The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tenisu no Ōjisama?) is a popular manga and anime series created by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan on July 1999. The manga is published in English in North America by VIZ Media. The series was put under hiatus when Konomi was injured in an accident during the Summer of 2006, but publication resumed in September 2006, after a hiatus of slightly over two months.
The anime series, directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network from October 10, 2001 to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes. Beginning in April of 2006, an OVA continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD. A second OVA series has been announced to begin release on June 22, 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first.
The series has produced a half-hour weekly radio show, over 100 music CDs, several games, movies, multiple live-action musicals and a large selection of merchandise. On May 13, 2006 the live-action adaptation film, The Prince of Tennis, was released in Japan. As of volume 35 the manga has sold over 37 million copies in Japan.[1]
The Prince of Tennis anime has been announced to be a part of Cartoon Network's new online broadband service called Toonami Jetstream. It began streaming July 14, 2006. The anime began airing on Toonami's Saturday night block on December 23, 2006, though some episodes were initially skipped. Beginning on February 24, 2007, the episodes aired, restarting at the beginning, going in order. However, it is now off the schedule permanently as of June 9, 2007.
In the Japanese, German, and English versions of the manga, the chapters are identified as "Genius" (Genius 1, Genius 2, etc).
The title is often shortened to Teni-Puri, a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words, Tennis Prince. This is also evident in some of the Chibi episodes in the anime, where all the regulars of Seishun Gakuen are members of the Teni-Puri family.
In the Philippines, The Prince of Tennis aired weekdays on Q (part of its afternoon anime block "Anime Revolution"), but later ended. Although, due to popular demand, The Prince of Tennis was aired back on Q on the same time slot, moving Galaxy Angels on weekends. It later moves to GMA 7, Q's parent network.
Plot
The manga is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Gakuen (青春学園 Seishun Gakuen), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot on the regulars team. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.
Characters
Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name.
Players
Seishun Academy Middle School
* Regulars
o Ryoma Echizen (越前 リョーマ, Echizen Ryōma?)
o Kunimitsu Tezuka (手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu?)
o Shuichiro Oishi (大石 秀一郎, Ōishi Shūichirō?)
o Shusuke Fuji (不二 周助, Fuji Shūsuke?)
o Eiji Kikumaru (菊丸 英二, Kikumaru Eiji?)
o Takashi Kawamura (河村 隆, Kawamura Takashi?)
o Sadaharu Inui (乾 貞治, Inui Sadaharu?)
o Takeshi Momoshiro (桃城 武, Momoshiro Takeshi?)
o Kaoru Kaidoh (海堂 薫, Kaidō Kaoru?)
* Other players
o Masashi Arai (荒井 将史, Arai Masashi?): second year in Seigaku's tennis club who will probably end up a Regular his third year.
o Masaya Ikeda
o Daisuke Hayashi
o Satoshi Horio (堀尾 聡史, Horio Satoshi?): Know-it-all first year in the tennis club with "two years of tennis experience". Main source of comic relief.
o Kachiro Kato (加藤 勝郎, Katō Kachirō?): first year in tennis club who is a voice of reason for Horio.
o Katsuo Mizuno (水野 カツオ, Mizuno Katsuo?): Basically the same as Kachiro, but Katsuo is not featured as much.
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