Ep 173 (Samurai New York) and Love Game Fan Disc

This week's episode is only on Ryoma. It's not as bad as I thought especially the part when he and Kevin teamed up to play doubles. Those two are so individualistic that it's hard to imagine them working well together but they did so everything worked out fine. Apparently, they are going to show Ryoma in his first match for the US Open next week but the highlight would be Tezuka vs Fuji's match.

I don't know if they will show the whole match in one episode but I'm really looking forward to the two of them fighting it out. I'm rooting for Tezuka but then I know Fuji would most probably give him a hard time since he's going to go all out. What a mouth-watering match!


Besides that, I got the Love Game Fan Disc which is full of Rikkai-goodness!!! Well, I'm so excited over this mainly because of Genichirou and his solo song was made into a PV. Well, why is that Yukimura is appearing so frequently in that PV? I do like Yukimura but then it seems like the anime is playing up their relationship towards the BL tendency like the funny skits in chibi characters last year. I'm not a fan of BL so for me, Genichirou and Yukimura's relationship is more of a buddy relationship just like what is between Genichirou and Renji. They address each other by first names instead of surnames so they should be very good friends.

Anyway, this fan disc is very much Rikkai-centric with a bit of Rokkaku. I was looking forward to seeing more of Renji but then he appears at least for the match highlights. Frankly speaking, Rokkaku is quite a fun team where you see that they play tennis because they enjoy it rather than see it as a competitive sport. They are the exact opposite of Hyotei which focuses a lot on competition within the team but I can't say that Hyotei's members are not on good terms with each other. It's just that among all the teams, Rokkaku has the most relaxed approach towards tennis. And Rokkaku has really funny characters like Davide and Bane-san, It-chan, Saeki, Kentaro and Kisarazu Ryo who has yet to appear in any of the formal matches.


This month's DVD Vol 37 has Genichirou and Atobe on the cover!!!! As I rewatch that match, those two are an interesting pair but too bad, the concluding episode of their Doubles 2 match is in the next DVD.


Vol 38's cover is Oshitari and Eiji and the cover is so cute with Eiji hugging Oshitari from behind. Well, not exactly hugging but rather has his arms over his shoulder. That volume would cover Genichirou and Atobe, Oshitari and Eiji as well as half of Sengoku's match. Tanoshiimi!!

By the way, I happened to see a group of girls at Dhoby Ghaut MRT yesterday doing a cosplay of Tenipuri characters. Well, although I could see that the T-shirt vaguely resembles Hyotei, I am sorry but I can't identify which characters they are playing although a number of them were in uniform (white shirt, blue pants). I doubt that uniform is Hyotei but should be either Rikkai or Seigaku. Two of them had their hair tinted (playing Gakuto or Jiro??) too. Well, I saw quite a bit of cosplay photos before from people in Japan and HK and some of them really copied the characters to the finest details like the hair of Niou (yes, somebody actually painted her hair greyish white). Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise to see fellow Tenipuri fans around because most cosplay groups usually do animes with more elaborate costumes. I'm planning to get the Rikkai T-shirt once I sort out the Vpost Japan issue and see if I can buy it from Mecha Market.

Ep 172 - Goodbye Seigaku

This episode doesn't have too many "exciting" points other for the fact that the guys send off Echizen at the airport and Karupin hides in Echizen's bag to go with him to US. It's a bit ridiculous since the airport security should have discovered Karupin through the X-ray machine. And I don't think Karupin would stay still in that bag for so many hours without arousing the suspicion of others. Well, that's anime so there are some illogical parts which will drive me nuts if I pursue an explanation for them.

Anyway, next week's episode is on Ryoma again and he meets Kevin. Seems like they team up to play doubles against some guys they met on the streets. According to some info I read, it seems like Ep 174 is finally on Tezuka vs Fuji with the title saying as such. Subarashii!! Then, there's another 2 episodes on Seigaku which I'm looking forward to. It's not that I dislike Ryoma but I started watching Tenipuri not because of him in the first place. Throughout the series, I have grown to like characters like Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe other than Ryoma so it's precisely the presence of my favs that is mainly keeping the passion going. I really hope that they focus on the nationals instead of the US Open. It would be so funny if they really let Ryoma win the US Open as if it's that easy to compete with pros.

