Manga read: discussion post, volume 1

[anehan]

Welcome to our community read of the Prince of Tennis manga! This is the discussion post for the first volume, so go ahead and jump in. The next discussion post will go up in a week, and it will cover volume two.

First of all, to new readers, please note that some of the character names are mangled in the scanlation.





Synopsis, volume 1

Ryouma plays a match with bully no. 1, Sasabe, and wins. It is mostly boring, but it sets the tone for the series pretty well. At school, we meet various characters, including Momoshiro Takeshi, who leads Ryouma and Horio in the wrong direction when they are looking for the tennis courts.

At the courts, bullies no. 2 and 3, Hayashi and Ikeda, entice the ichinen trio (i.e., Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo) into a game. Ryouma exposes their fraud, drawing Momo's attention, who asks him for a match. The match ends in a draw as Momo calls it quits early. Later on, we meet bully no. 4, Arai, who challenges Ryouma to playing a match with a substandard racket. As punishment for that, Tezuka orders everyone to run laps. In the last chapter, we finally get to the ranking matches. Ryouma wins the first two matches with some random players.

In the next volume, the ranking matches continue. Stay tuned for Ryouma's matches with Kaidou and Inui!


Featured: Echizen Ryouma (越前 リョーマ)



Birthday: December 24
Height: 151 cm
Blood type: O
School: Seishun Gakuen, 1st year

Cocky, antisocial and irreverent. That's Echizen Ryouma. From early on, we see him not showing respect to those of his senpai who he deems unworthy of it. He has no respect for those who do not respect the game, and he has no compunction about showing it. He uses tennis to teach a lesson to bullies.

He does not like bullying. He comes to Sakuno's rescue a couple of times, even though he acts as if he couldn't care less about other people. On the other hand, he has something of a twisted sense of humour. He sends Arai after Horio when Arai asks him whether he is the "great first-year".

(Spoilers follow, highlight to read) The series has been set so that Ryouma never loses an important match. It is most irritating, and I think that it makes him less interesting as a character.

Ryouma is left-handed, but he is also able to play with his right hand. His special serve is the twist serve, which, against a right-handed opponent, is best hit with right hand. I think. Don't ask me to explain tennis moves to you, I have no idea how they work.

Prince of Tennis wikia's article on Ryouma (spoilers)
Mada mada dane: an analysis of Ryouma's catchphrase (no obvious spoilers)


Poll

Poll #9827 Favourite character in volume 1

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 18

View Respondents

For me, Tezuka was my first Prince of Tennis love. What about you, was he also your favourite character early on in the manga?

View Answers

Yes.
5 (27.8%)

No.
12 (66.7%)

Can't remember.
1 (5.6%)

If "no", who was/is?

View Answers

Discussion topics

What is your opinion of Momo and Ryouma's match? Why did Momo call it quits when he did? Was he right that Ryouma played with his right hand because he was looking out for his senpai, knowing he was injured?

Regarding Ryouma and Arai's match, what do you think of Tezuka's saying that he can't forgive people who break rules and ordering everyone to run laps? How do you think it relates to the fact that he himself had just broken the rules by allowing Ryouma to take part in the ranking matches?


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Comments

[graychalk]

Ah, bullies galore. It does make me wonder though, what may have changed if Sakuno had not caused Ryouma to be late to his match - because if he didn't have to forfeit, he'd likely draw a lot of attention to himself in that tournament... which means by the time he joins Seigaku, he'd be a lot more well-known and not as "anonymous."

My favorite character in volume 1... haha, it actually wasn't Tezuka. Or well, not just him. I think I fell in love equally with the entire regulars as a group. I've always loved that snippet of conversation between the regulars in the beginning when they were discussing about the rumor of a strong 1st year. I think the fact that they talk about it "normally" and Ooishi comments that it's a good thing for them... it all just left a good impression on me about the regulars. With all the bullies that volume 1 showcased, I was immensely relieved to see that the Seigaku regulars aren't going to be yet more bullies for Ryouma to overcome. I also thought it made it all the more obvious that the regulars are "strong" - or strong enough to not stoop to bully-levels I guess. :)

Momo's match with Ryouma: I did always find it interesting that he called the game off right when Ryouma switched to using his left arm. It kinda made Momo look like he realized he was in over his head and wanted to withdraw before losing, but maybe he was just looking out for his own injury - still, it made me wonder all the same.

