Manga read: discussion post, volume 1
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princeoftennisWelcome 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
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?
Should you wish to post something spoilerific, please use the following code to do it:
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
For me, Tezuka was my first Prince of Tennis love. What about you, was he also your favourite character early on in the manga?
If "no", who was/is?
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?
Should you wish to post something spoilerific, please use the following code to do it:
<span style="color:#333333; background:#333333">Spoilers go in here.</span>
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Date: 2012-03-11 03:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-11 06:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-11 10:39 pm (UTC)