2001 fall | Episodes: 178 | Score: 7.8 (86966)
Updated every Wednesdays at 19:00 | Status: Finished Airing
Type: TV
Producers:Production I.G | TV Tokyo | Nihon Ad Systems
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Synopsis
At the request of his father, tennis prodigy Ryouma Echizen has returned from America and is ready to take the Japanese tennis scene by storm. Aiming to become the best tennis player in the country, he enrolls in Seishun Academy—home to one of the best middle school tennis teams in Japan. After Ryouma catches the captain's eye, he finds himself playing for a spot on the starting lineup in the intra-school ranking matches despite only being a freshman. Due to his age, the rest of the Seishun Boys' Tennis Team are initially reluctant to accept him, but his skill and determination convinces them to let him in. Armed with their new "super rookie," Seishun sets out to claim a spot in the National Tournament, hoping to take the coveted title for themselves. In order to do so, the team must qualify by playing through the Tokyo Prefectural and Kanto Regionals. Yet, the road ahead of them is shared by a plethora of strong schools, each playing tennis in unique ways for their own reasons. Ryouma and his teammates must learn to cooperate if they want to become the champions they aspire to be. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Voice Actors
Minagawa, Junko
Kaida, Yuki
Tsuda, Kenjirou
Kiyasu, Kouhei
Kawamoto, Naru
Takahashi, Hiroki
Onosaka, Masaya
Kondou, Takayuki
Okiayu, Ryoutarou
News
![Q2 2021 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 6/17]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.myanimelist.net%2Fs%2Fcommon%2Fuploaded_files%2F1617042227-d9c182245ec7e2f54c42ebfcb760b6ec.jpeg%3Fs%3D46852296935bc141be2c80e4f31886b7&w=640&q=75)
03/29/2021, 11:26 AM
In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the second quarter (Apr-Jun) of 2021. Spring 2021 anime which were licensed befo...
05/03/2017, 07:07 AM
To commemorate one hundred years of Japanese anime history, NHK has announced a list of 100 Best Anime on Wednesday at NHK BS Premium. The list is based on the audi...
05/08/2012, 08:29 AM
The procurator of anime production studio Trans Arts has announced that the studio has ceased business due to insolvency. The process for the bankruptcy will be carr...
Reviews
Godslayer27
This anime is an cclasic and if we talk about the genere sports in this medium we (at least me) cant skip to mention this series, now as many others animes of begginins of 90`s early 2000 i remember them with nostalgia and maybe some bias in between but leaving that aside i have seen along these years some of these animes of that era due to nostalgia wanting to relieve some of those moments and i have to say that many of them have aged so freaking well that even today i can enjoy them almost the same as before and gladly to saythat prince of tennis wasnt an exception and even after more than 20 years since his emission still keeps being an amaizing series. Now i want just to leave some of my thoughs about the series having watched in my middles 20 in comparation of when i was 8 years old, although i still love the series and was able to finish it from the beggining to end properly it has some things that are worthy to mention to those who havent yet and are planning to or at least interested in it. Most of the characters if not all are kinda what we can say for today standarts something that are in a way stereotype (in a way understandably by their time) being ryouma the protagonist the most clear example but what i consider mark an huge difference is how you handle them and this case along the series the characters overall were well flesh out and charismatics which even nowdays i found out many series sins of recicling the same formula and not even doing it decently. You end up getting attached to most of them as you advance and really far from being outstandingly complex or anything they feel really enjoyble and you care for them, each one being iconic to his way with really define personas. The story takes out as an normal sports anime and gradually as you progress into it slowsly starts adding some more ficticious elemets in the matches and everything that revolves around tennis which to me its really nice and those smalls touches of fantasy really makes this series feel so much entertaining and adds his own flavlor to it. There may have gone a little too much in the last arcs of the series with some techniques and fiction involved but that might depend from each one, i personaly didnt have problem with it but worth mention it. There were what you could call fillers episodes but to me all of them removing just two or three (being some kind of chibi version of the cast) all the rest were really entertaining and really appreciate them by allowing us to see them in their daily life and knowing them more a bit more without being all the focus centered to the tennis itselft. The camaderie and good sports its instilled in the series with even the most bad one characters (i seeing to you akutsu hehe) which i dont know if call it a message but really is present along all the series. The soundatrack has some tracks that are dope as fuc***** being "honki modo" one of the most iconics and really memorable but also as some others that are aimed for more chills situation and works so well with an good melody, the firts op for people like me how grow up with series lke this is so nostalgic and far from being an masterpiece its an catchy song as well. The animation was decent but had his downs though also were some good frames involved in some matches that were really good , in general was acceptable but i think that this aspect was the one in which more faltered with some really bad drawing or in-between from time to time that you could see along the episodes, in a way is comprensible by the studio at charge of the production and also this format of so many episodes being really difficult to impossible to hold an good lv of quaiity. This was the review just for the firts 178 episodes, the series has secuels and continues (which im planning to watch also) awaiting to see what else depares to our protagonist ryouma and the team of seigaiku RESUME If you are wanting to see some sports anime and you still havent watched prince of tennis i reccomend it to you 100% its an really good series that has aged really well, to me is one of the most not only iconics but actual ambassadors of this genere and not for anything i think deserve at least an try by anyone into sports.
