Prince of Tennis... rules...

PRINCE of TENNIS... the story behind..

Story:

Prince of Tennis first appeared in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump in July, 1999. It has now become one of the most popular sport titles in Asia, and sprouted countless commercial products and an anime series from Production I.G. in 2001. The story chronicles the journey of 12-year-old Ryoma Echizen, a four-time American junior champion who has recently returned to Japan. Following in the footsteps of his legendary father Samurai Nanjirou, Ryoma joined Seishun Gakuen, a junior high school with one of Tokyo's most prestigious tennis clubs, and easily secured a spot on the team. Ryoma and his eight Seigaku compatriots must confront grave obstacles and formidable opponents in order to claim a stake at the National title. In fall 2004, Fthe "Genius" series took a detour and was temporarily replaced by the "Wild" series which operates under the same timeline but presents the story from the point of view of Shitenhouji's first-year student Tooyama Kintarou.

Characters:

*Seishun Gakuen

Sumire Ryuzaki(Coach of Seigaku's tennis club)

Regulars

- Ryoma Echizen
- Kunimitsu Tezuka (Captain)
- Shuichiro Oishi
- Syusuke Fuji
- Eiji Kikumaru
- Takashi Kawamura
- Sadaharu Inui
- Takeshi Momoshiro
- Kaoru Kaido

Other players:

- Masashi Arai
- Masaya Ikeda
- Daisuke Hayashi
- Satoshi Horio
- Kachiro Kato
- Katsuo Mizuno

Others:

Sakuno Ryuzaki - Coach's granddaughter and first year
who clearly has a crush on Ryoma Echizen.
Tomoka Osakada - First year who is Sakuno's best friend
and President of the Ryoma Echizen Fanclub
Yamato Yuudai - Former Captain of Tezuka Kunimitsu and Ooishi Shuuichirou.
Echizen Nanjirou - Former student of Sumire Ryuzaki and his Wife is Takeuchi Rinko , son Ryoma, neice Nanako, cat Karupin

Notable rival schools:

* Fudomine Middle School(Fudomine Chuu)

- Kippei Tachibana (Captain)
- Akira Kamio
- Shinji Ibu
- Tetsu Ishida
- Masaya Sakurai
- Tatsunori Mori
- Kyousuke Uchimura

Other:

Ann Tachibana - Kippei Tachibana's younger sister who supports Fudomine

* St. Rudolph Gakuen

- Yoshirou Akazawa (Captain)
- Takuya Nomura (Vice-Captain)
- Hajime Mizuki (Manager)
- Yuuta Fuji
- Shinya Yanagisawa
- Atsushi Kisarazu
- Ichirou Kaneda

* Yamabuki

Banda 'Banjii' Mikiya(Yamabuki Chuu Coach)

- Kentarou Minami (Captain)
- Kiyosumi Sengoku (Vice-Captain)
- Taichi Dan (manager)
- Jin Akutsu
- Masami Higashikata
- Ichiuma Kita
- Inakichi Nitobe
- Touji Muromachi
- Tsubasa Nishikiori

* Hyotei Gakuen

Sakaki Tarou(Hyoutei Gakuen Tennis Club Coach)

- Keigo Atobe (Captain)
- Yuushi Oshitari
- Ryou Shishido
- Choutarou Ootori
- Gakuto Mukahi
- Jiroh Akutagawa
- Wakashi Hiyoshi
- Munehiro Kabaji
- Haginosuke Taki

* Midoriyama (manga only)

Kiraku Taizou(Midoriyama Chuu Head Coach)
Kushida(Midoriyama Chuu Coach)

- Yasuyuki Kiraku(Captain)
- Masato Takase
- Wataru Kitamura
- Takuma Minamoto
- Itto Habu
- Junpei Kongawa
- Akane Tsuta

* Jyosei Shonan(anime only)

Hanamura Aoi(Jyosei Shonan Coach)

- Takahisa Kajimoto(Captain)
- Reiji Shinjou
- Hiroshi Wakato
- Youhei Tanaka
- Kouhei Tanaka
- Shou Ota
- Daichi Kiriyama

* Rokkaku Chuu

Ojii(Rokkaku Chuu Coach)

- Kentarou Aoi (Captain)
- Saeki Kojirou (Vice-Captain)
- Ryou Kisarazu
- Hikaru "David" Amane
- Harukaze Kurobane
- Marehiko Itsuki
- Satoshi Shudou

* Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku

- Seiichi Yukimura (Captain)
- Genichirou Sanada (Vice/Substitute Captain)
- Renji Yanagi
- Akaya Kirihara
- Masaharu Niou
- Hiroshi Yagyuu
- Bunta Marui
- Jackal Kuwahara

Nationals rival schools appearances:

* Higa Chuu

Saotome Harumi(Higa Chuu Coach)

- Eishirou Kite
- Yuujirou Kai
- Hiroshi Chinen
- Kei Tanishi
- Rin Hirakoba
- Shiranui
- Aragaki

* Shitenhouji

Watanabe Osamu(Shitenhouji Chuu Coach)

- Kuranosuke Shiraishi
- Senri Chitose
- Kenya Oshitari
- Ishida Gin
- Koharu Konjiki
- Kintarou Tooyama
- Yuuji Hitouji
- Hikaru Zaizen

* Saint Icarus

- Richard Sakata

* Makinofuji Gakuen

- Hagi
- Kadowaki

Others:

* U.S. West Coast Team

Richard Baker(The American West Coast Team Coach)

- Kevin Smith
- Arnold Ignashov
- Bobby Max
- Tom Griffey
- Terry Griffey
- Billy Cassidy
- Michael Lee

Others:

Izumi Tomoya - Gyokurin Chuu Regular
Fukawa Kimiyoshi - Gyokurin Chuu Regular and partner of Izumi Tomoya

Fukushi Michiru - Ginka Chuu Captain

Rinko Echizen - Ryoma's mother

Nanako Meino - Echizen's college-bound cousin who lives with Ryoma and his father.

Smith - Father of Kevin Smith

Saori Shiba - Photographer for Monthly Tennis who follows the team with Inoue

Mamoru Inoue - Reporter for Monthly Tennis magazine who follows the Seigaku team and is a big fan of Nanjiro Echizen.

Hikomaro Sakurafubuki - fanatic tennis-lover millionaire who hosted to play in the Exhibition Match on the cruise.

Chitose Miyuki - Fourth grader Miyuki is the younger sister of Shitenhouji's Chitose Senri. She befriended Tezuka Kunimitsu while he was rehabilitating in Kyuushuu.

Ryoga Echizen - Ryoma Echizen's adopted brother and adopted son of Nanjiroh Echizen.He is the captain of Sakurafubuki Hikomaro's tennis team and often calls his brother "chibisuke" meaning kiddo. Instead of Mada mada dane, he says Mada Mada daze.