina and Dai. Japanese Original Musicals/Plays SERAMYU: Sailor Moon Musical Series (as Chiba Mamoru / Tuxedo Kamen) TENIMYU: The Prince of Tennis Musical Series (as Kunimitsu Tezuka) D-BOYS STAGE Series Earth Gorgeous Produce Series European and American Musicals/Plays under Japanese Production Sweeney Todd
2916-492: 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." Chris Beveridge of Mania.com , however, commented that the show "takes the usual themes in sports shows and applies them masterfully." 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. Active Anime also gave praise to
3024-437: Is an all-rounder, and his special shots include the "Tezuka Zone," which uses his exceptional racket control to put spin on the ball to allow all shots to return to Tezuka no matter where the opponent tries to hit, and the "Zero-Shiki (Degree) Drop Shot", which is a drop shot with heavy backspin that can make the ball roll towards the net rather than bounce towards the opposing player. He was later able to adapt his drop Shot into
3132-419: Is excited, provoked, or serious, Fuji reveals his sharp eyes: light brown in the manga and blue in the anime. In The Prince of Tennis II , Fuji laments over how he longer has Tezuka to help drive him to keep improving at tennis after the latter leaves for Germany. Fuji recreates his tennis to be more offensive (as opposed to his more defensive, passive approach of past matches) in order to be more competitive at
3240-416: Is famous for its talented tennis club in which the series' leading protagonist , Ryoma Echizen, is enrolled in the school by his father, Nanjiro Echizen, a former professional tennis player and Seigaku alumni. Although Seigaku has long been known for its tennis club, the void created by Nanjiro's departure years earlier throws the team into somewhat of a slump, leaving them unable to make it to Nationals over
3348-477: Is good at predicting his opponent's movements, he can still be defeated by those who either have never shown him all of their techniques or simply surpass him on the physical level. He also has one of the fastest serves in the series. His Sonic Serve can reach 192 km/h (120 mph), though it would later be replaced by the Waterfall Serve . Its arc and descent resembles that of a waterfall engulfing
List of The Prince of Tennis characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-565: Is her husband; Ryoma Echizen, Kaoru Kaido , and Takeshi Momoshiro (Momoko) are her children. In The Prince of Tennis II , Oishi earns the No. 16 badge for the U-17 first string. He is also one of the 14 middle schoolers to represent Japan at the U-17 world cup. Despite the fact that he's not the captain of the middle school representatives, Oishi represents the Japanese U-17 team as a whole on
3564-663: Is in 3DCG, and is directed by Hiroshi Kōjina and animated by The Monk Studios and Keica with cooperation by Studio Kai . Takehito Hata is writing scripts, Kei Tsuda is composing the music, and Konomi himself is supervising the film and writing all insert songs. It was initially scheduled to be released in early 2020, but it was delayed to September 3, 2021. Eleven Arts licensed the film for international release. The Prince of Tennis franchise has spawned many different video games. The vast majority of these are either tennis games or dating sims , and they are spread across several different video game consoles . The first of these games
3672-429: Is known as "Viper" to his teammates for constantly making a "fshuuuu" sound similar to a snake while exhaling. Kaido trains rigorously, increasing the training program given to him by Inui to give him an abnormally high stamina, even against other characters who boast to have high stamina. He has a deep rivalry with Momoshiro, in which they constantly try to beat each other. Because they are rivals, they also know each other
3780-431: Is known as Seigaku's "number one rascal." As the player who is the most open and friendly with everyone, Momoshiro is connected to everyone on the team on some level. Momoshiro is the closest to a true friend Ryoma Echizen can claim; the two spend much time together eating hamburgers or playing street tennis. Momoshiro and Kaido Kaoru are eternal rivals, and constantly try to out-do each other. This makes them efficient as
3888-402: Is left-handed). However, this was discovered and an enraged senpai struck him in the left arm. This injury comes back to haunt him, and eventually causes him to leave for Germany for treatment. Tezuka's goal is to become the "pillar of Seigaku." He was challenged by the captain in his first year to become the "pillar" the team could rely on. This is how he eventually ruins his arm - he plays past
3996-635: Is left-handed, but he often starts matches playing right-handed. Though often playing Singles 2 or 3, he begins to take Singles 1 by the end of the Kantou tournament, with the fate of the team's overall success riding on his game; the pressure often seems to be helpful towards his performance, bringing out the best in him — depending on the skill level of the opponent. His bored and cocky demeanor masks his underlying affection and respect for his teammates, especially his close friend Momoshiro and team captain Tezuka. By
