Seishun Academy (Seishun Gakuen), A.K.A. Seigaku for short, is the middle school that the main character Ryoma Echizen attends. It is very famous for its tennis club, which rose to glory 25 years ago with a young Nanjiroh Echizen at its helm, transforming the once-mediocre team into a formidable one. However, after Nanjiroh's graduation, the school slowly slipped back into the background of the tennis world, unable to make it into the National tournament until the arrival of talented young players like Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shuusuke Fuji, and others. The strongest push comes from Nanjiroh's own son, the also insanely talented Ryoma Echizen, whose presence finally gave Seigaku the strength to come back with a vengeance and reach Nationals, taking the Kanto Regionals by storm.
Here are the most outstanding characters in Seigaku, as well as the tropes associated with them.
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General
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Most of the third years call Momoshiro "Momo" for short. He tells the first years to call him "Momo-chan" instead of "Momoshiro-senpai," but they compromise by calling him "Momo-chan-senpai." Ryoma calls him "Momo-senpai".
- Eiji also calls Ryoma "Ochibi" (an affectionate nickname for someone of small stature, roughly translating to "Little Guy", though it can be taken as offensive if said person is sensitive about their height).
- Several of the regulars call Kawamura "Taka-san," a shortening of his given name, Takashi.
- Fuji sometimes gets called "Fujiko-chan," making his name a little more cutesy and girly.
- Date Peepers: The guys have been seen meddling with their teammates' "love lives" in some situations, like:
- Everyone thinks that Kawamura was dating older women when they spot him at a cafe talking to one, so they decide to spy on them until Akutsu arrives.
- The Filler in episode 71, has Inui convincing Oishi, Kawamura, and Eiji to spy on Momoshiro and Ryoma, thinking both of them are on a date with An Tachibana.
- During the Nationals, Momoshiro and Eiji are spying on Ryoma, as always, being insensitive towards Sakuno giving him onigiri. Both of them are pissed at how dense Ryoma is towards her.
- Demoted to Extra: Kawamura, Kikumaru, Momoshiro, and Kaidoh aren't chosen to play in the U-17 tournament. They do continue to watch matches and offer commentary. Inui isn't either, but he is a support member of the team and can sometimes get himself a few extra lines of dialogue via proximity to Yanagi, who is swapped in halfway through the tournament.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: As a team, they are terrible at doubles, and who the second pair will be for each tournament round is a source of drama. Eiji and Oishi, the Golden Pair, are the only strong pair they have. Inui has the most experience in doubles besides the two of them, but the consensus of his partners is that while he's capable, he's a singles player at heart. Kaidoh ends up playing doubles the most often after the Golden Pair, being paired twice each with Inui and Momo. Ryoma completely avoids it, while Tezuka only goes into doubles as a surprise tactic, while Fuji and Kawamura occasionally get paired together.
- Fake Band: In Meta-example. The anime released several singles, which also served as Openings and Endings, performed by Aozu (Ryoma, Tezuka, Fuji, and Oishi) and Cap-to-Bin (Momoshiro, Kaido, Eiji, Kawamura, and Inui), all performed by the Japanese voice actors singing in character. This is also depicted and played with in the special MV of "Birthday ~Aruki Hajimeta hi~" and "Rock 54!? ~Rock na Hito wo Sagashitemiyou~", where Tezuka returns and the nine of them form a big Boy Band.
- First-Name Basis: The first-years towards Ryoma, Oishi, and Fuji towards Eiji, and Fuji and Momo call Kawamura "Taka-san".
- Friendly Rivalry: As much as they are very close to each other, they're still very competitive with each other.
- The Friends Who Never Hang: Despite the Seigaku regulars being very close and it's seen the kind of interactions everyone has with Ryoma, there're a few who don't have scenes interacting with each other:
- Despite being the captain and everyone caring for his well-being, Tezuka isn't shown to have direct conversations with either Eiji or Kawamura. In Eiji's case, he and Tezuka have never been drawn talking directly to each other since Eiji is bad at dealing with Tezuka's stoic and blunt personality.
- Take tennis out of the equation and you'll get a gold star for being able to name someone Tezuka interacts with that isn't one of his family members, Oishi, or Fuji.
- Fuji has only one line with Momoshiro for a brief gag, but they haven't been in a scene together, and he doesn't interact directly with Kaidoh.
- It's pretty rare for Kaidoh to interact with a regular member that isn't Inui, Momoshiro, or Ryoma. Much later in the series, Tezuka can be added to this list. Outside of club activities, this list all but disappears (though Word of God has him hanging out with Momoshiro in the future).
- Despite being the captain and everyone caring for his well-being, Tezuka isn't shown to have direct conversations with either Eiji or Kawamura. In Eiji's case, he and Tezuka have never been drawn talking directly to each other since Eiji is bad at dealing with Tezuka's stoic and blunt personality.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Many of them seem particularly close: Oishi and Eiji as a doubles pair, Fuji and Eiji being classmates, Tezuka and Fuji having a long-term rivalry, Oishi and Tezuka as leaders of the team, Momoshiro, and Ryoma hanging out frequently.
- Last-Name Basis: Most of the team call each other by last names.
- True Companions: Despite all their differences, the nine of them have shown to be very close, especially in the anime fillers. Before Tezuka left for his rehab in Germany (only in the anime), Oishi gathered the team to go and watch the sunrise from the mountain.
- In the anime fillers, it's shown that all the 3rd years became tightly close to each other when they were freshmen. All of them supported Kawamura to improve his tennis and Fuji revealed in a special episode that the "Seigaku's Seven Mysteries" incident was what made them closer.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Kaido and Momoshiro, despite their constant bickering, work incredibly well as a doubles pair. In extra material, Konomi did a picture of the two of them hanging out in a sushi bar 10 years into the future.