iamyuna
okay i usually dont review but i just have to point out that this anime is one of the best anime you'll ever see. it's that kind of anime that you can never forget despite watching a lot of other good animes. here are a few reasons why this anime stands out story 9/10: the story basically revolves around this boy named echizen ryoma and he is the son of a legendary player making him a child prodigy as well. he joins the tennis club in seigaku where he battles players and shows people what he's got and that despite being a first year he can still bea regular. he then meets the regulars of seigaku and they start their journey as a team. everythings fun and light and i find no flaws in the plot because its unpredictable in some parts except for the side romance which i personally dont like wherein sakuno likes ryoma i think its useless for the plot and story. things are pretty exagerrated wherein things happen that cant happen in real life but its fun to see the creativity in it art 8/10: the art is fairly good, its detailed and each character design is different and unique for example the design of ryoma is personally one of my faves bc of how his eyes intensify as the match intensifies. but theres nothing that special about the art sound 10/10: ok at first you are gonna find the ost pretty weird but trust me you wil fall in love with it!! from the moment they start to win and theres this specific music they play. all the op's are catchy and its very fun to watch i dont think ive ever skipped any op character 10/10: OKAY HANDS DOWN I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS HERE. from the seigaku regulars to the side characters like ryoma's dad and all their opponents you come to love them all. all the characters are so different and diverse and it just makes you want to love them even more with their different personalities. my personal fave which is fuji i particulary like him because at first he is seen to be always smiling but when something bad happens or if he gets serious his facial expression is priceless the way he opens his eyes is amazing. and i like how they blended in echizen's cold personality yet he still showed how much he cared about the team its just so great. all the characters are lovable . enjoyment 10/10 definitely a 10/10,first of all i loved everything about this show when someone recommended it to me i was hesitant at first because tennis didnt really seem to interest me but trust me you will love this show!!! i even tried reading the manga but they discontinued it. overall, its a fun and light anime you can watch and enjoy. not to mention, i never skipped the fillers since they were really funny as well!! overall 10/10 you have to watch this sports anime!!1 it sperfect if youre searching for a light and fun anime because it will definitely make you feel good !!
CrookedPanther
I am probably one of the few people who did not enjoy this anime at all. I honestly found it horrible and not because of the old animation, i mean when you watch an old anime you really cant have high expectations for animation. First of all the story, it s the classic sports story where the protagonist aims to be the best. But in this case the protagonist is just too strong, he has no real opponent, you barely even see him train at all, even when he struggles vs an opponent he suddenly overcomes the difficulty for no reason at all (kind oflike how ichigo defeats his opponents in bleach, he s losing the whole fight then KA-BOOM super power time and beats them). Second of all the characters, i found them simply boring, besides the protagonist who has some kind of arrogant attitude the rest of them have no special characteristics whatsoever. For that reason to give them something special they have different speech patterns for example one of them says the same sentence twice and another one always says pshhh or something. The leader of the tennis club has to be the most plain character i ever saw, all he says is one single sentence every time he has some screen time (which is not very much). But what annoyed me the most is the lack of character development in the series so many episodes yet the characters remain as they were in season 1. To conclude, the matches. At first glance the matches seem interesting but after awhile they become very repetitive and i found my self just skipping 15 mins out of the 20 of every single episode. As the story progresses, they seem to have run out of simple ideas for the matches so it ends up a super power match. (small spoiler here) There is one match where the opponent makes a tornado just by spinning around then the protagonist slices the ball in half with his racket, i was confused it felt more like dragon ball than a sports anime. I believe when u have a sports anime you either have some kind of powers like Kuroko no basket, or go the normal road as diamond no ace or Haikyuu! but prince of tennis took the super powers to a whole new level of what the hell am i watching! I do not recommend this anime at all too many episodes and it only gets worse. P.S. i actually enjoyed the fillers more than the actual episodes. (which is sad)
Geddon616
Whenever i think great sports anime this is deffinetly the one that comes up. Prince of tennis might be long but the amount of rewatching i have had with it proves it atleast to me that its worth enjoying to its fullest So why do i enjoy this relativ old anime. Well first Story centering around echizen Ryoma a tennis prodigy who just sticks out like something of that uniqness shown in old classics. As the story progress so does the character with the good flow of a great story. It makes tennis of course look more special that what it is in a sence butthe way the creators have come up with sort of abilities that the tennis players have isnt unormal for a sports anime. Shooting a tennis ball hard enough to break a racket is it logicall not really but is it fun for the action of the anime hell yeah. through the story the creators have filled it with characters that either you will love or it will grind you the wrong way which is fun in one way. I think the first time i watched it was in one go and only few anime can do that to me. The story moves forward and rarely stops in a boring way. its stops are made for you to wait in anticipation of the next great match its stops makes you want to see what new moves are out there. I loved the characters of this anime because there is always something that either makes them funny to watch or you look up to them as someone great. The interaction either in matches or just at school makes you want to follow them to the next stage and see how much they can improve. Specially the litlle samurai Echizen Ryoma whos mind is filled with tennis and only that and is oblivious to everything else then that. For once the cool and calculated character has gotten the main character role and that feels like a fresh breeze through the world of anime. The type of character he is normally gets casted so to speak in the supportive role but here he is the main character and he is the one that will prove his abilties against whatever opponents comes his way. I rarely adress the art of an anime but this anime makes the art or drawing works so well with the plot and characters. The art is old but its that kinda of classical old that gives it a great feel to watch. Its nostalgic feeling is rare in many ways and you just get pulled in by it. If you love sports anime this is one of those Must watch classics why because it gives you everything a sports anime needs. Great matches , great story , great characters and a music that keeps you on your toes through every match. This anime for me is one of those rare masterpieces that i cant come without because of how normal and yet so great it can be. So yes this anime gets its 10 because of how classical and great it is.
armking
The Anime Starts out well.. but loses steam halfway through the stories.. with potholes the size of craters.. i was hoping it would get better but it was a dud... With an obvious plot of the Protagonists winning every tournament.. the opponents in the beginning are intimidating but as the series progresses no matter what the opponents did the seigaku team ends up winning... i'm a sport anime fan.. i was looking forward to learning a lot from the show.. like i did with Slam Dunk.. but the show ends up showing tennis as a sport where you can win a few rounds at the USopen but still get beaten up so bad in an U-17 Japan Camp... i was expecting a lot more from this show but was left high and dry... i really liked the build up to the National tournament.. but in the national tournament ends up becoming a show of super powers.. i'd prefer Baby Steps over this.. it's more realistic..
elnini
I'm a big fan of sports, especially Tennis, so when i discovered Prince of Tennis i thought this might be what i've been searching for, however it became very clear it wasn't. Initially it was watchable but rapidly became unwatchable, the problem with Prince of Tennis is that the parameters of the world we are supposed to be immersed in are not defined, this inevitably leads to more and more ridiculous events occurring. I appreciate it isn't meant to be realistic however when you start from the stars in no time you will reach the sun and then where do you go from there? What i meanby this, is that these first year high schoolers are so overpowered that when you try to imagine what the professional tennis players in this world are like it just becomes utter nonsense. At a young age these kids are playing shots where the ball doesn't bounce off the court, or making the opponents shots magnetized to wherever they are on the court and many many more ridiculous things. So my question is, when these kids get to their final years of high school what kind of shots would they be playing? ones where the tennis ball turns into a dragon and breathes fire at the opponent and anyone in the vicinity? Terrible!!!