4104-560: Is noted to have unlocked the last door of Muga No Kyouchi and has stepped off the training camp to become a Pro in Germany, where he receives tutelage under the 17-year old pro player Volk, and subsequently joins the All-German Representatives. During exhibition match against Japan, he teamed up with Q.P and decimated Atobe Keigo and Kirei Kanata pair in a 6-0 match. In The Prince of Tennis live-action film, Tezuka
4212-432: Is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair" along with Oishi. Even so, he sometimes does doubles with Fuji and they are then called the "Dream Pair". Eiji uses "Acrobatic Play" which takes advantage of his flexible body. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team with an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. His main weakness is his lack of stamina which he finally overcomes through hard work and training later in
4320-625: Is the captain of the Seigaku tennis team and its number one player, and has an unbeaten tennis record. The word "stoic" doesn't even begin to describe him. He doesn't smile, doesn't laugh, and has a very no-nonsense type of personality. Later on, it comes out that Tezuka is indeed a very passionate person who will never surrender in his pursuit of his ideals. What are they? Why, the success of his tennis team. His determination and stubbornness are nearly unmatched. He will lead through example if it kills him - or forever destroys his ability to play. Tezuka
4428-506: Is the first animated film of the series. It was released on January 29, 2005, and co-aired with a short film, Tennis no Oujisama: Atobe Kara no Okurimono ( 跡部からの贈り物 , lit. "The Prince of Tennis: A Gift from Atobe") . On May 13, 2006, a live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan. The Prince of Tennis: Tennis no Ouji-sama Eikoku-shiki Teikyū-jō Kessen! ( テニスの王子様 英国式庭球城決戦！ The Junior Tournament , lit. "The Prince of Tennis – The Battle of
List of The Prince of Tennis characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-489: Is the first season, while the second is the second season. There are some differences due to localization for names and cultural themes, including all the characters being renamed, but is still recognizable from its story and the characters' portrayal. The first season covers from when Ryoma first appears in the series up to the end of their equivalent of the Tokyo Prefecturals, while the second season picks up from
4644-550: Is trapped under the shadows of his father who used to be a top tennis player. When he joins a high school in China, he learns the importance of friendship and teamwork, and perhaps even gains his self-identity. The series has produced a half-hour weekly radio show, over 300 music CDs and a large selection of merchandise. Including a trading card game and figures. Three live events, "TeniPuri Perfect Live" in 2003, "The 100 song marathon" in 2008 and "Tenipuri Festa" in 2009, were held by
4752-731: The Prince of Tennis Musicals , Tuxedo Mask in the Sailor Moon Musicals and as Kei Shinjo in Rookies . In 2009, he was named one of the most promising actors and actresses, placing 8th in a poll conducted by Oricon. He is a former member of the Watanabe Entertainment group, D-BOYS . Shirota was born on December 26, 1985, to a Spanish mother, Pepi ( née Fernandez) and a Japanese father, Shirota Mitsuo (城田光男). Shirota lived in Barcelona , Spain from when he
4860-746: The D-BOYS in Japan ( JPN ), only. On November 16, 2005, Shirota released an Idol DVD called With U . The DVD includes an acoustic performance for the song "Natsu no Owari ~ Mou Kako no Koi", for which he had composed and written lyrics. Despite having graduated from the D-BOYS, in December 2009, he was featured in both the sixth DVD release of the D-BOYS' Boy Friend series, called YU Channel and their "Kotoshi no Natsu wa Mainichi Dokoka de D-BOYS Ukiuki Yatta Hohhohoi" event, resulting in appearances in all three Natsu Doko CD and DVD releases. Besides appearing in
4968-508: The Moon Volley , a topspin lob that travels very high over the court and lands just in bounds. He can also use the "Drop Volley", a feint hit with the power of a drop shot, making the trajectory much closer to the net. He is portrayed by Hiroki Suzuki in the live-action film. He and Eiji often use the "Australian Formation", where they stand directly on the center line to confuse the opponents as to which way each player will move when
5076-498: The Oricon charts. The Prince of Tennis has become a successful franchise. By March 2008, the first 40 volumes of the manga had sold over 40 million copies. By January 2012, the manga had over 51 million copies in circulation. By November 2019, the manga had over 60 million copies in circulation. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network reviewed the first DVD box set released by Viz Media , and commented that " Prince of Tennis