And his thoughts about Ryouma playing with his right arm because he was looking out for his senpai? I actually think he's being too optimistic. >_> Ryouma's pretty obnoxious and has been playing with his right arm at the beginning of his matches (then switches later). IMHO, he was just doing his usual with Momo... plus Momo was asking for the Twist Serve anyway. So, nope, I actually don't think Ryouma was "looking out for Momo's injuries." :P

Tezuka and rules: That's kind of interesting... never really thought of it as him breaking the rules when he allowed Ryouma to participate in the ranking matches. I guess I saw it more as a tradition than a rule? I think he values fairness above all though. I can't imagine him sticking to a rule just for the sake of, especially if it doesn't conform to what he believes is fair. Most of all, I think his decision to let a first year play in the ranking matches shows that he puts his team above rules or traditions... meaning he'll do what is best for his team.

:D

[haruka]

Our first introduction to the Sasabes, the family that shows up everywhere (I'm surprised we haven't seen Obsessive Mother Sasabe or Cranky Grandpa Sasabe who hits tennis players with his cane.)

I really like Ryoma's attitude toward bullies. He didn't have to get involved, but he steps up when he can help out someone being bullied. And he's so small himself -- in reality situations, he'd probably get himself killed.

Maybe Momo's injury was hurting him, and he was smart enough to stop before he did irreparable damage?

I'm not sure Tezuka broke the rules; wasn't it said that it was up to the Captain to decide if younger kids could play?

[graychalk]

Cranky Grandpa Sasabe who hits tennis players with his cane. *laughs* Maybe they don't get the family inheritance if they don't play tennis. There's got to be some pressure there. Tennis yakuza family, maybe?

[insignia]

Tezuka seems nice, but at this point I'm more fond of Sakuno. She's adorable! :D I kinda like Momoshiro too, because he seems entertaining. Of course, this volume is my entire experience of Prince of Tennis so far, and I'm sure my opinions will change when I get to know the characters better.

I agree with the other commenters; I don't think Tezuka was breaking the rules, since it's stated outright (at least in the scanlation) that it's up to the captain who gets to compete. So it does seem more like a tradition than a written rule.

[graychalk]

Haha, yes, especially since Prince of Tennis has a huge cast too. My own favorite character(s) changed quite a bit - or perhaps it's more accurate to say it expanded quite a bit. I wouldn't be able to tell you who my favorite is now. ^^;

How are you liking it so far?

[insignia]

So far I haven't exactly been absorbed by it, but I'm still interested in seeing where it goes. The multitude of characters introduced at once makes it a bit difficult to overview. But I suspect that's just a matter of getting used to the main dudes. :)

[graychalk]

I understand what you mean. :) The first volume really doesn't "introduce" important characters much. I think it was more setting the tone/beginning than anything. You start seeing bits of the "main" characters from volume 2 onwards, I think.

Personally, I'm likely a bit of an oddity in terms of a Tenipuri fan. The first time I read it, I liked it but wasn't actually anywhere near being a huge fan at the time. Then came the anime and I think it added to my interest, possibly because it made a lot of dubious translation in the manga come alive. I'm not sure what it was that drew me back to rewatch/reread parts of the series again and again... but I did and my love for it grew. And then the fandom itself and the extras. I consider PoT the one series where fandom and all the various extra stuff released contributed GREATLY in making me love the series/characters so much. It's a bit of a weird experience for me, to be honest. :)

Do you like sports manga/anime in general?

[insignia]

I'm more drawn to fantasy/SF adventures, which may have a competition element (like Yu-Gi-Oh), but I don't generally read "normal" sports comics. It's not that I'm avoiding them, they're just less likely to catch my attention :)

[usagi_chan]

Probably, at that time the author just wanted to show Tezuka as a serious and strict character so when he said everyone was going to run laps as a punishment, they just obeyed.
But because all Tezuka said was absolute at that time of the storyline, the author just used his autorithy to make him insert conveniently the main character there, even if it wasn't probably allowed (?).

[fulminata]

I dislike Echizen winning all his matches. Especially later on. Personally, I thought he should have lost to Sanada.

Tezuka was my favorite from the beginning. I don't think it's bad that he seemingly broke a rule to allow Echizen to compete in the ranking matches. Especially since Yamato gave him the same courtesy.

