Just some personal thoughts on the Seigaku Tennis team and the regulars:
Tezuka Kunimitsu (Captain)
My absolute fav as seen from my previous post. He's the one and only anime character whom I'm so obsessed about besides Mitsui Hisashi from Slam Dunk. I guess I have a soft spot for guys who have a hidden past or are extremely strong in terms of mental power and looks. I could go on forever and ever about him...
Oishi Shuichiro (Vice Captain)
Tezuka's best friend and knows about his injury to his left arm. He's like the mother of the team and cares for everyone but he's quite low-key and content to be in the background. However, as seen from his combination with Eiji, he can be trusted to be there when needed. Yasashii no Hito desu ne...
Fuji Shusuke
Tensai! He's really cute with his smiling face and bishonen type of features. Strictly speaking, he's the one with the most "princely" image in the anime with that yasahii face as compared to Ryoma who is the prince in the anime but when he gets angry e.g. at Mizuki for exposing his brother Yuuta to the risk of injuring his shoulders, Fuji means business when he opens his eyes (usually closed or rather cannot be seen clearly when he smiles). The way how he actually destroyed Mizuki in the match was really kakkoii! And he's pretty funny too when he actually enjoys drinking Inui Juice, hung up on Mizuki who took the phone over when Fuji was calling Yuuta at the dorm and told Momo that he enjoys seeing people suffer from the Inui Juice and Penal Tea! If not for Tezuka, I guess Fuji would be my No.1 fav although I prefer guys with a stronger image. Fuji is a bit too yasashii for me... What a nice brother!
Kikumaru Eiji
The other half of Golden Pair with Oishi. He's a very very cute character with his acrobatic play and way of speaking (ending with nya, like a cat). I wonder why he always has a plaster on the side of his face but anyway, that's not important. He's very entertaining and helps to make things even more enjoyable in the anime. Eiji likes brushing his teeth so much that he gets very upset when his sister uses up his toothpaste. Just watching how he was complaining to Fuji about this makes me laugh! Besides his humour, there is a serious side to Eiji who goes to a secret spot known only to him and Oishi when they lose a match. The part when they went there after losing to St Rudolph in Doubles 1 and making a promise to win all the way, never to come back to hold a hansei-kai again was so touching. Otoko no Yuujou desu ne!
Kawamura Takashi
He's not very prominently featured as he's always meek, gentle and well-mannered but whenever he picks up his tennis racket, he becomes another person altogether! ^__^ Kind hearted and fillial son who helps out in his family sushi restaurant. During their running practices, Echizen always like to make use of Taka-san by handing him the racket and he will burst into breaking neck speed. Echizen will then follow behind him to take advantage of the reduction in wind resistance. Taka-san always has a tendency to say English whenever he is in burning mode. Wonder why??
Inui Sadaharu
He was a regular in the first place but Echizen took over his place so Inui became the training manager of the team. He has a very strong influence (or should I say he instils fear into the regulars) because of his Inui Jiru and new flavour Penal Tea which is given to members who lose the training matches or fall into the last place during the running sessions. His facial features are not seen clearly because of his glasses though. Inui is like a walking tennis dictionary who has info on everyone so his playing style is more of an adaptation to take advantage of the weaknesses of his opponents. That's why Echizen refuses to play with him again after the school ranking match.
Momoshiro Takeshi
The initial motivation for me to watch the anime. Although I do like him, Tezuka still takes top priority. He's like a buddy to Echizen and as Tezuka says, very simple-minded as he gets provoked quite easily especially when it's Kaidou who is in the same year as him. Those two are really bitter rivals but they do very well in double matches since they know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Momo is quite similar to Echizen Nanjiro in terms of character (nosy parker, noisy) so I wonder what it would be like if Momo was Nanjiro's son. They would probably bring the house down with their bickering.
Kaidou Kaoru
He does look frightening and not as good looking with his bandana but when he removes that and changes into the school uniform, he's quite cute especially when he blushes. He's a pretty strong player who works very hard but he gets worked up easily especially when provoked during matches. Kaidou is a very kind person as seen from how he plays with Karupin (Echizen's cat) so that must be the turning point for me to finally realize how gentle and kind he can be under that tough pretence.
Echizen Ryoma
Last but not least, the main character of the story - Echizen Ryoma. An arrogant brat but that's because he has got the skills in the first place. Or else, he has no substance to back up his claims. He's the baby of the team and Eiji always call him "Chibi-chan" because of his height. Inui makes him drink two bottles of milk each day although Echizen always drinks Ponta and grape juice during his meal breaks and while waiting for his turn in the tennis matches. Everyone seems to pamper him which is really heart-warming at times when we see how the team members interact off the courts. I guess Tezuka sees him as the successor to take over him so as to make Seigaku a stronger team. He came to know Momo first and in a sense, they are quite close since Momo sometimes ferries him to school on the bicycle and they actually got Eiji to pay for their meals at the hamburger joint. Those two are rivals (as intense as between Momo and Kaidou). Echizen seems to be interested in nothing but tennis so he has no idea about Sakuno's feelings for him. I guess unless someone tells him about it, he won't know forever...