5184-487: The Starlights – Ryuusei Densetsu performances. The 2004 New Legend of Kaguya Island was Shirota's last performance as Tuxedo Kamen . That night, on September 5, 2004, after he performed his final rendition of "Prince of Earth", he announced his graduation from the role and received flowers from Kousei Amano who had previously played Tuxedo Kamen in the original 1999 Kaguya Island musical. He also began working for
5292-558: The Super Dunk , a Dunk Smash that spins for a long time on the court before bouncing, thus confusing the opponent as to when it will bounce up. Momoshiro is good at "faking out" his opponents and is just as excellent of a tactician as Oishi on the court. His ability to read the opponent's movements and to observe their viewpoints and expression allows Momoshiro to guess where the ball will go and use techniques that will confuse his opponents. He later improves upon this ability by training in
5400-495: The TeniPuri voice actors and Konomi Takeshi himself. The 1986 J-pop song " Valentine Kiss " by Sayuri Kokushō was covered multiple times by multiple characters in the series. From February 2004 through February 2010, a total of nine different versions of the song were released (seven individually, and the final two together). The first one, featuring the character Keigo Atobe (voiced by Junichi Suwabe ) reached No. 14 on
5508-680: The Australian Gold Coast. His experiences were recorded in the Language Study studying abroad 2007 journal series and covered in detail over 13 pages of his thoughts after the experience and the return home. In June 2006, he then visited New York to see five Broadway musicals: The Producers , Rent , Spelling Bee , Sweeney Todd , and The Phantom of the Opera . Shirota appears regularly in many magazines and journals. In January 2007, Wink up Magazine (Wanibooks) started
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#17327760242215616-528: The British City") is the second film directed by Shunsuke Tada. It was released on August 14, 2011. At the Jump Festa '19 event, a new film titled Ryōma! Shinsei Gekijōban Tennis no Ōji-sama ( Ryoma! Rebirth: The Prince of Tennis Movie ) was announced. The film features an original story set between the end of The Prince of Tennis manga and the start of The New Prince of Tennis manga. The film
5724-517: The D-BOYS starred in their first musical together called, D-BOYS STAGE , which ran from June 3 to 10 at the Space Zero theater in Tokyo. Shirota appeared in the musical only as a guest performer, making select appearances on June 3, June 8 and 10, due to his busy schedule. The D-BOYS then starred in their 2nd musical, The Last Game to which on June 27, 2008, Shirota announced his graduation during
5832-456: The January 2008 TV drama , Koshonin – The Negotiator , portraying Mariya Kyousuke, a condemned criminal. Next, Shirota starred in Rookies , the successful baseball drama based on the manga of the same name by Morita Masanori, playing Kei Shinjo. The series first aired on April 19, 2008, and ended July 26, 2008. after 11 episodes. He would reprise his role as Kagurazaka Makoto in the 2008 Hana Kimi special episode. In 2009, Shirota starred in
5940-474: 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. 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. On April 2, 2021, Crunchyroll (then known as Funimation) announced it had licensed the series, and it would stream it on their website with
6048-527: The Japanese stage production of Elisabeth as Der Tod from August 2010 to October 2010. He also played Ryuji Danma in the 2012 live-action version of Great Teacher Onizuka . Shirota made his solo singing debut as "U" in May 2011 under Avex Trax , releasing his debut triple A-side single, " U/Heart of glass/Sisyphus ". His first album is called UNO . For the Japanese edition of his solo debut album, BACK TO ME, Backstreet Boys member Howie D (aka Howard Dorough) sought out Japanese idol Shirota for one of
6156-620: The Musical: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Anthony Hope (January 5 to 29, 2007) Take Flight the Musical – Charles Lindbergh (2007.11.24~12.9 Tokyo International Forum Hall C, 12.14~12.16 Kita-kyushu Art Theater, 12.19~12.21 Chunichi Theater, 2008.1.3~1.5 Umeda Art Theater) Elisabeth Das Musical – Der Tod Roméo et Juliette - Phantom the Musical – Phantom/Eric (2014.9.13~9.29 TBS Akasaka ACT Theater, 10.5~10.15 Umeda Art Theater MainHall) Miss Julie
6264-714: The Orix Theater in Osaka and the Tokyu Theatre Orb in Shibuya ) Live Concert *** The other three performers are Ramin Karimloo , Sierra Boggess and Lea Salonga . *** *** The other three performers are Ramin Karimloo , Sierra Boggess and Cynthia Erivo . *** Shirota has currently released two solo EP albums with Avex Trax, one solo album for the Prince of Tennis musical and three with
