History Characters / ThePrinceOfTennisRikkaidaiFuzokuChuu

* CharacterExaggeration: Kirihara's violent tendencies were initially played up in the anime (Tachibana didn't end up in the hospital in the manga), while his more sympathetic qualities and endearing actions were downplayed or cut (such as his unauthorized match with Ryoma leading to him getting slapped by Sanada and berated by his team for losing, or the way he protected Yanagi from being hit by Sanada). The anime ended up giving him a filler character arc where he learns not to be violent at all, but because that wasn't in the manga when he comes back for the National tournament, he's large as he was before-- aggressive and, due to his teammates pressuring him, increasingly violent. It's not until the sequel manga that he starts moving away from this, but the original manga did plant the seeds earlier than the anime did.
* ColorMotif: Kirihara's main motif is Red since he is often associated with a demon. His style is violent and bloody, his eyes turn red whenever he gets upset, Rikkai's original uniform was red (until it was recolored to yellow for the next chapters). As a side note, his favorite color is also red and he enjoys fighting video games (the gorier, the better).

* Catchphrase: "I knew you would say that."

* MaamShock: He is somewhat irritated when his nephew calls him "ojisan" ("uncle") instead of "oniisan" ("older brother") or "Genichirou-san," because it implies he's older than he is... which, considering his hobbies and uptight attitude, is kind of funny. He is absolutely ''livid'', however, when his nephew teases him by disrespectfully calling him "Genichirou" without any honorific whatsoever.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "Tarundoru!" ("You're slacking off!")

* HonorBeforeReason:

* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: Sanada is 15 years old in the sequel, and his older brother has a six-year-old son. If Sanada's brother became a parent at 18, he's at least 9 years older than Sanada.

* SignatureHeadGear: Always plays with a black cap.

* HeyYou: He rarely uses Echizen's name. He usually calls him "boy" (''boya''), but will occasionally call him "Echizen-kun" or "Echizen" as a sign of respect.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his cocksure attitude and habit of making a fool of others, he also watches over his [[SenpaiKohai underclassmen]] in the tennis club. This is most prominent in the [[AdaptationExpansion fifth OVA special]] of ''The New Prince of Tennis''. After witnessing [[spoiler:Ohtori]] suffer a rather one-sided loss during the team shuffle, Marui offers him advice so that he has the confidence to participate in a rematch.

* VocalDissonance: [[WordOfGod Despite his]] [[{{Bishonen}} looks]], his voice and manner of speech are decidedly masculine.

** While both Rikkai and Hyotei have been stablished as Seigaku's most prominent rival teams and both teams have in high regard their team captains, they handle different their defeats: In Hyotei the losing player is removed from the Regulars and replaced, while in Rikkai, Sanada slaps the loser.
** The Yanagi-Kirihara duo serves as an EvilCounterpart to the Inui-Kaidoh pair. Both Kaidoh and Kirihara are HotBlooded 2nd years, and the [[RedOniBlueOni Reds to their respective senior's Blue]]; Kirihara learns the "Short Snake" shot from Kaidoh while the latter learns the "Devil Mode" from the former. Yanagi and Inui both are 3rd year players who rely on "Data Tennis", and the [[BigBrotherMentor mentors]] to their respective juniors.

** Most of the team towards Kirihara and Jackal. Yagyuu is the exception, he calls them "Kirihara-kun" and "Kuwahara-kun."

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Apparently all of them sans Akaya have this reaction to realising Akaya's Devil Mode could actually be ''lethal'' to him in the sequel. Yanagi then orchestrates for Shiraishi (who can control Kin-chan) to take care of Akaya. The other remaining Rikkai regulars can do nothing but watch, with Yukimura appearing especially worried despite trying to seem unaffected.

** Sanada is the Stern and honorable NumberTwo of Yukimura.

** Kirihara is the young rookie with violent game style.

* TrueCompanions: The whole team respect and care for Yukimura, and there are several scenes of them visiting him in the hospital to cheer him up. In the anime, the relationship between them is expanded explaining that they wanted to win the Kantou Tournament as quick as possible to go see Yukimura before his surgery.

