The Prince of Tennis

The Prince of Tennis (Japanese: テニスの王子様, Hepburn: Tenisu no Ōjisama)[lower-alpha 1] 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. A total of 379 chapters were published and collected into 42 tankōbon volumes.

The Prince of Tennis
Cover of the first manga volume featuring Ryoma Echizen
テニスの王子様
(Tenisu no Ōjisama)
GenreComing-of-age,[1] sports[2]
Manga
Written byTakeshi Konomi
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runJuly 19, 1999 – March 3, 2008
Volumes42
Anime television series
Directed byTakayuki Hamana
Written by
  • Atsushi Maekawa (#1–75)
  • Masashi Sogo (#76–178)
Music byCher Watanabe
Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo
English network
Original run October 10, 2001 – March 30, 2005
Episodes178
Original video animation
A Day on Survival Mountain
Directed byTakayuki Hamana
Produced by
  • Atsuo Sugiyama
  • Tomoko Takahashi
Written byMasashi Sogo
Music byCher Watanabe
Studio
  • Trans Arts
  • Production I.G
Released2003
Runtime35 minutes
Original video animation
The National Tournament
Directed byShunsuke Tada
Written byAtsuhiro Tomioka
Music byCher Watanabe
StudioM.S.C
Released March 24, 2006 – January 23, 2009
Runtime23 minutes
Episodes26
Manga
The Prince of After School
Written byTakeshi Konomi
Illustrated byKenichi Sakura
Published byShueisha
MagazineJump Square
DemographicShōnen
Original runNovember 4, 2008 – present
Volumes6
Manga
New Prince of Tennis
Written byTakeshi Konomi
Published byShueisha
MagazineJump Square
DemographicShōnen
Original runMarch 4, 2009 – present
Volumes31
Anime television series
The New Prince of Tennis
Directed byHideyo Yamamoto
Music byCher Watanabe
Studio
  • M.S.C
  • Production I.G
Original networkTV Aichi, TV Tokyo, TV Osaka
Original run January 4, 2012 – March 28, 2012
Episodes13
Related works

The manga was adapted into an anime television series directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo. The anime was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 2001 to March 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes, as well as a theatrical movie. In April 2006, an original video animation (OVA) continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD. The beginning of the second OVA series was released in June 2007, roughly three months after the end of the first. The second OVA ended in January 2008, and the third and final OVA started in April 2008.

The series developed into a media franchise and has had numerous other adaptations outside of the animated incarnation. Since April 2003, more than fifteen stage musicals have been produced for the series. An animated movie was released in 2005, as well as a live action movie in 2006. The franchise has also had a long-running radio show, numerous video games, well over 250 soundtracks and CDs, and other merchandise. A sequel titled New Prince of Tennis, began serialization in Jump Square in March 2009, with the story taking place several months after the end of the original manga.

In North America, Viz Media licensed both The Prince of Tennis manga and anime series for an English-language release. As of January 2012, the manga had over 51 million copies in circulation.

Media

Manga
Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis chapters

The Prince of Tennis is written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan on July 19, 1999.[3] The series was put under hiatus when Konomi was injured in an accident during July 2006, but publication resumed in September 2006.[4] The series finished on March 3, 2008,[5] Shueisha collected its 379 individual chapters into forty-two tankōbon volumes published from January 7, 2000 to June 4, 2008.[6][7]

In North America, Viz Media announced the acquisition of the series in February 2004.[8] The first volume was released on April 21, 2004.[9] As of July 5, 2011, the forty-two volumes have been published.[10]

A 4-panel manga parody, entitled the Prince of After School, began on November 4, 2008 in Jump Square.[11][12]

A sequel to the manga series, entitled New Prince of Tennis, was announced in the December issue of Jump Square, published on November 4, 2008.[13] 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.[14]

Anime
Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis episodes

An anime television series animated by Trans Arts, co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and directed by Takayuki Hamana, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 10, 2001 to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes.

In April 2006, an original video animation (OVA) continuation of the anime began to be released over a span of seven DVDs. The beginning of the second OVA series was released on June 22, 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first. The second OVA finished on January 25, 2008, containing six episodes over a span of three DVDs. The third OVA started on April 25, 2008, and finished on January 23, 2009. A fourth OVA titled "Another Story" was released on May 26, 2009, which included two episodes: "Fū'un Shōnen Atobe" which showed Hyotei's current team's freshman years, and "Naniwa no Ōjisama", where Seigaku goes to Osaka for a practice match with Shitenhoji. The second DVD in "Another Story" was released on September 25, 2009.

On April 24, 2007, Viz Media released the first The Prince of Tennis box set in the United States.[15] Viz Media has also opted to not include 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.[16] 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.[17] In contrast, Japan has released a total of 45 DVD volumes for the entire 178 episodes of the anime series.

The New Prince of Tennis, a sequel anime that picks up where the previous series ended, ran from January 4, 2012 to March 28, 2012.[18]

Musicals
Main article: Musical: The Prince of Tennis

Beginning in 2003, 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.