Ryoma Echizen
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (JP), David Neil Black (EN, Viz Media), Ry McKeand (EN, Funimation), Gonzalo Fumero (LA SP/Venezuela), Carlos Siller (LA SP/Mexico)
The child of Nanjiroh Echizen (former star of Seigaku, now a somewhat perverted and always cheerful monk who retired from tennis to further his child's career) and Rinko Takeuchi (a sweet-tempered, calm attorney who used to be quite the tomboy in her younger years). Bratty, cocky, somewhat dense in anything not related to tennis, sometimes bordering on Jerkass due to some of his actions — still, he's got some kind of charm that attracts almost everyone in his surroundings. Liking him or not might depend on the canon you're watching, though.
- All There in the Manual: Apparently wants a Nintendo 3DS.
- Always Someone Better: Ryoma's primary goal in the first part of the series was to defeat his father. Eventually, Tezuka fills this role as well.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: A rare subversion, as he plays this role to Ryoga.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The only first-year on Seigaku's tennis team and the most immature.
- Big Damn Heroes: Either by winning a decisive match that allows Seigaku to win the current tennis round or by protecting his friends from being bullied.
- Big Eater: Do NOT have him tag along for burgers.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Can be stubborn and childish... well, he's only 12, what do you expect?
- Bully Hunter: He will not let someone be bullied if he can help it. These occasions usually, quite conveniently, always involve tennis in some way so he can serve the bullies a decent-sized slice of humble pie.
- Catchphrase: "Mada mada dane.", aka "You've still got a ways to go." (In one episode, he deliberately translates this into English as "No, not yet; you still have a long way to go.")
- Chaste Hero: He is very Oblivious to Love, only thinks about tennis and his cat, and doesn't have any tact whenever Sakuno makes something nice for him. Even lampshaded by his teammates.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Aside from tennis and English, Ryoma is very average in everything else.
- His worst subject is Japanese. Despite speaking it very well, he has trouble with advanced kanji.
- Unless he can't associate tennis techniques with them, he is pretty bad at other sports. In the anime fillers, he can only beat a basketball player by hitting the ball with a broom (and later his racquet), and in another episode he can only match a ping pong player by grabbing the ping pong racquet like a tennis one. During the beach volley mini-arc, he proves to be pretty bad at playing volleyball, to Tezuka's frustration.
- Deadpan Snarker: Delivers his more snarky words either with a straight face or a sarcastic smirk.
- Experienced Protagonist: By the time the series begins, Ryoma has already earned several junior titles in America, and has established himself as a skilled tennis player for his age.
- Friendly Enemy: Still shown to want the Japan team to do well, despite being on the American Team. He eventually returns to the Japan Team during the Tournament on good terms with the American Team.
- Gratuitous English: Since he grew up in the United States, he is very accustomed to the language, but his Japanese accent still sounds very thick. Also, his best subject at school is English, while his worst is Japanese.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Subverted. While characters often think he's some kind of natural-born prodigy, he actually learned most of his skills through his father's training.
- Heavy Sleeper: He loves taking naps, and is hard for him to wake up in the morning.
- Heroic Second Wind: His shots get even faster as the match goes on. This is noted to be a result of his father's training.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Actually, he's not right-handed. He switches to the left when he decides to get serious.
- Insufferable Genius: There are never any consequences to his arrogance, probably because he DOES have every right to be arrogant with that level of tennis-fu.
- Invincible Hero: Throughout the entire run, in the anime and manga, Ryoma has lost matches to less than five people, in spite of the fact that a Drama-Preserving Handicap is very frequently employed to make his matches more interesting.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Although usually nonchalant and arrogant, he refuses to tolerate bullying when he sees it. He outright states he wants to get revenge against Akutsu for hurting the members of his club. During said assault from Akutsu, he defends Kachiro to the point of shielding him with his own body from rocks.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: He shows quite a bit of love toward his cat Karupin. In fact, the only time he seems worried or scared is when his cat follows him to school and can't find him.
- Like Father, Like Son: Is more like his dad than he likes to let on.
- Mouthy Kid: Shown to have quite the attitude and usually provokes his opponents.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: He uses black shorts, while many of the other players use white shorts or team trousers.
- Not a Morning Person: He's regularly late to practices and tournaments that take place in the early morning — or any time before 10 AM.
- Power Copying: Even before achieving Selfless State (Muga no Kyouichi), one of Ryoma's skills was copying other players' signature shots after seeing them only a few times.
- Rogue Protagonist: In New Prince of Tennis, Ryoma gets kicked off the Japan Team and joins the America Team with his half-brother Ryoga. All of the characters from the previous series get focused on and see him as a rival. Even before this, all the character development and tennis matches were going to characters that were not him. Now averted with Ryoma returning to the Japan Team with open arms.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: He has to clarify that Sakuno is not his girlfriend when Ludovic Chardard is charmed by Sakuno and senses that Ryoma might be a love rival.
- Signature Headgear: He's rarely seen without his white cap with the letter R on it.
- Signature Move: "Twist Serve".
- Skilled, but Naive: A major part of his development is learning to evolve his tennis beyond just mimicking his father.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Strongly resembles his father, especially around the eyes.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: As a consequence of his care for Karupin and, to a degree, for his friends and teammates, more so in the anime than the manga.
- He eventually starts warming up to Sakuno's attempts to cheer him up. He starts ignoring her completely or being very blunt about her clumsy moments. By the time of "New Prince of Tennis", he becomes more appreciative of her efforts, despite keeping his stoic attitude.
- Teen Genius: Only in tennis skills. Regarding school, he is pretty average in Japanese.
- Troubled, but Cute: Sakuno and Tomoka are crazy for him despite his antisocial tendencies.
