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juushikaI haven't been around LiveJournal much lately, which isn't that big a deal but I suppose is worth noting at least to confirm that I've not died and become a book-reviews-only ghost. I just haven't felt like delving into the depths of my friend list for a while, but I will be back eventually. If I'm missing anything important—well, I am still checking comments, so feel free to leave me one and let me know if something big is going on. Other than that, I'll be back to regular posting and reading when I decide to come back to it.
In the meanwhile, I've been making library runs, reading voraciously, trying to catch up on book reviews ... and I've been spending a lot of time watching the anime Prince of Tennis. I first heard of Prince of Tennis when it began to steal away the Harry Potter fandom, but I have to say that a show about tennis didn't exactly capture my imagination. I also had an general suspicion that the show run was lengthy, so I was hesitant to delve in. However, after finding myself with some free time and discovering the series on AnimeEpisodes.Net, I caved and watched a few episodes to see what I thought of it.
Well, the fan girls were right. The show is addicting.
Prince of Tennis follows tennis prodigy Ryoma Echizen, beginning as he first joins Seigaku, a private school famous for its tennis. Ryoma quickly defeats a number of upperclassman and becomes a regular on the school's tennis team, and then his team begins its journey towards the All-Japan Tournament. Ryoma is the main character, but the show also follows a handful of his classmates, all of Seigaku's regulars, and many of the other school that they compete against and befriend in tournaments. As such, the cast is huge. The show is indeed lengthy, a full 178 episodes (I'm currently at 102). Strangely, the show is reminiscent of DragonBall Z: the story arcs follow the various tournament rounds, there are filler episodes in between; moreover, these boys play tennis much the way that the DBZ crew fights, complete with specially named special moves, slow-motion action to allow for voice overs, and super human skill.
And it's great. I don't want to turn this into an all-out review, although it is already tending that way—but since I haven't finished the show, I can't make a final judgment on it. I can say, though, that I'm having a great time watching it, despite the way that the series goes on and on, despite the necessary suspension of disbelief that's required to watch Ryoma dive down the tennis court, heals blazing, to perform his special move "Drive B!". I loved DBZ, so I have a high tolerance for that sort of thing—and all the rest is brilliant. Besides the fun and the silly, or the simple excitement of the matches, there are the characters. With such a large cast there are infinite and varying character interactions, with such a long series there is plenty of time to develop the core characters, and all of it is couched within the tension of tennis matches.
Where there are varied character interactions, there are of course many, many character pairings—and I am a slasher at heart. There is a tiny difficult detail in that these characters are junior high schoolers, between twelve and fifteen years old. At least, they are according to the setting, but they certainly don't act so young, look so young, or sound so young. In my head, they are high schoolers. I see Ryoma as fifteen, perhaps sixteen, and the older characters as seventeen and eighteen. Then the sexual tension of the tennis matches isn't quite so shota-creepy, and more than that character's heights and muscles don't seem so entirely out of place. It makes me wonder if the creator (who wrote the manga) wanted to escape the rigors of Japanese high school by putting the characters in junior high, or why else he chose to make them so young in numbers, especially given that they aren't young appearance or behavior. Anyhow.
I don't intend to join in the show's fandom. As the series is complete, I'd feel obligated to watch it all before reading or writing for it, and that's a huge investment—after which I'd probably just rather move on. There are some great moments between characters, but with such a huge cast no one pairing is investigated in depth, which leaves a bit too much room for fandom's influence and the troubles that brings. But even if I only plan to read a fic or two and write none, I still have thoughts on and favorites among the potential pairings.
Which, of course, I'm certain the whole world wants to hear about, ergo I shall share.
Ryoma/Tezuka: The Pillar Pair, and it has a certain enigmatic appeal that I wish were investigated in more depth. Ryoma looks to Tekuza for a challenge, for leadership, and as the most important stepping stone for discovering himself; Tekuza looks to Ryoma as a protegé; they both are slightly obsessive in how they view the other. Because both are so taciturn and so highly focused on tennis, their relationship is one of key moments, key dialog, and then long periods of silence.
Eiji/Oishi: The Golden Pair, their pairing is one of the more obvious, and more steady, potentials of the group—and I love it. Kikumaru (who I adore) is energetic, playful, and young, and relies of Oishi's quieter steadfastness to find his strength and center. I see this as a doubles partnership turned friendship turned hesitant romance, and through their doubles play they have the great chemistry as well as great trust to be successful.
