The Prince of Tennis/Characters: Difference between revisions

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This includes the teams and characters that have appeared in the ''[[Prince of Tennis]]'' anime, and the tropes they embodied.

 

 

== Seishun Gakuen aka Seigaku ==

Seigaku is a school which once knew glory as, 25 years ago, young Nanjiroh Echizen became its star and led a formerly mediocre team into a fearsome one. However, after Nanjiroh's graduation, the school slowly slipped back into the background, unable to make it into the Nationals until the arrival of talented young people like Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shuusuke Fuji and others. The strongest push comes from Nanjiroh's son, the also insanely talented Ryoma Echizen, whose presence finally gave Seigaku the strength to come back with a vengeance and reach Nationals, taking the Kanto regionals by storm.

 

 

 

The child of Nanjiroh Echizen (former star of Seigaku, now a somewhat [[Lovable Sex Maniac|perverted and always cheerful monk]] who [[Retired Badass|retired from tennis]] to further his child's career) and Rinko Takeuchi (a sweet-tempered, calm attorney who [[Tsundere|used to be quite the tomboy]] in her younger years). Bratty, cocky, somewhat dense in anything not related to tennis, sometimes bordering on [[Jerkass]] due to some of his actions - still, he's got some kind of charm that attracts almost everyone in his surroundings. Liking him or not might depend on the canon you're watching, though.

 

* [[All There in the Manual]]: Apparently wants a Nintendo DS.

* [[Annoying Younger Sibling]]: A rare subversion, as he plays this role to Ryoga.

* [[Eyes of Gold]]

* [[God Mode Sue]] & [[Jerk Sue]]: His [[Hate Dumb|anti-fans]] LOVE to accuse him of being one of these.

* [[Heavy Sleeper]]: He loves taking naps, and [[Not a Morning Person|is hard to wake up up in the morning]].

* [[Insufferable Genius]]: He never really gets seriously chewed out for his arrogance, probably because [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|he DOES have every right to be arrogant with that level of tennis-fu]].

* [[Junko Minagawa]]

* [[Like Father, Like Son]]

* [[Mega Manning]]: Even before achieving {{spoiler|Muga no Kyouchi or Self-Actualization}} one of Ryoma's skills was copying shots after seeing them only a few times.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Some of his actions leave you ''and'' his friends all "...[[Flat What|wut?!]]". A huge example comes from the anime, in which {{spoiler|he first acts apathetic about Senbatsu and then ''demands'' to play against Kevin Smith}}, which upsets Tezuka to the point of actually ''slapping him in public''. Ryoma [[Pride Before a Fall|doesn't earn his forgiveness]] until he goes into [[Pose of Supplication]].

 

Raised in a very traditional Japanese household (having an ex-police officer as his [[Eccentric Mentor|grandfather and role model]] pays off), Tezuka is a handsome, serious, no-nonsense leader whose biggest wish is to win the Nationals, ever since as a first-year his [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] captain made him promise to be the "Pillar Of Seigaku". He's the first one to notice Ryoma, despite his great skills, still had a long way to go, and since then he wants to shape the kid into the future leader of the team. Lots of players admire him and see him as a great rival, especially Fuji, Atobe from Hyoutei and his childhood friend Sanada from Rikkaidai. Has also the misfortune of having a chronic injury plaguing him from his first year...

 

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Excellent grades, to the point of being able to correct ''teachers''.

* [[Batman Gambit]]

* [[The Worf Effect]] / [[Worf Had the Flu]]: He always gets injured in critical moments.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: [[The Movie]] says [[Narm|that he extinguished the dinosaurs]]. Right.

 

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Do NOT cook things in a way that contradicts his favorite recipes.

* [[Fear of Thunder]]: Mentioned in one of the fanbooks.

 

 

A cheerful, slightly feminine-looking, always cool young man, Fuji is regarded as possibly the only one, apart of Ryoma, who can surpass Tezuka in terms of skill inside of Seigaku, especially for his use of counters (he has SEVERAL of those, all of them with impossibly cool names). However, he seems to play more for the thrill of the game, rather than to truly win against an opponent; it's not until later that Fuji comes to take tennis as more than a fun, exhilarating way to pass time, learning to truly love the sport. Meanwhile, he helps out his friends and companions as much as he can, with an almost perpetual smile that disappears completely if someone he cares for is in risk...

 

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Do NOT piss this guy off.