- Weak, but Skilled: As a freshman, his small physique means he's not the most physically powerful of the lineup. Regardless, his skill as a tennis player more than makes up for it.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Some of his actions leave you and his friends all "...what?!".
- A huge example comes from the anime, in which he first acts apathetic about Senbatsu and then demands to play against Kevin Smith, which upsets Tezuka to the point of actually slapping him in public. Ryoma doesn't earn his forgiveness until he goes into a Pose of Supplication.
- Momo very briefly scolds (and punches) Ryoma for the way he ditched Team Japan in the U-17 tournament for Team USA, then ditched them and went back to Team Japan, because it was disrespectful to everyone on both teams and especially the players who didn't make the cut, but it passes very briefly in the manga, and Ryoma is immediately added to the lineup because he is just too good not to play.note
- Would Hit a Girl: Implied in the anime, but only if the girl behaves horribly towards his friends. In the Jyousei arc, he caught a bunch of Jyousei students bullying Sakuno and Tomoka... and he shot a ball dangerously close to the ringleader's head. As is, she would've been hit if she had not dodged. That scares the girls enough to send them packing.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Subverted, since it's more like "less skilled at". Ryoma is not as good at playing doubles, since he is accustomed to playing by himself. While he and Momoshiro still win their first doubles match, they're still reprimanded by coach Ryuuzaki, since their play style was an embarrassment for the team (they played by using turn codes and then divided the court in two). Unlike Momoshiro, who eventually learned to cooperate in doubles, Ryoma never played a doubles match ever again.
Kunimitsu Tezuka
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN, Viz Media), Jonah Scott (EN, Funimation), Sergio Pinto (LA SP, episodes 3-52), José Granadillo (LA SP, episodes 53-75)
A third-year student and captain of the Seigaku tennis team throughout the majority of the story. Raised in a very traditional Japanese household (having an ex-police officer as his grandfather and role model pays off), Tezuka is a handsome, serious, no-nonsense leader whose biggest wish is to win the Nationals. Ever since he was a first-year, his Bunny-Ears Lawyer captain made him promise to be the "Pillar Of Seigaku". He's the first one to take notice of Ryoma. Despite his great skills, Tezuka believed that Ryoma still had a long way to go, and from then on he tries to shape the kid into the future leader of the team. Lots of players admire him and see him as a great rival, especially Fuji, Atobe from Hyoutei, and his childhood friend Sanada from Rikkaidai. He also has the misfortune of having a chronic injury plaguing him from his time as a first-year.
- The Ace: When he isn't losing for plot convenience due to his injury, nearly every character in the series sees him as this.
- Big Brother Mentor: For Ryoma and Miyuki Chitose.
- The Captain: He is appointed as Seigaku's Captain in his 3rd Year.
- Catchphrase: "Yudan sezu ni ikou!", aka "Let's not get careless!" or "Don't let your guard down!".
- Combat Commentator: In the rare instance Tezuka says something during a match, it's usually to be this.
- Curtains Match the Window: His eyes and hair are brown.
- Deadly Upgrade:
- "Zero-Degree Drop Shot", which places all the tension in his elbow and shoulder.
- And later on, "Tezuka Phantom" and "Zero-DegreeServe". Especially the latter.
- Determinator: He has destroyed his arm twice because he just won't give up playing.
- Deus Exit Machina: As the Captain, Tezuka is generally considered to be the best player on the team (although Fuji and Ryoma often exhibit the greatest amount of growth). However, Seigaku generally wins before Singles 1 (the position he normally takes). The few times he does play, he gets heavily injured and loses.
- Genius Bruiser: Tezuka is very intelligent, to the point of being able to correct teachers. His rivals, such as Fuji and Atobe, initially assumed that he was the calculating type on the court. He is also one of the tallest on the team, second to Inui, with an intimidating presence. Plus, one of his signature techniques allows him to double the power of an opponent's shot.
- Hot-Blooded: When it comes to tennis, this is his true personality, as Atobe noted. He, unlike Fuji, goes for the win no matter what.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- Is this with Fuji. They share many of their thoughts.
- With his sub-captain, Oishi, whom he confides in quite a bit.
- "No More Holding Back" Speech: A very brief one. In The New Prince Of Tennis, when Tezuka faces Yudai Yamato, his former captain (back when he was a freshman), who encourages Tezuka to free himself of the burden that has been to be Seigaku's "pillar of support". Tezuka listens to Yamato, along with a little cheering from Atobe, stops using his Tezuka Phantom, and finally acknowledges that he no longer has to be Seigaku's pillar of support and that now he can play tennis just for the fun of it, unlocking the third door of Muga no Kyochi (which according to Ryoma's father in the OVA, is the state of truly enjoying a tennis game).
- Not So Above It All: Tezuka takes very seriously the training menu, but Fuji deduces correctly that he won't lose the running laps race because he is also afraid of drinking Inui's juice as punishment. Tezuka doesn't deny it and keeps running instead.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: To several characters. He is considered the one to beat, period.
- Passing the Torch: In the epilogue, it's revealed that Tezuka names Kaido as the next team captain. In New Prince of Tennis, it's expanded that he chose to have his U-17 match against Kaido to see if he will be worthy of leading the team.
- Perpetual Frowner: Rarely smiles, which is noted by the others.
- Pigeonholed Voice Actor: Ryōtarō Okiayu is very versatile, but lately he's been voicing just too many serious guys...
- Put on a Bus:
- After the Prefecture Tournament match against Hyotei, Tezuka leaves until the National Tournament (In the manga he goes to a clinic in Kyuushu, while in the anime he goes to Germany).
- Again in The New Prince of Tennis, since he goes to Germany.
- The Rival: While many characters see him as this, he's most notable as one of Ryoma's two acknowledged rivals (the other being his father).
- Say My Name: "TEZUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" by Atobe, Kite and Sanada.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Not quite on the level of Inui, but he still has his moments.
