Seishun Gakuen
Echizen Ryoma
The series protagonist and the only first year on the Seigaku tennis team. His play style is all rounder and his signature serve is the "Twist Serve", a variation on the standard topspin serve, where the ball is hit with a combination of both topspin and sidespin, allowing the ball to bounce high and curve toward the receiver's right. He creates several other techniques, along with being able to perform other's techniques due to learning "Muga no Kyōchi" (the "Samurai's Eye" is the anime's version of the technique). Ryoma never once lost an official match and at the end of the manga, Ryoma is shown to have gone back to the United States. At times his senpais will call him "Ochibi", especially Kikumaru. He is called "Samurai Junior" due to his father being a retired professional tennis player called Samurai Nanjiroh. In the special Teni-Puri(Teni-Puri is the abbreviated form of the Japanese pronunciation in english "Tennis Prince" it is also used as an affectionate nickname for everything relating to "Prince of tennis") Ryoma is the eldest son of the Seishun Family. Through out the special Ryoma and his siblings Momoko(Momoshiro is playing a girl and the second child of the Seishun family),and Kaoru(The last child) get into a lot of trouble. Especially when Ryoma distracts Tezuka and he cuts a branch off his plant.
Tezuka Kunimitsu
He is the national-level captain of the Seigaku tennis team. His play style is all-rounder and his special shots include the "No-touch-ace Serve", which is a powerful serve with heavy topspin, making it difficult to return; "Tezuka Zone", which, using his exceptional racket control to put spin on the ball, allows all shots to return to Tezuka no matter where the opponent tries to hit; and the "Zero-Shiki (Degree) Drop Shot", which is a drop shot with a heavy backspin, which can make the ball roll towards the net rather than bouncing towards the opposing player. He was later able to adapt his Drop Shot into a serve.
Tezuka is noted for being rather distant during practices, and also never smiling. However, he does truly care about his team and always tries to elevate their tennis to the next level. At the nationals in the match with Sanada of Rikkai, Tezuka uses another special technique called "Tezuka Phantom".
Tezuka is noted for being rather distant during practices, and also never smiling. However, he does truly care about his team and always tries to elevate their tennis to the next level. At the nationals in the match with Sanada of Rikkai, Tezuka uses another special technique called "Tezuka Phantom".
Fuji Shusuke
The kanji for Fuji (不二) stands for 'not second', 'unparalleled', or 'peerless'. His name can also be seen as a bit of a pun when his hobbies and favorite foods are taken into account; Fujifilm is the world's largest photographic and imaging company, and one of Fuji's hobbies is photography.
Shusuke Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy. He is given the title "tensai", or genius, due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Even some of the players in the anime thinks that Fuji is more scarier than Tezuka when he is serious, because no one really knows the limit of Fuji's potential in tennis. He is in the same class as Eiji Kikumaru, and is Eiji's good friend. Fuji is a leap year baby (his birthday is on February 29), and thus he can only properly celebrate his birthday once every four years. Fuji is cheerful and easygoing, with a penchant for playfully teasing those around him.
He is the middle child of the Fuji family. His unnamed father is a foreign-based employee, and is never seen in the series. His mother, 49-year-old Yoshiko, who also has perpetually-closed eyes, is seen in the manga as a kind and dedicated Japanese housewife. His younger brother, Yuta, is a tennis player at St. Rudolph Middle School. Fuji's elder sister, 24-year-old Yumiko, is considered very attractive and is popular among both Fuji and Yuta's friends.
He grew up in Chiba, where he became friends with Kojirō Saeki, the current vice-captain of Rokkaku Middle School Tennis Club. Later on, he moved to Tokyo and entered Seigaku.
Fuji usually takes the position of S2 (Singles 2), although sometimes he is paired with Takashi Kawamura or Eiji Kikumaru in Doubles (with Kikumaru, they are called the "Dream Pair"). Also, he and Ryoma Echizen temporarily take turns for the position of S1 (Singles 1) when captain Kunimitsu Tezuka is in rehabilitation.
Fuji is often seen with a calm and content expression on his face, with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling. However, when he is excited or provoked, or when playing seriously, Fuji reveals his sharp eyes: blue in the anime and light brown in the manga.
Fuji generally seems very relaxed and in control, whilst his opponent is pushing himself to the limit, giving many the impression that Fuji is either a genius, who knows how to save his energy during plays, or that he does not really care about tennis itself. There are a few people that can "wake" the true player in Fuji and force him to play seriously, and these few are either nationally-ranked or extremely talented tennis players. Seigaku teammates Kunimitsu Tezuka and Ryoma Echizen, Shitenhōji captain Kuranosuke Shiraishi, and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku regular Akaya Kirihara have been acknowledged by Fuji to be actual challenges.
