[[quoteright:255:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryomaechizen.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:255:Mada mada dane!]]

''The Prince of Tennis'' is a [[LongRunners long-running]] sports anime and manga series, and has spawned a live-action movie, video games and over a dozen musicals. What's it about? Well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "boys playing tennis"]] ...[[CaptainObvious duh]]!

Okay, but seriously, folks... the story's about this kid named Ryoma Echizen, a pre-teen tennis prodigy who transfers to Seigaku (a shortened form of Seishun Gakuen, used by everyone in the series), a school renowned for its rich tennis tradition. In the next ranking tournament he beats some of best players in the school and secures a place on the regular tennis club. From then on, the series follows the Seigaku tennis club's progress towards the middle school National Championship, facing a new rival team in each [[TournamentArc new story arc]]. The characters develop their own styles of play (complete with [[ArtMajorPhysics increasingly bizarre and complex shots]]). Even the sometimes hard-to-approach Echizen eventually learns what the game means to him as time goes on.

The manga has ended in Japan (where it was wildly successful), with over 40 volumes and 40 million copies sold in that country alone. The sequel, Shin Prince of Tennis, is currently ongoing and now also has the anime airing. A LiveActionAdaptation Movie was also made. Two animated movies have also been released in cinemas: The Two Samurai: The First Game, co-released with short movie A Gift from Atobe (2005) and The Battle of the British City (2011).

Also! The [[Characters/PrinceOfTennis Prince of Tennis Character sheet]] has just been added. '''PLEASE''', if you've got new tropes for the characters of the series, add them ''there''.

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!!Tropes found in The Prince of Tennis:
* AerithAndBob: In the 2011 movie, most of the Clack team have suitably Western sounding names like Keith and Peter... apart from Xiu. Though in his defense, he is implied to hail from a different foreign country.
* AdaptationDistillation: Each installment of Tenimyu does a great job of condensing an entire arc of the manga into a two hour musical.
** Also, the OAV have been praised by lots of fans for re-telling situations from the manga in quite a better light and portraying some characters more sympathetically. A clear example is the resolution of the [[spoiler: Atobe vs. Ryoma]] match in the Nationals, where [[spoiler: Ryoma's borderline {{Jerkass Stu}}-ish behavior is quite toned down and Atobe even gets to cut his hair himself]].
* AgainstTheSettingSun: Oishi and Eiji, Chitose and Shiraishi. Also Ryoma and Tezuka, who always end up playing by the sunset, or staring at each other in the beach volleyball episode.
** Even Ryoma and Sakuno get one in the anime, walking home as the sun sets.
** The setting for [[spoiler: Fuji and Kite's]] BackToBackBadasses moment in the 2011 movie.
* AllThereInTheManual: Some of the most interesting, funny, quirky data bits on the characters are in the fanbooks. Specially the 40.5 one.
** Definitely, Apparently Ryoma wants a DS, and apparently [[{{Bloodknight}} Kirihara ]] [[{{tyke bomb}} Akaya]] still believes in old St. Nick
* ArtisticAge: Lampshaded more than once. "What, are these kids REALLY 15?!"
* BackToBackBadasses: The 2011 movie gives us [[spoiler: Fuji and Kite]].
--> [[spoiler: '''Fuji''':]] [[LampshadeHanging "Back-to-back irregular tennis, eh?"]]
* BadassBookworm: The Data players (Inui, Yanagi). Mizuki, Koharu and Dan also use their data like this sometimes.
* BadassNormal: Whereas the likes of Tezuka, Ryoma, Chitose, Kirahara and others like them can use the "Muga no Kyōchi (Self-Actualization)", Inui, Atobe and Fuji rely on pure skill.
* BareYourMidriff: Sakuno and Osakada in their cheerleader outfits.
* BatmanGambit: A vital part of the tennis strategies. Notable users are Inui, Yanagi, Tezuka, Yukimura, Kawamura, Fuji, Atobe...
* BattleAmongstTheFlames: Actually tennis amongst the flames. But still... Happened in the movie between some tennis underwater and tennis in the sky.
* BattleAura: goes hand in hand with the physics-defying tennis moves.
** It has recently been hinted that Sanada's "black aura" is part of a new move.
* BeachEpisode: Episode 90, when Seigaku and Rokkaku play beach volleyball. A whole OAV is also dedicated to this. And it's bloody ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]]''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Fuji, Kawamura, Taichi, sometimes Oishi, and Yukimura.
* BigEater: Momoshiro, Echizen, Tanishi and Kabaji.