- Signature Move: "Tezuka Zone" and "Zero-Degree Drop Shot".
- The Stoic: Almost never smiles, gets angry, anything. Lampshaded by himself, when Fuji notes he's smiling after Seigaku wins the Nationals and he asks the others to keep it a secret.
- He barely reacts whenever he gets some of the team's penalties. When he accidentally drinks one of Inui's juices, he remains blank, impressing his teammates, but his hand is visibly shaking in disgust.
- In the anime, he is giving a very serious and stern look at Ryoma, encouraging him to keep his head held high... While he and Ryoma have coach Ryuuzaki and Ojii seating on their heads, both of them lose at volleyball against the coaches.
- Stoic Spectacles: He barely shows any emotion on a regular basis, unless he is playing tennis.
- Student Council President: Though his Council isn't exactly absurdly powerful.
- Supporting Leader: Towards the team as a whole, and then towards pretty much everyone in the entire series.
- Team Dad: Every member of the club respects and idolizes him.
- Teen Genius: Both in tennis and academically.
- The Worf Effect: He's consistently stated to be one of the best players in the series, if not the best. Yet against both Atobe and Sanada, he injures his arm which causes his losses to them. It's also averted since even while injured, he gives his rivals an extremely hard time. He finally gets to move away from this in the World Cup of New Prince of Tennis, where he is playing for Germany, against Japan, and defeats both Atobe in a pre-tournament exhibition match and Yukimura, the final boss of the first series, in the actual tournament.
- World's Best Warrior: Considered one of, if not the best player in the middle school circuit. Rikkaidai, which is generally considered the best middle school team acknowledges his skill and for a while considered him the only player of note.
- Younger Than They Look: Is he really just 14 going to 15? He's been mistaken for a teacher. Kawamura's father almost serves him alcohol thinking he was one of the adults.
Shuichiro Oishi
Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō (JP), Sam Riegel (EN, Viz Media), Jacob Hopkins (EN, Funimation), José Méndez (LA SP)
A third-year student and the vice-captain of the team. A soft-spoken, kindhearted boy who is Tezuka's closest friend in the team alongside Fuji. He often ends up taking care of the team due to his almost motherly nature. He's also an excellent defensive player, alongside the only one in Seigaku who specializes in playing doubles. His most usual partner is Eiji Kikumaru.
- Berserk Button: He has three. First, don't make fun of him in public. Two, don't push/ignore the limits of his authority as Vice Captain. Three, don't cook things in a way that contradicts his favorite recipes. He got so insufferable on the last one, that his own teammates chose to eliminate him from the yakiniku round.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He had notable outbursts when extremely frustrated.
- Boring, but Practical: Despite Eiji being the flashy one, he's the one who really leads the Golden Pair with his plans and formations.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: He changes his haircut every year.
- The Chains of Commanding: Experiences this while Tezuka is away and he's substitute captain.
- Fear of Thunder: Mentioned in one of the fanbooks.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- With Kikumaru, as both his doubles partner and best friend. They have frequently sleepovers at each others' houses, they have a secret spot where both sit to watch the sunset and reflect on their last match, and both have promised each other to be doubles partners beyond middle school.
- He and Tezuka are also best friends, as well as captain and vice-captain.
- Instant Fanclub: Which embarrasses him A LOT.
- Number Two: Even though he is not among the best 3 players on the team, he is the Vice Captain.
- Out-of-Character Moment: During the time Momoshiro started to skip training, Oishi became more irritable, to the point of snapping at Kikumaru only because he pointed out Oishi's shirt was inside out. He only went back to normal and apologized to Kikumaru once Momoshiro returned to the club.
- Serious Business: He has two topics he takes very seriously.
- Bowling. As seen during the Bowling mini-arc, he gets very sharp, serious and focused when he has a bowling ball. He and Coach Ryuuzaki are so good at bowling that they even have bowling gloves.
- Yakiniku. He gets very strict when it comes to grilling meat, to the point he gets very angry when others add other stuff or don't cook the meat on the degree of doneness he considers incorrect. His teammates are so frustrated with him that they take him out with one of the penalty juices.
- Signature Move: "Moon Volley". Later gets "Oishi's Territory".
- The Strategist: He's the brains behind any doubles pair, as he can plan all his formations to complement Eiji's acrobatics. In The New Prince of Tennis Oishi is the one who comes up with Niou using his illusions to disrupt their opponents' Synchro. This grants him a spot for the representatives.
- Team Mom: To the point he is nicknamed "Seigaku's Mom", as he is the one who usually freaks out on behalf of the team. He even is "The mother" of the Tenipuri Family specials.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: A Rare Male Example. His friends consider him a sort-of mom figure to them, he's Tall, Dark, and Handsome as well as THE Nice Guy, prefers to support his friends even if it brings him trouble, and gives up his regular spot so Tezuka (manga) or Ryoma (anime) can play without trouble in the Nationals.
Shusuke Fuji
Voiced by: Yuki Kaida (JP), Adam Lawson (EN, Viz Media, Episodes 1–30), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN, Viz Media, Episodes 31–50), Stephen Fu (EN, Funimation), Alfonso Soto (LA SP, Episodes 3-52), Jesús Nunes (LA SP, Episodes 53-97)
A third-year student in Seigaku's tennis club. A cheerful, slightly feminine-looking, always cool young man, Fuji is regarded as possibly the only one in Seigaku, apart from Ryoma, who can surpass Tezuka in terms of skill, especially for his use of counters (he has SEVERAL of those and all of them have impossibly cool names). However, he seems to play more for the thrill of the game, rather than to truly win against an opponent; it's not until later that Fuji comes to take tennis as more than a fun, exhilarating way to pass time, learning to truly love the sport. Meanwhile, he helps out his friends and companions as much as he can, with an almost perpetual smile that disappears completely if someone he cares for is at risk...
