Chris Beveridge
06-24-2008, 07:53 AM
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DfHU08CNL._SL500_AA240_.jpgPrince Of Tennis Vol #1, #2 and #3
3 March 2008, £5.99 each
Reviewed by: Christopher Homer
With Wimbledon coming up, it’s only appropriate that the UK gets a bit of tennis action as the ‘Prince’ – a 12 year old boy named Ryoma Echizen, rumoured to be a bit of a prodigy on the courts – makes his bow on the scene.
The three volumes deal with Ryoma’s introduction into the famed Seishun Academy, better known as Seigaku, a private school famed for their tennis club, and how he deals with upperclassmen, as his incredible skill causes a stir among the school, where he’s even considering to be a starter among the older students during their choices for the upcoming city tournaments. Along the way, he faces against rivals, from his school, from other schools and tennis clubs, all the way with making smart put-downs, using new shots, learning how to play doubles…and not forgetting to drink two bottles a day to help his still growing body.
The lead, the so-called Prince, Ryoma Echizen is a very unique main character. He’s extremely confident, to the point of arrogance, despite his young age. However, he’s also a good hearted boy, helping people out and putting them down when their cockiness or idiocy gets the better of them. Seeing his skills, you sense a development in the character that is waiting to happen, not just because of his age, but also because of his personality. He has a snide sense of humour, and having a father whose skills you’ve have inherited probably doesn’t help that much, but by the end of the 2nd volume, you can sense that whilst he may seem like a typical sports manga hero, there’s something deeper within those satirical eyes.
There are plenty of other characters there to like as well – Tezuka, the popular but never smiling captain, the only undefeated member of the previous year, has kept an eye out on Ryoma since he entered and seems to be hiding something, Momoshiro, or ‘Momo’ seems to be the only person so far that could be classified as a friend to Ryoma and their infamous try out at doubles, Kaidou, a.k.a. the Viper, a truly scary sight with his Snake Shot and Sadaharu, whose skills in researching his opponents are as good as his tennis skills. Those are the characters currently focused on, but the other regulars of the team are certain to get the spotlight soon.
Ryoma can be a little annoying for his arrogance, but no doubt that the story flows on quite well – it’s a sports manga, so those of you who have read or seen something similar may be in for a surprise as unlike other sports series (like Eyeshield 21 or Princess Nine) where teams start from scratch or they go from zero to hero, Prince of Tennis starts with Ryoma joining the top school in the country. It’s a key difference as the pressure here is that they are favourites, and they have to live up to it’s bill and not showcasing Ryoma as an ‘attraction’ being so young. The final volume does actually end up with a cliffhanger, as an expected rival team was knocked out before the finals…
Takeshi Konomi’s art is very clean, as per a shounen release, with a lot of attention paid to the tennis matches. You get the feeling that with like a lot of sports releases a lot of the moves are quite unrealistic, but you can just enjoy it as it is and try to pretend that rules to tennis exist. Well, we have DBZ like attack names with a bread manga (Yakitate Japan!) so why not tennis?
Overall, Prince of Tennis arrives in time for the tennis season and is a welcome addition to the Viz line-up. Just keep on track for the names of the shots they do and wonder if a certain Mr. Murray can perform them to demolish his opponents this year…
3 March 2008, £5.99 each
Reviewed by: Christopher Homer
With Wimbledon coming up, it’s only appropriate that the UK gets a bit of tennis action as the ‘Prince’ – a 12 year old boy named Ryoma Echizen, rumoured to be a bit of a prodigy on the courts – makes his bow on the scene.
The three volumes deal with Ryoma’s introduction into the famed Seishun Academy, better known as Seigaku, a private school famed for their tennis club, and how he deals with upperclassmen, as his incredible skill causes a stir among the school, where he’s even considering to be a starter among the older students during their choices for the upcoming city tournaments. Along the way, he faces against rivals, from his school, from other schools and tennis clubs, all the way with making smart put-downs, using new shots, learning how to play doubles…and not forgetting to drink two bottles a day to help his still growing body.
The lead, the so-called Prince, Ryoma Echizen is a very unique main character. He’s extremely confident, to the point of arrogance, despite his young age. However, he’s also a good hearted boy, helping people out and putting them down when their cockiness or idiocy gets the better of them. Seeing his skills, you sense a development in the character that is waiting to happen, not just because of his age, but also because of his personality. He has a snide sense of humour, and having a father whose skills you’ve have inherited probably doesn’t help that much, but by the end of the 2nd volume, you can sense that whilst he may seem like a typical sports manga hero, there’s something deeper within those satirical eyes.
There are plenty of other characters there to like as well – Tezuka, the popular but never smiling captain, the only undefeated member of the previous year, has kept an eye out on Ryoma since he entered and seems to be hiding something, Momoshiro, or ‘Momo’ seems to be the only person so far that could be classified as a friend to Ryoma and their infamous try out at doubles, Kaidou, a.k.a. the Viper, a truly scary sight with his Snake Shot and Sadaharu, whose skills in researching his opponents are as good as his tennis skills. Those are the characters currently focused on, but the other regulars of the team are certain to get the spotlight soon.
Ryoma can be a little annoying for his arrogance, but no doubt that the story flows on quite well – it’s a sports manga, so those of you who have read or seen something similar may be in for a surprise as unlike other sports series (like Eyeshield 21 or Princess Nine) where teams start from scratch or they go from zero to hero, Prince of Tennis starts with Ryoma joining the top school in the country. It’s a key difference as the pressure here is that they are favourites, and they have to live up to it’s bill and not showcasing Ryoma as an ‘attraction’ being so young. The final volume does actually end up with a cliffhanger, as an expected rival team was knocked out before the finals…
Takeshi Konomi’s art is very clean, as per a shounen release, with a lot of attention paid to the tennis matches. You get the feeling that with like a lot of sports releases a lot of the moves are quite unrealistic, but you can just enjoy it as it is and try to pretend that rules to tennis exist. Well, we have DBZ like attack names with a bread manga (Yakitate Japan!) so why not tennis?
Overall, Prince of Tennis arrives in time for the tennis season and is a welcome addition to the Viz line-up. Just keep on track for the names of the shots they do and wonder if a certain Mr. Murray can perform them to demolish his opponents this year…