Tennis no Oujisama (The Prince of Tennis or テニスの王子様) is a shounen manga written by Konomi Takeshi and was made into an anime, running its episodes in TV Tokyo for almost 4 years. Although it's a shounen anime, it seems to have more female fans, basically because of the "bishounen" (good-looking) guys in it. Just like any sports-based anime (like Slam Dunk), this anime involves a group of tennis club regulars in a junior high school (Seishun Gakuen) that aims to reach the National Tournament by playing their different styles in tennis.
The story evolves around Echizen Ryoma, a seventh grade (first year junior high) tennis club member. He was a four time junior champion in the USA tennis tournaments who went back to Japan with his family and studied at his father's former junior high school, Seishun Gakuen. He was promoted as a regular player in tournaments due to his uncanny tennis sense and talent. His talent probably came from the genes and training given to him by his father, Echizen Nanjirou, a professional tennis player who awed the world with his prowess and surprised them when he suddenly retired. Ryoma is kinda arrogant and difficult to read sometimes, but he is actually a bit sympathetic ^-^ and that makes him look cool. With him, his teammates strive to win against every opponent on their way and reach the Nationals. Of course, the highlight of every tournament is Echizen's game, which could last for many episodes, Echizen evolving everytime he is in a pinch.
Why is this anime good? It's because in spite of it's large cast, it manages to bring out the uniqueness of every character, their techniques shown in matches reflecting their personalities. The characters' personalities vary from meek to jumpy to bouncy to scheming to downright cruel.
Even if the tennis in this series is kinda exaggerated, like people jumping so high to smash a ball, people cartwheeling in the air for acrobatic play and the likes, it's amusing and entertaining because of the way the people explain the techniques as the match is played (as usual, those who watch the game explain the techniques as they watched). Some of the techniques have all those weird names and it makes the games easier and interesting to watch.
These are only a few reasons as to why TeniPuri (short of Prince of Tennis) is extremely popular not only in Japan but in other parts of the world. Almost all possible collectibles were made and dozens of cds were released. It's a certain recommend for watching, especially for sports anime otakus. Still, if you're not a fan of sports anime, maybe drooling over bishies would satisfy you. ^-^
GENERAL INFORMATION
Original Author : Takeshi Konomi
Director : Takayuki Hamana
Studio : NAS
Network : TV Tokyo (original/Japan), Toonami Jetstream (Cartoon Network), QTV 11 (Philippines)
Japan Run : from October 10, 2001 - March 3, 2005
Episodes : 178 plus OVA (15 episodes) and Movie
Episode List
Season 01
001. The Prince Appears
002. Samurai Junior
003. Enter! The Seigaku Regulars
004. The Man Called Viper
005. Snake Shot
006. That Man...Echizen Nanjiroh
007. Two Ryomas
008. Split Step
009. The Hard Day
010. Counter! Sasabe Once More
011. Ryoma versus Momoshiro
012. The Ah-Un! Boys
013. Men Play Doubles!
014. Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Return)