Films

Tennis no Ōjisama – Futari no Samurai (テニスの王子様 二人のサムライ The First Game, lit. "The Prince of Tennis – The Two Samurai: The First Game") is the first animated film of the series. It was released in Japan on January 29, 2005, and co-aired with a short movie, Tennis no Oujisama: Atobe Kara no Okurimono (跡部からの贈り物, lit. "The Prince of Tennis: A Gift from Atobe").

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 the British city") is the second movie directed by Shunsuke Tada.[19] It was released in Japan on September 3, 2011.

On May 13, 2006, the live-action adaptation film, The Prince of Tennis, was released in Japan.

Video games
Main article: List of The Prince of Tennis video games

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 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 was New Prince of Tennis: Rising Beat in 2017, a rhythm-based mobile game developed by Bushiroad. This game is currently in Japanese only.[20]

Additionally, characters from The Prince of Tennis appeared in the Shōnen Jump based video games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. All of the games have so far only been released in Japan.

Dramas

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 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 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 movie 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 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.

Other media

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[21] and figures.[22] Three live events, "TeniPuri Perfect Live" in 2003, "The 100 song marathon" in 2008 and "Tenipuri Festa" in 2009, were held by 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 the Oricon charts.[23]

Reception

The Prince of Tennis has become a successful franchise. As of March 2008, the first 40 volumes of the manga had sold over 40 million copies in Japan.[5] As of January 2012, the manga had over 51 million copies in circulation.[24]

Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network reviewed the first DVD box set released by Viz Media, and commented that "Prince of Tennis 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."[16] 'Anime on DVD', however, comments that the show "takes the usual themes in sports shows and applies them masterfully."[25] 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.[26] Active Anime also gave praise to the series, saying that it "holds some surprising twists to the regular sports drama formula", and praised the suspenseful matches and innovative techniques.[27]

Despite the reviews, the series is popular in Japan. When TV Asahi, a television network in Japan, conducted a survey for the one hundred most popular animated television series, The Prince of Tennis anime came in twenty-seventh place.[28] They also conducted an online web poll, in which The Prince of Tennis placed eighteenth.[29] Nearly a year later, TV Asahi once again conducted an online poll for the top one hundred anime, and this time, The Prince of Tennis anime advanced in rank and came in eighth place. They also surveyed Japanese celebrities for their favorite anime, where the series only came in sixty-eighth out of the top one hundred.[30]

Notes
  1. The title is often shortened to TeniPuri (テニプリ), a blend of the words "Tennis Prince".

References
  1. "Cartoon Network and VIZ Media Announce Broadband Joint Venture, Toonami Jetstream". Anime News Network. April 26, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  2. "The Official Website for The Prince of Tennis". Viz Media. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  3. 週刊少年ジャンプ　1999/07/19　表示号数32. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  4. "Prince of Tennis Mangaka Ill". ComiPress. July 24, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  5. Loo, Egan (March 3, 2008). "Japan's Shonen Jump Ends Prince of Tennis, Muhyo & Roji". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  6. テニスの王子様 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  7. テニスの王子様 42 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  8. "Viz Announces Prince of Tennis & Bleach Manga". Anime News Network. February 10, 2004. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  9. "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 42". Viz Media. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  11. Loo, Egan (November 3, 2008). "Ken-ichi Sakura Confirmed for Prince of Tennis Tribute". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  12. Loo, Egan (May 30, 2014). "Prince of Tennis 4-Panel 'Tribute' Manga Gets Flash Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. Loo, Egan (October 30, 2008). "New Prince of Tennis Manga to Reportedly Start in March". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  14. "American Artist Assists on New Prince of Tennis Manga". Anime News Network. March 6, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  15. "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 1 (DVD Box Set)". Viz Media. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  16. Kimlinger, Carl (June 26, 2007). "Review – The Prince of Tennis DVD – DVD Box Set 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  17. "The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 4 (DVD Box Set)". Viz Media. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  18. "New Prince of Tennis Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. August 22, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  19. "2011 Prince of Tennis Film Event to Be Streamed Live". Anime News Network. September 1, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  20. "新テニスの王子様 RisingBeat（ライジングビート）". risingbeat.bushimo.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. "Buy The Prince of Tennis Trading Card Game Booster Pack Vol. 11 – Order Now". PlayAsia. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  22. "Prince of Tennis Figure #2: A Kunimitsu". Hobby Link Japan. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
  23. バレンタイン・キッス/跡部景吾　ｗｉｔｈ　氷帝学園中 [Valentine Kiss / Keigo Atobe with Hyotei Academy Chū]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 22, 2008.
  24. 新テニスの王子様 ： 女性人気の秘密　キャラにチョコ7000個、「テニミュ」は120万人動員. Mainichi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). January 15, 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  25. "AnimeOnDVD Review – Prince of Tennis Box Set 01 (of 0)". animeondvd.com. April 4, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  26. "DVD Talk Review – The Prince of Tennis Box Set, Vol. 1". DVD Talk. April 24, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  27. "ActiveAnime.com:: Prince of Tennis Box Set 1 (Advanced Review)". ActiveAnime. April 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  28. "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2". Anime News Network. September 23, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  29. "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network. September 23, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  30. "Japan's Favorite TV Anime". Anime News Network. October 13, 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
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