LPGeneratorx
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS NO SPOILERS* Ah, Prince of Tennis. One of the greatest sports anime which is overshadowed by the admittedly better sports anime like Hajime no Ippo. But don't let that deceive you. This is easily one of the greatest sports anime out there. So let's get to it. Story:- 8 While the story isn't anything out of the norm for sports anime it still has the feeling of uniqueness. There are many fillers along the way but the best part about this anime is that even it's fillers are reasonably entertaining. The story never feels repetitive even though it is. Art:- 7 Keep in mind that this isa 2001-2005 anime. So obviously comparing it to today's standards is not a good idea. But even comparing it to it's own time period it still seems a bit dated. It actually reminds me of the style of art used in Cowboy Bebop. So as you could tell the art is nothing special. But then there's the animation of the matches. Being a sports anime, there a going to be a gigantic amount of sports and unsurprisingly this anime has some of the best matches I've seen till date. The animation put into the body of the players while playing the game actually makes you feel like that's how the ball is supposed to curve and usually it follows the laws of physics pretty well, that is until you get to a certain point in the anime. Sound:- 7.5 The soundtrack of this series like the art is nothing special but there are themes or songs that will very soon get stuck in your mind. The best example of this is "Honki Moodo" one of the most identifiable songs in the franchise. The openings and endings while nothing brilliant are still a charm to the ears. Character:- 9 This is where the series really shines. Each and every character in this series has their own special personality and has quite a bit of depth in these personalities. My favorite being the Quirky Kikumaru. Our main character, Ryoma, is a cocky but nice hearted protagonist. Even the "antagonists" of the series like Atobe or Yukimura have a large amount of depth to them. For real villains like Akutsu or Mizuki they make you hate them since they either cheat, have no regard for their team or are really violent. Sort of like the real world since no one would like sportsmen without sportsmanship. Right? Enjoyment:- 8 All in all I love this series and if you like sports anime or are a sports player I would recommend this to you. Even without any prior knowledge of tennis the anime will teach you it's basics. The fillers will have you laughing and the matches will have you pumped up. It's always a good time with this anime. Overall:- 7.8/10
ericswift213
The prince of tennis, I have probably rewatched all 176 episodes + the specials + the ovas + the movies maybe about 2-3x each , Echizen ryoma a first year highschool student first ever to become a regular on the tennis team faces many strong adversaries in the early episodes he says he hates tennis because he only wants to play it to finally beat someone , that someone is , someone close to him will not say for the people that have not seen this anime yet. Echizen ryoma has to play many strong opponents even people on his tennis team at school suchas Tezuka, Fuji . The captain, and the legendary player with the 3 triple counters , ... For now. You may also expierence things in tennis that can probably never happen. A lot of the moves that are done here are not things that someone can repeat just because of the over exaggeration towards it, but it works . its a well done story line in my oppinion. I enjoyed this . Echizen becomes the pillar of support for the tennis team he is on, everyone has high hopes for him . as Echizen eventually leaves to the US to play in the US open, He comes back to play in the ........ Dont want to say exactly for those that have not seen this anime again. Echizen's team goes towards a special Training camp to improve future superstars this is a great season to watch it has comedy and action and it just an enjoyable expierence Story - 9 I say the story is magnificent this is one of the ONLY sports animes that i have been able to watch without wanting to kill myself over and over and over again. because this anime does have alot of fiction anime towards it it in total has over 200 episodes , but it is one of the better animes i have seen in the past couple of years. Art - 7 The art for this anime isnt that greatest , But it is good for the YEAR it came out . alot of people complain about how the art isnt good. look at the year it came out before u make a judgement of how it should be drawn Sound - 7 some of the characters may bother me quite a bit. and i quote " Dane , Dane, Dane Dane " This is an extra character towards the middle of the season ! Character - 10 I personally gave the characters a 10 just because it is not completly circled around just one character but they introduce alot of other characters also, and every character is amusing to watch and is very entertaining with a good back story to each and every one of them Enjoyment - 10 I enjoyed this anime so much that i have rewatched it 2-3x Maybe a bit more, If this is your kind of genre and you have the patience to survive the first 10-14 episodes then enjoy the ride you will not regret it ! overall - This anime is one of the best animes i have seen i think it has an amazing story and a good plot to it, plus the ending gave me closure because the anime itself has finished to a place when i am content with it unlike so many animes that finish half way through.
