The Prince of Tennis #1-16

The Prince of Tennis #1-16

Originally released in 1999

Written by Takeshi Konomi

Art by Takeshi Konomi

This doesn't quite fit this week's theme - the Prince of Tennis likely won't be a bad manga, but I feel like it's one that I'm not going to like.  The impression that I got of it, based on what I've heard or read, is that the main protagonist is a genius at tennis who's rarely even inconvenienced and never loses.  I find those characters can be annoying when they're the rival, so having one as the main character seems like something that I'm not going to like. Still, maybe this is exaggerated or inaccurate; I'll go into it with an open mind.

Still, it's not off to a great start in that regard when the main character, Ryoma Echizen, is introduced by having him effortlessly beat high schoolers at tennis while holding back and only being twelve years old. He seems kind of plain in terms of personality, though he has a smug side to him.

Usually with characters like this, you would expect them to be humbled so they can see that they still have plenty of growing to do, but Ryoma doesn't go through anything like that, at least in these early chapters.  Even when forced to use a racket that's basically broken, he adapts after two swings.

There are other characters, but they don't get a lot of focus and become rather forgettable as a result.  The team's coach and her granddaughter get some spotlight in the first chapter or two, though they quickly fade into the background, which is a shame - it felt like the granddaughter could have worked as an audience surrogate in case any of the rules of tennis, or any of the characters' accomplishments, needed to be explained.

There are some explanations, but they're rarely put in layman's terms, which is a shame.  Maybe sports manga are made with the assumption that you're already familiar with the sport in question, but I liked how a football manga called Eyeshield 21 took time to explain the positions, plays, and their purposes so that even people who aren't familiar with football could enjoy it and follow what was going on.

The team's captain, Kunimitsu, has a distinctive design (the glasses help), but the rest of the eighth and ninth graders that make up the starting line-up blended together for me. Early on, there are matches to determine the ranking for the team, so I thought maybe that this arc would address this problem and my issue with Ryoma at the same time.

Unfortunately, it doesn't. Sure, these chapters establish that there's someone that Ryoma wants to beat in tennis - it's just that the person in question is his father, who could have been the best tennis player in the world if not for a leg injury. Against anyone else, he adapts to their special skills almost effortlessly.

Even when he's up against a ninth grader named Sadaharu who can predict his actions and is much taller than Ryoma, Ryoma reveals that he's been holding back and demolishes Sadaharu's strategies with no problems. He even tells Sadaharu where he'll be shooting and still scores on him.

I gave the series until the end of this story arc, but it doesn't improve in this regard. I don't like Ryoma as a protagonist - he's treated as though he's basically flawless (it's not like he has difficulties with school or his social life), and the only person who can remotely inconvenience him is an adult who's one of the best tennis players in the world, meaning that there's no drama in his matches against high school students. With Ryoma being the main/sole focus, it makes it hard for me to get into this series as a result.