015. Their Own Fights
016. Boomerang Snake
017. Small "Guts" Pose
018. Love Letter
019. Injured Ryoma
020. Time Limit
021. Is the Tennis Court Heating Up?
022. Kaoru's Bad Luck
023. Enter! Inui Juice Deluxe
024. Ryoma's Holiday
025. Seigaku's Strongest Man Part 1
026. Seigaku's Strongest Man Part 2
Season 02
027. Karupin's Adventure
028. A New Regular Appears!
029. Momo and the Viper
030. Mizuki's Scenario
031. Moon Volley
032. Hikkitsu! Eiji's "Pretend to Sleep" Attack!
033. Tiebreak
034. Twist Spin Shot
035. Drive B
036. The Older Brother, Fuji Syusuke
037. Tennis Ball with Ryoma's Face
038. Penal Tea
039. Higuma Otoshi! (Bear Drop)
040. A Duel in the Rain
041. Trouble
042. Oishi is Being Targeted
043. Lucky Sengoku
044. Jack Knife
045. A Devil on the Court
046. Samurai Spirit
047. I will not Lose!
048. Decisive Moments
049. A Different Kind of Fight
050. Seigaku's Claim to Fame
051. Inui's Challenge
052. Seigaku's Biggest Crisis
Season 03
053. Momo, Who Has Returned
054. Kaoru's Special Training
055. Hyotei Looms Near
056. Doubles for 3
057. Scud Serve
058. The Worst Compatibility
059. The Hidden Trouble
060. Power vs. Power
061. Duel of Hadoukyuu
062. The Disappearing Serve
063. The Last Triple Counter
064. Tenipuri Chibi Episode 1 (Super Soldier Tenipuri, Snow White)
065. Become Seigaku's Pillar of Support
066. Hametsu E no Rondo
067. The Last Shot
068. The Never-Ending Tiebreak
069. Who will be a Regular?
070. Tennis vs. Pingpong
071. It's a Date!
072. Kaoru Becomes Ryoma
073. Tezuka's Decision
074. A Message for Echizen
075. Farewell, Tezuka Kunimitsu
076. Seigaku's Taijou Formation
077. Of Calmness and Passion
078. Thunderbolt
Season 04
079. I-Formation
080. Style of the Pretender
081. Viper vs. Pretend Viper
082. Hanamura's Temptation
083. The Perfect Masterpiece
084. Deep Impulse
085. The Result of the Deadly Duel
086. High on Rhythm
087. Tennis Folktale: The Prince of Bowling and the Prince Detective
088. Tennis Folktale: The Prince of Bowling and the Prince Detective Part 2
089. Seigaku, Dadadan!
090. Cheap Housing Beach Volleyball
091. Rokkaku's Freshman Captain
092. The Boy with the Long Racket
093. Dash Hadoukyuu
094. The Secret Strategy to Seal Kikumaru
095. Tsubame Gaeshi, Broken
096. Heat Up, Ryoma!
097. Finishing Smash
Season 05
098. The Prince of Billiards
099. The Cursed Racket
100. Captain Oishi
101. Eat Rikkaidai
102. Mizuki's Whispers
103. Tossing and Turning
104. Ryoma vs. Sanada
105. Ryoma's Fiasco
106. Let's Go Camping
107. The Captain Shows Up!
108. Surprise at Camp
109. Tennis Biathlon
110. Jump! Kabaji
111. Original Prodigy: Fuji Syusuke
112. Hadoukyuu vs. Scud Serve
113. Atobe the Beautiful
114. Ryoma is Going!
115. Baseball is a Game for Men
116. Seigaku vs. Champion Rikkaidai! I'll be the One Who Will Win (Part 1)
117. Seigaku vs. Champion Rikkaidai! I'll be the One Who Will Win (Part 2)
118. Battle Ceremony
119. Tightrope-Walking Doubles
120. Niou Reads Kikumaru
121. Yagyuu's Decision
122. Inui Hollers
123. Conclusion of the Reminisced Game
124. Kirihara's Red Trap
125. Angry Fuji
126. Clash! Ryoma vs. Sanada
127. Invisible Serve
128. Conclusion - Who Will Win?
Season Six
129. The Samurai's Ballad
130. We Miss Tezuka
131. Never Give Up
132. The Zany Tenipuri Family
133. The Best Sushi Chef in Japan
134. My Prince
135. Kikumaru's Summer Vacation
136. Junior Selection Camp, Gathered
137. The Untrusted Member
138. Ryoma vs. Kirihara! Beyond Battle Rage
139. Sengoku Kiyosumi Reborn
140. Welcome Back, Tezuka Kunimitsu
141. Atobe vs. Sanada: The Ultimate Showdown
142. The Boy Who Came from America
143. Tezuka's Choice
144. Formation! A Dream Team
145. Ryoma vs. Kevin
146. The US Team's Ambition
147. The Most Powerful! Atobe and Sanada
148. Baker's Scenario
149. Tango Towards Destruction
150. Cool Boy Duo
151. Sorrowful Marionettes
152. The Beast Bobby Max
153. Defying the Limits
154. Genius vs Tennis Machine
155. 1mm Battle
156. Who Will Play?
157. Deluzive Phantom Ball
158. The Long Awaited Match - Ryoma vs. Kevin
159. Illusion
160. Game and Match
161. Run, Momo!
162. The Golden Pair Memories
163. Kaidoh's Unknown World
164. Seigaku's Shocking Secret Plans
165. The Tenipuri Family Goes to Hawaii?! - Tenipuri Family Christmas
Season 07
166. Seigaku's Specialty Again
167. Eternal Rivals, Momoshiro vs. Kaidoh
168. Ryoma's Decision
169. Shaking Feelings
170. Burn, Echizen
171. To the Friend I've Come to Love
172. Goodbye, Seigaku
173. Samurai New York
174. Tezuka Kunimitsu vs. Fuji Syusuke
175. Seriousness of the Third Years
176. Climax
177. Unforgettable Promise
178. Goodbye, Prince
OVA - The Nationals
179. The Prince Returns
180. Hot and Cool
181. The Fourth Counter
Specials - A Day in Survival Mountain
Movie - Futari no Samurai
More to follow ^_^