* GracefulLoser: Even though he is victory-obsessed and very full of anger because of his illness, he took his defeat by Ryoma rather well, learning to have fun while playing tennis and happily agrees to shake hands with him after the match.

* HeroicBSOD: He gets this in the hospital, when he overhears the doctors discussing that he might never play tennis again, which made him cry in anger and frustration and snap at Sanada.

* InformedFlaw: He's stated to have relative stamina issues due to his disease. Then again, if this is what he can do after being hospitalised for so long, what can he do when he's in ''top form''?

* RealMenWearPink: Even though he is an almost unbeatable tennis captain, he is very fond of art and cultural activities. His hobbies includes gardening and watercolor painting, and he was the beautification committee member that suggested the "Lots of Flowers Movement".

* SilkHidingSteel: Don't let his appearance fool you. He is delicate looking, is very fond of plants and gardening, speaks with a soft voice and is an ill boy, but he's also the best player of the national championship team.

Genichirou Sanada is the vice captain of Rikkaidai, known as the "Emperor", who fills in for Yukimura in Singles 1 during his hospitalization. He comes from a very traditional family, is stern and noble, plays with honor, and expects the best from himself and his teammates. When his teammates don't live up to his expectations, or they act in a way that is unbecoming of their team, Sanada will physically beat them. Sanada practices kendo and incorporates it into his tennis techniques. His main rival is Tezuka, who he lost to despite being the runner-up to Yukimura in the Junior Tournament, and vows to train and defeat him.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: As the Vice-Captain, replacing captain Yukimura, Sanada reaffirms his authority in the team by ''bitchslapping whoever looses a game'' or fails to obey an order. He slapped Kirihara for challenging Ryoma to a match and losing, and Jackal (and also along with Marui in the Musical) for letting Kirihara do this.

** In '' The New Prince of Tennis'', it happens when Sanada accidentally hits Akutsu with his racquet. Sanada not only apologized with embarrassment, but also requested for a slap from him. In response, Akutsu [[spoiler:kicks him in the stomach, much to Sanada's surprise]].

* ObliviousToLove: In the dating sims, to the point where it takes pretty heavy handed match making attempts by the rest Rikkai for him to even get a clue. In ''Gakuensai'' he even manages to turn his first 'date' into a team outing by inviting the rest of the regulars along with him and Shizuka

** In the anime filler, Sanada is paired with Atobe. Not only their personalities contrast (he is TheStoic, disciplined and strict, while Atobe is a diva with AwesomeEgo), but get along well at the court because both of them went to the same tango concert.
** In ''The New Prince of Tennis'', Sanada purposely requested to play doubles with Akutsu, since their personalities and play styles were complete oposites (While Sanada has a lot of techniques and calculates all his moves, Akutsu ''is more HotBlooded than him'' and his tennis is very instinctive and unpredictably violent).

* TookALevelInKindness: Since the anime doesn't have his penchant of slapping people, he comes off as less arrogant but still serious. He also seems to care more for his teammates rather than punishing them for losing.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Actually 15 years old. He's been mistaken for a teacher in the Gakuensai dating sim game. [[RightBehindMe And he was right behind the main girl when she said so]]. He is also described as having a very old soul, as he is fan of Japanese traditions, calligraphy, haiku, and Atobe once gave him a cellphone that older people tend to like... which he takes a liking to as well.

* BadassBookworm: He enjoys reading and is the 3rd best of the tennis team.

* BirdsOfAFeather: With Inui. Both of them collect data and base their games in strategy and hard training. While Inui uses a lot of science and maths, Renji is more inclined to literature. After rekindling their friendship, both Inui and Renji start developing horrible juices together to feed to their teammates. According to the books, their joint work has made the final products ''twice as horrible''.

* MasterApprenticeChain: Yanagi learned Data Tennis from Akuto Mitsuya, then taught it to Inui. On the reverse end, he learned about making awful-tasting drinks from Inui, and then taught that to Mitsuya...