* BigFancyHouse: Atobe's mansion. Tezuka and Echizen's Japanese-styled homes.
* BigFancyCastle: Clack's hideout in the 2011 movie, [[ContrivedCoincidence which was previously one of Atobe's mansions.]]
* BishieSparkle: Taken to ridiculous levels for the effect of Fanservice.
* BlandNameProduct: Echizen drinks Ponta. Though, in the Viz version, he drinks Fanta.
* BlatantLies: Higa's excuses for being in England in the 2011 movie, which include mastering Chinese martial arts and rescuing a princess from a demon lord. In reality, they [[NoodleIncident somehow]] managed to get lost while returning to Okinawa and [[ContrivedCoincidence ended up in England instead.]] Never mind the two places are on different sides of the planet...
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Kevin, to some degree. He's more of a JerkAss than a true evil, then evolves into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
** The 2011 movie gives us
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Bane and Dabide's trademark. Oshitari did [[DudeNotFunny NOT]] appreciate Dabide trying to rope him into them, though.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Yuudai Yamato, Tezuka's ex captain: he looks and acts like a CloudCuckooLander, but has a razor-sharp intuition and can give you [[BigBrotherMentor really good advice]] if you're willing to listen to him. Eiji Kikumaru acts child-like and happy, but has an extremely sharp vision that not even Ryoma can keep with AND scaringly good reflexes, on top of his flexibility and high jumps.
* ButNotTooForeign: Jackal is half-Brazilian, half-Japanese. Makes some sense: Brazil ''does'' have a rather large Japanese colony.
** Atobe is also hinted to be of mixed descent. It's more noticeable in the manga, as coloured pages depict him with blond hair and blue eyes while almost everyone else has brown, black or grey eyes.
* ButtMonkey: Kaidoh, during the "slice of life" episodes. Inui, whenever he tries to escape from punishments or challenges.
* CallingYourAttacks ("KIKUMARU BEEEEEAM!" "JAAAACK KNIIIIIIFE!")
** This is almost subverted in most cases, actually. After a move has had its dramatic debut, the character usually refrains from calling out his own move. Naturally, this does nothing to deter the random people standing around watching the match from wildly belting it out each and every time its used.
* CanonDiscontinuity: A minor one. When the Emerald Pair first forms, Inui tells Kaidoh that his Data Tennis started out in his first year of middle school as trying to get more info about Tezuka in order to beat him. Later on, it turns out that his friend from elementary, Yanagi, was the one who taught him Data Tennis.
* CanonImmigrant: Echizen Ryoga, originally created for the film, he makes his canon debut in recent chapters of The New Prince of Tennis manga.
* CantCatchUp: The Fudoumine and Rokkaku tennis clubs.
** To a certain degree Yamabuki as well. Apparently, they're useless without Akutsu.
* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: '''And how'''! One of the first implementations of BishonenJumpSyndrome, in fact.
* CatchPhrase: "Mada mada da ne!". "Yudan sezu ni ikou". "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na". "Gekidasa daze!". "Tarundoru". "Yukimuraaaaaaa!". "BUUUURRRRNIIIING" "Hoi hoi!" "Gekokujou." "Motto Tonde Miso."
* CensorSteam: While the camera lovingly pans up Atobe Keigo's body while he takes a shower.
* ChickMagnet: Echizen (who barely notices), Atobe (who notices and LOVES it), Wakato (likewise) and Oishi (who ''hates'' it).
* ChivalrousPervert: Yuushi Oshitari, but very slightly (it's more played up in the dating sims, no matter what {{Fanon}} says).
* CloudCuckooLander: Jiroh, when not playing. Shinji, when mumbling. Yamato ''seems'' to be one of these, but it's just a cover.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Tomoka, in regards to Ryoma.
* CoatCape: Yukimura, when we see him after he gets out of the hospital. In fact, the last match makes a point of noting that Ryoma is able to knock his jacket off while playing. Atobe is also guilty of this.
* TheCoatsAreOff: In the 2011 movie, [[spoiler: Sanada, Tezuka and Shiraishi]] make a point of flinging their uniform jackets off before getting down to business.
* CombatClairvoyance: The users of Pinnacle of Great Wisdom get this.
* CombatCommentator. Come ON, what's a sports manga ''without'' them? Main culprits are: the captains and coaches of each team, Inoue, Shiiba, the first year Seigaku students, Nanjiroh and Inui.
* ContemplateOurNavels: Parodied with Shinji Ibu's long, odd mumbling rounds. The voice messages in his single CD's are all composed of random mumbling about practically ''anything''.
