Otanjoubi Omedetou, Inui Sadaharu!

Today's the birthday of Inui Sadaharu, the data-tennis expert from Seigaku! Although he believes in the usefulness of using data to adjust his play style when dealing with different opponents, there are times when Inui has doubts about himself and this method because when unexpected events happen, they can throw his predictions off the track and he can be left helpless at such times. Besides, he used to be unable to make full use of the virtues in data-tennis because he didn't have the physical prowess to execute the moves that he knows he should do. Nevertheless, Inui is not someone to give up without a fight as he tries to find ways to improve by doing daily physical training and collecting more detailed data about his rivals. As such, I must commend him for being one of the most hardworking guys in Seigaku other than Kaidou. Of course, this doesn't mean that the other characters don't put in effort but that's usually not shown explicitly for all to see. For those at the top of the league like Atobe, Tezuka, Sanada or even Yukimura, their achievements wasn't accomplished overnight either since they must have also gone through tough training to get to where they are at. As such, I feel that Konomi-sensei chooses to use people like Inui and Kaidou to emphasize the importance of daily hard work in tennis.

Talking about partners, Inui wasn't really involved in doubles until he and Kaidou paired up against Hyotei's Shishido and Ootori in the Kantou 1st round. That's when Inui and Kaidou became another fixed combination for consideration when choosing players for the doubles matches. On the surface, it seems a bad idea to put someone who's more logical with someone who tends to get carried away at times and chooses to use his stamina as the stakes to secure victory. However, opposites do attract in this case so they manage to get along with each other on the court after all.

There's also Yanagi Renji, Inui's childhood pal and first doubles partner. Since they know each other so well, this is especially useful when you need to coordinate moves to confuse the rivals. Too bad that they are now in different schools or they would have been a formidable team to beat given that they started out many years earlier as compared most of the doubles teams who probably got to know one another for less than 3 years.

When we talk about Inui, there's also one important aspect to note i.e. his Inui juices. In the beginning, we started off with the innocent-looking vegetable juices but as it slowly evolved, we had other prototypes like Inui Juice, Penal-tea, Aozu and Akazu which was a nightmare to those who tried it. Even Tezuka couldn't stand it when he accidentally drank from the wrong bottle. Only Fuji, the tensai with a taste bud for the exotic flavours can stand such juices but there was once when he couldn't (at the bowling alley) and that's when Inui thought that Fuji bore a grudge against him for it.

Last but not least, I really have to mention Inui's opaque glasses which makes it impossible to see how he looks. However, in one of the DVD's covers i.e. Vol 31, we do get a glimpse of his eyes which makes it easier to picture his face in our minds. Come to think of it, there are a number of characters who also wear opaque glasses like Yagyuu from Rikkai and Muromachi from Yamabuki...Was Konomi-sensei too lazy to draw the eyes or did he want to leave more room for imagination as to how these people look?

Name: Inui Sadaharu
School: Seishun Gakuen Chuutoubu Year 3 Class 11
Date of Birth: 3 June
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Blood Type: AB
Play Style: Serve & Volley, Right-handed
Favourite Shoes: PUMA Sequence PT0636 0067
Favourite Racket: Prince Graphite Challenge
Special Techniques: Data Tennis, High-speed serve (now termed as Waterfall if you have read the manga)
Hobbies: Letting Seigaku members drink his Inui juices and reflecting light from his glasses
Family: Parents (only child)
Father's Occupation: Civil Servant
Subject good at: Physics
Favourite Colour: Black
Favourite type of girl: A mature girl who's at ease with herself, preferably someone older than him