- The Ace: Shares this with Tezuka (and possibly Ryoma) for Seigaku. Unlike the other two, who are normally reserved for playing singles, Fuji is fully capable of being slotted into doubles if the situation demands it.
- Berserk Button: Expect to get crushed (in tennis) if you harm his friends or family.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Do NOT piss this guy off.
- Big Brother Instinct:
- Towards Yuuta, his younger brother. When he found out that one of Yuuta's teammates taught him a tennis shot that would severely damage his still-developing wrist, Fuji made sure to publicly humiliate him in their match. He gave Mizuki a five-game lead, then came from behind and annihilated him.
- He has a hint of this towards Ryoma when he finds out that Kirihara injured him.
- Birds of a Feather: Reason why he makes good friends with Yukimura in New Prince of Tennis, as both are very friendly outside the court, have soft spots for gardening, and can be quite scary and vindictive when provoked.
- Bromantic Foil: To Tezuka. While Tezuka is aloof, stoic, and a Perpetual Frowner, Fuji is the total opposite in personality. Both of them are The Aces of the team, almost unbeatable, big brother figures for Ryoma, and very insightful.
- Can't Catch Up: It was believed that he had finally surpassed Tezuka towards the end of the original series. Tezuka disproves him of the notion in the The New Prince of Tennis series.
- Combat Commentator: Shares this role with Inui and sometimes Tezuka on Seigaku. It becomes more apparent when the show starts going off the rails.
- Counter-Attack: Probably the best example of a counterpuncher in the series, as all his techniques are counters. Subverted in new prince of tennis when Fuji declares that he will no longer solely rely on defensive tennis, and starts using more offensive special moves.
- Deus Exit Machina: In the earlier seasons, it would've been far too easy for Seigaku to sweep singles against most of their opponents by running their three best players (Tezuka, Fuji, Ryoma) every time. As the team lacked another decent doubles pair, Fuji was often relegated to playing doubles so that there was a plausible reason for him to lose despite being the second best player.
- Extreme Omnivore: Eats extremely spicy food without flinching, and finds Inui's horrendous juices (with the sole exception of the Aozu) more than palatable. In the filler Yakiniku mini-arc, Fuji's endurance against Inui's juices gives Seigaku an advantage, since he was in charge of clearing every penalty drink, avoiding losing table members.
- Eyes Always Shut: He is only shown with his eyes open when he gets serious or shocked.
- Foil: To Tezuka, Ryoma, and Shiraishi. Like the former two, he's an exceptionally skilled player but unlike Tezuka he rarely uses his true strength. Both he and Ryoma are seen as the regulars with the most potential on the team. With Shiraishi, he embodies the exceptionally creative player who rarely goes for the win, in contrast to Shiraishi who uses "boring"(by his own admission) tennis to win his matches.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- With Tezuka, as both are seen together very often out of the court, Fuji sees Tezuka as a long-term rival and the one to reach.
- With Kikumaru, who is his best friend and classmate.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Spelled either Shuusuke, Syusuke, or Syuusuke within the fandom and official merchandise. The official VIZ Media translation spells his name as "Shusuke".
- Nice Guy: While he can be scary at times, Fuji is always cordial and social with everyone, except for Mizuki, who he treats as the Unperson.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Especially towards Tezuka, who actually acknowledges him as this and encourages him in this direction.
- Pretty Boy: One of the standout examples in a series full of them. More apparent in the art style used for Nationals and beyond. Borders on Dude Looks Like a Lady with some of his teammates referring to him as "Fujiko-chan".
- Red Baron: Considered "Seigaku's Genius" as well as the second-best player on the team.
- Signature Move: "Tsubame Gaeshi", "Higuma Otoshi", "Hakugei", "Kagerou Zutsumi", "Hecatoncheires no Monban", and "Hoshi Hanabi". Later "Aoi Fubuki" and "Hikarikaze".
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the manga Yakiniku miniarc, Fuji only makes it until the middle of the contest until he succumbs with a cup of Aozu (his only weakness from all the Inui juices). In the anime adaptation of the miniarc, Fuji survives along with Tezuka.
- Stepford Smiler: He has more issues than you'd think at first sight, but rarely lets his mask fall.
- Tranquil Fury: On rare occasions he gets upset. Played for laughs in the sequel manga when his younger brother gets hit in a pillow fight and he picks up a pillow with the obvious intent to obliterate the one responsible, all while still wearing a calm smile.
- Teen Genius: He is regarded as "The Genius" by everyone.
- Weak, but Skilled: His lack of physical strength has repeatedly been remarked upon, yet he makes up for it with his incredible techniques. It's quite telling when he's one of the top three players in Seigaku.
- Weaksauce Weakness: According to his Fanbook Profile, he can't take sour things or stuff that tastes like vinegar, which explains why he can't endure a shot of Inui's Aozu.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: In the chibi episodes he's usually portrayed as a female, be it as the grandmother of the Tenipuri family or the pretty girl searching for the "Lone Gunman".
Eiji Kikumaru
Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (JP), Steve Staley (EN, Viz Media), Derick Snow (EN, Funimation), Alfonso Soto (LA SP)
A third-year member of the Seigaku tennis club. The epitome of bubbly and cheery is this bouncy, cheerful, slightly spoiled boy whose abilities rely on his sharp eyes, his flexibility, and his raw athletic prowess. He is extremely skilled in acrobatics, and incorporates it into his tennis, allowing him to leap to and fro. He may look ditzy and act like a child sometimes, but if you underestimate him, you will regret it: Not just because Eiji is very skillful, but can also have as much willpower and strength as the other players. Is often seen with his close friend Fuji or his partner Oishi, the other half of the "Golden Pair", to whom he's fiercely devoted.