HaiiroTama
My friends think I'm weird for liking a sports anime. "What's the big deal, it's just sports! You can watch real people play tennis on TV instead!" What they don't realize is that Prince of Tennis, as well as many other sports anime, is about much more than just the game. In fact, as far as Prince of Tennis goes, there is far more time spent outside of the court, developing characters and improving the viewers' bond with the anime. The story's a real shocker here (not). Young prodigy joins a famous tennis school aiming for the national championship, overcoming all sorts of seemingly-impossible challenges andmaking lifelong friends along the way. It's a tried and true formula for any shonen anime, especially of the sports genre, but what I really appreciate about Prince of Tennis's take on the genre is the truly equal amount of attention given to each of the regulars on the team. Compare this with Kuroko's Basketball, another fantastic sports anime. Yes, all of the players on the team are important and have their own abilities, but the spotlight always shines on Kuroko and Kagami first and foremost. Prince of Tennis, on the other hand, thoroughly develops not only each player's skills, but also their personalities and relationships with everyone else in the anime. There are side characters in Prince of Tennis that are more developed than some main characters in lesser anime. And that's the thing! The characters are all so lovable! I've watched Prince of Tennis in its entirety at least 10 times in my life, and there isn't a single character in the cast of Seigaku regulars that hasn't been my favorite character at some point. I wouldn't dare put any character from Prince of Tennis on my top 10 characters list because I'd have to include at least 7 more. And it's not that they're each some kind of ideal person, they all have issues and imperfections, but they're so well-developed and unique that it's really hard to not fall in love with the entire cast. It's a kind of old anime, so it stands to reason that the art style starts out a little... well, outdated. Animation is sometimes rigid, and pretty much every special move animation is just cut and pasted every single time it's used, but rather than making the anime seem cheap, I've only ever felt more excited by the incredible style that this show has. It's not "oh, not THIS animation again..." it's more like "Awww yeah, here it comes! TWIST SERVE!!!" The main point is that it works really well, and contributes to the entire sense of style that this anime has. As far as sound goes... Amazing. There are some really, really great noises that come out of this anime. I think a really good testament to a good show, or at least a good long-running anime like Prince of Tennis, is a sense of familiarity and belonging. Everything in this show has its own "sound," from special moves to catch phrases to background music for specific moments. After watching through this anime, you'll be able to listen to a sound bite and almost immediately point out what special move it is, or whether the tables have turned at the last second of a match or not. So as not to belittle any of the other 10/10 anime that I've found, I can't say that Prince of Tennis is my very favorite anime, but... It's pretty much my very favorite anime. There is so much more to it than just tennis, so to any of my friends that criticize me for loving a sports anime, I only have one thing to say to them: "Mada mada dane."
Tokisaurus
Honestly, I don't know how to start this off. Well for starters, the storyline is so-so, its pretty much like every sport anime where the main character/team/etc are striving to be the best. I honestly think where this anime shines is in the characters, each and everyone of the characters has special moves, special playstyle, etc. that makes the anime so good. You just want to find out what each character has, in a sense its basically like any video game where every character has a different set of moves. Honestly, I just found all the matches to be enjoyable to watch. Once you finish theanime you'll definitely have a few favorite matches that you'll watch over and over, or hell if you're like me, you'll just watch the whole anime again. The writers basically just took an action anime and put it into tennis would be the best way I could put it in. The music of Prince of Tennis is pretty good, nothing to write home about as said before, the strong point is in the characters and the matches, at least in my opinion. Now, I put a 10 for enjoyment, which might be controversial. I'll point it out, I do watch real tennis and play it, so I might be a bit biased here. I'll point out that the characters in the anime are probably better than real tennis players due to the high level of skill in the moves each character has. Thats what makes it enjoyable in my opinion, as I don't think a sport anime could pull it off if they it didn't have a bit of unrealism in their athletic skills. Now I might be wrong here as the only other sport anime I watched was Whistle! (or in this case quite a lot) Oveall, this anime is a classic, and I'll probably watch this anime again if I run out of other series to watch as its never ending fun watching the tennis matches.
Masserati_
"Mada Mada Dane" Once upon a time in Japan, a manga artist by the name of Takeshi Konomi came up with a manga by the name of Prince of Tennis, and it quickly became one of - if not the - most popular sports manga of all time, doing for tennis what Slam Dunk did for basketball, it caused a massive boost in popularity for the sport in its native country. To this day, it's hard to really say that Japan ever got past Prince of Tennis fever, one look at the various pieces of Prince of Tennis merchandise like the musicals or even the live-actionfilm, makes it instantly clear just how big of a thing this is for them. Naturally, such a popular manga was bound to be subject to an anime adaptation, and so in October 2001, an anime version of the mega-hit was released by none other than...J.C Staff? Wait, seriously? Someone thought that that was a good idea? I mean, J.C Staff, a company that is well known for messing up and/or butchering adaptations of great works? (I'm looking at you Spiral) This is a company that for the most part, seems to have very little in terms of "great" budget, and suddenly they're expected to animate 178 episodes of such a huge hit? All of a sudden, Prince of Tennis the anime sounds like it's going to be a disaster. You know what though? It's not; in fact, Prince of Tennis is actually pretty good. That's not to say however, that this is the best sports anime out there - indeed, there are definitely flaws with PoT, mostly to do with the animation, which I'll cover later on - and if you've had any animosity towards sports anime in the past then you can immediately forget about liking Prince of Tennis, as it most definitely won't change your mind about them, it's possible that it may make you dislike them even more actually; even sports anime fans that I've talked to have dismissed PoT out of hand calling it "ridiculous" "a joke" and "an insult to the actual sport itself", and whilst I can certainly understand why people dislike certain ridiculous elements of the show, I find comments about it being a joke and an insult to be quite puzzling, because personally, I found that once PoT hit its stride, it was a huge barrel of fun and enjoyment. The story is typical sports anime fare: Team wants to become the best. Team goes up against many strong opponents and becomes stronger after each match. Team wins some games, team loses some games. It's a tried and trusted formula which, while not really turning any heads in terms of how things play out, provides decent enough motivation for the characters to at least keep you emotionally invested in them for a while. What's interesting about the story is that, whereas other sports shows would immediately opt for making the main protagonists team a group of underdogs, going up against impossible odds and coming out better for it, the tennis players of Seigaku are actually rather strong by comparison. We're presented with players who are already known at the national level, a player that's regarded by practically everyone as a tennis prodigy, and Jesus himself, Captain Tezuka. These are character archetypes that, in nearly every other sports show, would be reserved for the opposing teams, their sole purpose to make the protagonists team stronger and stronger after every single match, and we're meant to watch them playing for the home team. So how then does that make the matches interesting? As mentioned before, Seigaku is constantly going up against stronger and stronger teams, with