Tennis no Oujisama

I'm a big fan of sports, especially Tennis, so when i discovered Prince of Tennis i thought this might be what i've been searching for, however it became very clear it wasn't.

Initially it was watchable but rapidly became unwatchable, the problem with Prince of Tennis is that the parameters of the world we are supposed to be immersed in are not defined, this inevitably leads to more and more ridiculous events occurring.

I appreciate it isn't meant to be realistic however when you start from the stars in no time you will reach the sun and then where do you go from there?
What i mean ... by this, is that these first year high schoolers are so overpowered that when you try to imagine what the professional tennis players in this world are like it just becomes utter nonsense.

At a young age these kids are playing shots where the ball doesn't bounce off the court, or making the opponents shots magnetized to wherever they are on the court and many many more ridiculous things.
So my question is, when these kids get to their final years of high school what kind of shots would they be playing? ones where the tennis ball turns into a dragon and breathes fire at the opponent and anyone in the vicinity?

Terrible!!!

Story:
Your typical sports anime, but with a twist. Right from the start, the main character is pretty AWESOME at the game. There comes it being VERY predictable. 'Ryoma's going to win' especially when it relates to tennis. If an enemy is winning, one of Seishun's students (usually a regular) will make an *unexpected* comeback. Could have been much shorter and better without the 'filler' episodes (filler, as in when Seishun isn't playing in a tournament).

Art/Animation:
The art is great, far from being spectacular. I find nothing wrong with it, but it isn't spectacular. As for the animation, I've been seeing a lot of clips used over ... and over in matches and it's a little iffy sometimes.

Sound/Voice Acting:
(Japanese dubbed, English subbed)
The music isn't really impressive, just fitting for this type of anime. Nothing really that goes into your head, though. As for the sound, some sounds are over-exaggerated and some are perfect. The voice acting was okay, though some of the voice actors, especially Seishun's regulars, weren't very fitting.

Characters:
Amazing, wide variety of characters with their own unique personalty that develops little by little as you watch more episodes. This is definitely this anime's strong point because they all have their own styles. However, as each new character is introduced, the show seems to has to go longer for character development and exploring more of his or her personalty.

Enjoyment:
An interesting anime to some, a repetitive and tedious anime to others. To me, Prince of Tennis is an uninteresting, repetitive anime. Sure, there's a lot of special moves, but they're quite unrealistic and fails to want me to watch any more episodes.

This series was one of the very first that I’ve seen when I was younger and one of the reason why I fell in love with animes.

There’s a very long review coming as it was one of the longest series…………….

About the STORY
Because it is a story about a genius tennis player, the storyline becomes somehow predictable. They lose at the start then after that you know they will win amazingly. I guess the only thing unpredictable is how they will win amazingly as it is of course, done differently every game. The opponents are made ridiculously irritating to make the winnings of the main characters ... really great and so cool. That kind of storyline was really a hit before and sometimes even till now but seeing it for the first time now when that kind of storyline was so used so many times over the years, it really becomes quite cliché. One of the things that I like about sports series is that you can learn a lot about the sports that they’re featuring. That being said, most of the moves and techniques in the series are so fictional and can’t be used in real life. Players are burning with fires, players are flying and doing some exaggerated moves in mid-air, people are even disappearing, balls are going around poles, balls making a B sign, disappearing balls, and there are even cyclones created by players; these are only few of the countless magical-like moves during games. Some of the drama and lines can still be effective but some can really be cliché and cheesy.

About the CHARACTERS
It is given that there is a long list of characters as it is one of the still on-going series out there. And so there’s enough time to explore particular character’s background. And are these kids really middle school students? That can be quite far-fetched if I may say so. It can be considered cliché but it really feels genuinely great when the protagonists are winning against the extremely irritating and cocky opponents. That is the very reason why that kind of storyline is still often used nowadays even if it’s been already used so many times. It is something to look forward to every single game. The opponents are completely different from one another. They play differently which make every game a lot more exciting but all of them are the same with one thing, every single one have their different version of cockiness, pride, and arrogance. And what’s with this series? I honestly think that 90% of the characters are extremely overconfident. I’ve never seen a series with characters with overflowing cockiness, arrogance, and overconfidence. Sometimes, it just feels too much. And they get nastier and a lot more arrogant as the series progresses. Well, as they get nastier, their defeat feels a lot greater that way. But I honestly like Atobe’s arrogance. It is very king-like which can really be cute and funny.