[prillalar]

Especially since Yamato gave him the same courtesy.

Do you remember when we find that out? I've never been quite sure if was actually confirmed in the canon. And I think it makes a difference in working out just how big a deal this is to Tezuka himself.

[graychalk]

It was confirmed, but I think not in detailed specific words, maybe? I'm not sure myself. But if it was said clearly, I'd think it was during the flashback bits. FET's Tezuka page states that he was a regular during his first year, from September onwards so at the very least he must've been allowed to participate in the ranking matches.

[prillalar]

If Tezuka wasn't a regular until the fall, then Yamato didn't bend the rules for him -- the first years just can't compete during spring/summer. I guess, though, since Tezuka's arm was injured we can't say for sure that Yamato wouldn't have let him compete earlier if he were fit.

[graychalk]

*smacks self* Ah yes, I had forgotten that it was allowed after summer - which, of course, makes more sense too.

[graychalk]

YES. I completely agree. I really thought he should've lost to Sanada too. Not just because I do think Sanada was the stronger player at the time, but also because I think Echizen losing would've made the Nationals more interesting and would've given more opportunities for character development - and not just his own.

[fulminata]

I have always been of the opinion that Rikkai should have won Kanto. Given the charged atmosphere of Yukimura being in surgery at the time of the matches, it only makes sense that Rikkai would fight harder to win. It's kind of a bullshit Gary Stu move to have Seigaku win. It isn't like Tezuka isn't coming back.

[graychalk]

Agreed again. I really never understood why Konomi decided to make Seigaku win right then - you'd think he would try to build more tension for the Nationals by making them lose and then perhaps work harder to try to overcome what's coming. And with the way the mood and story was set up, it just makes more sense for Rikkai to win the Kanto tournaments. No matter which way I look at it, having Seigaku win it just didn't do the story or its characters any favors.

[fulminata]

EXACTLY THIS. It just doesn't make a lot of sense, especially in terms of character growth.

[prillalar]

It's always surprising to go back and see the early manga art style! Everyone gets so much prettier later. I don't remember who my favourite character was at this point, but I can say that from the moment Kaidoh asked Inui if he was picking a fight, I was shipping them. :)

I think Ryoma used his right hand against Momo because using his left wouldn't be any sort of challenge. And Ryoma doesn't seem all that eager to stand out. But he's a very difficult character to figure out. He's the main character, but we don't get a strong POV from him, or from anyone else, except for Sakuno. (One of the many oddities of tenipuri.) So we have no real clues to his thoughts and feelings.

Absolutely I think Tezuka making everyone run laps is to punish them for his own rule-breaking in letting Ryoma play in the ranking matches. ("Rule" here meaning "strong tradition".) Tezuka is unsettled and he's trying to restore order.

In a lot of ways, Prince of Tennis is less about Ryoma himself and more about Ryoma's effect on everyone else. We don't so much see the other characters through his eyes, as we would expect, but we see him through their eyes. It's all about their reactions to him.

And Tezuka's reaction is wonderful. :)

Also, I would like to point out that Hayashi doesn't know what a Twist Serve is but Horio does. ♥

[graychalk]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the art style in the beginning. I think Fuji's character design threw me off the most, but I thought Ryouma looked largely the same though - or at least not as different as the other characters felt to me.

Re: PoT being more about Ryouma's effect on everyone else. I never thought about it this way, but it makes a lot of sense. I personally never saw him as the "main character that the story is about" because while he was, it didn't especially feel like the series was about him. I certainly felt like I learned less about Ryouma's person (directly) than some other characters in the series - but that could be because of the POV thing you mentioned too. I think I probably saw "Seigaku" as the main character... but yeah, you're right, the series really is more about how Ryouma affects others around him.

P.S. And, boy, am I ever so glad you shipped InuKai from so early on. It means we get plenty of fics from you. :DD

[fulminata]

Tezuka is unsettled and he's trying to restore order.

So very true. And as the series continues, it becomes more and more apparent that Echizen makes Tezuka do things he wouldn't normally. Unabashed Tez/Ryo shipper

The great thing about the art is how much it improves over time. At the beginning, Echizen is very big eyes, big ears and towards the end, everything seems correctly proportioned. This development is very consistent with Shin as well.