* ContrivedCoincidence: The 2011 movie has a lot. Clack's BigFancyCastle hideout turning out to be an old home of Atobe's and Higa appearing out of nowhere to offer a boat rental service are prime examples.
* CookingDuel: More like ''eating'' duel.
* CoolBigSis: Yumiko Fuji, Nanako Meino, Saori Shiiba.
* CoolOldGuy: Ojii of Rokkaku, Banji of Yamabuki.
* CoolOldLady: You don't get them cooler than Sumire Ryuzaki.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Yuuji Hitouji, in regards to his partner Koharu Konjiki ("That's adultery!")
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Kawamura, again.
* CurbStompBattle: Chitose's defeat at Tezuka's hands, after the former was established as one of the very best players in Japan.
** Fuji allows Mizuki a ''5-0 lead'' before wiping the floor with him. Never mess with the people Fuji cares about.
* DatingSim: The series has spawned several of those with the player in the role of [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent a normal schoolgirl]] who gets to interact with the Tennis Boys. Some are official and can count as sort-of spin-offs or Alternate Universes (''Gakuensai no Oujisama'', ''Rush and Dream'', the two ''Doki Doki Survival''), others are fan made (''Orange Heart'', a Hyoutei-only one made in Flash).
* DeadlyUpgrade: Kawamura and the Ishida's Hadoukyuu, the Zero-Shiki Drop, Yuuta's Top Spin Serve
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Echizen vs Yukimura in the original series. Everyone vs the N-17 guys in the new series.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: The Seigaku and Fudoumine tennis teams become friends after their match. The Rokkaku tennis team sort of counts as well, except they become friends with Seigaku before ever playing against them. (It certainly helps that their vice-captain, Saeki, is Fuji's ForgottenChildhoodFriend)
* DoubleStandard: Sakuno and Tomoka are vilified by the EstrogenBrigade for being fangirls, but Jiroh and Dan's fanboyishness is seen as adorable and sweet.
* DramaticWind: Fuji Syuusuke's third counter, Hakugei. Also, Yanagi's Kamaitachi serve.
* EagleLand: Let's count all the stereotypes used in the American arc of the anime!
** Also at the start of the New Prince of Tennis anime, not one but two enormous American flags hang in the metro station. Just to make absolutely sure you remember where Echizen is.
* Engrish: Nanjiro does this at times, saying things along the lines of "Me no Nanjiro," or "Sorry, no speak the english!"
* MrFanservice: Comes with the Fanservice.
* EveryGirlIsCuterWithHairDecs: Sakuno, An, Tomoka and the Iijyuin twins use hair jewelry.
* EvilLaugh: The 2011 movie gives us Peter of the Clack team.
* EvilTeacher: Harumi Saotome from Higa.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Yanagi, Fuji, sometimes Koharu.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Chitose, Ryoma, Fuji]]
* {{Fanservice}}: Mostly for the ladies, though.
* {{Fangirl}}: Tomoka Osakada and Sakuno Ryuzaki in Seigaku, An Tachibana in Fudomine. Subverted with Kotoha Kitazono from Tsubakikawa: [[spoiler: she ''pretended'' to be a fangirl to spy on Echizen and Atobe, but they weren't fooled and either ignored her, or called her out on it.]]
* {{Filler}}: An interesting case. The anime has quite a bit of filler throughout, but much of it results in [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Crowning Moments Of Funny]].
* FlungClothing: Atobe Keigo then snaps his fingers to stops his supporters' cheers, then flings off his uniform's jacket as part of his dramatic first entrance onto the tennis court.
* FoeYay: See "Fanservice".
* FunSize: The various chibi episodes.
* GameBreakingInjury: Tezuka, Tachibana and Oishi are victims of this Trope while Kirihara is a proud user. Also, [[spoiler: Chitose, in his backstory. Who gets one of these from ''Tachibana'' and almost loses sight in one of his eyes.]]
** Subverted when [[spoiler: Shusuke sustains a concussionwhile playing against Kirihara, causing him to be stricken with temporary blindness. [[DisabilitySuperpower He plays BETTER!]]]]
* GargleBlaster: Inui's juices.
* GenerationXerox: Kaidoh looks a lot like his father, Shibuki. So does his little brother Hazue. HilarityEnsues when the three have breakfast together.
* GenderReveal: [[spoiler: Tezuka]] mistakes [[spoiler: Miyuki]] for a guy at first. Then, she drops her NiceHat...