- Animal Motif: In the Chibi episodes, he's portrayed as the cat of the family.
- Also reflected in the fact that he incorporates "nya" (the Japanese version of "meow") into his regular speech.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Might act like a kid, but is really skilled in tennis.
- Catchphrase: "Zannen Munnen Mata Raishu!" (Too bad, see you next week!), or "Hoi hoi!".
- Character Development: Compare Eiji from the start of the Hyoutei arc to him during the Higa matches. BIG difference.
- Characterization Marches On: Compare the way he was drawn and his speech patterns (and even his voice pitch in the anime) when he watched Ryoma and Momoshiro's first match! He's so different from the goofball we all know and loves that most won't notice they're the same character!
- First-Name Basis: People rarely call him by his surname, something that is very rare in Japan.
- Fragile Speedster: He's got sharp eyes and reflexes, but the downside is his lack of stamina. He later goes under Training from Hell to become a genuine Lightning Bruiser.
- Fun Personified: Loves attention and is always cheerful.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- With Oishi, as both his doubles partner and best friend. They have frequent sleepovers at each others' houses, they have a secret spot where both sit to watch the sunset and reflect on their last match, and both have promised each other to be doubles partners beyond middle school.
- With Fuji, who is his second best friend after Oishi and his classmate.
- The Host: He and Yuushi Oshitari serve as commentators during the Yakiniku competition.
- Keet: Cheery, cute, sometimes squealing. Still, thanks to Character Development, he gradually loses some of the shallow traits.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Outside of the court he is very playful and childish, but once inside the court, he becomes serious and focused. Oishi knows Eiji is about to take a match seriously whenever Eiji rolls his racquet around his wrist.
- Pointless Band-Aid: Has one on his right cheek.
- Shipper on Deck: Along with Momo, he ships Sakuno/Ryoma.
- Signature Move: "Kikumaru Beam" and "Kikumaru Bazooka".
- Vocal Evolution: In the first episodes, Hiroki Takahashi did Eiji's voice deeper. As the series went on, Eiji's voice became more playful.
Sadaharu Inui
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (JP), Jack Bauer (EN, Viz Media), Steven Kelly (EN, Funimation), Renzo Jiménez (LA SP)
A third-year student and the tallest member of the team. He is very eccentric. His specialty is analyzing data on players and their techniques and using them to his advantage, as well as having an extremely powerful service game. Other than that, the guy is extremely quirky, in a way that almost gets him labeled as a Strange Dude.
- Affectionate Nickname: Only between him and Yanagi. Yanagi calls him "Doctor" while Inui refers to him as "Professor".
- Awesomeness by Analysis: His playstyle, "Data Tennis". Inui constantly analyzes the data he takes from other players, both in and out of the court. With this, he's able to predict his opponent's moves with mathematical precision. Most of the time, anyway. With this style, Inui was considered to be Seigaku's third strongest player, only after Tezuka and Fuji, by the time the story begins, just as Ryoma has entered the school.
- Badass Normal: While the majority of the Seigaku regulars (and a good amount of characters) rely on fancy techniques and physics-defying moves, Inui relies on good ol' data, athleticism, and determination.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Downplayed a lot (since you can basically replace "Death" with "Juice").
- In the Bowling mini-arc, Inui preferred to fail his shot on purpose to take the little cup of Aozu instead of the big jug (because he was still going to be the team with the lowest score).
- In the Beach Volley and Yakiniku mini-arcs, he also prefers to throw the challenge rather than lose. On both occasions, his teammates ended up pulling down his pants by accident.
- Big Brother Mentor: To Kaidoh. Inui offers to partner Kaidoh in doubles and help him train to perfect his Boomerang Snake shot since he keeps shooting it out of bounds in Singles matches. The two of them also contrast Rikkai's Yanagi and Kirihara— while Inui is trying to help Kaidoh improve, Kaidoh also inspires him and makes him more determined, and he's not afraid to lean on Kaidoh when he falters. Yanagi, meanwhile, is initially partnering Kirihara specifically to control him and channel his abilities in service of Rikkai's third national title, rather than his own self-improvement. Yanagi winds up accidentally endangering his teammate and has to take steps to correct his mistakes.
- Birds of a Feather: Played with in his relationship to Yanagi.
- Blind Without 'Em: He has a bunch of spare glasses in case they break during a match. A whole episode was dedicated to people trying to see his eyes. They're green.
- Butt-Monkey: Especially in the OVA's and Gag mini-arcs.
- Catchphrase: "This is good data".
- Can't Catch Up: While he's certainly an intelligent and skilled tennis player, his Data Tennis just isn't effective enough against Tezuka, Echizen, or Fuji. Luckily, his doubles pairing with Kaido ends up being one of the more reliable Doubles Pairs.
- Combat Commentator: In line with his role as the team's data tennis player. Can similarly be considered Mr. Exposition. He shares this role on Seigaku with Fuji and, very occasionally, Tezuka.
- Crazy-Prepared: Three things that are always in his bag: data notebooks, his horrible juices, and spare glasses (he has at least six)
- First-Name Basis: The only person who has ever called him "Sadaharu" is Yanagi Renji.
- Genius Bruiser: Although his Data Tennis uses mathematic calculations to predict his opponent's shots, he still trains very hard (in fact, 2.25 times harder than Kaido, who already trains 3 times harder than the others) to regain his place as a starter and to keep up with his teammates, and in the match with his old friend and rival, Yanagi, Inui pretends to abandon his Data Tennis, temporarily resorting to a more primal-like style of tennis that relies on very strong shots. He also further improves his "Sonic Serve" into his "Waterfall Serve" through his hard training.
- Master-Apprentice Chain: Inui learned Data Tennis from Yanagi, who learned it from Akuto Mitsuya. In return, Inui taught Yanagi all about horrific juice concoctions, and Yanagi passed that back to Mitsuya...