Fuji is particularly protective of his younger brother Yuta (probably to make up for former disagreements that almost brought them apart), as displayed throughout the series; he actively tries to "destroy" and punish those who have defeated his younger brother or have made him go through something dangerous (as proved by how differently he treats Jirou Akutagawa from Hyotei and Hajime Mizuki from Saint Rudolph. Though he holds no personal grudge towards Jirou, who won fairly against Yuta, he does resent Mizuki for a long time after seeing how he treated his brother as someone expendable to ensure his team's victory).
Yuta is also not the only person he has been protective of in this sense; in the anime, he is very upset when Kippei Tachibana is injured in his match against Rikkai Dai regular Akaya Kirihara (in the manga, Ryoma is the one who is injured). He is also upset when Akaya Kirihara insults the two schools, Seigaku and Fudomine. When Seigaku is down 1-2 in the Kantō finals against Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, he engages in a serious match with Akaya Kirihara, who plays a fairly violent form of tennis. Kirihara injures Fuji's knee and knocks over an already injured Tachibana, who arrives to encourage Fuji; thanks to this and the fact that Tezuka is also absent due to injury, Fuji becomes serious and goes on to win the match. According to what Fuji's sister, Yumiko, tells Hajime Mizuki and Yuta, Fuji never gets angry about what happens to him, but when his family or friends are in danger, he does not hold back and attacks with full seriousness. However, during the National Tournament he does not react in the same way when Ryuzaki-sensei is attacked during his doubles match with Kawamura against Higa Chuu. Although Fuji does reveal his Fourth Counter in this match, never is his anger awakened like it was with Kirihara, making Fuji use more dangerous moves like the Knuckle Serve.
At times, Fuji tends to act like Eiji Kikumaru, wanting to win and to be number one. In episode 70, there is a mixed club day at his school, where the students are not allowed to play the sport that they are in. During this day, Fuji plays curling, which no one else plays, thus his words are, "Participants: zero, the championship is mine."
Prior to the National Tournament, Fuji plays a practice match against Fudomine's Tachibana, who breaks each of Fuji's Triple Counter. Realizing that his counters are not enough for a national-level tournament, Fuji develops his fourth counter, Kagerō Zutsumi (Dragonfly Illusion). However, during Seigaku's National semifinal match against Shitenhōji's Kuranosuke Shiraishi, Fuji suffers his first loss in an official match, despite making a comeback from 0 games to 5 by using his evolved Triple Counter, he loses 6 games to 7 during a tiebreak. This is the first time that any of his teammates see Fuji so disappointed in the outcome of the match.
Fuji also seems to be one of few Seigaku Regulars (along with Shuichiro Oishi and Ryoma Echizen) who is genuinely close to Kunimitsu Tezuka, the captain of the tennis club. As such, he and Tezuka are often seen together.
In a chibi episode and in TeniPuri family, Fuji is portrayed as a woman, playing off on his somewhat feminine looks. In the TeniPuri family episodes, he is the sweet yet impulsive Grandmother of the family and is often paired up with Tezuka, who plays the Grandfather. In the other Tenipuri chibi episode, settled in the Far West, he plays a damsel in distress-type girl searching for a Lone Gunman who later turns out to be Tezuka.
Fuji is fairly popular amongst his peers. In episode 134, he goes on a "date" with Kurumi (he had no choice; Momoshiro and Eiji made the decision for him), a grade schooler who falls in love with him at first sight, thinking of him as a prince of sorts. Despite his penchant for jokes and pranks off-tennis, Fuji can be insightful and even sweet when his friends need it; during his so-called date with little Kurumi, when she reveals that she has low self-esteem since she feels overshadowed by her older twin sister Narumi, Fuji helps her to sort their problems out, seeing his own situation with Yuta reflected in the sisters' quarrels.
Along with Tezuka (though Tezuka's hand was shaking after mistakenly drank it), Fuji is possibly the only person on the entire Seigaku team who is immune to Sadaharu Inui's various concoctions. However, while Tezuka only appears unaffected and does not state what he thought of the concoctions, it has been a running gag in the story that Fuji actually "likes" those drinks and will recommend it to others too. While he may intentionally fault during practice occasionally in order to try the penal concoctions, he has also mentioned that he enjoys seeing others suffer from drinking the concoctions even more. He is, however, not immune to "Aozu", a horrific blue vinegar and cod liver oil concoction; this drink causes his only blackout, and since then, Inui has believed that Fuji has a grudge against him. His odd tastes in food do not stop at Inui's gruesome health drinks, and he takes delight in wasabi rolls, honey-mustard, and horse radishes. One of Fuji's least favorite foods are vinegar, which could be why he does not like "Aozu". However, later on, Fuji seems to work harder to not end up drinking the oddly colored liquids.