About FUJI SYUSUKE
My favorite among the team is of course, Fuji. I just love enigmatic characters because they are so mysterious. Whenever he changes his attitude from being calm with closed eyes to being serious or mad with opened eyes, he can be really scary. And among all the characters who had been Ryouma’s opponent, Fuji is the best. Their game is one of the best in the series. Fuji can even make Ryouma lose his cool. Though he’s one of the geniuses in the series, it is quite ironic that his technique is also one of the most fictional. He also cares so much about the welfare of his friends and family, particularly his younger brother. He has this own way of avenging the people that he cares about which is very admiring.

About ECHIZEN NANJIRO
Fuji might be my favorite among the team but my number one in the whole series is none other than Echizen Nanjiro. He’s the only one Ryouma’s arrogance won’t work and actually losses his cool. The father and son have a unique and sweet relationship. Nanjiro’s roundabout way of teaching his son about tennis and life is just so admiring and interesting. And let’s not forget that he’s the main source of comic relief in the series which make him a lot more interesting. I just wish he has a lot more air time.

About ECHIZEN RYOMA
As Ryoma is already considered a genius at the start of the series which is quite different from the typical sports series protagonists who start off as very naïve and weak, there’s a different kind of character development for him. As the series progresses, he starts to realize he’s limits and work hard to overcome them. He’s a genius already and really arrogant about it so his character development is whenever he is beaten. Later on the series, despite still being as arrogant and show-off as ever, he becomes more mature. His arrogance becomes a lot more convincing and cooler compared at the beginning. Ryoma is so handsome and cute for his age. I guess, this is what the Japanese would call “Bishounen”. And to think that he’s only 12 years old despite already having a strong personality and attitude. But if you think about it, the most exciting way to beat an extremely arrogant and irritating opponent is for them to be defeated by an equally arrogant main character which really feels so good. After all, princes do have overconfident attitude.

About the ANIMATION
As this is an old series, the animation is not that great compared to those of todays. But I think it was great enough during it’s time. At least, that’s what I remember when I first saw it before, when it was still airing.

After watching animes for so many years now and seeing it now with its original version, with all honesty, it’s no longer that amazing compared before when I first saw it. Without a doubt, there are really other sports series which have very fictional moves and techniques, I just find this series has exaggerated it a bit too much. It can be really over the top. And it is quite ironic that the most exaggerated match is also the most awaited one which is between Ryoma and Tezuka. For some, it can be really “KAKKOI” or cool but for some it can be a bit too much.

Probably one of the lowest score I have ever rated. I have heard the mention of Prince of Tennis from everyone. They all say how great it was so I decided to watch it myself. But it is not even one bit enjoyable. The drawing was so low-classed that I can't even stand it. The cover art was what made me watch it in the first place but the actual drawing was a complete disappointment.

Don't watch it if you can't stand art from the 90's. Sure, I admit that the main character was cool, but he was just too OP in this case. ...

Anyways, if you are one of them that judge an anime by the plot, go ahead and try this. It is probably really great for they managed to made a lot of seasons.

A bunch of junior high school kids play some tennis with supernatural powers. The main character is Ryoma Echizen, an aloof, unflappable, and rather sneakily cocky freshman tennis player with amazing skill and stamina. He was trained by his father, Nanjiroh, who was an amazing pro and now spends his days living in a temple and reading porn (I can relate to the latter, at least). Echizen joins a team of eccentric players, and everybody has his own special finishing move, which grows more ludicrously overpowered as the anime progresses.

I was rather disappointed with this anime. It’s…kind of ridiculous, but somehow missing the element of, ... you know, fun that usually accompanies outrageous things like tennis balls that rocket around breaking rackets or are on fire or whatever. It seems like it’s all serious business all the time. And it’s also intolerably slow—up to entire halves of episodes are spent recapping things that went on previously, and it wasn’t hard to understand in the first place. I was watching it mainly for the shipping elements, but even those are kind of rare for an anime where the majority of the cast is bishounen and the symbiotic relationship between two guys playing doubles should be more of a plot focus. My favorite character was Fuji, the soft-spoken, ever-smiling pretty boy with a surprisingly tough core. I wish he’d had more screentime.