* TheSpock: He is deadpan, calmer and completely rational in the FreudianTrio with Sanada and Yukimura.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Especially in the anime. Despite his stoic personality, he still has a good friendship with Inui, often making collaborations on data gathering and weird juice combinations. He also has a soft spot for Kirihara, who he is constantly taking care of him, to the point Yanagi gives his spot on the U-17 camp for him to keep growing.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Mouri's skipping tennis practice while Yukimura's illness and hospitalization ''prevented'' him from playing tennis. One of the few times Yanagi is truly angry.

Akaya Kirihara is the youngest and only second year student in the Rikkaidai line-up, thus earning him the title "Second Year Ace." He joined Rikkai because he heard the school had a very strong tennis team, but his hopes were quickly crushed by the Three Demons. He usually acts childish and friendly, though he is actually very violent on the court, often causing serious injuries that require hospitalization. He reforms in the anime after being beaten by Fuji, (though he retains his nature in the manga) but in the nationals, he returns to his violent playing style, severely injuring Inui. While under high pressure or after sustaining injury, the whites of his eyes turn red, becoming bloodshot, and his power, skill, and speed increase. He becomes much more violent while in this state. Later, he develops a Devil Mode, which turns his skin red and his hair white. His bloodlust and destructive power are greatly enhanced, and he solely focuses on crushing the opposing players using violent means. [[spoiler: This turns out to be detrimental to his health, prompting Yanagi to beg Shiraishi - as the one who controlled Tooyama Kintaro - to save Akaya. He does.]]

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The "Three Demons" of Rikkaidai (Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi) are this to him. When Kirihara was a freshman, he tried to take on the spot for Rikkaidai's top ace player but the Three Demons quickly crushed his hopes. However, the three of them recognized Akaya's potential and look forward to him to lead Rikkaidai after they're no longer in the school, and [[BigBrotherMentor Yanagi has personally taken him under his wing]].

* CharacterExaggeration: Kirihara's violent tendencies were initially played up in the anime (Tachibana didn't end up in the hospital in the manga), while his more sympathetic qualities and endearing actions were downplayed or cut (such as his unauthorized match with Ryoma leading to him getting slapped by Sanada and berated by his team for losing, or the way he protected Yanagi from being hit by Sanada). The anime ended up giving him a filler character arc where he learns not to be violent at all, but because that wasn't in the manga, when he comes back for National tournament, he's largely as he was before-- aggressive and, due to his teammates pressuring him, increasingly violent. It's not until the sequel manga that he starts moving away from this, but the original manga did plant the seeds earlier than the anime did.
* ColorMotif: Kirihara's main motif is Red, since he is often associated with a demon. His style is violent and bloody, his eyes turn red whenever he gets upset, Rikkai's original uniform was red (until it was recolored to yellow for the next chapters). As a side note, his favorite color is also red and he enjoys fighting video games (the gorier, the better).

* EvilCounterpart: To Ryoma, though not explicitly stated. They're both the young, childish, arrogant aces of their teams with exceptional skills. While Ryoma may aim for people with his Twist Serve and Drive A, this is a key part of Kirihara's play style. Ryoma's been trained from a young age, while Akaya's a (very hard working) prodigy.

** To Seigaku's Kaidoh. They're both aggressive power players who are closely mentored by their team's senior data player, but Kaidoh has a steadier hand and a calmer personality, and if he loses his temper, he can calm himself down more easily, while Kirihara is aggressive on the court, but can be childish and a Keet when he isn't playing. He's also more willing to speak up to Inui than Kirihara is to Yanagi, giving them a more egalitarian partnership, even if Kaidoh is still very careful to pay Inui the respect due to a senior. And, Kaidoh is chosen to be next year's captain, while Kirihara is instead chosen as vice-captain because Kaidoh is stricter than Momoshiro, but Kirihara, though acknowledged as the team's ace player, is more of a follower than a leader and having to be captain would end up hindering his own growth.