Shusuke Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy. He is given the title "tensai", or genius, due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Even some of the players in the anime thinks that Fuji is more scarier than Tezuka when he is serious, because no one really knows the limit of Fuji's potential in tennis. He is in the same class as Eiji Kikumaru, and is Eiji's good friend. Fuji is a leap year baby (his birthday is on February 29), and thus he can only properly celebrate his birthday once every four years. Fuji is cheerful and easygoing, with a penchant for playfully teasing those around him.
He is the middle child of the Fuji family. His unnamed father is a foreign-based employee, and is never seen in the series. His mother, 49-year-old Yoshiko, who also has perpetually-closed eyes, is seen in the manga as a kind and dedicated Japanese housewife. His younger brother, Yuta, is a tennis player at St. Rudolph Middle School. Fuji's elder sister, 24-year-old Yumiko, is considered very attractive and is popular among both Fuji and Yuta's friends.
He grew up in Chiba, where he became friends with Kojirō Saeki, the current vice-captain of Rokkaku Middle School Tennis Club. Later on, he moved to Tokyo and entered Seigaku.
Fuji usually takes the position of S2 (Singles 2), although sometimes he is paired with Takashi Kawamura or Eiji Kikumaru in Doubles (with Kikumaru, they are called the "Dream Pair"). Also, he and Ryoma Echizen temporarily take turns for the position of S1 (Singles 1) when captain Kunimitsu Tezuka is in rehabilitation.
Fuji is often seen with a calm and content expression on his face, with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling. However, when he is excited or provoked, or when playing seriously, Fuji reveals his sharp eyes: blue in the anime and light brown in the manga.
Fuji generally seems very relaxed and in control, whilst his opponent is pushing himself to the limit, giving many the impression that Fuji is either a genius, who knows how to save his energy during plays, or that he does not really care about tennis itself. There are a few people that can "wake" the true player in Fuji and force him to play seriously, and these few are either nationally-ranked or extremely talented tennis players. Seigaku teammates Kunimitsu Tezuka and Ryoma Echizen, Shitenhōji captain Kuranosuke Shiraishi, and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku regular Akaya Kirihara have been acknowledged by Fuji to be actual challenges.
Fuji is particularly protective of his younger brother Yuta (probably to make up for former disagreements that almost brought them apart), as displayed throughout the series; he actively tries to "destroy" and punish those who have defeated his younger brother or have made him go through something dangerous (as proved by how differently he treats Jirou Akutagawa from Hyotei and Hajime Mizuki from Saint Rudolph. Though he holds no personal grudge towards Jirou, who won fairly against Yuta, he does resent Mizuki for a long time after seeing how he treated his brother as someone expendable to ensure his team's victory).
Yuta is also not the only person he has been protective of in this sense; in the anime, he is very upset when Kippei Tachibana is injured in his match against Rikkai Dai regular Akaya Kirihara (in the manga, Ryoma is the one who is injured). He is also upset when Akaya Kirihara insults the two schools, Seigaku and Fudomine. When Seigaku is down 1-2 in the Kantō finals against Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, he engages in a serious match with Akaya Kirihara, who plays a fairly violent form of tennis. Kirihara injures Fuji's knee and knocks over an already injured Tachibana, who arrives to encourage Fuji; thanks to this and the fact that Tezuka is also absent due to injury, Fuji becomes serious and goes on to win the match. According to what Fuji's sister, Yumiko, tells Hajime Mizuki and Yuta, Fuji never gets angry about what happens to him, but when his family or friends are in danger, he does not hold back and attacks with full seriousness. However, during the National Tournament he does not react in the same way when Ryuzaki-sensei is attacked during his doubles match with Kawamura against Higa Chuu. Although Fuji does reveal his Fourth Counter in this match, never is his anger awakened like it was with Kirihara, making Fuji use more dangerous moves like the Knuckle Serve.
At times, Fuji tends to act like Eiji Kikumaru, wanting to win and to be number one. In episode 70, there is a mixed club day at his school, where the students are not allowed to play the sport that they are in. During this day, Fuji plays curling, which no one else plays, thus his words are, "Participants: zero, the championship is mine."
Prior to the National Tournament, Fuji plays a practice match against Fudomine's Tachibana, who breaks each of Fuji's Triple Counter. Realizing that his counters are not enough for a national-level tournament, Fuji develops his fourth counter, Kagerō Zutsumi (Dragonfly Illusion). However, during Seigaku's National semifinal match against Shitenhōji's Kuranosuke Shiraishi, Fuji suffers his first loss in an official match, despite making a comeback from 0 games to 5 by using his evolved Triple Counter, he loses 6 games to 7 during a tiebreak. This is the first time that any of his teammates see Fuji so disappointed in the outcome of the match.
