September 21, 2003
Prince of Tennis Episode 1
"A Prince Appears"
If you're looking for a realistic depiction of the sport of tennis in an anime series, this is not the place to look. (Wait... if you're looking for a realistic depiction of just about anything in anime, you're really barking up the wrong tree.) Prince of Tennis is the story of Ryoma Echizen, a young tennis prodigy who has come to Japan after spending much of his childhood in the US.
We don't find out much else about Ryoma's character in this episode, besides that he's a cocky boy who's pretty sure of his own abilities (after winning four championships in a row, who can blame him). He makes a quick enemy with some of the older kids at the tennis club he has traveled to, and this sets up a match. The match itself is pretty average, with the animation adopting a lot of quick cuts that more or less destroy the coninuity of the match (but this was a made for television show, so the shortcuts are expected).
Ryoma pulls out some moves that (like noted above) defy the laws of physics and tennis in general. For example, just because his opponent has a longer reach and moves up to the net, does not mean it would be impossible for Ryoma to hit a passing shot up the line (especially if he's supposed to be this great tennis prodigy). Also, it's apparently "just like Ryoma" to hit lobs over his opponent when he's playing at the net. Well, this happens to be a rather common tennis strategy. But like I said, realism isn't what we're going for here.
The show will probably follow a formulaic, fight opponents of increasing difficulty, with some bizarre tennis "special moves" thrown in. Probably a big huge tournament at the end. Still, it's not bad and it's fairly fluffy and entertaining.
Hey, we've all seen this story before, so it's more or less just about seeing the setting it's adapted to.
Rating: B
Posted by Kei at September 21, 2003 12:36 AM