My Tenipuri DVDs (the SP featuring Rikkaidai and Rokkaku) and Vol 37 would be here next week. Can't wait to see them!!!

Ep 171 Shinai naru tomo e (For my dear friend)

Well, this episode focuses on the deep friendship between Momo and Echizen thus the title is referring to Momo. There are a lot of memories involving the two of them like the silly competition to see who can eat more, Momo being Echizen's first doubles partner which is very heartwarming. When I saw Momo and Echizen crying, it really touches me to see how much they value each other.

I admit that I'm quite mad at Echizen for not taking the match seriously but I'm glad that he finally came to his senses and decided to go to America. Next week's episode shows him having a final match with Kaidou and the Seigaku members are there to send him off at the airport. When will I see Fuji vs Tezuka? Next episode is entitled is Goodbye Seigaku so what does this mean? The series will follow Echizen's quest in US? If that really happens....when will I ever see Tezuka, Atobe and Sanada again????

Ep 170 - Moero, Echizen

Honestly speaking, I'm very sick of Echizen pondering over the decision of US Open vs the Nationals. It's so obvious that he is having second thoughts about choosing the Nationals and he has to attribute that to Tezuka's expectations of him. Tezuka never meant to restrict Echizen's future or potential with his words so I'll see what he has to say to Echizen next week.

Anyway, I think he did Momo a very big disservice by not concentrating on the match and eventually asking to give up. If I was Momo, I would be really angry at Echizen for not taking the match seriously. Well, I just hope that they can get over this decision ASAP as I want to see Tezuka vs Fuji.

To be frank, if they end the anime like that with Echizen going to the US Open, it's a lousy ending to a wonderful anime. I would have preferred that they can end everything at the Nationals whether they win the title or not since I want to see Rikkaidai and Seigaku fight it out again, this time with Tezuka and Yukimura intact. And this is going to be very very unlikely if the anime is going to track Echizen's progress at the US Open or track Seigaku's journey to the Nationals. Either way, it's not really possible since they can't possibly let Echizen win the US Open since it's a place for pros or show Seigaku minus the lead, Echizen. It just irritates me to have the verdict still out in the open as to the fate of this anime.

Inui vs Eiji and Echizen's Decision

Well, I got my guess wrong again. Eiji missed winning because Inui was luckier that the ball "flew" over to Eiji's court even though Inui was "half-blind" when his spectacles cracked. Anyway, that's not really important since they seemed to enjoy the match that the outcome doesn't matter. Besides, I think this match is really interesting just like the Kaidou vs Momo, Taka-san vs Oishi match.

In this week's 1-hour special, what got me quite upset was the fact that Echizen was really unconvincing when telling the rest that he planned to give up the US Open. Everyone could see that he was still in doubt over this decision with the exception of Momo and Eiji who were elated to hear that he was staying with the team. Tezuka knows that Echizen is still in doubt so he doesn't take Echizen's words as final yet. Well, by seeing the teaser for next week, I can see that I'm going to dislike (well, not to the extent of real dislike but rather "mukatsuku" - frustrated, irritated) Echizen even more because he doesn't seem to be serious about playing Momo next week. Maybe things would become clearer next week about where he wants to go. OK, I know he's still a kid but being so wishy-washy and trying to agonize over this is just not Echizen's style.

Frankly speaking, I'm sort of resigned to the fact that Echizen would be most probably heading to the US. In the OP, there's a match between Tezuka and Echizen somewhere at a court not in school (Haruno-dai where they had their first match?) so I'm guessing Echizen has asked Tezuka for a match before he leaves.

So I'm just hoping that they can finally get Echizen's decision out of the way and show me the ultimate match between the No.1 and No.2 of Seigaku i.e. Tezuka vs Fuji ASAP. How long are they going to drag this?? And since it's such a mouth watering match, will they show Hyoutei and Rikkaidai coming to watch this match?? That means Atobe, Sanada and gang would all be showing up?? Including Yukimura? It just makes me very excited at the thought of it.