Fuji also seems to be one of few Seigaku Regulars (along with Shuichiro Oishi and Ryoma Echizen) who is genuinely close to Kunimitsu Tezuka, the captain of the tennis club. As such, he and Tezuka are often seen together.
In a chibi episode and in TeniPuri family, Fuji is portrayed as a woman, playing off on his somewhat feminine looks. In the TeniPuri family episodes, he is the sweet yet impulsive Grandmother of the family and is often paired up with Tezuka, who plays the Grandfather. In the other Tenipuri chibi episode, settled in the Far West, he plays a damsel in distress-type girl searching for a Lone Gunman who later turns out to be Tezuka.
Fuji is fairly popular amongst his peers. In episode 134, he goes on a "date" with Kurumi (he had no choice; Momoshiro and Eiji made the decision for him), a grade schooler who falls in love with him at first sight, thinking of him as a prince of sorts. Despite his penchant for jokes and pranks off-tennis, Fuji can be insightful and even sweet when his friends need it; during his so-called date with little Kurumi, when she reveals that she has low self-esteem since she feels overshadowed by her older twin sister Narumi, Fuji helps her to sort their problems out, seeing his own situation with Yuta reflected in the sisters' quarrels.
Along with Tezuka (though Tezuka's hand was shaking after mistakenly drank it), Fuji is possibly the only person on the entire Seigaku team who is immune to Sadaharu Inui's various concoctions. However, while Tezuka only appears unaffected and does not state what he thought of the concoctions, it has been a running gag in the story that Fuji actually "likes" those drinks and will recommend it to others too. While he may intentionally fault during practice occasionally in order to try the penal concoctions, he has also mentioned that he enjoys seeing others suffer from drinking the concoctions even more. He is, however, not immune to "Aozu", a horrific blue vinegar and cod liver oil concoction; this drink causes his only blackout, and since then, Inui has believed that Fuji has a grudge against him. His odd tastes in food do not stop at Inui's gruesome health drinks, and he takes delight in wasabi rolls, honey-mustard, and horse radishes. One of Fuji's least favorite foods are vinegar, which could be why he does not like "Aozu". However, later on, Fuji seems to work harder to not end up drinking the oddly colored liquids.
Oishi Shuichiro
Shuichiro Oishi (大石 秀一郎, Ōishi Shūichirō?) is the vice-captain of the club. Along with Eiji Kikumaru, he is part of Seigaku's national level doubles team, known as the 'Golden Pair'. Oishi is known as the 'Mother Hen of Seigaku', because he constantly worries and frets for the team's well-being. Oishi is calm and rational in a match, allowing him to form strategies and guide the match. He uses the "Moon Volley", a topspin lob that travels very high over the court and lands just in bounds. He can also use the "Drop Volley", a feint hit with the power of a drop shot, making the trajectory much closer to the net. He is voiced by Takayuki Kondou in Japanese media, voiced by Sam Riegel in English media, and portrayed by Hiroki Suzuki in the live action film.
They often use the "Australian Formation", which involves standing directly on the center line and confusing the opponents as to which way each player will move when the ball is placed into the opposing court. The "I-Formation" is a variation where Eiji stays below the net and Oishi serves the ball down the center. They also develop "Oishi Territory", which has Oishi focus on the net, while Eiji stays in the back. It takes advantage of Oishi's ability to control the flow of the game and Eiji's Seal Step. They later develop the "Synchronization" ability, which lets them play and move as if they are one person.
They often use the "Australian Formation", which involves standing directly on the center line and confusing the opponents as to which way each player will move when the ball is placed into the opposing court. The "I-Formation" is a variation where Eiji stays below the net and Oishi serves the ball down the center. They also develop "Oishi Territory", which has Oishi focus on the net, while Eiji stays in the back. It takes advantage of Oishi's ability to control the flow of the game and Eiji's Seal Step. They later develop the "Synchronization" ability, which lets them play and move as if they are one person.
Kikumaru Eiji
Eiji Kikumaru (菊丸 英二, Kikumaru Eiji?) is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair" along with Oishi. He uses "Acrobatic Play", which takes advantage of his flexible body. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team, with an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. Eiji's main weakness, however, is his lack of stamina, which he overcomes through hard work and training later in the series. Though the Golden Pair seldom play without each other, circumstances such as their temporary breakup when Oishi gives his spot to Ryoma, forces him to play in singles. Eiji is a friendly, sweet-tempered and outgoing character and the youngest of a large family. He is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in Japanese media, voiced by Steve Staley in English media, and portrayed by Osamu Adachi in the live-action film.