* GeniusBruiser: Sadaharu Inui, Renji Yanagi, Genichirou Sanada, Choutarou Ohtori, Yuushi Oshitari, Munehiro Kabaji, Tetsu Ishida, Gin Ishida, Senri Chitose, Hiroshi Chinen. All of these guys are excellent tennis players... and over 180 cms tall. In fact, Kabaji is ''193'' cms tall.
* GeniusDitz: Jiroh Akutagawa.
* GenkiGirl: An, Tomoka, Kurumi
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Shiraishi's CatchPhrase is [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "OOOOH, ECSTASY!"]] Good one, Konomi, how did you get away with it?
** Not to mention Momoshiro in the anime, who sees Nanjirou following Ryoma and Sakuno around and ends up calling him a {{Lolicon}}. "He must be following ''her''!"
* GirlishPigtails: Tomoka and Miyuki.
* GratuitousEnglish: Rare manga example: Ryoma's "mada mada dane" is rendered on his speech bubbles as "You still have lots more to work on...".
** Many characters frequently use English phrases as well; some have named their [[CallingYourAttacks tennis moves]] in English, ("Moon Volley", "Laser Beam", "Speed Bullet"), while others use them regularly. For instance, Kawamura's [[HotBlooded BUUUUUUURNIIIING, BABYYYY!!!]], and "Lucky" Sengoku.
*** Sengoku is actually interesting. While he often says [[CatchPhrase "lucky"]], he also uses minor phrases like "thank you". His pronounciation is slightly better than most other in the series, but he still claims that he [[LampshadeHanging is no good at English.]]
** What about the Invitational Members arc? The American players spoke Japanese to each other, but a very deformed version of English to their opponents. The same goes for their fangirls paparazzies and coach.
*** Its possible that the reason they speak Japanese is simply because the show was made for Japanese viewers, most of which probably wouldn't be able to follow the conversions in English and thus had them speak Japanese to one another and using the bad English talking to imply that they are speaking two different languages.
* HandsomeLech: Kiyosumi Sengoku; his first apparition has him oggling the Seigaku female tennis team, and in the manga that scares the crap out of them at first. Nanjiroh also counted in his younger days, right before he hooked up with Rinko; he's more of a LovableSexManiac now.
* HelloNurse: Hanamura, Yumiko, [[spoiler: Yuuki]]
* HeroicResolve: In the middle of an informal tennis match he was losing against a member of the Shishigaku tennis club, Tezuka finally overcomes his shoulder injury when his opponent [[KickTheDog aims a direct shot at his protegee, Miyuki]], who is barely recovering from an HeroicBSOD.
* HeroicSacrifice: Parodied during the yakiniku battle. [[strike: Poor Shishido]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Oishi and Eiji, Momoshiro and Echizen, Fuji and Tezuka (HoYay ahoy, some say). On ther female side, Sakuno and Tomoka, and maybe Sakuno and An.
* HeavySleeper: Jiroh. Also Akaya Kirihara, in his very first appearance (he fell asleep on the bus while going to school and woke up near Seigaku... this is notable because Seigaku is in Tokyo, and Kirihara ''doesn't even live in Tokyo'').
* HeroicRROD: Tezuka
* HeyItsThatGuy: Several of the actors in the stage musical have gone on to perform in {{Toku}} series. In particular, ''KamenRider'' has several Tenimyu alumni, including Kouji Seto ([[KamenRiderKiva Wataru Kurenai/Kiva]]) as Kikumaru, Masahiro Inoue ([[KamenRiderDecade Tsukasa Kadoya/Decade]]) as Atobe, Ryota Murai ([[KamenRiderKuuga Yuusuke Onodera/Decade!Kuuga]]) as Shishido, Dori Sakurada ([[KamenRiderDenO Kotaro/NEW Den-O]]) and Renn Kiriyama ([[KamenRiderDouble Shotaro Hidari/Double]]) as Bunta. ''Super Sentai'' also has their fair share of TeniMyu alums, with Hiroki Suzuki ([[JukenSentaiGekiranger Jan/GekiRed]]), Hirofumi Araki ([[JukenSentaiGekiranger KuroJishi Rio]]), Hiroki Aiba ([[SamuraiSentaiShinkenger Ryuunosuke/ShinkenBlue]]), Kyousuke Hamao ([[TensouSentaiGoseiger Aguri/GoseiBlack]]) & Kento Ono ([[TensouSentaiGoseiger Haido/GoseiBlue]])
** There are also several musical actors that have gone on to become seiyuus, most notably MamoruMiyano as Fudomine's Testu Ishida.
