I actually hope to add to this review later on, so all comments are appreciated!
I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things
Good review. I think a lot of fans would agree with you on the author favoritism part. I personally think that Seigaku should've lost to Rikkai the first time they played them; it would have made them much more interesting to watch as a team.
The physics-defying moves and the amount of on-court violence is where one has to suspend disbelief, I think. If one is looking for a super-realistic sports manga, this is definitely not the place to start.
Prince of Tennis is interesting because most sports manga feature a hero who is a novice to his sport of choice but has great natural talent. Hanamichi is exceptionally tall and aggressive, making him a lock for the basketball court. Sena is an incredibly speedy gofer, facilitating his position as the football team's running back.
Ryoma is already the ultimate superstar when we see him for the very first time. I always thought, if nothing else, that was unique.
Wrestler, bodybuilder. No hopes, no dreams.
I agree with everything you have stated in your review.
As much as I enjoyed Seigaku, I got annoyed with the fact that the team as a whole never lost a match. I agree with those who felt that they should have lost to Rikkai in the Kantou finals. It would've given them motivation and made the inevitable final battle between them in the Nationals a whole lot more engaging.
But one thing that pissed me off even more than Seigaku not losing, was the fact that Ryoma never lost an official match. Sure he got his ass handed to him a few times, but never in a match where the team needed him to pull out a victory. A loss in a tournament would have forced Ryoma to step his game up and lose a bit of that arrogance. It would also remind his teammates that their little rookie was just that, a rookie who still had a long way to go.
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Prince of Tennis: Greatest Sports Manga?
I came across Prince of Tennis in 2007 when my interest in manga/anime was still fairly new. It was my first sports manga and quite different from other mangas...in a superficial sense. Prince of Tennis, at least in the beginning, was the story of an underestimated rookie who had an ego as big as his rivals, and defeated them through evolving strategies. But it's also about a colorful team with different abilities, yet all sharing the goal of victory... maybe that sounds too idealistic. Many of the characters have these defining traits ranging from Ryoma's arrogance, Tezuka's commitment, Fuji's thrill, Atobe's cocky facade, and etc. While a fairly realistic story at first, Prince of Tennis became a stereotypical fantasy story with reality-defying techniques. Yet deep down, they managed to stay true to the spirit of the story.
My main criticism stems from author favoritism however. Despite liking Seigaku, I admit that the lack of losses made them a somewhat predictable team, especially after reading Slam Dunk. While Hyotei and Rikkaidai are interesting teams, Fudomine has been a staunch rival of Seigaku from the beginning of the manga, and yet only about three characters on that team get any development. Some themes were often warped, as while on-court violence is discouraged, nobody seems to care anyway.
Prince of Tennis remains one of my favorite mangas/animes, even with the reality-defying techniques. In fact, maybe the techniques made the manga more interesting. After all, why read a sports manga if you could watch the actual sport?