I’m also rather disturbed by the portrayal of women in this series. All the girls seem to do, including the cool older female coach (Ryuzaki), is to stand around and watch the boys play tennis. It’s like the girls have nothing else to do with their lives. I mean, there are quite a few male characters who do this, too (like Hyorio and the irritating freshmen fanboy trio), but at least there are many examples of guys doing other things, whereas the females seem to exist to be a squealing audience—and the tennis players don’t even seem to appreciate their fans, which is sad. Some of the girls also play tennis, but it’s not portrayed as something to be taken seriously.

For all my complaining, though, I do feel rather fond of the anime and its characters. Almost everybody is developed to some degree, especially the opponents. And although it doesn’t feel especially rewarding, and I’m still not sure why I care about them since in some cases I’m actively rooting for the main Seigaku team to lose, the anime does leave me in a good mood.

introduction to the review:

First of all I want to clarify that I am not to create reviews and especially extensive, but I consider that being a fan of the genre "Spokon" and that the adaptation of Tennis no Ouji-sama (TnO) receives a significant amount of chapter in its first series, It is up to me to make some things clear about the Anime. Before starting I clarify that I will try to omit any spoiler but maybe at some point it deserves to mention a specific scene.

History: (5.5 / 10)

As for the plot, I am not going to detail the obvious that he refers to ... in his synopsis, but I do want to emphasize some specific issues. For example:
The story revolves around sports competitions such as tournaments, which makes it somewhat cliche within the genre, but the fun thing about "TnO" is that it uses an almost totally individual discipline such as Tennis to make it a team game, in this case of schools and brings to the table many configurations of both double and individual matches that give rise to a great diversity of confrontations and take the games to be a single set, so the rhythm is almost never affected slowly. On the contrary, the great majority of parties are summaries and practically never develop a complete party.
Another aspect to highlight without a doubt are the "personal movements" that here comes into play a matter of preference of the viewer, because if you are looking for an anime that faithfully performs the sport clearly this is not the place and I would recommend much more "Baby Steps" in this aspect, since "TnO" is much more a fantasy spokon, like who says "Captain Tsubasa" and the physics and logic are applied very much when it is convenient for the show.
third and last point of this section I want to close with the topic of "filler", because although in several adaptations it is usually annoying without more, in TnO it works discreetly giving rise to really funny moments and even some chapters mixed with content " cannon "from the manga. Even so, the number of "original" chapters seemed quite high because at least 1/3 of the series is stolen, but knowing how to identify it already becomes an optional choice and I repeat it does not bring that annoying content of not contributing absolutely.

Art and Sound: (5/10) and (7/10)

To save a little space with all of the above, I choose to make a summary above the 2 points that I always take as more "superficial".
Regarding the animation, although it is understood that it is an adaptation of about 19 years ago, I expected something more fluid, the static images are a problem throughout the show because they are repeated without stopping from a serve, to a reception or personal movement They basically opted for "Cut and Paste".
As for the Sound I prefer the Seiyuus cast and the OSTs that, although they are constantly repeated, give a stamp and identity to the anime itself, for what I expected is it was from the OP / ED I think that very few of me remain in the mind at the end of the anime


Characters: (8/10)

Simply the best character of the Anime due to the great variety of personalities that we have within Seigoku and the humor they handle that is capable of making you smile easily in any scene and therefore things like the "filling" end up being the best because It is where the characters are more free and even more comfortable, than when they are seen competing and I would encourage to say that this was the point that led me to continue watching the anime until the end.


Entertainment: (6/10)

A show that from the personal went from highest to lowest.
Since while it is fun to see in the beginning how Ryoma all "Gary stu" cleans the floor with the others. Then about 3/4 of the broadcast it becomes monotonous, because it does not seem to matter who plays in front of him, even if he has the same Agassi there will always be a "dash" that helps him win no matter that he has to break all the physics and therefore sometimes that aspect of not having a balance between winning too much or losing too much (as happens in other works) begins to become somewhat tedious and repetitive. In any case, I do not consider it wasted time for anything, and there are still the other sequels to see. However, right off the bat with so much duration in between, I would easily recommend another 7 and 8 works of the spokon genre before Tennis no Ouji-sama even with much shorter duration.



