|
|
| Story:
|
Ah...Prince of Tennis. I had no reason to believe that I would enjoy
this series. I started watching it out of mild curiosity because I had
heard good things about it...But let me tell you, first it's about
sports...and I really don't like sports and the lead is some snotty twelve
year old kid...I'm not into SHOTA (young boys).
However...was I wrong. This story gripped me almost from the start, all the characters are interesting (and not to mention KAWAII), and the battles are just fascinating. ER...I mean the Tennis matches are fascinating...I don't like sports but after watching this series I kind of want to play and try some of those moves...Kaido's Boomerang Snake, Ryoma's Drive B, Momoshiro's Dunk Special, Tezuki's The ZONE...ah...and I don't want to have to drink any of Inui's Special INUI JUICE...no thank you...everyone that drinks that stuff usually faints on the spot. HAHA. This story is basically about a 12 YO Tennis Prodigy, Ryoma Echizen, who joins the aspiring junior high-school team, Seigaku. Ryoma comes off cocky and overly self- assured from the start, but gradually as he becomes one of the team's regulars he warms up to the other characters...or maybe they just make him seem more approachable...ah well, he is cute, but I don't watch Pot just because of him -- OH NO...there are so many other reasons to watch Prince of Tennis. The regulars...the rivals...oh the reasons never end! The supporting cast of PoT is tremendous. All of the regulars will be so real to you by the end of the first season that you will root for them to win...each and every one of them! Momoshiro, Kaido, Kikumaru, Kawamura, Inui, Fuji, Oishi, and Tezuka are all so distinct and they all stand out, having their own individual traits and personalities--not to mention they look GOOD! And then you have the bad-guys (RIVALS), such as Atobe...who thinks he's all that...and he is all that, and damn...if I can't remember any of the other rival players at this time... The theme might be predictable, the goal for Seigaku is to make it to the Nationals (the Primary Tennis EVENT in Japan (a bunch of the Junior players are in their third year and bound to graduate so they want to take Seigaku to the Nationals and win it before they move-on to the next step in their lives - more schooling, work, etc). So, habitually Seigaku wins, but hey...they want to make it to the Nationals, so they have to win all the little events to along the way right? Actually, they do lose games, and every time they lose a game they just come back stronger and with better (yet more crazy) moves (you got to cheer for Momo's "Super Momoshiro Special"-- yeah...he can't name any of his smashes very well...but he's pretty and has purple eyes...so who cares if his special moves have silly names?). Ryoma's goal of course is to become the worlds best tennis player...and eventually he does go pro...which is a bit disappointing since you kind of want to watch him help...no--no---I won't give away the plot. Format: TV series anime 178 episodes, 1 special, 1 movie. Genre: Sports/comedy |
|
| Rating: | 9/10 | |
| Art:
|
The art is nice (even the Chibi stories are cute). Some of the effects are very cool...it's just a very nicely presented anime. Some might say the artwork is to pretty since almost all the boys (and it's ful of boys) are all bishonen eye-candy, but...the story is strong enough to support its pretty cast...so I say, goody for the pretty parade of boys. | |
| Rating: | 8/10 | |
|
Sound: |
The music, oh wow is the music good. I pretty much enjoyed every track in every season though Wonderful Days (by Pull Tab) is my favourite song in the series (and outside of it too), I missed it when the last season had a new closing track.. |
|
| Rating: | 9/10 | |
| Presentation:
|
The characters are all distinctly different from each other. I have never confused one for another. Of the regulars each of them has a distinct personality. Ryoma as mentioned is somewhat aloof, a bit snotty and kind of cold...but he is also rather vague and probably doesn't even realize that he seems cold to others. He's also easily embarrassed by his father Nanjuro, who was a former tennis pro and is now considered a dirty old man...even though Nanjuro is actually kind of cute (if unkempt and uncouth). Momo's very nice and generous but also a bit of a hotshot power player; Kaido is quick tempered and hisses like a snake a lot, but he's also really shy, superstitious and likes animals; Kikumaru and Oishi form the Golden Team (a doubles team) with Kikumaru being the playful one while Oishi is series and calculated. Inui is the data player, he keeps strenuous records of all matches, learns the opponents weaknesses and turns their own weaknesses against them in a match, however when he meets an apponent where his calculations don't work, he throws the data away and fights with his whole heart and soul (he's so cute when he bellows). Kawamura is the teams hard driver, he plays hard, he's on fire and goes ballistic in a match...he's kind of scary when he says COME ON BABY! BURNING! Fuji, with his special moves (Triple counter), is the gorgeous gentle one and he's another prodigy, who only gets mad when someone sets out to cause deliberate harm...and then watch out, he'll rip you apart in a match that you thought you were winning in; Tezuka is the Team Captain, he's Seigaku's pillar of support and he is undefeatable, even when he loses (once) to Atobe...he still wins, all rival team captains consider him their natural rival and beating him in a match is their greatest challenge, he's also incredibly smart, amazingly gifted and very sexy :). | |
| Rating: | 9/10 | |
| Personal
Note:
|
I thoroughly enjoyed this series, that I, who does not like sports or sport related shows of any kind, can say that says a lot for this series. That it went to 178 episodes and the team still didn't make it to the nationals was disappointing, so I hope they follow it up with a movie or an short series where all the primary characters are there to properly finish it up. Still, none the if you are like me (or even if your not) give PoT a try...it will be well worth it. |
|
| Rating Score: |
8.75/10 |
|
| Availability: | Prince of Tennis DVD is now available to Western markets...here (Prince of Tennis Manga is available from LLC/VIZ) | |