*** Not to mention that Momo's first actor in the Tenimyus, Eiji Moriyama, eventually became the voice actor of Fudomine's Shinji Ibu. Hello flashback.
*** And from Shin Tenipuri, we have Irie Kanata, who is voiced by Hiroki Aiba (formerly Fuji in the musicals).
* HippieTeacher: To a degree, Osamu Watanabe from Shitenhouji.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Mizuki, who was defeated in a ''really'' humiliating manner by Fuji after he treated Fuji's beloved younger brother Yuuta like an expendable pawn.]]
* HorsebackHeroism: [[spoiler: Fuji's]] BigDamnHero moment in the 2011 movie has him leaping over a ''closed drawbridge'' on horseback in order to provide backup to [[spoiler: Kite]]. [[spoiler: Kite]] immediately lampshades the effect of such an entrance.
--> [[spoiler:'''Kite''':]] "That was a sickeningly magnificent arrival, [[spoiler: Fuji]]-kun."
* HotBlooded: Kawamura when in Burning Mode, Momoshiro, Tomoka. Outside of Seigaku: Shishido and Mukahi (Hyoutei), Kirihara (Rikkaidai, mixing it with BloodKnight), Kamio (Fudomine) and Kintarou (Shitenhouji).
* HotForTeacher: Played with in Reiji Shinjou's obsessive loyalty to his coach, Aoi Hanamura. Hanamura herself practically ogles and fangirls her own pupils when she's in ''really high spirits'', both in the Jyousei and the Senbatsu arcs, though that's more of a RunningGag than anything.
* HotShounenMom: [[spoiler: Akutsu's mother, Yuuki.]] She's so beautiful and young-looking that [[spoiler: Kawamura's]] friends mistook him for a someone who LikesOlderWomen when they saw them talking. Also, Tezuka's mother Ayana.
* HoYay: See "Fanservice". Has its own page: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/HoYay/PrinceOfTennis
* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Atobe berates Tezuka for sacrificing his arm in his latest match against Yamato. Ahem, what was his plan during their first match?
* IAmNotLeftHanded: Ryoma sometimes uses his left hand to play, when in fact he can use ''both''.
** Actually in this case it's I am not ''right''-handed; Ryouma's a lefty who can play with either hand.
** Furthermore, in this series, it is apparently more common to be left-handed, for some reason. Still, the opposing characters always have the same "ZOMFG! He's left handed!!" reaction. Almost half of the cast is left handed, while approximately one quarter of the real-life population is.
*** Among those lefties, we might just find some of the best players as well. Ryoma, Tezuka, Shiraishi, Chitose, Niou, Saeki, Zaizen, Fuji Yuuta, Mukahi Gakuto, Kite and Kai are all using their left hand. And considered to be some of the best.
**** Most tennis players have to be ambidextrous to a certain degree, in order to hit their backhand properly.
**** Kai from Higa Chuu actually has one of these moments; up to a certain point of the game, he uses his right hand. Then he changes not only to his left, but also with a [[ReverseGrip reversed "stabbing" grip]]
* TheIdiotFromOsaka: Played more or less straight by Kintarou (who's naive and seems to have problems when reading kanji, as well as having [[CloudCuckooLander a very... * special* imagination]]), parodied/subverted by Hitouji and Konjiki (who ''play up'' the dumb stereotype to their advantage in the courts. HilarityEnsues [[CrowningMomentOfFunny when they try it with Momoshiro and Kaidoh]])
* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: Seiichi Yukimura is a subversion on this trope. Not just for his gender, but because he gets better [[spoiler: and is revealed to be a KnightTemplar. ]]
* InactionSequence: During tennis matches.
* InstantFanclub: Subverted (Tomoka and Sakuno are the only stable members of the "Ryoma-sama Fan Club") and used straight (Atobe's, Wakato's, Oishi's and the Rikkai team's cheerleaders)
* ImageSong: Literally ''hundreds'' of them.
** MANY hundreds.
*** [[RuleOfThree Yep]], [[OverlyLongGag HUNDREDS.]]
* ImportantHaircut: Shishido, Tachibana. [[spoiler: Atobe, later (although it can be considered subverted in this case, because the haircut doesn't change him and he has a wig made to look ''exactly'' like his old hair in a day or two.]]
** Also [[spoiler: Kabaji]]
* ImprobableAge: These kids are ''good'' for a bunch of junior high schoolers, and the second and third years don't really look their age (this is actually a [[LampshadeHanging running joke within the series]]).
* IWasQuiteALooker: Ryuzaki-sensei was damn ''hot'' when young.