- Lethal Chef: His juices, and he makes them lethal on purpose (they're so caustic that even he himself is determined to not drink them as a penalty). They even have unusual ingredients including sardines, vinegar, and even a bug. One of his recipes is so lethal that the entire Ginka tennis team had to retire from the tournament for food poisoning after stealing a jug, thinking that Seigaku was strong because of it.
- According to his fanbook section, the only subject he is bad at in school is Home Economics, specifically Cooking.
- The Medic: Once in a while, he's seen bandaging his friends' injuries. During the U-17 tournament, Inui isn't chosen as a player representative, but he sticks around as a member of the medical team alongside Yanagi and Mitsuya.
- Mr. Exposition: Given that he does a lot of research on other players, he is the one who explains most of it to his teammates during the games.
- Opaque Nerd Glasses: To the point, an In-Universe mystery for his teammates is how his eyes really look like.
- Passing the Torch: Only in the anime and the musical, Inui gives his databook to Kachiro.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Inui's the one with the most moments of this; typically when he's about to give a "Penal-Tea" to one of his teammates.
- Screwball Serum: His infamous juices.
- Shipper on Deck: Another Ryoma and Sakuno fan.
- Signature Move: "Waterfall Serve".
- The Smart Guy: Outside the court and also during the games.
- The Strategist: He needs to recollect all his opponents' data to come up with effective counterattacks.
- Sugar-and-Ice Guy: One moment he can be as stoic as Tezuka, but he can also be very caring towards Kaido or Renji.
- Those Two Guys: Especially in the sequel series, he and Yanagi are almost never far apart from each other.
- Teen Genius: Besides his academic record, he is the technician of the team, who also manages their training menus and strategies.
Takashi Kawamura
Voiced by: Naru Kawamoto (JP), Richard Cansino (EN, Viz Media), Anthony "Antfish" Sardinha (EN, Funimation), Rolman Bastidas (LA SP)
A third-year member of the Seigaku tennis club. The humble, shy son of a local Sushi chef, Kawamura only became a starter in his last year. He goes under a COMPLETE 180º flip once he holds a racket though, though, changing into a Boisterous Bruiser who uses his hard-earned Super-Strength with total efficiency and confidence.
- The Big Guy: Along with Momoshiro, he is the powerhouse of the team.
- Boisterous Bruiser: When in "Burning" mode.
- Catchphrase: "BURNING!".
- Childhood Friends: He and Jin Akutsu grew up together in the same neighborhood, which is why Kawamura is one of the very few people who isn’t intimidated by him.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Many of the other school rivals tend to underestimate him due to his timid behavior... until he picks up a racquet.
- Curtains Match the Window: He has brown hair and eyes.
- Determinator: Two times he refused to forfeit matches despite his injuries.
- The Dutiful Son: Eldest son of a sushi chef, he's expected to inherit the family restaurant someday. He decides early on that he's going to quit playing tennis in high school in order to focus on learning the family business, so he's very conscious of the fact that this year is his last chance to achieve anything in the sport.
- Gratuitous English: Whenever he picks up a racquet, he starts shouting phrases like "Burning!" or "Come On, Baby!", or other things in ENGRISH.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: He believes he's The Load, even when people tell him that he's not.
- Hot-Blooded: Only when he has a racquet at hand.
- Mistaken for Romance: His teammates think he is having a relationship with an older woman since they’re spotted at a cafe. It turns out that she is Akutsu’s very young and attractive mother, who was just asking him to keep an eye on Akutsu.
- Mood-Swinger: The only thing required to change him into this boisterous persona is to give him a racquet. This also works with bowling balls and microphones (during the Tenimyu Dream Lives)
- Nice Guy: When he is not playing tennis, he is always very polite to everyone. He also worries and cares for his friends, even Akutsu, despite his aggressive attitude towards him.
- Signature Move: After he learns it from Tetsu Ishida, "Hadokyuu" and "Dash Hadokyuu".
- Super-Strength: Actually a Deconstructed Trope. He's built up lots of physical strength due to his hard labor at the family restaurant, but it took him years to control it, and the sempai looked down on him for that. Calling him "Homerun Guy", telling him to give up or to switch to the baseball team... It really, really didn't mix well with his borderline Shrinking Violet personality.
- Team Chef: He was raised by a sushi chef and is expected to take over Kawamura Sushi. In the Tenipuri Family episodes, he is the only team member who is not represented as a family member, instead being the recurring sushi delivery guy for the family.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Unlike his teammates, Kawamura's tennis is based on his raw power play. In their freshmen year, Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Eiji, and Inui were the only ones in the club who recognized that despite his lack of control, his strength was impressive.
Takeshi Momoshiro
Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN, Viz Media), Alejandro Saab (EN, Funimation), Luis Carreño (LA SP, Episodes 2-52), Eder La Barrera (LA SP, Episodes 53-97)
A second-year student, and the first friend that Ryoma makes on the Seigaku team. He's always cheerful and boisterous and gets along with everyone—save for his rival in the team, Kaido.
- Anime Hair: He spends a lot of time and hair gel to style it.
- Big Eater: He eats three to five burgers in one round. In one episode he is seen eating his lunch box early in the middle of class, and then he buys five more pieces of bread during the actual lunch break. According to the teacher's comments, this happens pretty often.
- Bromantic Foil: To Ryoma. They spend a lot of time together outside of the tennis courts, have the same competitive drive, and are the closest to each other on the team. But unlike Ryoma, Momoshiro learned to be a better doubles partner to other players.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Kaido always complains about him being very loud.
- Catchphrase: "DON~!"
- Cool Big Bro: Momo has a lot of younger siblings and is very admired by his juniors, as he encourages them to call him "Momo-chan senpai" and even treats them occasionally to mealsnote .