6372-643: The Straight Play – Jean (2017.3.10~4.1 Bunkamura Theater Cocoon) Bullets over Broadway the Musical – Cheech (2018.2.7~2.28 Nissay Theater, 3.5~3.20 Umeda Art Theater MainHall, 3.24~4.1 Hakataza Theater) Kinky Boots – Lola (Spring till Summer 2022 at New National Theatre in Tokyo , the Orix Theater in Osaka and the Tokyu Theatre Orb in Shibuya ) Dance of the Vampires – Graf von Krolock (Spring till Summer 2025 at New National Theatre in Tokyo ,
6480-577: The U-17 first string. In the musicals, Momoshiro has been portrayed by Eiji Moriyama (2003–2005), Masaki Kaji (2005–2006), Shinpei Takagi (2006–2007), Tetsuya Makita (2007–2009), Toshihiro Nobuyama (2008–2010), Toru Kamitsuru (2010–2012), Mashu Ishiwatari (2012–2014), Shuto Mashima (2015–2016), Shunsaku Yoshimura (2016-2018), Tatsuki Ōkubo (2018-2020), and Shun Hojuyama (2020-). Voiced by: Naru Kawamoto (Japanese); Richard Cansino (Viz Media dub), Anthony Sardinha (Funimation dub) (English) Takashi Kawamura ( 河村 隆 , Kawamura Takashi ) has
6588-758: The U-17 world cup, at which he is one of the 14 middle schoolers representing Japan. His first new counter, Hollyhock Blizzard, reflects this by replacing the Higuma Ootoshi (which is functionally a lob) altogether, as this new counter returns opponents' smashes with a smash of his own. Fuji is one of the few male characters in the anime who is voiced by a female voice actor, others being Ryoma Echizen, Kintarou Tooyama of Shitenhouji, Taichi Dan of Yamabuki, Youhei and Kouhei Tanaka of Jyosei Shonan (the latter two being anime only characters), and Seiichi Yukimura of Rikkaidai Fuzoku. However, Ryoma, Kintarō and Taichi are first years, thus younger and more naturally voiced by
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#17327760242216696-586: The Vice-captain of Seigaku the following year. He is portrayed by Masaki Kaji in The Prince of Tennis live-action film. Momoshiro's signature move is the Dunk Smash , a very powerful smash performed as he jumps several feet into the air. His catchphrase is "Don", which he often says upon hitting a winner. He later develops the Jack Knife , a pro-level powerful backhand. In the anime, he develops
6804-528: The acquisition of the series in February 2004. The 42 volumes were released from April 21, 2004. to July 5, 2011. A 4-panel manga parody by Ken-ichi Sakura, titled The Prince of After School ( 放課後の王子様 , Hōkago no Ōjisama ) , began in Jump Square on November 4, 2008. The first collected volume was released on June 4, 2010. As of July 4, 2023, eight volumes have been released. A sequel to
6912-501: The ball is placed into the opposing court. The "I-Formation" is a variation where Eiji stays below the net and Oishi serves the ball down the center. They also develop "Oishi Territory", which has Oishi focus on the net while Eiji stays in the back. It takes advantage of Oishi's ability to read the opponent while passing information to Eiji in the back. They later develop the "Synchronization" ability, which lets them play and move as if they are one person. Despite his worrywart nature, Oishi
7020-905: The behalf of others who placed their personal health at risk playing tennis. For this reason, data-driven players like Inui and Mizuki cannot predict his movements at all. Fuji later admits to Tezuka that this is due to the fact that he has zero motivation to win, at least prior to the Nationals. There are a few people that can "wake" the true player in Fuji and force him to play seriously, and these few are either nationally ranked or extremely talented tennis players. Seigaku teammates Kunimitsu Tezuka and Ryoma Echizen, Shitenhōji captain Kuranosuke Shiraishi , Hyotei Gakuen Chuto Bu regular Yushi Oshitari and Rikkaidai Fuzoku regular Akaya Kirihara have been acknowledged by Fuji to be actual challenges. When he
7128-419: The best, and they can get along very well in times of need; this makes them an efficient doubles pair. He normally plays singles, though he eventually pairs with Inui, who helps Kaido train and develop new techniques. Kaido's stamina is used to let him play the other team alone, while Inui collects data. After the national tournament, Kaido becomes the new captain of Seigaku. He is portrayed by Kousuke Kujirai in
7236-524: The bonus tracks, "If I Say" which was digitally released as a single on October 12, 2011. Shirota joined the Watanabe Entertainment group, the D-BOYS in October 2004. As a member, he participated in photobook releases, stage performances, radio show hosting, event and meeting greetings, and filming variety shows. With the D-BoYS, he was featured in their first two photobooks, the self-titled D-Boys and
7344-464: The court fences. He was made fun of by his peers, but his close friends stayed by him and helped him develop his control. During his third year, he became a regular and eventually meets his goal of becoming the number one power player in Japan by beating Gin Ishida. He plans to quit playing tennis after the tournament and focus on working as a sushi chef under his father with the goal of being number one in
