The Prince of Tennis

The Prince Of Tennis (Japanese: テニスの王子様, Hepburn: Tenisu no Ōjisama) is a Japanese manga series about a tennis prodigy written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The title is often shortened to TeniPuri (テニプリ), a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words "Tennis Prince". The manga was first published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1999, and ended publication on March 3, 2008. A total of 379 chapters were serialized, spanning 42 volumes. As of volume 40, the manga has sold over 40 million copies in Japan. News that a sequel to the manga series was going to be developed was announced in the December issue of the Japanese manga magazine Jump Square. The new manga series, entitled New Prince of Tennis, began serialization in the Jump Square magazine on March 4, 2009, with the story taking place several months after the end of the original manga.Viz Media acquired the license to distribute the series in English in North America.

The Prince of Tennis (film)

The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tennis no Ōjisama) is a 2006 Japanese sports film based on the manga series of the same name by Takeshi Konomi. The film was directed by Yuichi Abe, written by Abe and Daisuke Habara and stars Kanata Hongo as Ryoma Echizen. It condenses the storyline from when Ryoma arrives in Japan to the match against Hyotei Academy. The film was released in Japan on May 13, 2006.

Synopsis

Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy (also known as Seishun Gakuen or Seigaku, for short), a school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot on the regulars team.

Plot

Twelve-year-old Ryoma Echizen is a tennis prodigy who has won four American Junior Tennis tournaments. His father, Nanjiroh, a famous tennis player, calls Ryoma back to Japan to attend the distinguished Seishun Academy. Ryoma, a first year, wants to be on the school team.

A girl watches Ryoma. Her name is Shioin Higaki, whose parents died in accident. She is mute. She first meets Ryoma when he protects her on a train from a loud group of boys.

The Prince of Tennis (seasons 3 and 4)

The episodes covering the third and fourth seasons of The Prince of Tennis anime series are directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts, and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems, J.C.Staff, and Production I.G. The two seasons originally aired on the terrestrial Japanese network TV Tokyo from October 2002 to August 2003. The anime is an adaption of Konomi's Prince of Tennis manga series created in 2000. The series revolves around a 12-year-old tennis prodigy named Ryoma Echizen, who moves back to his native Japan in order to attend his father's alma mater, a private middle school famous for its strong tennis team.

Viz Media handles the distribution of the series in North America, where the anime debuted as streaming media on Viz's and Cartoon Network's joint online broadband service called Toonami Jetstream on July 14, 2006. It first aired on North American television as part of Toonami's Saturday programming block on December 23, 2006.

Four pieces of theme music are used for the episodes in seasons three and four: two opening themes and two ending themes. The first opening theme, "Make You Free" by Kimeru and Hisoca, and the first ending theme, "White Line" by Aozu - the voice actors of Ryoma Echizen, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Shusuke Fuji, and Shuichiro Oishi - are used from episode fifty-four to seventy-five. The second opening theme, "Long Way" by Ikuo, and the second ending theme, "Kaze no Tabibito" (風の旅人, lit. Wind Traveler) by Fureai (ふれあい), are used for the remaining episodes of the two seasons.