[prillalar]

One more thing.... :)

By allowing Ryoma to play in the ranking matches, Tezuka doesn't just break the traditions of the Seigaku tennis club, he breaks the traditions of the whole shounen sports genre by depriving Ryoma of the chance to challenge Tezuka for the right to play.

This is how I would expect the story to go: Ryoma arrives at Seigaku and finds out first years can't play in the ranking matches. He challenges Tezuka to a match and says that if he wins, then Tezuka has to let him in the ranking matches. They play and although Ryoma tries his hardest, he loses. Inspired by Ryoma's sincerity and hard work, Tezuka allows him to play anyhow. (Aso, Ryoma is actually Kachirou.)

Tezuka completely short-circuits that. And I think missing that test/challenge phase is actually detrimental to Ryoma.

[graychalk]

Oh, you are so right, and I am so relieved PoT didn't go down that way. The difference, I think, is part of why I liked the Seigaku regulars so much in the beginning and was eager to see how Ryouma would fare in the team.

Interesting that you said the missing test/challenge is actually detrimental to Ryouma. Why do you say that?

[fulminata]

Actually, I think never losing is more detrimental to Echizen. Yes, he loses to Nanjirou, but he never loses when it really counts.

[moon_wolf]

Ryoma was definitely the character that drew me into the series to begin with. Mainly because he was the main focus of the first chapters so I got to know him first before all the others and I've always liked the young snarky genius chracters. And while I get why other people get annoyed with him and I agree that he should have lost at least one match. I also kinda understand where his chracter is coming from.

I've never really seen him as antisocial but more socially awkward. After all it's said his family traveled between America and Japan a lot (c1 p30) and it seems like he never really had any close friends or equals in tennis his own age. So his father was always his main opponent and influence. And he doesn't do well with attention off the tennis courts.
As for him being irreverent. I don't think he's especially rude toward anyone who wasn't being a jerk first. He doesn't try to really start anything with Sasabe until he starts messing with Sakano. The second years were obviously out to scam the new first years. Arai was obvisly picking on him when he hid his racquets. And with Momo, it's a blink and you'll miss it moment but Momo did gives him and Horio the complete wrong directions to the tennis court(c2 p6) so if he's a litte short with him at the beginning it's kinda understandable.
Ryoma directing Arai to Horio when he asked for the "great 1st year" was probably him being humble in a strange awkward way. After all he wasn't the one jumping to make himself known to anyone. So he wouldn't expect for Arai to be looking specifically for him and not the guy who was yelling about how much he knew.

For Momo and Ryoma's match. As I said previously he was probably still annoyed with Momo at the beginning but you can tell as it goes on Ryoma starts to loosen up and enjoy himself. Momo probably called the match because he was still tentative about his injury. After all it's still affecting him several weeks later against his match with Sengoku. How much more would it be bothering him when it's obviously recent. I think Ryoma partly played with his right hand because of Momo's injury but also partly because that's how he starts almost all his matches with opponents. I always saw it as a handicap that he'd give for his opponents, since as mentioned above he's never encountered anyone his own age that could match him when he's going all out. But I also see it as training for himself since it's harder to do things with your non-dominant hand. I've never really considered it rude that he starts off by limiting himself since it seems like all the people he came across before were nowhere near his level.

As for Tezuka allowing Ryoma into the ranking matches. I don't think it's an expressed rule that 1st years aren't included but more of a tradition, to make sure that they are truly grounded in the basics. But when someone who's obviously mastered the basics and are at a higher level they're allowed. After all I believe it's implied somewhere that Tezuka himself became a regular as a 1st year And making everyone run laps is just the captain thing to do because Arai was clearly picking on Ryome so he's at fault, the other were at fault to letting him pick on Ryoma without doing anything, and Ryoma's at fault for playing a match when he wasn't supposed to.

[graychalk]

I enjoyed reading what your thoughts about Ryouma. I probably see him as half of what you agreed and what you disagreed on, which may sound a bit strange but feels kind of fitting in my mind - likely because I think he teeters on the border in terms of his behavior in general.