Ryoma/Momoshiro: These two are good friends, and I wonder if that translates well into a pairing. When together, these two are casual and friendly; when separated, they develop an appraising eye for one another that is approving, insulting, and also competitive, and makes me wonder what lies beneath the surface of their relationship.
Ryoma/Fuji: "Thrill Pair" indeed. Fuji is one of the more interesting characters, a true case of still waters running deep: he's calm and untroubled on the surface but, in glimpses, competitive and strong-willed beneath. As a prodigy, he has skills to rival and challenge Ryoma's, and their unfinished match leaves both respect and unresolved tension between them. It's an exciting pairing.
Momoshiro/Kaido: These two are the biggest rivals in the school. They are at comparable skill levels, watch each other with obsessive close attention, and are always ready to fight with each other. They also play a mean game of doubles. I have a passion for rival pairings, and so this is a steady favorite of mine.
Ryoma/Shinji: My love for Shinji biases me as far as this pairing is concerned. There are a number of other characters (Inui and Aoi for example) that would work well in a pairing, but my personal disinterest in the character makes it hard for me to slash them. Shinji, however, I adore, and he is very similar to Ryoma. Where this similarity makes their rivalry rather humorous, it also gives them a connection—and tension.
My favorite characters, perhaps predictable by the above list, are Ryoma, Fuji, Kikumaru, and Tezuka, with a bit of Momo and Kaido as well. I can see each of them in all variety of relationships, as they all have a sort of charge about them—they all use tennis to conquer others and themselves. Tennis gives them a clarity of vision, and they see their opponents through sharp eyes, admiring strengths, seeking out a way to understand and to overcome. Playing doubles, they are forced to bend their own strong wills and turn a pair into a team. Long slow romances are an art, but more than starry-eyed moments I love tension: the clash of fighting spirits, the force of will as a man overcomes himself or his opponent, those shocks of energy and sharp glances. Many of these characters bring that sort of warrior energy to the show, and it translates well into the sort of relationships which I thrill in.
So, yes, that's where I've been: watching dozens and dozens of episodes of Prince of Tennis, enjoying the victory and the character building, the little thrills of many strong characters coming head to head, and the way that Kikomaru says "nya" and Ryoma smirks out from under his cap brim. I'll write a real review later, when I've finished it—a review that talks more about the story than about the various pairing permutations within. But with 80 episodes left, there's still a long way to go. Mada mada dane!
In the meanwhile, I've been making library runs, reading voraciously, trying to catch up on book reviews ... and I've been spending a lot of time watching the anime Prince of Tennis. I first heard of Prince of Tennis when it began to steal away the Harry Potter fandom, but I have to say that a show about tennis didn't exactly capture my imagination. I also had an general suspicion that the show run was lengthy, so I was hesitant to delve in. However, after finding myself with some free time and discovering the series on AnimeEpisodes.Net, I caved and watched a few episodes to see what I thought of it.Well, the fan girls were right. The show is addicting.
Prince of Tennis follows tennis prodigy Ryoma Echizen, beginning as he first joins Seigaku, a private school famous for its tennis. Ryoma quickly defeats a number of upperclassman and becomes a regular on the school's tennis team, and then his team begins its journey towards the All-Japan Tournament. Ryoma is the main character, but the show also follows a handful of his classmates, all of Seigaku's regulars, and many of the other school that they compete against and befriend in tournaments. As such, the cast is huge. The show is indeed lengthy, a full 178 episodes (I'm currently at 102). Strangely, the show is reminiscent of DragonBall Z: the story arcs follow the various tournament rounds, there are filler episodes in between; moreover, these boys play tennis much the way that the DBZ crew fights, complete with specially named special moves, slow-motion action to allow for voice overs, and super human skill.
And it's great. I don't want to turn this into an all-out review, although it is already tending that way—but since I haven't finished the show, I can't make a final judgment on it. I can say, though, that I'm having a great time watching it, despite the way that the series goes on and on, despite the necessary suspension of disbelief that's required to watch Ryoma dive down the tennis court, heals blazing, to perform his special move "Drive B!". I loved DBZ, so I have a high tolerance for that sort of thing—and all the rest is brilliant. Besides the fun and the silly, or the simple excitement of the matches, there are the characters. With such a large cast there are infinite and varying character interactions, with such a long series there is plenty of time to develop the core characters, and all of it is couched within the tension of tennis matches.