Eiji's flexible body allows him to reach balls with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His graceful dives and flips astonish the spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents, which helps Eiji focus. He focuses on the net with his "Kikumaru Beam", a sharp volley that is hit with his hand reaching around his back, and his "Kikumaru Bazooka", a smash hit upsidedown. While playing doubles, Eiji follows the lead of Oishi. The two rely on and know each other thoroughly, which allows them to predict each other's moves without any signals. They further develop this by achieving "Syncronization", letting them act together as if they were only one person. He can also play well in singles by using his "Seal Step", which uses his speed to move from one location to a new one the moment the opponents eyes leave his first location. This gives the opponent the impression that there are two of him for a doppelganger type effect, though the anime gives him the ability to hug and high five his after image, making it slightly unrealistic.
Eiji's flexible body allows him to reach balls with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His graceful dives and flips astonish the spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents, which helps Eiji focus. He focuses on the net with his "Kikumaru Beam", a sharp volley that is hit with his hand reaching around his back, and his "Kikumaru Bazooka", a smash hit upsidedown. While playing doubles, Eiji follows the lead of Oishi. The two rely on and know each other thoroughly, which allows them to predict each other's moves without any signals. They further develop this by achieving "Syncronization", letting them act together as if they were only one person. He can also play well in singles by using his "Seal Step", which uses his speed to move from one location to a new one the moment the opponents eyes leave his first location. This gives the opponent the impression that there are two of him for a doppelganger type effect, though the anime gives him the ability to hug and high five his after image, making it slightly unrealistic.
Kawamura Takashi
Takashi Kawamura (河村 隆, Kawamura Takashi?) is a soft-spoken person off the court, very gentle and shy. However, he becomes extremely aggressive and loud once he has a tennis racket in his hands. He often shouts "Burning!", "Great!", "Come on, baby!", "Shocking!", "Victory!" and "Delicious!" while playing. During his first year, he has a lot of power, though he doesn't have any other skills. He is made fun of by his peers, though his close friends stay by him and help him develop. During his third year, he becomes a regular and eventually makes the goal of becoming the number one power player in Japan, which he accomplishes by beating Gin Ishida. He plans to quit playing tennis after the tournament and focus on working as a sushi chef under his father with the goal of being number one in the future. He is voiced by Naru Kawamoto in Japanese media, voiced by Richard Cansino in English media, and portrayed by Yoshikazu Kotani in the The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Kawamura mainly relies on the Hadoukyuu (ハドウキュウ?), a very powerful maneuver that uses 120% of an arm's strength, though it puts a lot of strain on it. He copies it from Tetsu Ishida, who is taught it by Gin. Kawamura lowers the risk of the shot by using a Two-Handed Hadoukyuu (両手ハドウキュウ?), though it decreases the power and range of the shot. He can use either while jumping to make the Jump Hadoukyuu (ジャンプ ハドウキュウ?), which is hard to return. He later develops the Dash Hadoukyuu (ダッシュ ハドウキュウ?), which is the regular technique performed during an extremely fast dash. It strengthens the shot by focusing all the momentum on the wrist, though it can break the wrist if it is overused. During his final match against Gin, he puts all of his feelings into a "Final Hadoukyuu" that is stronger than Gin's strongest technique and breaks Gin's wrist.
He also reappears as a candidate in the U-17 tournament, where he plays his last match as a Jr. High student against Akutsu Jin.
Kawamura mainly relies on the Hadoukyuu (ハドウキュウ?), a very powerful maneuver that uses 120% of an arm's strength, though it puts a lot of strain on it. He copies it from Tetsu Ishida, who is taught it by Gin. Kawamura lowers the risk of the shot by using a Two-Handed Hadoukyuu (両手ハドウキュウ?), though it decreases the power and range of the shot. He can use either while jumping to make the Jump Hadoukyuu (ジャンプ ハドウキュウ?), which is hard to return. He later develops the Dash Hadoukyuu (ダッシュ ハドウキュウ?), which is the regular technique performed during an extremely fast dash. It strengthens the shot by focusing all the momentum on the wrist, though it can break the wrist if it is overused. During his final match against Gin, he puts all of his feelings into a "Final Hadoukyuu" that is stronger than Gin's strongest technique and breaks Gin's wrist.
He also reappears as a candidate in the U-17 tournament, where he plays his last match as a Jr. High student against Akutsu Jin.