** [[Berserk Button]]: The best way to upset him? Hurt either his friends or invoke his...

* [[Yuki Kaida]]

 

The epitome of bubbly and cheery is this bouncy, cheerful, slightly spoiled boy whose abilities rely on his sharp eyes, his flexibility and his ability to jump high and quick from her to there. He may look ditzy and act like a child sometimes, but if you underestimate him, you will ''lament'' it: not just because Eiji is very skillful, but can also have as much willpower and strength as the other players. Is often seen with his close friend Fuji or his partner Oishi, the other half of the "Golden Pair", and to whom he's fiercely devoted (and yes, this is the source of LOTS of [[Ho Yay]], according to fandom - can't blame the fans one bit, though).

 

* [[Blue Eyes]]

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Zannen Munnen Mata Raishu!" (Too bad, see you next week!), or "Hoi hoi!"

* [[Character Development]]: Compare the Eiji from the beginning of the Hyoutei arc to the one from the Higa matches. BIG difference.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]

* [[First-Name Basis]]: People rarely call him by his surname, something very rare in Japan.

 

 

* [[Awesomeness By Analysis]]

* [[Badass Normal]] While the majority of the Seigaku regulars (and a good amount of characters) rely on fancy techniques and physics-defying moves, Inui relies on good ol' data, athleticism, and determination.

 

 

* [[Badass Normal]]

* [[The Big Guy]]

 

 

* [[Anime Hair]]

* [[Badass Normal]]

 

 

* [[Alliterative Name]]

* [[Asexuality]]

 

== Fudomine chuu ==

* [[Blood Knight]]: In his backstory.

** [[My God, What Have I Done?]] {{spoiler|when said BK traits harm his friend Chitose [[Eye Scream|REAL bad]]}})

 

 

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Rizumu ni noruze!".

 

 

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]

* [[Curtains Match the Window]]

 

 

* [[Bald of Awesome]]

* [[Deadly Upgrade]]: His variation of the Hadokyuu, so much that Tachibana banned him from using it.

 

 

* [[Makoto Ueki]]

* [[Ridiculously Average Guy]]

 

 

* [[Kohei Kiyasu]]

* [[Nice Hat|Nice Cap]]

 

 

* [[Ridiculously Average Guy]]

* [[Takayuki Kondo]]

 

== St. Rudolph Gakuin ==

* [[Akira Ishida]]

* [[Always Camp]]

** {{spoiler|[[Hoist by His Own Petard]] and [[Humiliation Conga]]}}

*** {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* [[Stalker with a Crush]]: To Yuuta, at least in fanon. Considering his behavior to him [[Likes Older Women|and his sister Yumiko]], it's not that hard to see where it comes from.

 

 

* [[Afraid of Needles]]: According to one of the fanbooks.

* [[Always Someone Better]]: The reason why he exchanged schools so he could try and beat his brother in a match.

 

 

* [[Ambiguously Brown]]

* [[Curtains Match the Window]]

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Curry.

 

* [[Hero Worshipper]]: Big Akazawa fanboy, but still...

** [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: "Bakazawaaaaaa!"

 

 

* [[Fingerless Gloves]]

* [[Hachimaki]]

 

 

* [[Animal Motifs]]: A duck.

* [[The Chew Toy]]

 

 

* [[The Short Guy with Glasses]]

* [[Takayuki Kondo]]

 

== Yamabuki chuu ==

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Off-court, he seems primarily concerned with flirting with women. On-court, he's one of the most skilled players in the series, shutting down Kamio's speed and giving Momoshiro a hard time.

 

 

* [[Break the Haughty]]

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Don't order me."

 

 

* [[Anime Hair]]

* [[Masaaki Ishikawa]]

 

 

* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: 'Jimmies' gets called this along with his doubles partner, Minami.

* [[Ridiculously Average Guy]]

 

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Dadadadaan!", "Ussodaan!"

* [[Cute Shotaro Boy]]

 

 

* [[Cool Shades]]

* [[Sixth Ranger]]

 

 

* [[Bob Haircut]]

* [[Kei Watanabe]]

 

 

* [[Ryotaro Okiayu]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]: With Nitobe.

 

 

 

The only son and heir to one of the richer families in Japan, Atobe lived a good part of his life in England and only returned to Japan when it was his turn to attend junior high. Narcissistic, arrogant, self-centered and loud, Atobe isn't only brawns and no brains though - he's also an excellent leader, multi-talented, as well as quite more noble than one would expect from a rich kid who seems to be just the male version of a [[Rich Bitch]] in his first apparition. Atobe might have a pretty face, hordes of fangirls in both the story and real life (some of them reaching [[Fan Dumb|ridiculous extremes]] in fandom), but once you see through the facade, you can expect an ''excellent'' match and a quite noble rival.

