Story: 9
The story of the Princes of Tennis is still far from over. Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama is a sequel to that, and this time, they're up against highschoolers. The original cast is back along with some fine new additions, other seemingly minor characters from way back in Prince of Tennis and new players they’ll meet (and battle) at Camp—new obstacles to face and players they would have to defeat.
What’s refreshing to see is the unity among the middle-schoolers and not just according to what school they came from, but as a whole. (PS. I'm only giving it a nine since I'm just halfway in the story and still have a lot of expectations)
Art: 9
The art is as beautiful as always, makes me wish that there is an anime for this already since I can’t wait to see these awesome shots in motion. I’m amazed with the background since it’s incredibly detailed on some panels (although not quite on par with Kuroshitsuji. I know, I have a high standard) and the matches are easy to understand. Despite being black-and-white (it’s a manga, duh) the characters all have uniquely defining features that makes it easy to differentiate them.
Character: 10
All the characters improved in this series, they’ve experienced new things, sufferings and that helped them grow. (I especially like the one about Akaya Kirihara) More exposure are given to other players that didn’t show much in Prince of Tennis (Krauzer for example) and have introduced interesting new characters (Oni, Irie etc.). The character growth is what I’m probably looking forward to the most in this series.
Enjoyment: 9
All in all, I can say that I am thoroughly enjoying Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama. It’s the same old characters but with a new story and I can’t say I didn’t miss them (yes, Atobe too). The characters would keep you laughing and the twists and the matches would keep you hangin' on till the end and just make you want more and more.
*Inui glasses gleaming* Probability that you will like this: 99.9%