players that are just as equally strong as them (with the exception of Captain Jesus, who I'll talk about later on), this means that even though there are main characters who are ridiculously powerful, the players are almost never really in a position in which they can just sit back and take the match easily, meaning that it successfully maintains a feeling of excitement and tension, despite the several curb-stomp matches that do occur throughout the series. One major stand-out of the original PoT's storyline, rather funnily, is the filler. Now obviously, in an anime this long filler is bound to be expected - this could range from anything to funny filler episodes to outright filler arcs - but what's interesting to note is that, well...the filler is actually pretty damn good. No seriously, I mean it, I wouldn't joke about this even if you paid me. After about 125 episodes, PoT goes off on its own route because the animators decided that they wanted to give the audience a different Prince of Tennis experience than that of the manga, and it actually pays off rather well, I'm sure the whole Junior Selection Camp thing served in some way as the basis for what would eventually form the plot of New Prince of Tennis; in reality I suppose these filler episodes are nothing more than a clever way for J.C Staff to fully exploit the huge cast of bishonens that exist in PoT, and create new pairings for its ever growing fanbase of yaoi fans (heck I'm a straight male and even I supported some of the pairings). Nonetheless, these filler episodes are at times more entertaining than the actual matches from the proper storyline, they're a strong example of how to do filler, and more importantly, how to do filler well - the fact that I was able to marathon through the final 78 episodes in the space of about two weeks is a testament of how good I personally found the filler. However, regardless of how good everything else is in Prince of Tennis, there is one factor that threatens to nearly derail the viewing experience almost completely. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Prince of Tennis's utterly woeful animation. Artistically speaking, the series fares well, Takeshi Konomi's numerous bishonens translate well to the screen, enough so that that was the deciding factor in why the score isn't less than 5, it's when it actually comes to animating that Prince of Tennis utterly falls down. You will see stock footage, a lot of it, I lost count of the amount of times I saw the same footage for Ryoma's Twist Serve or Fuji's Higuma Otoshi repeated again, and again, and again. Static images are abound in the anime. It's not often that animation in an anime is so bad that it's actually detrimental to the viewing experience, but in this case, it most definitely is. For whatever reason - perhaps due to J.C Staff's lack of funds - simple shots are repeated in little boxes that suddenly appear on the screen, so you're subjected to the same footage you saw not two seconds ago; randomly, a character will take a shot and the anime decides that for whatever reason, it's going to show the same shot again in a spiral that suddenly bombards your screen. I could quite literally turn this review into a complete list of faults with the animation of the show. The animation is meant to be a medium that conveys the manga format effectively, and it seems as if somewhere along the line, J.C Staff forgot about that little detail, as such, we're presented with matches that, in the manga, would only take about 3 to 5 chapters (I bothered to use the Seigaku VS Yamabuki match as a reference for this) and in the anime, take roughly the equivalent of about 4 episodes by comparison. In short, it's pretty much total butchery, and something that wouldn't be fixed until the National Tournament OVA's in which it was then animated by the far more capable hands of Production I.G. Musically speaking, PoT fares significantly better, one of the many things that defines a sports anime - or long running anime in general - is the soundtrack; without a good soundtrack, quite a bit of the effect is lost whenever something dramatic happens, and what PoT lacks in the animation department is something that the sound department makes up for. Cher Watanabe composed an absolutely awesome soundtrack, the opening themes are, personally, among some of the best and really get you in the mood for Prince of Tennis, seriously, just try and listen to "Driving Myself" (by far the best of the opening themes) and not get pumped. The rest of the soundtrack is also pretty good, I remember plenty of moments when the music was the best thing about the show, particularly when tracks like "Mission", "Hangeki" and "Koutekishu" were playing, it's hard to not at times feel a big goofy grin appear on your face when the soundtrack is at its best. Voice acting is equally strong, there are plenty of arrogant characters in Prince of Tennis, not least Ryoma, Atobe and Kirihara, and the voice acting is able to pretty much hit all the right notes when it comes to performances, whether it be one of the arrogant characters or one of the softer characters, or perhaps one of the stoic characters - it's hard to fault the voice acting, with the exception of the really annoying little kids that pretty much form Ryoma's fan-club, their voices grate significantly and any attempt at humour with these characters falls flat down on its face. Also, a word of advice, avoid the dub at all costs, they never did dub the entire show but what they did dub was pretty poor; it seems as if practically no one was taking the anime seriously enough to bother contributing something that can actually be considered a performance. As you will no doubt know, sports anime and manga are usually not reliant on their story (even if, in this case, it's actually pretty good), the sport is usually the lifeblood of its respective anime or manga, but it's the characters that really make it stand out. If you were, for instance, to try and watch Eyeshield 21 without Hiruma, you would be stuck with an anime that, while having its moments, doesn't have a strong enough cast for you to keep yourself interested in it. Thankfully, PoT's characters are strong enough to keep your interest, you will definitely find at least one character among this cast that you can actually bring yourself to like. Like yourself a cocky, confident main protagonist who knows what he's doing? Then you'll probably quickly find yourself fawning all over Ryoma. Do you like relaxed, composed characters with strong poker faces? Fuji's the one for you. Do you fancy unbelievably arrogant, king-like characters? Look no further than King Atobe himself. Of course, those are just the base character traits, over time, the characters (especially Ryoma) develop into more than that, becoming much more likeable, more sympathetic and much more worthy of you rooting for them. Gags that originally weren't funny, such as Inui's special juices or Kawamura's Engrish, gradually become chuckle-worthy, heck even downright funny, and that's because of the way the characters develop. Unfortunately, the characters aren't quite perfect, and that's due to the fault of one character: Captain Jesus - I mean, Captain Tezuka. Tezuka is, hands down, the worst character in the show, so naturally, he's one of the most overpowered too. He's bland, dull, has practically no emotions whatsoever, and is just completely uninteresting as a character and as the team captain; Kabaji had more character development than Tezuka, and the only thing he said was "Yes"! Of course, this also makes him practically unbeatable, with only really the best of the best standing a decent chance against him. The only thing that Tezuka is good for is providing Ryoma with at least some motivation to start getting better, and even that's only a small catalyst. Despite its faults - and woeful animation, which it should be noted, does actually start to improve in the last 8 episodes - I thoroughly enjoyed Prince of Tennis, it was a fun ride with some excellent filler, a strong cast of likeable characters and a great soundtrack. It most definitely won't change your mind about sports anime if you didn't like them to begin with, especially when it starts bringing in elements that take it from almost believable to downright Super Saiyan, and I wouldn't really recommend it if you're just starting to get into sports anime either, perhaps after you've seen something much more realistic like say, Hajime no Ippo and fancy something that isn't as bothered by the laws of physics. Still, it's a great ride once it gets going and well worth the time you put into it, especially as you're rewarded by Production I.G's glorious animation in the Nationals.