 

* [[The Ace]]

* [[Anime Hair]]: In the games and the manga he's a blond, in the anime he's silver-haired.

* {{spoiler|[[Important Haircut]]: After losing to Ryoma in the Nationals. Subverted because he's later shown using a wig.}}

* [[Insufferable Genius]]

* [[Launcher of a Thousand Ships]]: Another one who's paired up with *everyone*

* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: Don't let the pretty face fool you. He can be one nasty SOB and do it with ''style''.

 

 

 

* [[Blind Without'Em]]: Averted, seeing as he sees perfectly fine without them, [[Genre Savvy|he just wants to look smarter.]]

* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: In the dating sims games. If you choose his routes, he'll equally tease and flirt with the protagonist and help her out when she needs it. The databooks also say that he likes reading romance novels, which would explain a bit.

 

 

* [[Bob Haircut]]

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Motto tonde miso!"

 

 

* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: To Ohtori.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Gekidasa daze!"

* [[Hot-Blooded]]

* [[Ho Yay]]: With Ohtori, cranked [[Up to Eleven]] in the anime.

* [[Nice Hat|Nice Cap]]

* [[Pointless Band-Aid]]

 

 

* [[Fan Girl|Fan Boy]]: Towards Fuji and Bunta.

* [[Genius Ditz]]

 

 

* [[Big Brother Instinct]]

* [[Big Eater]]

 

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Ikkyunyukon!"

* [[Daisuke Namikawa]]

 

 

* [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]]

* [[Butt Monkey]]

 

 

* [[Bob Haircut]]

* [[Important Haircut]]: Invoked. {{spoiler|In the anime, when Ryoma is going to cut Atobe's hair to fill in their bet, Taki tries to stop him and offers to have his own beautiful hair cut instead. Ryoma looks like he's considering it, but then Atobe grabs the electric razor and cuts his own hair instead.}}

The anime-only team faced after Hyotei. In a sense, they're an Expy of Hyotei, with arrogance, players with similar play-styles, etc.

 

* [[Katsuyuki Konishi]]

* [[Perpetual Frowner]]

 

 

* [[Berserk Button]]: Insulting Hanamura's training method.

* [[Hot for Teacher]]: His ''huge'' apparent crush on Hanamura is played for laughs.

 

 

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Chick Magnet]]

 

 

* [[Chieko Higuchi]]

* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]

 

 

* [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]]: Even ''more'' than his twin brother.

* [[Kanako Mitsuhashi]]

 

 

* [[The Big Guy]]

* [[Hachimaki]]

 

 

* [[Cool Shades]]

* [[Hachimaki]]

== Rokkaku chuu ==

 

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Genki Guy]]

 

 

* [[Childhood Friends]]: To Fuji.

** [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: In fanon.

 

 

* [[Boke and Tsukkomi Routine]]: As the ''bokke''.

* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: [[All There in the Manual|The 40.5 fanbook]] says that he makes 20 puns every morning when he wakes up, almost 80 ''in a single day'' or one every 12 minutes. Accordingly, he makes a whopping grand total of ''28,775 puns in a year.''

 

 

* [[Amusing Injuries]]: Kicks Amane on the head as a part of their routine.

* [[Boke and Tsukkomi Routine]]: He's a rather... special tsukkomi.

 

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Why".

* [[Takehiro Hasu]]

 

 

* [[Badass Long Hair]]

* [[Hiroki Takahashi]]

 

 

* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]

* [[Ridiculously Average Guy]]

== Rikkaidai Fuzoku ==

 

* [[Blue Eyes]]

* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: [[Sachiko Nagai]]. In fact, he's the ''only'' captain or subcaptain voiced by a female.

 

 

* [[Aloof Big Brother]]

* [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]]: So much that he names his tennis moves after quotes from ''The Art of War''

 

 

* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: He, Sanada and Yukimura are this to Kirihara, but he fills in the most.

* [[Birds of a Feather]]: With Inui. {{spoiler|Subverted: they ''are'' similar, but still remain their own persons.}}

 

 

* [[Bratty Half-Pint]]: Despite being already 13 years old.