** And 12 years ago, Nanjirou was TallDarkAndHandsome ([[TallDarkAndSnarky and snarky]]). Now he's not ''that'' ugly, but he looks like a hobo.
* {{Jerkass}} : Akutsu, though he evolves into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold after the Yamabuki matches.
* JerkJock: The Rikkaidai team skirts the line (though they're also made [[TrueCompanions quite]] [[CharacterDevelopment sympathetic]]), the Higa team crosses it per orders of their EvilTeacher.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Several characters - more specifically Ryoma, Atobe, post Yamabuki matches Akutsu, Shishido, Mukahi, anime!Kirihara, Kevin and Kaidoh (though the latter can be argued to be a male {{Tsundere}}).
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Shitenhouji and Oshitari Yuushi.
* {{Keet}}: Jiroh Akutagawa, Eiji Kikumaru (partially; he's taller, heavier [[CharacterDevelopment and more mature]] than the usual Keet), Taichi Dan, Kintarou Touyama, Mukahi Gakuto.
* KnightTemplar: The Rikkaidai players, who will stop at practically ''nothing'' to win.
* {{Kuudere}}: Ryoma and Yanagi, in the anime.
** Also Inui, in the {{Dating Sim}}s.
* LampshadeHanging: The most recent shinpuri chapter has Yamato commenting on Tezuka's constant need to sacrifice himself for his team, complete with a montage of all the incidents. It's about time someone actually convinced him of his recklessness.
* LargeAndInCharge: Played with. With the exception of Sanada from Rikkaidai, the captains and/or subcaptains ''rarely'' are the tallest in their teams. In fact, Kevin is both the shortest player ''and'' the captain of the American team.
** Only partially. Akazawa of St. Rudolph is actually the tallest on his team, and still their captain. Though, when that is said, it's Mizuki who is their de facto leader.
** Yamabuki and Fudomine also has questionable heights on their respective captains.
** The main reason for this is probably those large power players every team so conveniently happens to have at least one of.
* LethalChef: Sadaharu Inui. Subverted because it's ''voluntary'' (Inui Juice, anyone?)
** GargleBlaster: All of his juices, specially the Aozu. Which not even ''[[ExtremeOmnivore Fuji]]'' can stomach.
* LightningBruiser: Unlike FragileSpeedster Kamio, Kenya Oshitari has the speed ''and'' the stamina.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters (Considering each team has seven regulars... )
** Don't forget that some teams also have a large number of non-regular members as well (Hyotei, for example, has over 200 members)
** And every other random dude that feels like passing by and making himself a part of the story.
* LovableSexManiac: Nanjiroh, Sengoku
* MasterOfDisguise: [[spoiler: Hiroshi Yagyuu and Masaharu Niou. More the former than the latter, though (unexpectedly, since Niou is known as a trickster, but it's later revealed to be something Yagyuu does with at least one other character).]]
** Actually, during [[spoiler: Niou's match against Fuji during the Nationals arc, it is shown that his abilities to imitate others, or disguise himself, far succeeds those of any other copy player in the series, including Yagyuu. The OVA "Another Story" also shows that he can impersonate his team members perfectly, and independant of anyone else.]]
* TheMessiah: Ryoma and Yukimura. Curiously, both of them mix their Messianic qualities with different shades of ''jerkiness'' (Ryoma's arrogance and lack of social skills, Yukimura's obsessions)
* MindControlEyes: Eiji and Oishi [[spoiler: when they "synchronize" in the courts.]]
** Parodied in the OVA where Koharu and Yuuji appears to do it, but in the end only does their ridiculous 'Synchro swimming'. On a tennis court. I kid you not.
* MistakenForGay: Hilariously subverted with the Comedy Tennis that is the trademark of Koharu and Yuuji from Shitenhouji.
* MsFanservice: Yes, they exist! Aoi Hanamura is the biggest example, and so is Yumiko Fuji.
* MundaneMadeAwesome:
** Tennis.
** Atobe's method of getting to school, [[spoiler:base jumping off a stealth bomber.]]
* TheMusical: Collectively referred to as Tenimyu by fans. The musicals focus on various arcs in the manga but have differences. Female characters are omitted from the musicals and certain changes have been made to the stories.
* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours: A lot of the characters, what with this being a sports series. Seigaku is often seen training, specially Kaidoh, Momo and Kawamura. Fuji secretly develops his fourth and final counter when he realizes his "Triple Counter" won't be strong enough to win at Nationals. Hyoutei's Shishido's initial story arc was all about training to become stronger after being humiliated in a match against Fudoumine's Tachibana. Atobe develops ''Koori No Sekai'' after Hyoutei's loss at the regional tournament.
* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: [[spoiler: Kirihara, during the match against Nagoya Seitoku]]
* NoSenseOfDirection: Sakuno, Kintarou.
* NotAMorningPerson: Ryoma.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Nanjiroh. He looks like a perverted, lazy monk with a stubble... until you ask him for a tennis match, where you can see that despite being retired for more than a decade, he's STILL a badass tennis player.
** Another exaple is Mikiya Banda aka Banji from Yamabuki; under his all smily face we have a razor-sharp mind and admirable wits which STILL make Ryuzaki and Nanjiroh mad after 25 years and helped him outsmart Akutsu to make him join the team ''without'' getting a punch to the face.
* TheObiWan: Tezuka's grandfather towards his grandson. Tezuka himself towards Echizen, because he's always telling him to become Seigaku's pillar of support (particularly dramatic after [[spoiler: his potentially career-ending injury in the match against Atobe, which forced him to temporarily leave his team to get treatment]]. Also, Tezuka towards Miyuki, and possibly the Rikkai Troica (Sanada, Yukimura, Yanagi - specially the latter) towards Kirihara.
* OffModel: Suffers a severe case of this. Largely due to '''three''' animation studios (TransArts, ProductionIG and JCStaff) all animating.
* OpposingSportsTeam: Comes with the territory.
* ParentalAbandonment: Very curious case-by-case examples. See the entry for more info.
* [[PetTheDog Pet The Kitten]] - Karupin, Echizen's cat, serves to humanize Echizen as he's shown to genuinely care for the animal. Kaidou, who's got the InUniverse nickname "The Viper", is the one who finds Karupin when it wanders off and can be seen playing with it.
* PlayingCyrano: Subverted because Momoshiro attempts more or less often to have Ryoma noticing Sakuno a bit more, but always fails.
* PluckyGirl: Tomoka, An, Miyuki, Narumi.
* PowerTrio: The Three Demons of Rikkai: Yukimura (Ego), Sanada (Id), Yanagi (Superego)
* PrideBeforeAFall: Shishido, Ryoma in the anime.
* RescueRomance: Parodied at the beginning. Ryoma didn't even ''know'' he was rescuing Sakuno from Sasabe: he's a HeavySleeper who, right then, only wanted his nap back.
** His parents play them straight: their relationship starts as LoveAtFirstPunch, only developing some more and going into SlapSlapKiss when Nanjiroh rescues Rinko from her abusive coach.
** Averted with An and either Momo or Kamio. The guys rescue her from having to date Atobe, but there's no RelationshipUpgrade with any of them.
* RetiredBadass: Nanjiro, despite being younger than the standard. In fact, Nanjiro was only a match away from winning Wimbledon and earning a Grand Slam when he decided to retire to be able to teach Ryoma tennis.
* SayMyName: "Echizen!" "Echizen!!" "Echizen!" "Ryoma-kun!" "Echizen!" "Ochibi!" "ECHIZEEEEN!"
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Inui, Yagyuu, sometimes also Tezuka and Oshitari.
* ScreenToStageAdaptation: The first installment of Tenimyu back in 2003 was the first of a ridiculously popular series of [[TheMusical musical adaptations]] of the manga. Each consecutive musical focuses on the matches against each of the rival teams that Seigaku faces, and is [[AdaptationDistillation surprisingly faithful]] to the original story. To date, Tenimyu has had over a dozen different installments, several ''Dream Lives'' (concerts that are outside the sequence of the story), and has helped launch the careers of a plethora of Japanese pop-culture idols.
* ShesAManInJapan: The SoBadItsGood Latin-American dub flips the gender of Jyousei Shounan's Tanaka twins. Yeah, ''both'' of them are [[DudeLooksLikeALady very girly looking]], but...
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Toyed around, inverted, played straight, etc. in a case by case situation with the doubles players.
* SerialEscalation: The special tennis moves become increasibly more improbable as the series progresses.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYjEOD6AsA&feature=related Then there's this.]] It's so over the top the creator of the manga laughed his ass off at the scene.
* SeriousBusiness: Who knew the world of Japanese middle-school tennis was so competitive?
* SixthRanger: Chitose for Shitenhouji, Hiyoshi for Hyoutei, Kirihara for Rikkai and Ryoma for Seigaku (although both Kirihara and Ryoma are completely assimilated, with Ryoma obviously being the DesignatedHero).
* {{Shorttank}}: Tomoka, Kurumi in the anime. Rinko was one when young.
