Prince of Tennis Review

Hey people!

I have decided to post basic reviews about the anime/manga series that I have seen or will see or are seeing. This is less time consuming and I don't have to reread long series...yea. To start off, we have Prince of Tennis! Here are the basic stats...

Name: Tennis no Oujisama
English: Prince of Tennis (or PoT for short)
Manga/Anime? Both
Author (creator? IDK): Takeshi Konomi
Genre: Sport, Shonen
Status: Complete, sequel (Shin Tennis no Oujisama or New Prince of Tennis) is ongoing
Story: The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who attends Seishun Academy (青春学園, Seishun Gakuen^?), or Seigaku (青学^?) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him. (thanks Wikipedia!)
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

My Review:

I loved this series. No matter what I say that is against this series in any way, I loved it. The anime was frustrating at times (ugh, Kevin....grrrrrr) and ridiculous (so...many....metaphors!), but I loved it. Of course, I prefer the manga over the anime any day, but both had their good and bad parts!

The manga had a very clear, consistant storyline compared to the anime. They kept making the story seem insane in the anime, which I didn't like. But the manga actually made it seem more realistic and made you feel like the Hakugei was completely possible.

What I loved about this series was the characters. Each character had their own unique story and goals. Whether it was for family or for their own personal growth, everyone had a separate story that was really well built and supported their personality. Also, the main protagonist, Ryoma Echizen, had many flaws. He was arrogant, unsociable, and made many mistakes in the course of the story. These characters felt real, or "down to earth", and it made it easier for you to connect and love (or obsess over) them.

The author did a fantastic job creating this story. The plot, the characters, everything seemed to fit perfectly. I loved it and I hope that future readers do to!

See you in the next Review!

~Aileen