The manga is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy Middle School (青春学园 Seishun Gakuen), or Seigaku (青学) in 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. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.
Ryoma Echizen (male;151cm;12 years old)越前 リョーマ, Echizen Ryōma Ryoma is our main character in "The Prince of Tennis" and the one "Prince" refers to. To put it simply, Ryoma is a tennis genius that is able to use his skills to adapt to his opponents play and defeat them. He is certainly aware of his talent as his attitude constantly reflects him as being above everyone else. Not many people like this attitude (except his teammates of course) but he certainly has the skills to back up his words! However, his skills don't just come from practice, tennis runs in his family. His father, Nanjirou Echizen, played tennis professionally and even attended Seigaku. Nanjirou is actually Ryoma's ultimate goal, he doesn't really have any desire to become a pro but he does have the desire to beat his father at his own game!
Techniques Twist Serve - A serve where the ball is hit with a spin so that when it hits the ground it rises straight up towards the opponent's face. Split Step - A way of hoping up and down to increase your responce time half a step faster than normal. This also allows one to reach balls which are normally out of one's reach. Drive B - A combination of sliding on the ground and then jumping up to hit a falling ball. Gets its name from the shape the ball makes when it bounces on the return.
Kunimitsu Tezuka (male;179cm)手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu Tezuka is the tennis club captain and definately the most skilled out of all the players at Seigaku. We rarely get to see him actually play but the score always reflects his level of talent. At the beginning of the series Tezuka seems to be nursing a hurt arm which we learn more about later. Even though it may hurt his arm more, he takes on the task of rising Echizen to a new level. Tezuka is one of the only ones who sees that Ryoma's skills are an exact copy of Nanjirou's. Tezuka knows that for Ryoma to become anything more than just a mere copy, his skills must be taken to the next step.
Techniques Drop Shot - This is when he slices (and spins) the ball so that when it lands, the ball sticks to the ground and rolls in a circle. Tezuka Zone - Where Tezuka controls the movement of the ball so that no matter where his opponent tries to hit it the ball will always return directly to his position.
Shusuke Fuji (不二 周助, Fuji Shusuke) Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy who is given the title "genius" due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Fuji is often seen with a calm and content expression on his face, with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling. However, when he is excited or provoked, or when playing seriously, Fuji reveals his sharp blue eyes. He has three counters. First Counter is named after a bird and the ball rolls on the ground and does not bounce. The second counter is a move to return a smash to the base line before the opponent can land from his jump smash. Third counter is when Fuji puts spin on the ball and uses wind to make the ball turn from a staight return to a lob then bounces at the baseline and then returns to Fuji's hand. In the Nationals OVA of the series, Fuji evolves all three counters, and was able to create a 4th Counter 5th and 6th counter. By not saying it is the last counter, he suggest that he will still reach higher.
Momoshiro is the easy-going guy in the group of Seigaku regulars. He befriends Echizen and the other freshmen fairly quickly by teasing with them at the beginning of the series. Momoshiro's skill level is fairly high with this only being his second year and he is already a regular. Although he may not be the strongest on the team, he has a tough spirit that will certainly carry him far.
Techniques Dunk Smash - An overhand hit made from high up in that air that sends the ball to the opponents side of the court so fast that they don't have time to react.
Syuichirou Oishi (male;175cm){也做Shuichiro Oishi (大石 秀一郎, Ōishi Shūichirō?)} Oishi is the co-captain of Seigaku's tennis club and is one of the members of the infamous "Golden Pair" doubles group. Oishi uses his skills to backup Kikumaru's acrobatic style of play. Together, the two make one of the best doubles teams in the nation. Other than participating in the "Golden Pair," Oishi is usually assisting Tezuka with the club's duties and makes a very proficient co-captain.
Techniques Moon Volley - A hit that sends the ball soaring up into the air and then lands just in bounds on the far side of the court.
Eiji Kikumaru (male;171cm)菊丸 英二, Kikumaru Eiji Kikumaru makes up the other half of the "Golden Pair" doubles group and supplies Seigaku with his skillful acrobatic style of play. Eiji himself is a fairly energetic guy and could easily be labeled as hyper. However, he gets along with Oishi just fine and uses all of his energy to the fullest in each game.
Techniques Acrobatic Play - Eiji has the ability to perform a large variety of acrobatics on the tennis court which allows him to reach balls people wouldn't normally be able to reach. His moves many times catch his opponent off guard allowing him to capitalize in victory.
Kaoru Kaidou (male;173cm)海堂 薫, Kaidō Kaoru Kaidou a.k.a. "The Viper" is one vicious guy both on and off the court. Kaidou doesn't really get along with anyone on the team and generally strikes fear into all the freshmen. However, Kaidou trains very hard at tennis, much harder than any of the other Seigaku team members. With help from his special techniques, Kaidou is one fierce tennis player.
Techniques Snake - A ball is hit with an extreme spin on it so that it curves onto the opponents side of the court (making it very hard to return). Boomerang Snake - A variation of the Snake except instead of the ball going over the net it actually travels outside the court, around the net's poll, and lands inbounds on the other side
Sadaharu Inui (male;184cm)乾 貞治, Inui Sadaharu Inui is the king of player data on Seigaku, he carefully observes and records data on his opponents and then formulates a plan to defeat them. Inui also assists the coach with conducting practice exercises and training schedules. He motivates all the guys with his special Inui Juice which usually sends anyone who drinks it quickly to the ground (or restroom).
Techniques Data Tennis - Inui records tons of data on both Seigaku members and their opponents. From this data he can modify his style of play to capitalize on his opponent's weak spots. This drives his opponents crazy but usually insures victory for him.
Takahashi Kawamura (male;180cm)河村 隆, Kawamura Takashi Kawamura is another easy going guy that seems very mellow off the court. However, once Kawamura's hands grab onto his tennis racket he shouts "burning!!" and transforms into a tennis beast capable of taking on any opponent. This characteristic of Kawamura certainly makes him a subject of comedy relief in the series :)
Notable differences The anime is quite different from the manga version. For example, in the anime the Seigaku team goes on a field trip to train for the finals, whereas they did not in the manga. However, all the radios, mini dramas, CDs and games make references to this and act as if it had always taken place. Thus, someone who only watched the anime might be confused by the different portrayals.
Notable differences include the addition of table tennis scenes and billiard scenes in the anime. Episodes in the anime also deal with Kevin Smith and the U.S. West Coast Team, whereas the American team does not exist within the manga. Events in the anime also take place at a different time than when they take place in the manga; in the tournament where Seigaku is supposed to face off with Midoriyama, they switch the tournament draw in the anime, and put Josei Shonan to face Seigaku instead. Also, Ryoma faces Rokkaku's captain, Aoi Kentaro, in the Prefectural Semifinals, while the manga puts Kaido against him.
Also, while the manga makes an attempt to try and explain how some of the seemingly impossible moves are performed, such as the Tezuka Zone and Kikumaru's Seal Steps, the anime does less and sometimes even exaggerate them to a point where it becomes almost magical. This is possibly also due to the fact that the anime uses animation and naturally some effects are enhanced, but at times the anime seems to deliberately exaggerate the effects in order to parody itself. In the animated movie, Tezuka's skill and power has been compared to that of the meteorite which led to the extinction of dinosaurs in a lengthy clip; even the author found it so exaggerated that it was funny.[citation needed] Another instance is Ryoma's anime-only Cyclone Smash, which blows Sanada away completely, unlike many powerful smashes in the manga series which only blow away the opponent's racket.