* ShrinkingViolet: Sakuno, in the anime.
* ShutUpHannibal: Kite and Rin, on Saotome-sensei.
* SlapSlapKiss: [[{{Tsundere}} Tomoka]] and Horio seem to be a pre-teen, G-rated version of this trope. Before they got married, Rinko and Nanjiroh's relationship also was like this.
* SmugSnake: Mizuki, Kite, Saotome-sensei
* SpellMyNameWithAnS - Syuichirou, Shuuichirou, Syuitirou... Let's just settle with ''Oishi'', mmmmmkay?
** Don't even get me started on Syusuke. Or would that be spelled Shusuke? Shuusuke? Syuusuke? HMM.
* SternTeacher: Ryuzaki, Hanamura (when she's not in {{fangirl}} mode), Sakaki from Hyoutei.
* TheStoic: Tezuka (there's a ''reason'' why the infamous Robo Zuka doujinshi series exists). Sanada ''tries'' to be stoic, but loses his temper far too often to really qualify.
* SuperDeformed: The chibi episodes
* TeamDad: Ojii. Tezuka and Sanada counts as much younger versions.
* TeamMom: Again, Oishi. You don't get the "mother of Seigaku" nickname in ''canon'' for anything, don't you? And he's not the only one: Jackal Kuwahara from Rikkaidai is also TeamMom for his team, having to frequently take care of Kirihara.
** Also, Ryuzaki-sensei sometimes acted like a surrogate mother for her pupils.
** This troper finds Saeki a bit on that side for Rokkaku as well.
*** The heroine from one of the DatingSim stated that Saeki is more of a TeamDad while the TeamMom title goes for Itsuki.
* TheThingThatGoesDoink: Tezuka and Echizen have those in their house
* TournamentArc: Nationals, pre-Nationals
* TrainingFromHell: Parodied with the methods devised by Ryuzaki-sensei and Inui; the training itself is normal, but if one or more of the players fail to accomplish it, they're forced to drink [[GargleBlaster revulsive concoctions prepared by Inui]] as punishment. These "juices" are so infamous that the whole Seigaku team (except for Fuji, but then again [[ExtremeOmnivore he's got * interesting* tastes]]) is * terrified* of failure because of them.
* TroubledButCute: Echizen, Kirihara.
* {{Tsundere}}: Tomoka "Tomo-chan" Osakada. Gushy and fangirly towards Ryoma, sweet and protective towards Sakuno, spunky and straightforward towards everyone else, and SlapSlapKiss-y towards Horio.
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: An, Momo and Kamio.
* {{Tykebomb}}: Kirihara, to some degree Kevin.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: In canon, Akira Kamio in regards to his crush on An Tachibana. In yaoi fanfics, either Yanagi or Saeki.
* UnstoppableRage: Kirihara (more exactly, his Devil Mode) and formerly Tachibana. Subverted in the latter's case since Tachibana doesn't use violence anymore [[spoiler: after he almost caused Chitose to lose an eye.]]
* VictoryByEndurance: The bout between Kaoru vs Ryoma. Kaoru's tennis style is to force his opponent to run from one side of the court to the other, making them too tired to return his volleys. Ryoma turns this around on him by forcing him to keep his knees bent during the whole game, using up twice as much endurance, instead.
** Kaidoh himself often wins matches by outlasting his opponents, specially when playing doubles with Inui; he often plays the opponent pair on his own, while Inui collects data on them. One notable example of this strategy achieving victory was against Hyoutei's Mukahi & Hiyoshi team in the Nationals.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Mizuki]] has a spectacular one in the Saint Rudolph arc.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The Tezuka/Fuji duel in the anime is chock-full of symbolism slipping dangerously into HoYay territory.
** Krauser's special technique...Crucifies people.
* WeMeetAgain: When Seigaku run into Higa chuu in Osaka, as the latter are stuck there because they have no money to get back home.
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Niou, Shiraishi in the manga (he has greyish brown hair in the anime), Saeki in the anime (in the manga he's a blond), Ohtori.
* WildcardExcuse: Ryoma's excuse for being late: "I was helping a pregnant woman to the hospital." Later in the story Oishi makes the same excuse, [[HarsherInHindsight but he was actually telling the truth.]]
* WouldntHitAGirl: See what happens when either Sakuno, Miyuki or An are threatened by bullies.
** Downplayed by Ryoma in the anime, when he ''almost'' hits a Libby from Jyousei Shonan and her GirlPosse with tennis balls for [[KickTheDog throwing Sakuno to the ground and threatening Tomoka when she stood up for her]]
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