jeremy1456's Full Review: Takeshi Konomi, Gerard Jones, Gerald Jones - The P...
There are plenty of anime and series that seem to have absolutely no chance of seeing a release over here in the United States because of their obscurity. Every once in a while though, you may be surprised with what is published over here. Sports anime and manga are one of these such things that I never really expected to make it's way over here, no matter how good it is. With that said, an anime series that has yet to be released outside of Japan, called The Prince of Tennis has quickly become one of my all time favorite series. It's an anime about playing tennis though, so as you can probably imagine there aren't too many similar series out there and it seemed like the chances for a domestic US release were slim to none. You can probably imagine my surprise when I located The Prince of Tennis Volume One graphic novel. I purchased it without a second thought, being such a fan of the series as I am. The release of the first volume of this manga has nearly restored my faith in Viz.
At first glance, Prince of Tennis doesn't look too special. The main character, Ryoma Echizen seems to follow the almost cookie cutter formula for shonen manga. He's the quiet type, but his skills surprise anyone who challenges him. As the series progresses, this character's cold exterior facade eventually lets up, and his character is fleshed out better. In the first few chapters Ryoma's past and his love for tennis isn't exactly explained, but as the story progresses things get much more interesting. His character in the beginning isn't the most enjoyable to follow. This isn't too much of a problem because the highlight of this series is it's action, and once the tennis matches start it doesn't really matter if you like the guy or not, you'll be cheering for him to beat the older players who doubt him because of his age and because of the other character's ruthless tactics that they use against him. The Prince of Tennis Volume One is mainly about Ryoma proving himself to the new school that he will be playing tennis for.
Many people can't really handle the idea of reading a manga about tennis of all subjects. I found myself with this problem when I first started watching the anime series, but you cannot really judge this series until after you watch the first volume of the manga. At heart this series is a happy one, with few dark elements and so it's appropriate for pretty much all fans of manga. I found this aspect to be refreshing, considering the fact that quite a bit of manga that I've been reading lately is really dark so it's a nice change of pace. I can say that The Prince of Tennis is much different from what I'm used to, and volume one is the best way to get started into the series. It really does help though if you play tennis or at least know the rules to play, but it's not a terrible loss if you know nothing about the sport. Personally I play tennis, so I went into volume one already knowing the rules of play which allowed me to get right into the series.
Story
Seishun Gakuen Middle School is well known for it's excellent tennis team. This team is one of the most competitive around, and has some of the best all around players. It would seem then, that Ryoma Echizen would fit in right away at this school where he is a new student. He's a son to one of the best tennis players in the world, and having practiced every day with the master, he is extremely talented at the sport as well. Ryoma isn't well received at the school though, with his cocky attitude and quiet persona nobody seems to like him save for a few students his age, and a young girl whom he seems to try to ignore. Though the upperclassmen don't get along with Ryoma, he doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he even overhears a few talking about tennis and he doesn't hesitate to correct a few of their errors for them, but because of his serious attitude problem he manages to only get them very angry at him.
There is one thing standing in Ryoma's way though. An old rule doesn't allow the underclassmen to become regulars on the tennis team, so Echizen has to overcome this rule. Nobody can deny that the kid has talent though, and that he is easily one of the best tennis players attending the school, but he's still got to prove himself against the upperclassmen for a spot on the higher tennis club. Because of his cool nature, he easily overtakes challenges from a few of the older students to their amazement, but it seems that none of them would be willing to give the guy a chance, because they feel threatened by the guy because he could go and take any of their spots on the tennis club. Echizen has a special skill on the tennis courts, called the "twist serve" which is almost impossible to counter. Will Ryoma ever make friends with his fellow students? Will he ever be fully acknowledged by those who hate him so?
As I earlier mentioned, Ryoma Echizen's character isn't exactly the most likeable character ever featured in an anime. The fact is that he seems virtually emotionless in the beginning. One cool aspect to this character is the fact that his father was one of the best worldwide tennis players ever, and Ryoma was taught by this guy so he's a very good player. The seemingly impossible challenges given to Echizen are easily overcome with style, and collectiveness. Though he's not the most likeable character ever, I had this strange admiration of the fictional character because of how easy everything tennis related to him is. He doesn't brag, but whatever he says about someone else's inadequacies he backs up with his own skill to show the people that they really aren't as good of players as they would like to think.
One aspect of this manga that I particularly enjoy is the artwork. Takeshi Konomi is either a tennis player, or has watched much tennis because the drawings seem to be authentic to tennis, no fake looking hits or stances here. It might just be my eyes, but it seems like the quality of the drawings gets better as the pages progress towards the end, with what seems like slightly more defined lines and a tiny bit more detail, which makes me imagine that the artistic qualities get even better in the later chapters. The drawings are great at giving the sense of fast motion, with each swing and the movement of the ball. I was very pleased with the artwork in this volume of manga, and I found very little as far as flaws go in the details and character drawings. The Prince of Tennis Volume One is a nice looking volume of manga.
Final Recommendation
The Prince of Tennis is definitely one of my favorite anime series, and I am very glad that the first volume of the manga has been released over here, which is a good sign that the anime might see the light of day here in the future. I highly recommend The Prince of Tennis to anyone interested in sports manga.
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