* [[Blood Knight]]

* [[Character Exaggeration]]: His [[Blood Knight]] tendences get exaggerated to ridiculous degrees in the manga. {{spoiler|Made even worse in the anime, where he actually ''was'' given [[Character Development]] and seeked to ''not'' fall into this... but the [[Aesop Amnesia]] kicked in and that was lost}}

* {{spoiler|[[Cry Cute]] (in the anime}}

* [[Green Eyes]]

** [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]

 

 

* [[Anime Hair]]: In the anime, it's purple. In the manga and video games, it's [[Brainy Brunette|brown.]]

* [[Catch Phrase]]: 'Adieu'.

 

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Puri".

* [[Magnificent Bastard]]

 

 

** [[Genius' Sweet Tooth]]: Usually seen eating candies or cakes.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]

 

 

* [[Badass Normal]]: Doesn't have flashy moves like the other Rikkai members, but is still an excellent defender.

* [[Bald of Awesome]]: The anime explains that he shaves himself bald to honor his coach who taught him tennis when he lived in Brazil.

== American Team ==

 

* {{spoiler|[[Break the Cutie]]}}

* [[Break the Haughty]]

 

 

* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]] ([[Parental Neglect]] version): No wonder Kevin was fucked up}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Alcoholic]]}}

* [[Jerkass]]

* [[Kick the Dog]]: How he treated {{spoiler|Ryoma's mother}}.

* [[Yoshiro Matsumoto]]

 

 

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]

* [[Eagle Land]]

 

 

* [[The Dutiful Son]]

* [[But Not Too Foreign]]: Half-Chinese.

* [[Isshin Chiba]]

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|You Gotta Have Green Hair]]

 

 

* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]]}}

* [[Kazunari Kojima]]

 

 

* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]]}}

* [[Bishonen]]

 

 

* [[Dark-Skinned Blond]]

* [[Jerk Jock]]

 

 

* [[East Germany]]: Was born there, then his parents left to the USA.

 

== Shitenhouji chuu ==

 

* [[Badass Adorable]]

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]: Always smiling and laughing and cracking jokes.

* [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]]

* [[Ditzy Genius]]

* [[Skilled but Naive]]: He's the best player on the team, even stronger than the club captain, Shiraishi. Literally everyone on the team is scared of his power. Even his signature move, 'Super Ultra Great Delicious Giant Swing Mountain Storm' is stronger than Gin's 108th level Hadokyuu.

** He's one of the few who can mix this ''and'' [[Unskilled but Strong]]. Yeah, he's super strong and all, but seriously lacks skill as well.

 

 

* [[Bandage Babe|Bandage Bishonen]]

* [[Beetle Maniac]]: Listed in the fanbooks and has a whole song dedicated to his pet beetle.

 

 

* [[Afro Asskicker]]: His hair is big. REALLY big.

* [[Eye Scream]]: {{spoiler|Almost lost an eye when Tachibana hit him with a ball}}

* [[Curtains Match the Window]]

 

 

* [[Aloof Big Brother]]: To Tetsu.

* [[Bald of Awesome]]

 

 

* [[Dye Hard]]: His hair used to be rather dark when he was younger.

* [[Jun Fukuyama]]

 

 

* [[Bald of Awesome]]

* [[Ditzy Genius]]

 

 

* [[Crazy Jealous Guy]]: To Koharu, [[Played for Laughs]]. ("THAT'S ADULTERY!")

* [[Hachimaki]]

 

 

* [[Mouthy Kid]]: Calling your own sempai "gross"?

* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]

 

 

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Was supposed to have a larger role, but Chitose's appearance shot that to hell.

 

== Higa chuu ==

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Goya kuwasuyo".

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Not above cheating if he can.

 

 

* [[Jerkass]]

** [[Characterization Marches On]]: Is kinder in ''Umibe no Secret'', though like Kite he isn't above behaving not so nicely towards other players.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: See Saotome's section, as he was the one {{spoiler|who injured poor Ojii under his orders.}}

* [[Nice Hat|Nice Cap]]

* [[Peek-a-Bangs]]

 

 

* [[Acrofatic]]: He's rather fast for a big guy.

* [[Big Eater]]: In the yakiniku episode, he actually eats with tongs.

 

 

* [[Badass Long Hair]]

* [[Dark-Skinned Blond]]

 

 

* [[Looks Like Cesare]]: Very tall, very pale, very darkhaired aside of the white stripe on his hair.

* [[Face of a Thug]]: Doesn't seem to be a bad guy per se. But holy shit, he looks creepy.