7452-732: The encore of the play while assuring the media that he would still remain under the Watanabe Entertainment management and still participate in certain D-BOYS projects and events. He officially graduated from the group on July 6, 2008. Despite having graduated from the D-BOYS, in December 2009, he was featured in both the sixth DVD release of the D-BOYS' Boy Friend series, called YU Channel and their "Kotoshi no Natsu wa Mainichi Dokoka de D-BOYS ☆Uki-uki♪Yatta♪Hohohoy♪" performance events, resulting in appearances in all three Natsu Doko 2009 CD and DVD releases, as well as appearances for promoting their second tour, Fuyu Doko 2009 . In April 2006, Shirota experienced language study studying abroad for 1 week in
7560-458: The end of Chapter 211), creating no shortage of awkwardness in social situations outside the court. His style originates from his close friend, Renji of Rikkai, who played doubles with Inui before moving. He is temporarily removed from the regulars after losing to Ryoma and Kaido, and he becomes the team manager. He uses his data to create exercise programs for the team and creates a series of disgusting "Inui Juice" health drinks that are able to knock
7668-575: The end of the first season and goes to the end of their equivalent of the Kanto Tournament. Due to being based on the anime, Josei Shonan is included. In addition, hints of the live-action film is present. A third Chinese drama, produced by Netflix in 2019, is called The Prince of Tennis (奋斗吧，少年！or Forge On, Young Men ). It is set in China. A reticent talented teenage tennis player returns to China after spending his childhood overseas—the show does not specify where he spends his childhood—but he
7776-404: The future with Oishi being his personal trainer, doctor, and still best friend. His favorite date spot is the amusement park; he loves anime/fantasy, idol magazines, and JPOP. He also looks for someone who is cheerful and someone whom he can share a laugh with in a friend. He most wants a new knitted hat. Outside of tennis, he excels in fly swatting, bug collecting, cooking, and can often be found in
7884-492: The future. He is portrayed by Yoshikazu Kotani in The Prince of Tennis live-action film . Kawamura mainly relies on the Hadoukyuu ( ハドウキュウ ) , a very powerful maneuver that uses 120% of an arm's strength, but puts a lot of strain on his arm. He copies it from Fudomine's Tetsu Ishida, who learned it from his brother, Gin. Kawamura lowers the risk of the shot by using a Two-Handed Hadoukyuu ( 両手ハドウキュウ ) , which decreases
7992-1066: The gut, the ball vibrates, and thus has power far exceeding Gin's strongest Hadoukyuu, breaking the latter's wrist. He also reappears as a candidate in the U-17 selection camp, where he loses to Jin Akutsu, but comes back to take the No. 12 position in the first string. In the musicals, Kawamura has been portrayed by Yoshitsugu Abe (2003–2005), Eiki Kitamura , who stood in for Abe in the More than St. Rudolph Gakuen Musical, Yoshikazu Kotani (2005–2006), Kouji Watanabe (2006–2007), Hiroaki Ogasawara (2007–2009, eventually replaced by Gong Teyu), Ikkou Chou (2008–2010), Sora Yaguchi (previously known as Tomohiro Tsurumi) (2010–2012), Shohei (2012–2014), Kodai Takikawa (2015–2016), Masaya Suzuki (2016-2018), Tomoki Iwata (2018-2020), and Kai Otomo (2021-). Voiced by: Kōhei Kiyasu (Japanese); David Lodge (Viz Media dub), Jarrod Greene (Funimation dub) (English) Kaoru Kaido ( 海堂 薫 , Kaidō Kaoru ) (sometimes spelled Kaidou)
8100-767: The gymnasium when not at the tennis courts. In the Tenipuri Family episodes, Eiji plays the family's pet, a pink cat named Kikumaru. In the musicals, Eiji has been portrayed by Yamazaki Ichitaro (2003–2004), Takashi Nagayama (2003–2005), Adachi Osamu (2005–2006), Koji Seto (2006–2007), Kyousuke Hamao (2007–2009), Takasaki Shouta (2008–2010), Koseki Yuta (2010–2012), Mario Kuroba (2012–2014), and Honda Reo (2015–2016), Seiichiro Nagata (2016-2018), Tsukasa Taguchi (2018-2020), and Sosho Tomimoto (2021-). Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (Japanese); Doug Erholtz (Viz Media dub), Alejandro Saab (Funimation dub) (English) Takeshi Momoshiro ( 桃城 武 , Momoshiro Takeshi )
8208-468: The live-action The Prince of Tennis film. The Prince of Tennis The Prince of Tennis ( Japanese : テニスの王子様 , Hepburn : Tenisu no Ōjisama ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi . The manga was serialized in Shueisha 's Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 1999 to March 2008, with its chapters collected in 42 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed
8316-474: The made-for-television movie, Go Ape , reprised his role as Shinjo Kei in the feature film for Rookies – Sotsugyou , and co-starred with Haruma Miura in Samurai High School as the soft-spoken, Nakamura Tsuyoshi. He also reprised his role as Mariya Kyousuke for the second season of Koshonin – The Negotiator and the 2010 feature film release of Koshonin – The Movie . He is also set to be in