- Divergent Character Evolution: Somewhat. He's initially one of the team's two boisterous power players along with Kawamura. After his loss to Inui, he becomes much more insightful in his tennis and becomes more known as "Seigaku's Sneaky Guy".
- Fun Personified: He is one of the few Second Years to be friendly towards the freshmen kids, allowing them to call him "Momo-chan senpai".
- The Heart: His jovial personality allows him to have connections with everyone on the team, from the 3rd years to the freshmen. His disappearance after his Heroic BSoD causes a bit of a rift.
- Heroic BSoD: A brief one, after losing his regular spot to Inui. He gets better with some prodding from An Tachibana.
- Hot-Blooded: He tends to fall for provocations.
- I Can Still Fight!: During his match with Oshitari in OVA 8 he runs into a fence and he gets temporarily knocked unconscious, with his head bleeding.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: In the manga and OVAs he uses a yellow t-shirt under his team jersey. In the anime, he uses a black armband on his left arm and doesn't use the team jersey while playing.
- Jack of All Stats: Significantly capable in the areas of power, speed, technique, and mind games, but is not the best in either of these areas. Can also play both singles and doubles.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's damn fast and persistent, with enough power to rival Kawamura. Unlike him, he focuses on skill as well.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Kaido's and Ryoma's Blue.
- The Rival: To Kaido. They are constantly competing and trying to outdo each other, but the flipside is that this gives Momo incredible empathy and insight into Kaidoh's abilities and state of mind, because he pays so much attention to him. Momo is very good at exploiting Kaidoh's strengths when they play doubles together.
- Shipper on Deck: Ships Sakuno/Ryoma fervently, and may dabble a little in Eiji/Oishi.
- Signature Move: "Dunk Smash" and "Jack Knife".
- Unskilled, but Strong: Tezuka notes that he has a great deal of potential, which he tries to bring out when they play each other.
- Verbal Tic: He tends to repeat himself for emphasis, especially if he's using a negative form of a word that would normally end in '-nai' in Japanese, but will slur it into '-nee' because he's a teenage boy using slang. The first iteration will usually end with a slightly questioning 'na?' and the second end with a 'ze!' or 'zo!' for emphasis.
- Wife-Basher Basher: He really hates it when a girl gets threatened.
Kaoru Kaido
Voiced by: Kohei Kiyasu (JP), David Lodge (EN, Viz Media), Jarrod Greene (EN, Funimation), Johnny Torres (LA SP)
The other second year among the regulars, he's "gifted" with a massive case of Face of a Thug. Beneath it, however, is a kind person with next to nothing in social skills and tenacious nature, as well as comical bad luck outside of the field.
- Alliterative Name: Kaoru Kaido.
- Animal Motif: People often compare him with snakes, since he normally looks intimidating and tends to hiss whenever he sighs.
- Berserk Button: ...Did you call him a "Viper"? FSHUUUUUT THE FUCK UP!
- The Berserker: Almost. Inui stopped him before he got into Devil Mode like Kirihara.
- Butt-Monkey: If something humiliating or hilarious is gonna happen to a Seigaku player, he's the first candidate.
- Catchphrase: "Fshuuuuuuu".
- The Comically Serious: The humor centered around him is based on how serious he takes any situation, even when Momo teases him.
- Face of a Thug: Once you get to know him better, he can show a very tender (and hidden) side.
- Friend to All Living Things: Kids might fear him, but animals love him (but sometimes they get scared away because of his face).
- Foil: Amusingly, the three of them are roommates (along with Shitenhouji's Zaizen) at the U-17 camp.
- To Hyoutei's Hiyoshi. Both are appointed as future captains of their teams, with quiet personalities and methodic training routines, Kaidoh being more Hot-Blooded. Also as seen in New Prince of Tennis, Hiyoshi is a big fan of aliens and the paranormal, while Kaidoh is so afraid of ghosts that only the mention of them makes him shake in fear.
- To Rikkai's Kirihara. 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.
- Gym Bunny: He uses all his free time to train. In supplementary material, it's also shown that his room has weights and gym gear.
- Heroic BSoD: In the anime, during his doubles match against Rikkaidai in the Kanto Tournament, after Jackal Kuwahara returns his Boomerang Shot with a Boomerang of his own.
- Hot-Blooded: He gets annoyed very easily (most frequently courtesy of Momoshiro and Ryoma).
- Identical Stranger: He and Yagyuu only need to swap clothes to confuse some rival schools' moles who were gathering data on their playstyles. They only started to interact outside the tournaments that same day.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: In the manga and OVAs he uses a black tank top under his team jersey and his bandana.
- Perpetual Frowner: To the point he scares freshmen with one glare. Despite this, Inui can easily tell when Kaido is in a good mood, like after playing with Karupin.
- Plot-Powered Stamina: His biggest strength is his large reserve of stamina, which allows Inui to recollect Data during a match and exhaust his opponents.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: His Blue Oni to Momo's Red. The Red Oni to Inui's Blue.
- The Rival: To Momo since their first day at school.
- Signature Move: "Snake Shot' and 'Boomerang Snake".
- Sssssnake Talk: He tends to sigh with a long hiss.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He looks a lot like his father, Shibuki. His little brother Hazue is basically a child version of Kaido.
- Tsundere: A textbook non-romantic example, especially towards Inui. He initially refuses to be trained by him to be his doubles partner, but they end up forming a good combination. His "dere" side shows when Inui is injured during the match against Yanagi and Kirihara, almost losing control and becoming a demon like Kirihara until Inui stops him.
- When He Smiles: The only exceptions to his Perpetual Frowner mode are around animals (especially cute cats and dogs) and on a compliment Inui gave him.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He is very superstitious and freezes every time there's a ghost story involved.