Momo vs Kaidou

Well, my guess was wrong since Momo won the match. If Kaidou managed to get the return shot for Super Great Momoshiro Special aka Super Dunk into the court, things might have changed. Still, it was a close and exciting match between the two of them. Now, there's a 1-hr special next week which should go into great details on Ryoma's decision of whether to go for the US Open. Judging from the look of things, I guess he might go after all and that the series might not end despite speculations. This is because Tenipuri is essentially about Ryoma (Tennis no Oujisama) so the anime might shift the focus from Seigaku to just Ryoma in the US Open. That would be rather disastrous in my opinion since the whole appeal of the series is about the Seigaku team (at least to me) and their struggles to win each match against the strong rival schools like Hyoutei and Rikkaidai. Thus, if they just focus on Ryoma alone, I'm not sure how the ratings would fare. I for one would probably not enjoy it as much as seeing Ryoma alone. Just give me my Genichirou, Atobe, Tezuka etc anytime and I'll continue being a faithful viewer...

Next week's match would be between Eiji and Inui. It's an interesting combination. Although Inui might look tougher on paper since he knows each player's strengths and weaknesses well, Eiji has improved since the Kantou Senbatsu Camp days so he might just sneak in a tight victory over Inui. Besides, the ranking matches so far seems to be going against expectations e.g. Taka-san winning over Oishi for the first time and Kaidou looking stronger towards the end but he missed victory just by that one shot. If the story follows this trend, Eiji might win the match. What's more mouth-watering is the fact that the BIG BIG BIG match of this arc is coming up after that i.e. Tezuka vs Fuji. I can expect that this would be super exciting and I'm putting my money on Tezuka to win. Although I do believe that Fuji is strong, unless he goes all out in the match, he would not have a chance of winning. Besides, Tezuka would be trying to show his strength as it is the first serious match after he recovered. There is some talk of a 4th counter besides Higuma Otoshi, Tsubame Gaeshi, Hakugei. Who knows what Fuji might come up with? Tanoshimi desu ne!

Doubts about Tenipuri's future...

Read from some online forums that Tenipuri is coming to an end with 176 episodes?!!!Actually, judging from the fact that Nanjiro received a letter from some unknown person on an invitation for Ryoma to take part in the US Open, this seems to warn the viewers that Ryoma would most probably be leaving Seigaku anytime soon. I really don't want to see Tenipuri end at such a stage because there are many other characters who have yet to be fully developed like Yukimura, Tachibana. And personally, I still want to see Sanada, Atobe etc taking on Tezuka. The current school ranking matches would pitch some interesting combinations like Momo vs Kaidou and of course, Fuji vs Tezuka but if they were to end it like that without giving us the chance to see a full force Rikkaidai take on Seigaku or even Hyotei against Seigaku or Rikkaidai, I don't think I would be able to accept it. And it really doesn't make sense to end it at this stage since the endorsements and merchandise should be a lucrative business for TV Tokyo, Konomi-sensei and all the stakeholders in the Tenipuri franchise. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for Yukimura or Sanada against Tezuka or Atobe. The new OP is very good but the attention is all on Ryoma again. However, among all the OPs, I still like "Long Way" the best which has got cool footage of all the Seigaku guys. The ending song doesn't sound so nice though. Next week would be Momo and Kaidou's match...I have a feeling that Kaidou might win this and if Ryoma really goes to US, Momo should be able to make it to the regulars even IF he does lose to Kaidou.

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Well, it's a new year and I'm working. Not something very desirable though and I'm still recovering from flu. The cold weather is really getting to me since I have a rather sensitive respiratory system. Anyway, it's been so long since I posted again so I decided to get moving and stop procastinating.

Good news and stuff to anticipate for 2005 so far:

1) Tenipuri SP DVD to be released in Feb! Lots of Rikkai action and I can't wait to see Sanada!!! OK, I did see him in Ep 165 but they kept poking fun of him and Yukimura. I want to see Sanada in normal mode not in the chibi character mode though.