Inui Sadaharu
Sadaharu Inui (乾 貞治, Inui Sadaharu?) is a highly intelligent player, who uses "Data Tennis." He constantly collects and analyzes data while in and outside of the tennis court in order to determine statistics, weaknesses, and other factors. While he collects data pertaining to tennis, he also collects personal pieces of data, such as favorite things, personal habits, and where they have been, which makes others feel awkward. His style originates from his close friend, Renji of Rikkai, who plays doubles with Inui before moving. He is temporarily removed from the regulars after losing to Ryoma and Kaido, and becomes the team manager. He uses his data to create exercise programs for the team, and creates a series of disgusting "Inui Juice" health drinks that are able to knock a person out, which motivates the team to train. He is voiced by Kenjirō Tsuda in Japanese media, voiced by Jack Bauer in English media, and portrayed by Hirofumi Araki in the The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Inui's data tennis allows him to predict the exact probability of a shot taking place, though other factors can disrupt the probability. Though he relies on data, he still trains excessively to keep up with his teammates, taking on a training load 2.25 times more than Kaido's, which is already far ahead of the rest of the team. He pairs with Kaido in doubles to help Kaido train, and Kaido's massive amount of stamina is used to let him play alone while Inui rests and gathers data. The style does not work against Ryoma, who constantly evolves throughout each match, and he finds it difficult to collect data from players who do not play at their full potential, such as Tezuka and Fuji. He develops two extremely fast serves that are among the fastest in the Japanese tournaments. The "Sonic Serve" is developed first, which is trained with wrist weights, and the "Waterfall" serve, its arc and descent resembling that of a waterfall engulfing the opponent, is developed afterward.
Inui's data tennis allows him to predict the exact probability of a shot taking place, though other factors can disrupt the probability. Though he relies on data, he still trains excessively to keep up with his teammates, taking on a training load 2.25 times more than Kaido's, which is already far ahead of the rest of the team. He pairs with Kaido in doubles to help Kaido train, and Kaido's massive amount of stamina is used to let him play alone while Inui rests and gathers data. The style does not work against Ryoma, who constantly evolves throughout each match, and he finds it difficult to collect data from players who do not play at their full potential, such as Tezuka and Fuji. He develops two extremely fast serves that are among the fastest in the Japanese tournaments. The "Sonic Serve" is developed first, which is trained with wrist weights, and the "Waterfall" serve, its arc and descent resembling that of a waterfall engulfing the opponent, is developed afterward.
Momoshiro Takeshi
Takeshi Momoshiro (桃城 武, Momoshiro Takeshi?) is known as Seigaku’s "number one rascal." As the player who is the most open and friendly with everyone, Momoshiro is connected to everyone on the team on some level. Momoshiro is the closest to a true friend Ryoma Echizen can claim, the two spend much time together eating hamburgers or playing street tennis. Momoshiro and Kaoru Kaidoh are eternal rivals, and constantly try to out-do each other. This makes them efficient as a doubles pair, because the two rivals know each other so well. Momoshiro develops an affinity for playing doubles and even masters it, despite expressing a preference for singles. After the nationals, he becomes the Vice-captain of Seigaku. He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka in Japanese media, voiced by Doug Erholtz in English media, and portrayed by Masaki Kaji in The Prince of Tennis live-action film.
Momoshiro's signature move is the "Dunk Smash," a very powerful response to lobs as he leaps several feet into the air, which he likes to finish off saying, "Don," upon landing. He often fakes out opponents with a "Dunk Volley." He later develops the "Jack Knife," a strong backhand shot that is usually only used by professionals. Momoshiro is good at "faking out" his opponents, and can be extremely sly and tricky on the courts. His ability to read the opponent's movements and to observe their viewpoints and expression allows Momoshiro to guess where the ball will go and use shots that will confuse his opponents. He later improves upon this ability while training in the mountains, which allows him to be related with nature, and use it to his advantage, such as the position of the sun to blind the opponent, the direction of the wind to manipulate the ball, and stray stones to deflect serves.
Momoshiro has also developed another type of move, that has been devoloped from his "dunk smash" it is his "super dunk" or "super great momoshiro special" this is done with jumping in the air just like a dunk smash, but instead of hitting it flat, he would put a strong spin on the ball, once it bounces, it spins just like a twist, and his opponents would think its just a regular dunk smash, and they got the timing for the dunk smash, but after they swing their racket during the time a regular dunk smash was supposed to be hit, they noticed that the ball is still spinning on the ground, and once they have finished their swing, the ball will bounce back up and go behind the opponent
Momoshiro's signature move is the "Dunk Smash," a very powerful response to lobs as he leaps several feet into the air, which he likes to finish off saying, "Don," upon landing. He often fakes out opponents with a "Dunk Volley." He later develops the "Jack Knife," a strong backhand shot that is usually only used by professionals. Momoshiro is good at "faking out" his opponents, and can be extremely sly and tricky on the courts. His ability to read the opponent's movements and to observe their viewpoints and expression allows Momoshiro to guess where the ball will go and use shots that will confuse his opponents. He later improves upon this ability while training in the mountains, which allows him to be related with nature, and use it to his advantage, such as the position of the sun to blind the opponent, the direction of the wind to manipulate the ball, and stray stones to deflect serves.