En Español:


introducion a la reseña:

Primero que nada quiero aclarar que no soy de crear reseñas y sobretodo extensas, pero considero que siendo un fan del genero "Spokon" y que la adaptacion de Tennis no Ouji-sama (TnO) recibe una cantidad significativa de capitulo en su primera serie, me corresponde dejar algunas cosas claras del Anime. Antes de comenzar aclaro que tratare de omitir cualquier spoiler pero tal vez en algun momento merezca hacer mencion del alguna escena especefica.

Historia: (5,5 / 10)

En cuanto a la trama no voy a detallar lo obvio que refiere en su sinopsis pero si quiero hacer incapie en alguno temas puntuales. Por ejemplo:
La historia gira entorno a las competencias deportivas como lo son los torneos lo que lo vuelve algo cliche dentro el genero, pero lo divertido de "TnO" es que utiliza una disciplina casi totalitariamente individual como el Tennis para volverla un juego de equipos, en este caso de escuelas y trae a la mesa muchas configuraciones de partidos tanto dobles como inviduales que dan lugar a gran diversidad de enfrentamientos y llevando los juego a ser de 1 solo set, por lo que el ritmo casi nunca se ve afectado de forma lenta. Al contario, la gran mayoria de partidos son resumenes y practicamente nunca desarrollan un partido al completo.
Otro aspecto a resaltar sin dudas son los "movimientos personales" que aqui entra en juego una cuestion de preferencia del espectador, por que si buscas un anime que realice fielmente el deporte claramente este no es el lugar y recomendaria mucho mas "Baby Steps" en este aspecto, ya que "TnO" es mucho mas un spokon de fantasia, como quien dice "Captain Tsubasa" y la fisica e logica se aplican muy debes en cuando le resulte conveniente para el show.
tercer y ultimo punto de este apartado quiero cerrar con el tema del "relleno", por que si bien en varias adaptaciones suele ser molesto sin mas, en TnO funciona de forma discreta dando lugar a momentos realmente divertidos e inclusive algunos capitulo mezclados con contenido "cannon" del manga. Aun asi me parecio bastante elevado el numero de capitulos "originales" por que se roba al menos 1/3 de la serie, pero sabiendo identificarlo ya pasa a ser una eleccion opcional y repito no trae ese contenido molesto de no aportar absolutamente.

Arte y Sonido: (5 / 10) y (7 / 10)

Para ahorrar un poco de espacio con todo lo anterior opto por hacer un resumen por encima de los 2 puntos que siempre tomo como mas "superficiales".
Respecto a la animacion si bien se entiende que es una adaptacion de unos 19 años atras, me esperaba algo mas fluido las imagenes estaticas son un problema a lo largo del show por que se repiten sin parar desde un saque, hasta una recepcion o movimiento personales, basicamente optaron por "Cortar y Pegar".
En cuanto al Sonido me quedo mas que nada con el cast de Seiyuus y los OST que aunque se repiten constantemente le dan un sello e identidad al anime propio, por lo que me esperaba es fue de los OP / ED me parece que muy pocos me quedan en la mente al final del anime


Personajes: (8 / 10)

Sencillamente la mejor caracterista del Anime debido a la gran variedad de personalidades que tenemos dentro de Seigoku y el humor que manejan que es capaz de sacarte una sonrisa facilmente en cualquier escena y por ello cosas como el "relleno" terminan siendo de lo mejor por que es donde mas libres se los ve a los personajes y inclusive hasta mas comodos, que cuando se los ve compitiendo y animaria a decir que fue este el punto que me llevo a continuar viendo el anime hasta el final.


Entretenimiento: (6 / 10)

Un espectaculo que desde lo personal fue de mayor a menor.
Ya que si bien es divertido ver en el comienzo como Ryoma todo "Gary stu" limpia el piso con los demas. Ya luego hacia 3/4 de la emision se vuelve monotono, por que no parece importar contra quien juegue enfrente, aun si tenga al mismisimo Agassi siempre saldra un "guionazo" que lo ayude a ganar no importa que tenga que romper toda la fisica y por lo tanto a veces ese aspecto de no tener un balance entre ganar demasiado o perder demasiado (como pasa en otras obras) comienza a volverse algo tedioso e repetitivo. De cualquier manera no considero que fuese tiempo desperdiciado para nada, y aun quedan las demas secuelas por ver. Sin embargo de buenas a primeras con tanta duracion de por mediorecomendaria facilmente otras 7 y 8 obras del genero spokon antes que Tennis no Ouji-sama hasta con mucha menor duracion