8424-492: The majority of the second generation Seigaku cast, graduated from their roles. Through 2006, Shirota began appearing in a couple dramas and movies including the 2005 Watanabe net drama, Hice Cool , the TV drama special, The Hit Parade , portraying the real-life Mickey Curtis and the June Bride movie in which he played the title character, Natsumi, based on the original manga Jyun Bride by Satoshi Yoshida, resulted in
8532-563: The manga for English release in North America. A 178-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Trans Arts, co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo , was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 2001 to March 2005. A sequel of three original video animation (OVA) series, totaling 26 episodes, were released from March 2006 to January 2009. In North America, the anime series was first licensed by Viz Media and later by Crunchyroll LLC . The Prince of Tennis developed into
8640-682: The manga series, titled The New Prince of Tennis ( 新テニスの王子様 , Shin Tennis no Ōjisama ) , was announced in the December issue of Jump Square , published on November 4, 2008. The series began serialization in Jump Square on March 4, 2009. The story is set several months after the end of the first manga, and features Ryoma returning to Japan after his stay in America. An anime television series adaptation animated by Trans Arts, co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and directed by Takayuki Hamana,
8748-471: The mountains, allowing him to be more in tune with nature to the point where he can even read and predict weather patterns. In The Prince of Tennis II , his wrists suffer severe damage after being on the receiving end of a Black Jack Knife, which has twice the spin and power of his regular Jack Knife. However, he later learns the Black Jack Knife himself, and uses it to take the No. 19 position on
8856-479: The net. During the nationals, he creates more effective versions of his Triple Counters; three more original counters to deal with complex spin shots, low spin shots, and net balls; and even masters how to play with his eyes closed. In addition, Fuji has an underhand serve that seems to disappear when the opponent is about to hit it. A running gag in the series is that Fuji has interest in or else near-immunity to strange foods and drinks that others would find revolting to
8964-411: The next several years until a first year, Tezuka, joins the team. The story picks up two years later, with Tezuka now in his third year. The team slowly reforms, and Seigaku pulls off its first National victory with Ryoma's addition to the team. Ryoma is the series protagonist and the only first year on the Seigaku tennis team. His play style is all rounder, and his signature serve is the " Twist serve ",
9072-837: The opponent, and can reach 212 km/h (~132 mph). In The Prince of Tennis II , he helps Renji take the No. 17 spot on the U-17 first string. He and Renji both later join the intel support team for the All-Japan Representatives. In the musicals, Inui has been portrayed by Sota Aoyama (2003–2005), Hirofumi Araki (2005–2006), Masei Nakayama (2006–2007), Yuuta Takahashi (2007–2009), Yusuke Arai (2008–2010), Teruma (2010–2012), Seiya Inagaki (2012–2014), and Ryosei Tanaka (2015–2016), Sho Kato (2016-2018), Daisuke Takenouchi (2018-2020), and Ichigo Shiota (2021-). Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (Japanese); Steve Staley (Viz Media dub), Derick Snow (Funimation dub) (English) Eiji Kikumaru ( 菊丸 英二 , Kikumaru Eiji )
9180-454: The point of fainting. Should he ever pass out from consuming any of the strange concoctions Inui or other data tennis characters come up with, the item in question is deemed a true terror. He is generally very relaxed and in control, often seen with a calm and content expression on his face with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling, and rarely plays at full power. He only seems to do so when he witnesses some form of injustice or wins on
9288-453: The point of reason to exist as an example to his teammates. Shuichiro Oishi ( 大石 秀一郎 , Ōishi Shūichirō ) is the vice-captain of the club. Oishi and Kikumaru Eiji make up Seigaku's national level doubles team, known as the "Golden Pair". Oishi is known as the 'Mother Hen of Seigaku', because he constantly worries and frets for the team's well-being. He remains calm and rational in a match, allowing him to form strategies quickly. He uses
9396-603: The power. He can use either while jumping to make the Jump Hadoukyuu ( ジャンプ ハドウキュウ ) , which is hard to return. He later develops the Dash Hadoukyuu ( ダッシュ ハドウキュウ ) , which is a regular Hadoukyuu performed during an extremely fast dash. It strengthens the shot by focusing all the momentum on the wrist, but it can break the wrist if overused. During his match against Gin, he develops a " Final Hadoukyuu " that, because he accidentally hit with racket frame instead of