He definitely is socially awkward, but I do also think he's a bit antisocial as well. And while he may not be outright rude to someone (who wasn't a jerk first), he definitely walks that fine line of a general possible disrespect. But I think all of this is a bit more apparent later on than right now, really. ^^;;

[perkyandproud]

Personally I think Tezuka just likes watching people run laps :-) LOL

My opinion of Momo and Ryoma's match...Momo could tell himself that he was losing only because of his injured ankle...right up until he discovered that the kid who was beating him was doing so with his off-hand. He called off the match then to avoid having these new first years see an unknown beat a Regular. As the series progresses I will undoubtedly bring up how fragile Seigaku's moral was at times...a loss like that could have cost Momo his spot on the regulars and lowered the opinion of the Team. Of course, we the readers know that his loss was because that's the star, but the other characters don't :-)

[xodin]

Tezuka has been my favorite character in the series from the beginning,

I believe the reason Momo called it quits was because his ankle was bothering him, and he knew he was going to lose with that messed up ankle. I really don’t think that Ryoma was looking out for his senpai to be honest, I just thought that he was hiding his true strength, kind of like how he did against Sasabe.

Tezuka is one of those people who takes rules seriously and when someone breaks them, he punishes them. I believe that Tezuka wasn’t breaking any rules when allowing Ryoma to play; it was more of him breaking Seigaku’s tradition, which is that first years cannot participate until the summer. Yamato didn't break the tradition with Tezuka, since Tezuka became a regular in September, which is after summer.

[fulminata]

Sometimes I can't decide if Tezuka allowed Echizen to participate in ranking matches because he hoped he would lose or if he thought he could be a Yamato-like figure for Echizen.

[xodin]

I thought it was because he saw himself in Ryoma and so he picked him to pass on the pillar of Seigaku. So I think he did it to be a Yamato like figure to Ryoma.

[fulminata]

Most of the time I agree that Tezuka sees a lot of himself in Echizen which is why he does what he does at the beginning of the series. It doesn't much explain later on.

[georgie-georgie.livejournal.com]

This was a great idea. I watched the anime first, and then I skimmed through the manga. This will be a great opportunity to pay attention to all the small details and stuff I’ve forgotten about.
Oh wow the art, the art! The art in the beginning of the series was a bit crude. Everyone looked a bit different than what they look like now. Fuji had his eyes open at least 50% of the time.
Eh, there seems to be some confusion of whether or not Tezuka is breaking the rules or tradition for Ryoma, to me it doesn’t matter. I don’t see anything wrong by breaking the rules for Ryoma. I believe Tezuka chose to let Ryoma play in the ranking matches because he knew of Ryoma’s abilities thanks to Ryozaki and Momo. He listens to Ryozaki because she’s the one with the main authority, she is the coach of the team, and she knows what she’s talking about. Tezuka is new to this captain thing so he’s influenced/persuaded by what the coach says, you can see that in Volume 1, chapter 6, page 2. It’s not explicit but she hints that she would like to see the first year participate in the ranking matches.
Momo is a regular who had a hard time defeating Ryoma (injury aside). He wants to be a good captain, he wants to see his team make it all the way to Nationals, he has a “whatever it takes” mentality at this moment. So if he recognizes that Ryoma would be an excellent player to have on the team, then why not break the rules? Even Oshi, the vice-captain doesn’t have a problem with Ryoma participating.

[halfwitbruiser]

Gee, looking at the old art is really bringing back old memories. It's interesting how, err, for lack of a better term, masculine Eiji and Fuji looked in the beginning. Also, there was this one drawing of Fuji where his eyes were too spaced apart and that was kind of... unsettling. Actually, I think Oishi had that same problem with the eyes once or twice, I'll have to look back. But, the one who looked the most pleasing to the eye at this point was Inui.

Regarding Momo and Ryouma's match, I don't think Ryouma knew that he was hurt intially. Though, I guess it wouldn't be too apalling if Ryouma did know and was only playing Momo to play him. But, I digress. Ryouma could have been playing Momo and noticed how he was getting tired or something and was, like, "Eh. Let me end this now." And Momo probably called it quits because of the fact that his ankle was started to have a lot of pressure on it and it started to hurt him. As a side note, it's hard to see from Ryouma's perspective at this point. Perhaps it's just me, but getting his character down is just difficult.

As for Tezuka and the ranking matches incident, I don't think it was anything akin to him breaking the rules. They did say that it was ultimately up to the captain whether or not seventh graders could participate in the matches. So, I don't think that he was breaking any rules himself.