Where there are varied character interactions, there are of course many, many character pairings—and I am a slasher at heart. There is a tiny difficult detail in that these characters are junior high schoolers, between twelve and fifteen years old. At least, they are according to the setting, but they certainly don't act so young, look so young, or sound so young. In my head, they are high schoolers. I see Ryoma as fifteen, perhaps sixteen, and the older characters as seventeen and eighteen. Then the sexual tension of the tennis matches isn't quite so shota-creepy, and more than that character's heights and muscles don't seem so entirely out of place. It makes me wonder if the creator (who wrote the manga) wanted to escape the rigors of Japanese high school by putting the characters in junior high, or why else he chose to make them so young in numbers, especially given that they aren't young appearance or behavior. Anyhow.
I don't intend to join in the show's fandom. As the series is complete, I'd feel obligated to watch it all before reading or writing for it, and that's a huge investment—after which I'd probably just rather move on. There are some great moments between characters, but with such a huge cast no one pairing is investigated in depth, which leaves a bit too much room for fandom's influence and the troubles that brings. But even if I only plan to read a fic or two and write none, I still have thoughts on and favorites among the potential pairings.
Which, of course, I'm certain the whole world wants to hear about, ergo I shall share.
Ryoma/Tezuka: The Pillar Pair, and it has a certain enigmatic appeal that I wish were investigated in more depth. Ryoma looks to Tekuza for a challenge, for leadership, and as the most important stepping stone for discovering himself; Tekuza looks to Ryoma as a protegé; they both are slightly obsessive in how they view the other. Because both are so taciturn and so highly focused on tennis, their relationship is one of key moments, key dialog, and then long periods of silence.
Eiji/Oishi: The Golden Pair, their pairing is one of the more obvious, and more steady, potentials of the group—and I love it. Kikumaru (who I adore) is energetic, playful, and young, and relies of Oishi's quieter steadfastness to find his strength and center. I see this as a doubles partnership turned friendship turned hesitant romance, and through their doubles play they have the great chemistry as well as great trust to be successful.
Ryoma/Momoshiro: These two are good friends, and I wonder if that translates well into a pairing. When together, these two are casual and friendly; when separated, they develop an appraising eye for one another that is approving, insulting, and also competitive, and makes me wonder what lies beneath the surface of their relationship.
Ryoma/Fuji: "Thrill Pair" indeed. Fuji is one of the more interesting characters, a true case of still waters running deep: he's calm and untroubled on the surface but, in glimpses, competitive and strong-willed beneath. As a prodigy, he has skills to rival and challenge Ryoma's, and their unfinished match leaves both respect and unresolved tension between them. It's an exciting pairing.
Momoshiro/Kaido: These two are the biggest rivals in the school. They are at comparable skill levels, watch each other with obsessive close attention, and are always ready to fight with each other. They also play a mean game of doubles. I have a passion for rival pairings, and so this is a steady favorite of mine.
Ryoma/Shinji: My love for Shinji biases me as far as this pairing is concerned. There are a number of other characters (Inui and Aoi for example) that would work well in a pairing, but my personal disinterest in the character makes it hard for me to slash them. Shinji, however, I adore, and he is very similar to Ryoma. Where this similarity makes their rivalry rather humorous, it also gives them a connection—and tension.
My favorite characters, perhaps predictable by the above list, are Ryoma, Fuji, Kikumaru, and Tezuka, with a bit of Momo and Kaido as well. I can see each of them in all variety of relationships, as they all have a sort of charge about them—they all use tennis to conquer others and themselves. Tennis gives them a clarity of vision, and they see their opponents through sharp eyes, admiring strengths, seeking out a way to understand and to overcome. Playing doubles, they are forced to bend their own strong wills and turn a pair into a team. Long slow romances are an art, but more than starry-eyed moments I love tension: the clash of fighting spirits, the force of will as a man overcomes himself or his opponent, those shocks of energy and sharp glances. Many of these characters bring that sort of warrior energy to the show, and it translates well into the sort of relationships which I thrill in.
So, yes, that's where I've been: watching dozens and dozens of episodes of Prince of Tennis, enjoying the victory and the character building, the little thrills of many strong characters coming head to head, and the way that Kikomaru says "nya" and Ryoma smirks out from under his cap brim. I'll write a real review later, when I've finished it—a review that talks more about the story than about the various pairing permutations within. But with 80 episodes left, there's still a long way to go. Mada mada dane!