Momoshiro has also developed another type of move, that has been devoloped from his "dunk smash" it is his "super dunk" or "super great momoshiro special" this is done with jumping in the air just like a dunk smash, but instead of hitting it flat, he would put a strong spin on the ball, once it bounces, it spins just like a twist, and his opponents would think its just a regular dunk smash, and they got the timing for the dunk smash, but after they swing their racket during the time a regular dunk smash was supposed to be hit, they noticed that the ball is still spinning on the ground, and once they have finished their swing, the ball will bounce back up and go behind the opponent
Kaidou Kaoru
Kaoru Kaido (海堂 薫, Kaidō Kaoru?), known as "Viper" to his teammates, is known for constantly making a "fshuuuu", sound, similar to a snake, while exhaling. Kaidoh trains rigorously, increasing the training program given to him by Inui to give him unbeatable endurance. He has a deep rivalry with Momoshiro, in which they constantly try to one-up each other. He normally plays singles, though he eventually pairs with Inui, who helps Kaido train at first. Kaido's stamina is used to let him play the other team alone, while Inui collects data. After the national tournament, Kaidoh becomes the new captain of Seigaku. He is voiced by Kōhei Kiyasu in Japanese media, voiced by David Lodge in English media, and portrayed by Kousuke Kujirai in the live-action The Prince of Tennis film.
His signature move is the "Snake Shot", derived from the "Buggy Whip Shot", which is a curving forehand that keeps his opponents running. He later develops the "Boomerang Snake," which is a shot that swerves out of bounds, around the net pole, and back in bounds. He develops the shot under Inui's advice and by working with him in doubles. He also develops the "Short Snake", which goes directly behind the net player, the "Reverse Snake", which is used to keep opponents guessing, and the "Tornado Snake", which is a fast straight shot with a spin that cuts air resistance. He can also use Hiroshi Yagyuu's "Laser Beam", calling his version the "Gyro Laser", which is an extremely fast shot with the same spin as the Tornado Snake, allowing him to confuse opponents. He also develops the "Hadoukyuu boomerang" which is developed from the hadoukyuu that fudoumine, Ishida, made, which he uses a one handed hadoukyuu, and so kaido uses ishida's hadoukyuu and his boomerang, and puts it together to perform a very powerful shot that is just like a regular "boomerang" but it is much more powerful.
Although he has a tough exterior and is cold towards others, there is a softer side to him. Unknown to his teammates, or anyone else in general, Kaidoh enjoys small animals, often taking the time to play with them. There are often times shown in the series where he is seen playing with Ryoma's cat, Karupin, who wanders off on it's own most of the time. Another thing, it seems as if Kaidoh is afraid of anything related to the supernatural. This is shown in episode 99.
Despite being interpreted as a tough teenager throughout the entire series, Kaidoh is actually a very kind person. In episode 72, three kids mistake Kaidoh for Ryoma, ( due to a misprint in a magazine ) so throughout that episode, he tries his best to mimic the first - year as best as he possible can. He mainly just embarrasses himself to a certain point where he snapped, going into a rage and sending out a flurry of his own tennis moves, claiming that he was "Kaidoh, Kaoru!" ( All of this happened while playing against Momoshiro, who teased him to that point. ) Kaidoh does this ( pretending to be Ryoma ) in hopes to not disappoint one of the kids, who looked up to "Ryoma", and believed that Ryoma was better than his friend's neighbor. ( Which was revealed to be Momoshiro. ) After realizing what he had done, Kaidoh turns to the kids thinking he really messed up, though little did he know; that day he gained four fans. ( The real Ryoma claimed to be, "Horio with two years of tennis experience." )
In the various TeniPuri Family episodes, Kaidoh is the young infant. Not being able to speak, he mainly just goes: "fssshhuuuu". Shuuko ( Oishi ) introduced infant - Kaidoh as "cutie-pie, Kaoru-chan". He is often bullied in some sorts by his older siblings, Ryoma and Momoko ( Momoshiro ).
His signature move is the "Snake Shot", derived from the "Buggy Whip Shot", which is a curving forehand that keeps his opponents running. He later develops the "Boomerang Snake," which is a shot that swerves out of bounds, around the net pole, and back in bounds. He develops the shot under Inui's advice and by working with him in doubles. He also develops the "Short Snake", which goes directly behind the net player, the "Reverse Snake", which is used to keep opponents guessing, and the "Tornado Snake", which is a fast straight shot with a spin that cuts air resistance. He can also use Hiroshi Yagyuu's "Laser Beam", calling his version the "Gyro Laser", which is an extremely fast shot with the same spin as the Tornado Snake, allowing him to confuse opponents. He also develops the "Hadoukyuu boomerang" which is developed from the hadoukyuu that fudoumine, Ishida, made, which he uses a one handed hadoukyuu, and so kaido uses ishida's hadoukyuu and his boomerang, and puts it together to perform a very powerful shot that is just like a regular "boomerang" but it is much more powerful.