2) Tezuka is finally back! Now that they announced his comeback in Ep 164 and the ranking matches are going to start on 12 Jan, someone in Seigaku would have to be dropped again since there are only 8 places for 9 people. I can't imagine who would be dropped since the Golden Pair is needed for Nationals so Oishi and Eiji are quite safe. Echizen, for one would definitely be in since he's the lead. And Tezuka has been out of action for so long, if they leave him out, the fans would make noise. I for one would not be able to accept if Buccho is left out. Fuji, being the tensai and No.2 in the team would be in, Inui is also pretty much confirmed unless he decides to be the data-man again which is highly unlikely so that leaves only Taka-san, Momo and Kaidou. I don't want to see anyone of them dropped but circumstances would definitely rule one of them out. I just hope Konomi-sensei would not spring a major surprise on us for this.

3) Tenipuri movie to be shown in 2005! Since it's going on roadshow during these two months, chances are that the DVD would be released about 6 months later. That's so long and I guess it would be until summer before I can get my hands on it. In the meantime, I'm still wondering whether I should get the movie singles in early Feb regardless of whether the songs sound good or not. It's just for collection's sake.

And to round up, my New Year resolution is to work harder and complete my collection of the DVDs hopefully within the year! ^__^

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Tezuka-kun!

Today's the birthday of one of my favourite characters from Tenipuri, Tezuka Kunimitsu! Otanjoubi Omedetou, bucchou!



Being the soul of Seigaku who promised to be the support of the team, Seigaku are finally in the Nationals which was what Tezuka had been hoping for. I'm eagerly waiting for the day where Tezuka will be back on the courts to do his special tricks like Tezuka-zone and Zero shiki drop shot since the US-Japan matches should be ending soon.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Atobe-sama!

It's Atobe's birthday tomorrow and I'm putting up this post in advance just in case I might be too busy to do so. It wouldn't be too nice to forget about Atobe-sama...



Well, I must say I didn't like Atobe very much when I first saw him during the Hyotei match. He was really so full of himself and out to destroy Tezuka's arm BUT...he's not a bad guy after all. Although he's really narcisstic and annoying at times, I can't deny that he looks really good with a sexy voice to boast of (thanks to his seiyuu, Suwabe Junichi-san). Besides, he was willing to play the villian when Tezuka asked him to practice with Seigaku and everyone misunderstood that he was out to injure Echizen. Actually, I think by the end of the match of his match with Tezuka, I started to feel more positively towards him since I think he deserves the title of being the No.1 man in Hyotei Tennis Club both in terms of skills and his leadership qualities. Thinking back then, when he asked Sakaki to let Shishido come back to the team, Atobe did show a little bit of his care towards his teammates although it may not be very noticeable like what Tezuka feels for Seigaku. In short, I'm liking Atobe-sama more by the day and hope that he will continue to appear regularly in the anime since Hyotei won't be in the Nationals and the US-Japan matches should be ending soon.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Atobe-sama! Oresama no bigi ni Yoi na!

Tenipuri Favourite Characters and Matches

Favourite Characters:
No.1 Tezuka Kunimitsu (Seigaku) and Sanada Genichirou (Rikkaidai)
I don't know who to place first so I'm putting them in the same position.

The rest are listed not in order of preference since it's really hard to rank them:-
The rest of Seigaku i.e. Fuji, Echizen, Momo, Oishi, Eiji, Taka-san, Inui, Kaidou.

From Hyotei - Atobe Keigo (who can resist this Ore-sama no bigi? ^__^), Oshitari Yuushi (Kansai-ben rocks!), Ootori Choutarou (such a sweet guy who's scared of frogs), Shishido Ryo (his determination impresses me and he does look good with shorter hair) and Akutagawa Jiro (Suge kawaii!!!)

From Fudoumine - Tachibana Kiipei (a strong player yet to display his full potential), Kamio Akira (for his constant squabbles with Momo), Ibu Shinji (for his mumbling)

From Yamabuki - Sengoku Kiyosumi (he's so cute and funny! Zero resistance when it comes to girls and he was simply fantastic against that Bobby Max during Singles 3)

From Rokkaku - Amane Hikaru aka Dabide (Lame jokes/dajare which make you wonder whether to laugh at the joke or him), Saeki Koujiro (good looking and he's a strong player to be able to see through Eiji. Looks good with Fuji too although not in the yaoi sense.)