9504-431: The probability. Though he relies on data, he still trains excessively to keep up with his teammates, taking on a training load 2.25x more than Kaido's, which is already 3x ahead of the rest of the team. This allows him to reclaim his spot as a regular by beating Momoshiro. He pairs with Kaido in doubles to help Kaido train, and Kaido's massive amount of stamina is used to let him play alone while Inui gathers data. Though Inui
9612-447: The second called Start . He hosted a radio show called "Marvelous Radio Vibration" with fellow D-BOYS member Kotaro Yanagi and Yukki. The show aired on May 5, 2005, and ended its run on April 1, 2006. The D-BOYS then starred in their own drama documentary variety show called, DD-Boys in which Shirota's appeared in multiple episodes as himself. The show was 23 episodes long and ran from April 10 to September 25, 2006. In June 2007,
9720-456: The series, saying that it "holds some surprising twists to the regular sports drama formula", and praised the suspenseful matches and innovative techniques. In a 2005 poll conducted by TV Asahi for the 100 most popular anime television series, The Prince of Tennis came in 27th place. They also conducted an online web poll, in which The Prince of Tennis placed eighteenth. Nearly a year later, TV Asahi once again conducted an online poll for
9828-532: The series. Though the Golden Pair seldom play without each other, certain circumstances, such as their temporary breakup when Oishi gives his spot to Ryoma, forces him to play in singles. Eiji is a friendly, sweet-tempered, and outgoing character and the youngest of a large family. He is portrayed by Osamu Adachi in the live-action film. Eiji's flexible body allows him to reach balls with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His dives and flips often astonish
9936-650: The spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents helping Eiji focus. He focuses on the net with his "Kikumaru Beam", a sharp volley that is hit with his hand reaching around his back, and his "Kikumaru Bazooka", a smash hit upside-down. While playing doubles, Eiji follows the lead of Oishi. The two rely on and know each other thoroughly, which allows them to predict each other's moves without any signals. They further develop this by achieving "Synchronization", letting them act together as if they were only one person. He can also play well in singles by using his "Seal Step", which uses his speed to move from one location to
10044-404: The sport really means to him. Written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi , The Prince of Tennis was serialized in Shueisha 's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 6, 1999, to March 3, 2008. Shueisha collected its 379 individual chapters into forty-two tankōbon volumes published from January 7, 2000, to June 4, 2008. In North America, Viz Media announced
10152-401: The story taking place several months after the end of the original manga. By November 2019, The Prince of Tennis manga had over 60 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series . The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen , a tennis prodigy who attends Seishun Academy ( 青春学園 , Seishun Gakuen ) , or Seigaku ( 青学 ) for short,
10260-488: The tennis court. Fuji's most famous moves are known as the Triple Counters: Higuma Ootoshi ("Bear Drop") for returning smashes; Tsubame Gaeshi ("Swallow Return") which runs on the ground without bouncing, effective against players at the baseline; and Hakugei ("White Whale"), a shot that uses the wind to hop straight into the air and return to Fuji on the bounce, effective against players at
10368-556: The time of The Prince of Tennis II , all of middle schoolers are shown to have developed great respect for Ryoma to the point where even some of the best high schoolers at the U-17 camp find him impressive. However, Ryoma ultimately ends up getting kicked out of the U-17 camp after interfering with a match to protect a friend. This expulsion is rescinded, however, but not before Ryoma joins the All-American representative team instead. In The Prince of Tennis live-action film, Ryoma
10476-533: The top 100 anime series, and The Prince of Tennis advanced in rank and came in eighth place. They also surveyed Japanese celebrities for their favorite anime, where the series only came in 68th out of the top 100. Yu Shirota Yu Shirota ( 城田 優 , Shirota Yū , born December 26, 1985) is a Japanese actor and singer, most known for his role as Kagurazaka Makoto in the Japanese television drama live action adaption of Hana-Kimi , Kunimitsu Tezuka in
10584-575: The world stage, drawing lottery slots to determine the team's initial positions for the tournament. In Musical: The Prince of Tennis , Oishi has been portrayed by Yuichi Tsuchiya (2003–2005), Hiroki Suzuki (2005–2006), Yukihiro Takiguchi (2006–2007), Yuya Toyoda (2007–2009), Yuki Tsujimoto (2008–2010), Jin Hiramaki (2010–2012), Ikkei Yamamoto (2012–2014), Shun Ishida (2015–2016), Yu Matsumura (2016-2018), Takanori Ezoe (2018-2020), and Takakazu Hara (2021-). Shusuke Fuji ( 不二 周助 , Fuji Shūsuke )