mrsLEE
This series was one of the very first that I’ve seen when I was younger and one of the reason why I fell in love with animes. There’s a very long review coming as it was one of the longest series……………. About the STORY Because it is a story about a genius tennis player, the storyline becomes somehow predictable. They lose at the start then after that you know they will win amazingly. I guess the only thing unpredictable is how they will win amazingly as it is of course, done differently every game. The opponents are made ridiculously irritating to make the winnings of the main charactersreally great and so cool. That kind of storyline was really a hit before and sometimes even till now but seeing it for the first time now when that kind of storyline was so used so many times over the years, it really becomes quite cliché. One of the things that I like about sports series is that you can learn a lot about the sports that they’re featuring. That being said, most of the moves and techniques in the series are so fictional and can’t be used in real life. Players are burning with fires, players are flying and doing some exaggerated moves in mid-air, people are even disappearing, balls are going around poles, balls making a B sign, disappearing balls, and there are even cyclones created by players; these are only few of the countless magical-like moves during games. Some of the drama and lines can still be effective but some can really be cliché and cheesy. About the CHARACTERS It is given that there is a long list of characters as it is one of the still on-going series out there. And so there’s enough time to explore particular character’s background. And are these kids really middle school students? That can be quite far-fetched if I may say so. It can be considered cliché but it really feels genuinely great when the protagonists are winning against the extremely irritating and cocky opponents. That is the very reason why that kind of storyline is still often used nowadays even if it’s been already used so many times. It is something to look forward to every single game. The opponents are completely different from one another. They play differently which make every game a lot more exciting but all of them are the same with one thing, every single one have their different version of cockiness, pride, and arrogance. And what’s with this series? I honestly think that 90% of the characters are extremely overconfident. I’ve never seen a series with characters with overflowing cockiness, arrogance, and overconfidence. Sometimes, it just feels too much. And they get nastier and a lot more arrogant as the series progresses. Well, as they get nastier, their defeat feels a lot greater that way. But I honestly like Atobe’s arrogance. It is very king-like which can really be cute and funny. About FUJI SYUSUKE My favorite among the team is of course, Fuji. I just love enigmatic characters because they are so mysterious. Whenever he changes his attitude from being calm with closed eyes to being serious or mad with opened eyes, he can be really scary. And among all the characters who had been Ryouma’s opponent, Fuji is the best. Their game is one of the best in the series. Fuji can even make Ryouma lose his cool. Though he’s one of the geniuses in the series, it is quite ironic that his technique is also one of the most fictional. He also cares so much about the welfare of his friends and family, particularly his younger brother. He has this own way of avenging the people that he cares about which is very admiring. About ECHIZEN NANJIRO Fuji might be my favorite among the team but my number one in the whole series is none other than Echizen Nanjiro. He’s the only one Ryouma’s arrogance won’t work and actually losses his cool. The father and son have a unique and sweet relationship. Nanjiro’s roundabout way of teaching his son about tennis and life is just so admiring and interesting. And let’s not forget that he’s the main source of comic relief in the series which make him a lot more interesting. I just wish he has a lot more air time. About ECHIZEN RYOMA As Ryoma is already considered a genius at the start of the series which is quite different from the typical sports series protagonists who start off as very naïve and weak, there’s a different kind of character development for him. As the series progresses, he starts to realize he’s limits and work hard to overcome them. He’s a genius already and really arrogant about it so his character development is whenever he is beaten. Later on the series, despite still being as arrogant and show-off as ever, he becomes more mature. His arrogance becomes a lot more convincing and cooler compared at the beginning. Ryoma is so handsome and cute for his age. I guess, this is what the Japanese would call “Bishounen”. And to think that he’s only 12 years old despite already having a strong personality and attitude. But if you think about it, the most exciting way to beat an extremely arrogant and irritating opponent is for them to be defeated by an equally arrogant main character which really feels so good. After all, princes do have overconfident attitude. About the ANIMATION As this is an old series, the animation is not that great compared to those of todays. But I think it was great enough during it’s time. At least, that’s what I remember when I first saw it before, when it was still airing. After watching animes for so many years now and seeing it now with its original version, with all honesty, it’s no longer that amazing compared before when I first saw it. Without a doubt, there are really other sports series which have very fictional moves and techniques, I just find this series has exaggerated it a bit too much. It can be really over the top. And it is quite ironic that the most exaggerated match is also the most awaited one which is between Ryoma and Tezuka. For some, it can be really “KAKKOI” or cool but for some it can be a bit too much.