Although he has a tough exterior and is cold towards others, there is a softer side to him. Unknown to his teammates, or anyone else in general, Kaidoh enjoys small animals, often taking the time to play with them. There are often times shown in the series where he is seen playing with Ryoma's cat, Karupin, who wanders off on it's own most of the time. Another thing, it seems as if Kaidoh is afraid of anything related to the supernatural. This is shown in episode 99.
Despite being interpreted as a tough teenager throughout the entire series, Kaidoh is actually a very kind person. In episode 72, three kids mistake Kaidoh for Ryoma, ( due to a misprint in a magazine ) so throughout that episode, he tries his best to mimic the first - year as best as he possible can. He mainly just embarrasses himself to a certain point where he snapped, going into a rage and sending out a flurry of his own tennis moves, claiming that he was "Kaidoh, Kaoru!" ( All of this happened while playing against Momoshiro, who teased him to that point. ) Kaidoh does this ( pretending to be Ryoma ) in hopes to not disappoint one of the kids, who looked up to "Ryoma", and believed that Ryoma was better than his friend's neighbor. ( Which was revealed to be Momoshiro. ) After realizing what he had done, Kaidoh turns to the kids thinking he really messed up, though little did he know; that day he gained four fans. ( The real Ryoma claimed to be, "Horio with two years of tennis experience." )
In the various TeniPuri Family episodes, Kaidoh is the young infant. Not being able to speak, he mainly just goes: "fssshhuuuu". Shuuko ( Oishi ) introduced infant - Kaidoh as "cutie-pie, Kaoru-chan". He is often bullied in some sorts by his older siblings, Ryoma and Momoko ( Momoshiro ).
Ryuzaki Sumire
Sumire Ryuzaki (竜崎 スミレ, Ryūzaki Sumire?) is the coach of Seigaku's tennis club, as well as one of the school's math teachers. It was thanks to her that Nanjiro Echizen was able to develop his skills. She is the grandmother of Sakuno. She also has a sort-of rivalry with her ex-mentor, Mikiya Banda a.k.a. Banji, who is the coach for Yamabuki. She is always there to yell, but is also considered to be a great and reliable coach. She has a good relationship with her regulars, and participates in their recreational group activities: the bowling reunion and the beach-volley mini-tournament with Rokkaku Middle School. For the Prince of Tennis live action movie, Ryuzaki's whole personality and back story was changed. Instead of being a middle-aged teacher and ex-coach to Nanjiro Echizen, she is a young, and more cheerful woman as well as Nanjiro's former classmate, who was her reason for playing tennis and becoming coach. She was played by the popular singer Hitomi Shimatani.Voiced by: Shizuka Okohira (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (English)
Fudomine
Tachibana Kippei
Kippei Tachibana (橘 桔平, Tachibana Kippei?) is the captain of Fudomine. He is originally from the Kyūshū region of Japan, where he attends Shishigaku Middle School. He and his close friend, Chitose, lead the team to the semi-finals of the Nationals as the top two players of the region. Tachibana is a very aggressive player, and during an intra-school ranking match with Chitose, he injures Chitose after deciding to try out his new move, the Wild Ball, which makes it look like there are numerous balls coming at one time. He cuts and stops bleaching his hair, moves with his father, and eventually starts with the Fudomine club in order to play Chitose again. He uses the "Wild Beast Aura", which draws out his natural style and increases his physical abilities, especially when using his "Wild Lion" forehand shot, as well as the "Wild Ball". In New Prince of Tennis he is one of the players invited to the Japanese U17 team. He is voiced by Yoshihisa Kawahara in Japanese media, and Doug Erholtz in English media. He is played by Takuma Sugawara, YOH, and Kitadi Takashi in the musicals.
Kamio Akira
Akira Kamio (神尾 アキラ, Kamio Akira?) is the team Vice-Captain, who normally plays singles or doubles with his long-time friend Shinji Ibu. His style focuses on speed and "rhythm", which focuses on moving his feet at a certain pace. He uses the "Sonic Bullet" shot, which seems to disappear, and the "Quick-Drop Serve", which is hit before it rises to the top, throwing off the opponents timing and slightly increasing the speed. He has feelings for An Tachibana, becoming jealous when she goes out with Momoshiro, and asking her to a concert. In New Prince of Tennis he is one of the players invited to the Japanese U17 team. He is voiced by Chihiro Suzuki in Japanese media, and by David Neil Black in English media. He is played by Matsui Yasuyuki and Yuki Fujiwara in the musicals, and Yuki Fujiwara reprises that role in the live action film.