10692-518: The year, Shirota appeared in the popular adaptation of Hanazakari No Kimitachi e , which began on July 3, 2007, playing the character of Kagurazaka Makoto, a high-jumping rival to Sano Izumi. Shirota also appeared in a string of films in 2007. The first being Arakure KNIGHT , the live-action movie adaptation of the 1982 to 1988 manga series, Aratanaru Shobaku by Satosi Yoshida. The film opened in limited release, premiering at Cinema GAGA on April 28, 2007. The second of his three films, Shirota played
10800-643: Was New Prince of Tennis: Rising Beat in 2017, a rhythm-based mobile game developed by Bushiroad . This game is the first game to be released outside of Japan. Additionally, characters from The Prince of Tennis appeared in the Shōnen Jump based video games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars . There also are two Chinese dramas based on "The Prince of Tennis" story, with the titles of "The Prince of Tennis" (Mandarin: "网球王子"; Pinyin: "Wang Qiu Wang Zi") and "Go for It! The Prince of Tennis" (Mandarin: "加油! 网球王子"; Pinyin: "Jia You! Wang Qiu Wang Zi"). The first
10908-399: Was born November 28 at 6:28 am and is a Sagittarius. He has grandparents, a mother, a father, two older sisters, and two older brothers, and therefore is the youngest of a very large family, something that gives him attributes of being fun-loving and easy-going. His father is a news reporter. His favorite subject is Japanese history. He has declared that he might want to become a stunt double in
11016-484: Was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 10, 2001, to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes. The episodes were collected in forty-five DVD sets, released from January 25, 2002, to October 28, 2005. In North America, the anime series was licensed by Viz Media . On April 24, 2007, Viz Media released the first The Prince of Tennis box set in the United States. Viz Media has also opted to not include
11124-428: Was in the fourth grade, titled "The Tear". Yu Shirota's acting career began from 2003 to 2004, when Shirota became the 7th actor to play Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask) in the Sailor Moon Musicals . His first official performance as Tuxedo Kamen was on January 2, 2003, in the 2003 Winter Special Mugen Gakuen – Mistress Labyrinth (Kaiteiban) . He also demonstrated his ability to play acoustic guitar on stage live, during
11232-424: Was launched on three DVDs from June 22, 2007, to January 25, 2008; The third 7-episode OVA was launched on four DVDs (including the first numbered 0) from April 25, 2008; to January 23, 2009. A 4-episode OVA, subtitled "Another Story", was released on two DVDs on May 26 and September 25, 2009. A 4-episode sequel to "Another Story" was released on two DVDs on August 26 and October 26, 2011. Beginning in 2003,
11340-429: Was portrayed by Kanata Hongo . In the musicals, Echizen has been portrayed by actors Kotaro Yanagi (2003–2006), Yuya Endo (2004–2005), Dori Sakurada (2006–2007), Shogo Sakamoto (2007–2009), Ryuki Takahashi (2008–2010), Yuki Ogoe (2010–2014), Kazuki Furuta (2015–2016), Nichika Akutsu (2016-2020) and currently Hikaru Imamaki (2020-). Tezuka is the national-level captain of the Seigaku tennis team. Like Ryoma, he
11448-589: Was portrayed by Yu Shirota . In Musical: The Prince of Tennis , Tezuka has been portrayed by actors Eiji Takigawa (2003–2005), Kengo Ohkuchi , who stood as Tezuka in the place of Eiji Takigawa in the More Than Limit St. Rudolph Gakuen musical, Yu Shirota (2005–2006), Keisuke Minami (2006–2007), Daisuke Watanabe (2007–2009), Baba Ryoma (2008–2010), Takuma Wada (2010–2012), Hideya Tawada (2012–2014), Takuma Zaiki (2015–2016), Yuya Uno (2016-2018), Ryo Aoki (2018-2020), and Kento Yamada (2020-). Tezuka
11556-715: Was released for the PlayStation console on February 20, 2002, and is the only game which holds the simple Prince of Tennis title – all of the following game titles are preceded by the " Prince of Tennis " title. This was followed by Genius Boys Academy , which was released for the Game Boy Advance on April 25, 2002. Since then, several other video games have been released for different gaming consoles, including one more PlayStation game, three Game Boy Advance games, five Nintendo DS games, thirteen PlayStation 2 games, and one mobile game. The latest game to be released
11664-619: Was three to about seven years old. He returned to Japan for elementary school and can still speak Spanish in ordinary conversation. He attended high school at Horikoshi High along with NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita , WaT 's Teppei Koike , Japanese actor Toma Ikuta and KAT-TUN 's Jin Akanishi and Koki Tanaka . According to Shirota, when he was little, his family liked to sing songs, so he would borrow his older sister's keyboard, while his mother taught him piano. Thus spawned Shirota's love for composing. He composed his first piece when he
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