From Jousei Shonan - only Kajimoto Takahisa (he's good in terms of skills and looks. His team must be the one I dislike the most so far.)

From Rikkaidai - Kirihara Akaya (cute yet like a devil on the courts), Yanagi Renji (his match with Inui was simply fabulous although his eyes remain closed 100% of the time unlike Fuji), Yukimura Seiichi (yasashii na buuchou...bishonen-type).

Favourite Matches:

1) Tezuka vs Atobe (Kantou First Round)
2) Inui vs Yanagi (Kantou Finals)
3) Momo/Kaidou vs Marui/Kuwahara (Kantou Finals)
4) Echizen vs Akutsu (Tokyo Finals)
5) Momo vs Sengoku (Tokyo Finals)
6) Fuji vs Akutagawa (Kantou First Round)
7) Echizen vs Sanada (Kantou Finals)
8) Fuji vs Kirihara (Kantou Finals)
9) Inui/Kaidou vs Shishido/Ootori (Kantou First Round)
10) Kikumaru/Momo vs Oshitari/Mukahi (Kantou First Round)
11) Kawamura vs Kabaji (Kantou First Round)
12) Echizen vs Ibu (District Finals)
13) Kaidou vs Kamio (District Finals)

Watashi no Profile

It's been some time since I started on this blog but I've not posted this yet. Something just feels missing if I don't do this soon but it will just be a short one since I'll add on whenever I think of something...

Name: Chiaki
Date of Birth: 27 March 1982
Location: Singapore
Current occupation: Struggling in a sickening job facing sickening people (Sigh...)

Favourites
Pastime: J-ent related stuff like dramas, variety shows, music and of course anime and manga, surfing the Net, playing games
Anime: Prince of Tennis, Slam Dunk (one of the first I got started on), Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo, Tantei Gakuen Q
Manga: Prince of Tennis, Slam Dunk, Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo, Hyoryu Kyoshitsu, Tantei Gakuen Q, Psychometrer Eiji, Itazura Na Kiss
Music: Mostly J-music (pop, rock, R & B) and older English songs
Artistes: TOKIO, V6, Arashi (just to name a few)
Colours: Black, Blue
Food: Chicken, seafood (prawns and crab)
Drink: Plain water

DVD Fan Discs and Vol 32

Finally received the DVD fan discs from HMV Japan, saikou!!!
I haven't managed to watch everything yet but the quality is really good. Value for the amount of money I've spent on it. Anyway, the Band of Princes clip was quite nice and it was such a pleasant surprise to see their rivals joining in too like Atobe-sama, Oshitari (he looks really good!!), Gakuto, Shishido, Ootori, Sengoku (what's with that colour combination!?), Shinji, Kamio etc. The songs were really nice too although it was really short (10 minutes plus).
As for Vol 32, it was such a pleasant surprise to see Sanada's photo among the 3 free snapshots given as freebies for the first press. AHHHH! For this volume, they had a childhood picture of Fuji in his honki mode and Yukimura too. I hope that I'll be able to get more of the first press volumes when the rest of those I ordered would start coming in. Maybe Tezuka's picture would be in Vol 33 since he appeared regularly in two of the episodes (130 and 131). Nanjiro's younger days too, since ep 129 is about him. And maybe Ryoma's childhood pic too?! It just makes me so excited at the thought of it. Can't wait for 22 Oct to come!!

Fanbook 10.5 and 20.5

Finally received these two books from Amazon Japan after a long wait of 9 days. Well, no choice since I selected the cheaper shipping option which does not have the tracking function. It just doesn't make sense to pay 1000 yen for the shipping but the wait is quite painful. The packaging-wise is OK but aren't they wasting a bit of money with that box when it's just two manga-size (no doubt thicker at 400 pages) books? And the box was a bit torn at the edges and dented. Who knows what the package went through before reaching me? It just makes me shudder what would happen if it's just in a normal envelope package so in a way, I'm thankful they used a box for this package...I'm contradicting myself again...