** To Tamagawa. Both are Juniors, and while Kirihara is loud and boisterous, Tamagawa is quiet and humble. Also their appearances are total opposites: Kirihara has messy, curly, black hair, while Tamagawa has tidy, white hair.
* HeavySleeper: He once fell asleep on the bus while on his way to school... and crossed all the way from Kanagawa to Tokyo. And that apparently wasn't the first time either. In his ''Sanroku no Mystic'' route he actually falls aleep on Tsugumi more than once.
* HumblePie: In a flashback it’s shown that Sanada, Yukimura and Yanagi had to each beat him in tennis to tame him. Akaya learned to obey them in base of having his butt kicked by his seniors. His main goal is to become stronger and defeat the Big Three.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: His violent and cocky behavior in courts contrasts with his child-like naïveté. It should be noted that the anime gave Akaya additional character development, having him denounce his violent playstyle all together. In the manga this doesn't happen until the sequel rolls around, during which Atobe says "he's not a Devil anymore" and Krauser even likens him to an angel. Go figure.
* {{Keet}}: When he is not being a violent brat on the tennis court, he is a very cheerful and hyperactive kid, to the point he excitedly tries to make conversation with Kaidoh, Zaizen and Hiyoshi about the moutain training.

* OddFriendship: Strikes one surprisingly with Hiyoshi. At first Hiyoshi is annoyed at him, since Kirihara wouldn't let him meditate, until Kirihara started to mention ghosts at the campus, which grabs his attention, since he is a fan of the paranormal and UFO's. They are later shown sharing stories about aliens, with Hiyoshi excitedly showing his roommates his magazines about aliens.
* {{Tykebomb}}: Rikkai actually encourages his Devil Mode to win matches (the Nagoya Seitoku match being a prime example). It's not until ''The New Prince of Tennis'' that Renji and the others [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realise it's detrimental to his health and try to keep him as far away from his Devil Mode as possible]].

* AdaptationExpansion: The anime adds that Yagyuu used to be in the Golf Club, until Niou dragged him into playing tennis.
%%* BadassBookworm

* GenreSavvy: He [[BlatantLies on purpose translated Liliadent's taunt, adding a "The Seaweed Idiot"]], so [[HotBlooded Kirihara]] would snap into [[BloodKnight Devil Mode]]. He also predicts that the bullies who were badmouthing Yukimura, would grab the opportunity to gather data on him and Kaidoh when both are provoked into a tennis match. [[spoiler:He manages to switch outfits with Kaidoh to give their opponents false data on their skills.]]

* NotSoAboveItAll: While he cultivates the persona of the "The Gentleman," he is, in reality, just as sneaky and tricky as Niou.
%%* OddCouple: With Niou.
* OutOfFocus: During the Final Tournament, he is benched, so he isn't seen playing again until New Prince of Tennis, where he defeats Niou. After that he is DemotedToExtra for the rest of the series.

* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: In the sequel, the match looks like it's all over when [[spoiler:Atobe can't make it in time to return the cord ball Mori hits, but Niou makes the last second game winning shot by returning the ball while still lying on his stomach.]]

** He manages to keep up with Atobe as his doubles partner, despite having a reduced stamina after duplicating Tezuka's techniques.
* TheTrickster: According to the fanbooks, he is into practical jokes. Other media as ''Houkago no Oujisama'', exploits this treat in his own benefit... normally towards Bunta and Jackal.

* BubblegumPopping: He is often chewing gum during plays, replacing it everytime it starts to loose flavor.

** MadLibsCatchphrase: He'll set up a statement like he's going to do something, only to add on that his best friend ''Jackal'' is going to do it.

* AllThereInTheManual: According to his bio in the first fanbook, his father was unemployed (which is a reality for many inmigrants in Japan). By the time of the second fanbook, Jackal's father got enough money to open his own Brazilian family restaurant.

* BigBrotherMentor: In ''New Prince of Tennis: Hyotei vs. Rikkai'', Jackal admits that despite his own desire to play a last game with Marui as his doubles partner, he gave his spot to Tamagawa, since he knew that the team needs a strong leader the following year, and this game is supposed to ignate his confidence.

* NiceGuy: He is very compassive and acts as a good sempai to his underclassmen.

* BoringButPractical: Compared to Jackal's more aggresive defense, Tamagawa is more lowkey, relying more in high lobes to distract the opponents.