ryuichi_crosszer
Coz we can put Tenipuri in 'not very-old anime' category, I won't say anything more about the stories that I'm sure you anime-freak guys already knew ^^ But i have to said, this is the only one japan-anime that kept make my wallet's empty hahahah. I'm talking buy the merchandise, man :p Oh yes it is! Witihin this year (2010), it will be 9 years for me to become Tenipuri's big fans >.< Never got tired of it! After the OVAs and more merchandise came out, my happiness came along with the new adv of Tenipuri in manga called SHIN-TENIPURI. New story and new adventure with...the high-school boys in U-17 Camp! Oh boy I really can wait for the vol 3 ^.^ Of course they're also release its fan-book in 5 volume new title + design "SHIN TENIPURI KOUSHIKI CHARACTER GUIDE BOOK PAIR-PURI (PRINCE)" Woow Plus... I got news this year of June and August, they'll release 2 volumes DVD about pairing-princes! The pairs will be Tezuka-Atobe and Fuji-kyoudai (Shuusuke & Yuuta) OMG >.< Means I have to saving more money *but how 'bout my cosplay project?*
DBayoty
Fuji's mask of smiles, Inui's disgusting most likely inedible drinks, Kaidoh's "fwsshh", Oishi's weird haircut, Kikumaru's cool playing style, Tezuka's "don't keep your guard down" matched with a stoic face, Momoshiro's dunk smashes, Kawamura's "BURNING!" and of course Ryoma's "Mada mada dane" not to mention awesome tennis prodigy, are all reasons why you should definitely not miss out on this anime. Before, I could have sworn I never watch Prince of Tennis, since I wasn't interested in tennis and found it a boring sport. But all of my ulterior assumptions were made correct once I coincidentally saw someone watching the anime in my friend's laptop. Idon't know what came to me but even I started jumping up and down and squealing in awe how cool Ryoma really is. Ever since then, my view of tennis has changed. And guess what? I'm taking lessons right now, though it would take me a lot of years to even conduct a twist serve not to mention a drive B. But someday...(smiles)
Gioeva
Prince of Tennis, a sports anime and one of the few sports animes I've watched and happened to enjoy watching. I won't waste time here with the synopsis, I'm sure you can look it up yourself if you really wanted to. Story: I think the story progressed nicely as you watch the rise and fall, the hardship and the many lessons our main star endures to reach his goals. Many sports animes tend to focus on the main character working from being a total clutz with zero talent into the world's greatest *insert sports here* player. This anime moves slighly away from thatand we start to understand that, life doesn't end when you become great, there are many more lessons in life one can learn, lessons from many different areas. This series mixes fantasy well with reality, making it both informative (learning about the rules and regulations of tennis) but at the same time entertaining with the various skills and attacks observed throughout the series. Another great feature of this series is the use of fillers to the right amount. Unlike other series that tend to have fillers to no end and bores the audience, Prince of Tennis actually uses just enough fillers in between matches for comic relief, contrasting it nicely against the seriousness of the matches. Art: Not really much to say about art. It's pretty hard to keep coming up with new things, so you find certain frames etc. being repeated. However, they are used in repetition well, so you can't usually tell if you doesn't watch it too carefully. Sound: Same as for art. But I found certain areas, the sound didn't match too well with the situation being presented, it was either too serious or not serious enough. Hence the given rating. Character: I would have to give credit to the characters in this series. It would been really difficult trying to come up with so many different characters and be able to make it so that the audience can distinguish between each based on looks, personality, playing styles etc. It was great watching better, stronger, more skilled players being introduced all the time, and it keeps you entertained with the different playing styles. Also, although the characters do not seem to age greatly as the story progresses, however they do develop and become more mature, learning the lessons and achieving their goals. It's nice watching them grow up as the story progresses. Enjoyment: The series is very good. Other than sound, which pulled it down a little, overall you can learn a lot from watching this series. I enjoyed every episode and I find that none of the episodes are a waste of time. They come together nicely to make the story whole. Overall: The series is great and highly recommended.
KimimaroKenshin
Story - 10 The story is very original, where the protagonist comes from America to Japan as a well-developed tennis player. His father has him enroll in Seigaku Tennis Club, where he plays opponents who can challenge his skill, while the team seeks to reach the National Tournament. Although the story sounds simple, there are many episodes that get more in depth by revealing more of the characters and the storyline, which I would rather not spoil. Art - 9 The art in this anime is spectacular! However, it is a long series, so some frames are repeated throughout games, yet it is still well done to thepoint where it will not bother. There is a large cast of characters, and each of the players have there very own original moves, yet the art is detailed so well it is easy to distinguish between all characters. Even the comedic and chibi episodes were truly amazing and had detailed art. Sound - 8 The sound in the anime was mediocre. The opening and ending themes sounded like karaoke songs, and they were not real catchy... However, some of them were really good, in my opinion. The sound effects throughout the anime were fine, however, so the music does not really take away from it overall. Character - 10 This is one aspect of the anime that truly made it one of my favorites. There is a huge amount of characters in the anime, and all of them are original and well-designed of course. There will definitely be many characters you can connect to, as there are many types of personalities amongst them. The characters also develop throughout the anime, so a character you may not have liked may become your favorite. Amazing set of characters in this anime! Enjoyment - 10 I most certainly enjoyed this anime, as anyone else who's seen it has. The great plot, good art and characters play a great part in this animes success. Everything from the action packed episodes to the comedic chibi episodes were truly enjoyable! Overall- 10 This anime will not disappoint!
otaku228
Prince of Tennis is probably not the first show on your 'to watch' list, right? Well if I were you, I might want to change that. You don't need any bit of love for tennis to enjoy this anime. The strange tactics and tecniques used in this show could never be in the same category as the sport they are used for unless you know someone who can hit a tennis ball hard enough to knock their opponent into the stands. It is a tremendously thrilling experience watching Echizen Ryoma advance in his path to defeat his father, who is considered a legend in the worldof tennis. Following the characters as they grow mentally and physically is like standing atop your car as you're driving down the highway. If you can live to tell the tale, it will be something that you'll never forget. The enjoyable characters in Prince of Tennis make this show a difficult one to part with once you've watched a few episodes. The drama and thrill of someone coming back from a 5-0 deficit is priceless. There is not a single episode in the entire series that isn't enjoyable, which is amazing considering the length of the series. Every person that watches this anime finds one character that they like more than the rest and latches onto them, experiencing that characters every moment, good and bad, first hand. Whatever rumors you may have heard about this show should be ignored. If you miss out on what Prince of Tennis has to offer, you may end up regretting it.