 

 

* [[Plot-Powered Stamina]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]

== Other Characters ==

 

** [[Everythings Cuter With Kittens]]

 

 

* [[Biker Babe]]: In her youth

* [[Hot Mom]]: When we see a young Rinko with an equally young Nanjirou and a toddler!Ryoma... ''holy crap''

 

 

* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents]]: Poor Ryoma.

* [[Berserk Button]]: In the anime, the mere ''mention'' of Banji can send him into screaming fits.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: His tennis abilities haven't diminished, but he loves acting like a moron until he's got to comment on tennis or play.

* [[Retired Badass]]

 

 

* [[Cool Big Sis]]

* [[Risa Mizuno]]

 

 

* [[Alliterative Name]]

* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: To Tezuka and Oishi.

* [[Hachimaki]]

* [[Masanori Ikeda]]

* [[Younger Than They Look]]: He's actually only 17.

 

 

* [[Badass Teacher]]

* [[Cool Old Lady]]

 

 

* [[Cool Old Guy]]

* [[Eyes Always Shut]]

 

 

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Very efficient coach and usic teacher. Just as quirky as his own pupils.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Itte yosh!"

 

 

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Fawns over her pupils almost like a teenage girl, when she's not coolly supervising their training menus.

* [[Kaori Yamagata]]

 

 

* [[Bald of Awesome]]

* [[Bunmei Tobayama]]

 

 

* [[Armor-Piercing Attack]]

* [[Money, Dear Boy]]

 

 

* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Only appears in the anime.

* [[Bottle Fairy]]

 

 

* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Only appears in the anime.

* [[Moe]]

* [[Saeko Chiba]]

* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]

* [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]]: As the Smart Sister.

* [[Zettai Ryouiki]]

 

 

* [[Always Someone Better]]: For Kurumi.

* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Only appears in the anime.

* [[Moe]]

* [[The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry]]: As the Pretty Sister.

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]

* [[Yuka Nanri]]

 

 

* [[Bokukko]]

* [[Girlish Pigtails]] -- Hidden under a...

* [[Plucky Girl]]

* [[Rina Satou]]

* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?]]: Is a very good player, but suffers a ''bad'' case of stage fright.

 

 

* [[Absurdly Youthful Mother]]: Had Akutsu when she was as much 18-19.

* [[Haruhi Terada]]

 

 

* [[Cool Big Sis]]

* [[Yuki Kaida]]

 

 

* [[Fan Boy]]: Of Nanjirou.

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Always has his tennis stuff in his car, in case he needs it.

 

 

* [[Butt Monkey]]

* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Tries to be this, though it doesn't alway work. It still lets her have a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] as she gives {{spoiler|Sakuno}} a [[Kirk Summation]].

 

 

Tropes associated with Horio:

* [[Bromantic Foil]]: To Ryoma.

* [[Informed Ability]]

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]

* [[The Scrappy]]

* [[Shigenori Yamazaki]]

 

 

* [[Adorkable]]

* [[Akira Nakagawa]]

* [[Nice Guy]]

 

* [[Cute Shotaro Boy]]

* [[Supreme Chef]]: Really good at making curry.

 

 

* [[Butt Monkey]]

* [[Hachimaki]]

 

 

* [[Hiroshi Shimozaki]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]: With Hayashi.

 

 

* [[Makoto Ueki]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]: With Ikeda.

 

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Poor little girl has a pretty lousy luck, though not as bad as Horio's.

* [[Curtains Match the Window]]

* [[Dojikko]]

* [[Fan Girl]]

* [[Possession Sue|Insert Sue]] If there's a fanart or fanfic that involves the poor girl, it's most likely one of these. Especially if it's regarding characters like Atobe and Kirihara...

** For worse, many [[Het Is Ew]] fans take it as "evidence" that Sakuno is a bad and horrible character in herself. [[Insane Troll Logic|Bangbang!]]

* [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses]]: Being girly, shy and insecure is apparently a worse sin than hurting your rivals deliberately.

* [[Shrinking Violet]]: Moreso in the anime than in the manga.

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: Moreso in the manga than in the anime.

 

 

* [[Bully Hunter]]

* [[Beauty Mark]]

* [[Supreme Chef]]

* [[Team Chef]]

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: The tomboy to Sakuno's girly girl.

* [[Tsundere]]: Type B: sweet, energetic, kind, cheerful, kinda clingy... unless Horio is near or someone threatens her friends.

 

* [[Akiko Kimura]]

* [[Cool Big Sis]]: To Sakuno.

* [[The Tease]]: The most fashion-conscious of the girls.