Anyway, I've finished reading 10.5 which is super entertaining and informative. Lots of juicy facts and little games along the way which is somewhat like a reference book for Tenipuri. I guess I would be starting on 20.5 next week...Can't wait to read about the rival teams especially Rikkaidai and Hyotei which should be my top 2 fav rival schools.

Tezuka no Shiashin

Finally managed to put a picture in this blog...

Will post more later...

Prince of Tennis - Buddies (Part 1)

Actually, among all the various characters in Tenipuri, there are many buddy combinations which are worth discussing. Suddenly, I have the urge to talk about my thoughts about some of these groupings...

Tezuka and Oishi

Other than the fact that they knew each other since Year 1 and that Oishi knows about Tezuka's injury, I don't seem to see a lot of closeness between these two guys outside of the courts and school like Momo and Echizen going for hamburgers together. Somehow, what binds them is the common belief that they can make it to the Nationals before they graduate and that seems to be the basis of their friendship. I'm not sure how to put it but SHINNEN seems to be the core ingredient in this pairing. I think since Tezuka is not one who expresses his emotions freely, Oishi becomes the bridge between him and the other members who may not understand him as well. Honestly speaking, I'm quite touched by their friendship especially when Tezuka had to leave for Germany to treat his shoulder and Oishi promised to make it to the Nationals for Tezuka to join the team in their quest. It's just that in the few recent episodes, there seems to be minimal interaction between them.

Sanada and Yukimura (Rikkaidai)
Well, there is very little mention of Yukimura other than the fact that we know there's something wrong with his body which stops him from playing tennis. I don't even know where the problem lies since the anime didn't mention. What we can see is that Sanada and Yukimura share a strong bond with each other which seems to be somewhat similar to what Tezuka and Oishi have. I like this combination quite a bit since there's the stern Sanada with the smiley face Yukimura which is the exact opposite of Tezuka and Oishi (captain is stern, vice captain is nice). Since Yukimura's operation is already successful, maybe we will get to see how his skills are and if possible, know more about his history with Sanada.

Momoshiro and Kaidou
These two are essentially rivals who provocate each other at the slightest opportunity. However, that match with Rikkaidai made me very touched besides it being really exciting. That's because these rivals put aside their differences for the sake of their sole aim to win the match. Actually, what they were fighting over so far were really small issues like not wanting to lose out to each other but the fact that they decided to get along with each other for once as compared to the St Rudolph match where they were doing their own thing, means a lot in this match since it's the Kantou finals. They tried to create chances for each other to perform his best tricks which speaks of the great coordination they can create from the sparks in their relationship. And when Kaidou was beaten psychologically by Jackal with his impersonation of Boomerang Snake, Momo tried to cover for him until he recovered from the shock. As Inui and Fuji put it correctly, being rivals helped them to know each other's strengths and weaknesses in addition to knowing how it feels to be in that sort of situation when you start to question your ability. Momo had this problem before when his Dunk Smash was blocked so he knows best how Kaidou is feeling. Hopefully, they can appear more in Doubles since I see that they can click pretty well just like what Kaidou and Inui did during the Hyotei match.

Tezuka and Fuji
Something strange about them...Fuji seems to be able to read Tezuka's mind and constantly teases him about various things while Tezuka is able to speak his mind in front of Fuji besides Oishi. The thing binding them would probably be coined as understanding of each other. The story didn't really say how close they were in the early years but seems like Fuji is a good listening ear for Tezuka when the need arises. Fuji has never beaten Tezuka before (in fact no one has managed to do so in the whole of Seigaku) so I'm wondering if Fuji does regard defeating Tezuka as a goal to achieve in addition to treating him as a buddy. Rivals or friends? It's this ambiguous mix of emotions that makes this relationship hard to define...