mesmerized
The Prince of Tennis. I'd have to say this is one of my most favorite anime yet, So I do strongly recommend it if you haven't seen it. It really gave me that sad, but happy and satisfied feeling after I finished the series. It includes comedy and sports, but yet humorous at the same time. The Prince of Tennis mainly focuses on Seishun Gakuen's Tennis team (Seigaku) trying to reach for the nationals and become pros one day, while Ryoma Echizen, the protagonist, has his own dream of winning against his father, the former pro in the tennis world.Also, a few of the episodes include the Tenipuri series, when Seigaku and everyone else are chibified. Those times are Hilarious and yet cute. This isn't just normal tennis you see everyday. There are lots of strange, but yet interesting techniques they use while they play, such as the invisible ball and the Tezuka zone, You have to use your intelligence and stamina in order to win a game. You may find their games somehow deeply move you, as they get more intense, serious, and dramatic at the same time. The art and how the characters are drawn are pretty amazing. Their expressions and body movements are so realistic when it comes to moving around a lot while playing a tennis game, Everything is drawn neatly and in funny ways. I have nothing to complain about the Seiyuu's in The Prince of Tennis, they all did a wonderful job and I love how they all sound! I'd say their voices really suit the characters personality very well. I'm especially impressed with Minagawa Junko, ever since I found out Echizen was voiced by a girl. Shes so talented so have such a manly voice ^-^ Although I haven't been paying much attention to the background music sounds of the anime, I do think that Little Sky was sung very well. Dream Believer was also pretty good, since the members of Seigaku sang it. Some of them will even result you in going crazy looking for the name and who the artist is. Characters...each and every one of them has their own different personality and look, which I find very unique and entertaining. Sometimes you can find the complete opposite personality from a character. I turned out to love all of them, even though my first impression was that they all sounded strange. I like it how all the schools first start out as rivals, but as the series slowly develops, each and every one of them start to change and become friends and allies with eachother, this is one of the most heartwarming things about this anime. Well, I really enjoyed The Prince of Tennis, and I'm still sulking at the fact that it ended. Each and every one of the episodes captures a memory into your mind. The funniness really sticks in your head when you think about it, and the characters too, you can never forget about them. I've grown to really like this show, and recommend you to watching it too. 178 episodes + The OVA's and specials, You'll regret it if you don't!
MichelleKay
Prince of Tennis, in my opinion, is like .. superpower tennis. Not in a bad way, but that's what makes this show enjoyable. Ryoma is your typical tennis prodigy who overcomes players more skilled then he is. Story overall was good, with some bumps and twists along the way. The episodes that contain side-stories and stories where the characters are chibis are hilarious. Best I thought was bowling and Snow White. Art was good, though when in tennis matches, you'll notice repetitions such as their special techniques and missing the ball. That's okay, unless you don't like the moves. The good thing is the art'spretty consistent. I'll give my opinion that the English dub mixed with the animation is such a pain to watch. Sound? Yeah, it gets a thumbs up. Music is good too, especially Wonderful Days, where it's sung by some of the characters. Dream Believer, love that song! Characters, haha there's A LOT. I'm not talking 20, there's got to be somewhere around 50 or more. Plus they're pretty all unique. Well, except some players that use their wit. They just look different. You'll love some, you'll hate some, that's a possibility. Sometimes it's hard to believe they're only in middle school. Shocking right? Enjoyment, I enjoyed it. The show is really funny. I mostly remember it being funny just because of Inui. Him and his special drinks. Overall, the show gives a lot. Maybe not romantically, though you get Sakuno crushing on Ryoma, who, of course, doesn't notice. If you want to get a good laugh, watch the special episodes that don't really correspond to the storyline. So stop reading and GO WATCH!
VK11
The Prince of Tennis - a sports-driven anime that debuted back in 2001, depicts the story of Echizen Ryoma and his experiences in the world of tennis. Along with Hajime no Ippo, the Prince of Tennis helped start the rave with sports-driven anime craze, and its not really a wonder why a lot of those anime use many of the elements from the Prince of Tennis - its so good that its still being animated (in OVA form) this very day. Normally, with sports anime, you see the rise of a certain young star from not being a very good player to being the aceof their sport. The Prince of Tennis pulled something out of the ordinary and made Echizen an amazing tennis player right from the start. Now you're probably thinking, &quot;Well, where's the fun in that?&quot; Well, Echizen is always going up against top-notch opponents and throughout the show, you'll witness him going from a cocky, immature kid to one who actually respects his opponents (well, sort of anyway) and development of new, exciting skills. Echizen join the Seigaku high school tennis team and participates in tournaments with them. And of course, the overall theme is to aim for the top of the tennis world. The art is pretty good. It starts off so-so, but before you know it, it gets to that level where you're impressed by it. As for the animation, you'll see a lot of repeated frames throughout the show (as usual with sports anime), but the way they animate all of the new skills and tennis matches is just so amazing, that after some of the matches, you just stare in awe at its magnificence. The sound, I would say, is probably the weakest point of the show. Although the music presented in the Prince of Tennis does suit the mood and is pretty upbeat at times, there really isn't a score that will stand out to you, where you'll be saying, &quot;Ah!! I need that on my computer/ipod.&quot; Nevertheless, its relatively enjoyable Since the stories are pretty much the same throughout all sport anime (overall), in order for an anime to be amazing - especially the case with sport ones - characters and unique personalities need to be there. And Prince of Tennis does not disappoint in that category. This show unveils so many different memorable characters, that you'll undoubtedly have trouble picking your all-time favorite one from the lot because they are so unique. And the best part about it is that the creators were able to somehow give each character a unique way of playing tennis. With the amount of characters and opponents they present, you'd think that they would have to repeat somewhere. But that's definitely not the case. With amazing tennis matches, a plethora of unique and lovable characters, and a cocky main protagonist that will get on your nerves at times but you'll respect out of necessity because of his skills, the Prince of Tennis is an amazing sport anime. The best part of this anime is that you will have a hard time knowing who will win matches. Surprisingly enough, all the main characters experience losses matches at times, which makes it interesting to see how each one responds to the agony of defeat. If you are looking for a sport-driven anime and are in for the long haul - meaning 170+ episodes, the Prince of Tennis is exactly what you're looking for.
Animanga