* {{Foil}}: To Kirihara. Both are Juniors, and while Kirihara is loud and boisterous, Tamagawa is quiet and humble. Also their appearances are total opposites: Kirihara has messy, curly, black hair, while Tamagawa has tidy, white hair.
* MirrorCharacter: He has a lot in common with Hyotei’s Ohtori. Both are very tall second years with signature moves, have very low-key and gentle personalities, and both are very humble and respectful to their seniors. Unlike Ohtori, who usually says his catchphrase before shooting a high speed serve, Tamagawa’s high lobes aren’t flashy or have a signature move before he shoots them.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Since Niou isn't around for the exhibition match, he fills his place in the team, and both are tall and have white hair. He also ends up as doubles partner with Marui rather than Jackal.

* {{Foil}}: To Seigaku's Kaidoh. They're both aggressive power players who are closely mentored by their team's senior data player, but Kaidoh has a steadier hand and a calmer personality, and if he loses his temper, he can calm himself down more easily, while Kirihara is aggressive on the court, but can be childish and a Keet when he isn't playing. He's also more willing to speak up to Inui than Kirihara is to Yanagi, giving them a more egalitarian partnership, even if Kaidoh is still very careful to pay Inui the respect due to a senior. And, Kaidoh is chosen to be next year's captain, while Kirihara is instead chosen as vice-captain because Kaidoh is stricter than Momoshiro, but Kirihara, though acknowledged as the team's ace player, is more of a follower than a leader and having to be captain would end up hindering his own growth.

* TheRival: To Tezuka since both of them were kids. [[GenerationXerox Also their grandfathers seem to be this as well]].

* HonorBeforeReason: While he could have [[spoiler:let Yukimura win by forfeit against an amnesiac Ryoma at the Nationals, he also decided to help him to recover his memory, reminding Yukimura that they have to win "The Rikkaidai way."]] He also took it a step further, by [[spoiler: using his "Lightning" technique against Echizen while trying to jog his memory. Sanada only ever used it against Tezuka at that point, which Echizen didn't see. Because Sanada showed him the move, however, Echizen was able to duplicate it with the Selfless State, and use it against Yukimura-- something Yukimura was clearly annoyed by]].

* StepfordSmiler: According to his stats, with his smiling poker face, the opponent can never read his expressions. Because he has quite the skills to back it up, his mental strength is strong.

* ShortHairwithTail: Has spiky white hair and a rat-tail.

* HonorBeforeReason: While he could have [[spoiler:let Yukimura win by forfeit against an amnesiac Ryoma at the Nationals, he also decided to help him to recover his memory, reminding Yukimura that they have to win "The Rikkaidai way".]]

* CharacterExaggeration: His BloodKnight tendencies get exaggerated to ridiculous degrees in the manga. [[spoiler:Made even worse in the anime, where he actually ''was'' given CharacterDevelopment and sought to ''not'' fall into this... but the AesopAmnesia kicked in and that was lost.]] Until the sequel anyway.

* HachiMaki: A nice green one.

* BigBrotherMentor: In ''New Prince of Tennis: Hyotei vs. Rikkai'', Jackal admits that despite his own desire to play a last game with Marui as his doubles partner, he gave his spot to Tamagawa, since he knew that the team needs a strong leaderthe following year, and this game is supposed to ignate his confidence.

[[folder:Kuwahara Jackal]]

* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler:In the OVA, when Inui is injured by Kirihara and ''refused'' to forfeit, his mask cracks and he ''begs'' Inui to do so for his own sake. "''Please'' forfeit, Sadaharu! It's not like I'm enjoying this either!"]]

* BirdsOfAFeather: With Fuji and Shiraishi. The three of them are among the best players of their teams, are always smiling and are very approachable and friendly towards others, and the three of them bond instantly after being set as roommates and discovering their mutual passion for gardening (the room is filled with various pots right after).

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Actually 15 years old. He's been mistaken for a teacher in the Gakuensai dating sim game. [[RightBehindMe And he was right behind the main girl when she said so]].