Sanada Genichirou (Rikkaidai Fuzokuchuu)

After Tezuka, here comes Sanada... I wonder why but I seem to have an obsession with most of the captains in Tenipuri. Of course, Tezuka is still my No.1 choice but Sanada comes a close second these days ever since he appeared. Sugoi na ii otoko! Well, he's also stern like Tezuka but he did crack a joke very early in his appearance when Inoue and Shiba asked whether Kirihara could beat him. Sanada said that Kirihara had to wait for another 10 years before even coming close. That indignation and cannot-be-bothered attitude did strike me but not that deeply. It was only after seeing him pop up here and there that I took a closer look. And when I got to where he and Yukimura were talking about the op's prospects and winning the Kantou Championship, I guess that's where I can consider myself getting started on my Sanada obsession. Actually, the fansubs are only until 128 so far but I went ahead to download the raws from 147 onwards where there's a lot of Sanada with Atobe in their Doubles 2 match so that sort of fanned my obsession for Sanada even more. Well, Sanada was dubbed as the No.1 guy in Junior High tennis so I wonder how good Yukimura may be since he has never played before in the series but since he's the captain, there must be something even better than Sanada which we have not seen yet. Sanada's match with Ryoma was very exciting but somehow, the ending was a bit of a rush. It seems as if Ryoma turned the tide in such a short time frame that it looked really bad on Sanada who was great with his disappearing serve and swing. It just makes me wonder when the anime will get started on the Nationals because that's probably when I can finally see Tezuka back in action and of course, if Rikkaidai and Seigaku meet again, a match up between Sanada and Tezuka might just be possible. Tezuka has not really played much other than with Atobe (which he lost unfortunately)and the ranking matches which all went in his favour so there's no way of gauging who exactly is better. I wouldn't know who to support if this match really materializes...

Tenipuri (about Tezuka again?)

I've finished the parts before Tezuka went to Germany... Well, I was so sad to see him but he pops up every now and then so I can't really complain. Although I would have loved to see more of him...That would be in ep 130 onwards.

It's quite touching to see how everyone in Seigaku became more united in their promise to Tezuka so that they can make it to the Nationals. Oishi overcomes the physical pain, Eiji being so worried about him and giving assurance on faith in their strengths, Echizen refusing to give up in the face of physical injuries from that idiotic guy from Jousei Shonan, Kaidou likewise standing up to the gruelling match with that copycat Wakato. Seems like everyone grew up overnight without Tezuka as they have a promise to realise to him. No one wants to break that promise to him...That's the beauty of the story. The main attraction is not just the tennis and humour but also how their friendships are deepened with each and every incident. When they went to see the sunrise, it was somewhat like a wonderful memory for them to spend time together. I guess that's probably what made Tezuka make up his mind to go to Germany for the treatment. He knows very well that he wants to make it to the Nationals with this team and in order to do that, he has to make sure that he can survive the rest of the journey with that. If he refuses treatment, most likely he's going to end up leaving the team halfway... What a wonderful story...

Seigaku

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...

Tezuka Kunimitsu (Prince of Tennis)

I'm getting very much obsessed with this anime by the day! Ever since Slam Dunk, this is the only sports anime which has got me hooked although there were other favourites of different genres along the way like Kindaichi, Tantei Gakuen Q, Psychometrer Eiji.



I started at the recommendation of a friend who said that one of the characters, Momo looks very much similar to Mabo, one of my favourite Japanese artistes BUT I ended up falling for Tezuka instead. Somehow, I guess I have a tendency to like guys like Tezukawho has a hidden past or something like in this case, an injury. Maybe that's why I like Mitsui in Slam Dunk since he was also nursing an injury and had a not-so-glamourous past. Tezuka is cool, mature and yet funny in a sense especially when he accidentally drank Inui's Juice and pretended that it didn't affect him but in actual fact, his hand was trembling from the awful taste. And I was totally bowled over when he tried to help Ryoma break out of his limits at the risk of aggravating his injury. I really felt that he was very concerned about Ryoma and went out his way to help him achieve greater heights. Somehow, he must have felt that Ryoma would be the pillar of support of Seigaku in time to come so that's why he took the extra effort to help Ryoma understand that playing tennis for the sake of beating his father Nanjiro is not going to help him get to the next level. I was so touched by his gestures that Tezuka became my top favourite among the whole list of equally cute and interesting characters. Not to mention how kakkoii he is when doing those drop shots and actually "finishing off" Momo in just 5 minutes. Sasuga Buccho desu ne!

More ravings to come...