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Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Prince of Tennis DVD
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 292 Location: Georgia |
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I couldn't even finish an episode but I assumed that was because it was an anime aimed at actual children (though I could be wrong). I completely agree with the reviewer. Not only was it boring but I thought Ryoma was a jerk.
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Mokkori
 Posts: 42 |
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(reads review) Uh oh! Prepare for massive(maybe) fanboy attack! Quick, somebody find Zac! He'll protect us with his Thunderball Fists!
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6902 Location: Kazune City |
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 *chirp chirp*
As I recall there was quite the controversy on AoD about Viz replacing the OP/ED with the US TV broadcast version, with many people deciding to cancel their pre-orders and such. But hey, if the music is actually better, I guess that's an improvement, and it lets Viz avoid the job they hate the most: subtitling songs. |
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sakuharu23
Posts: 19 |
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Considering the show has a pretty large fanbase, I'm surprised it sucked so badly during the first episodes which are pretty crucial for gaining a fanbase.
I mean all those other massively popular/cliche shonen shows like Inuyasha or Naruto had their appeal. Naruto had a large, interesting cast of characters with zany ninja moves and Inuyasha had the whole romance aspect and some intersting characters. What does PoT have? |
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LuckySleven
 Posts: 426 Location: Refer to page 2 |
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I agree it is repetitive but it's one of my most favorite sport anime just above Eyeshield 21.
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Neverwhere
 Posts: 351 Location: socal |
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I would absolutely agree with this review if I hadn't been forced to continue watching the series by a very ardent friend, assuring me that it does indeed get better. And it DOES. I could barely stomach the first 10 or so episodes, but by about 19 or 20 it suddenly gets terribly exciting -- not so much because the story gets more interesting, but because it becomes utterly HILARIOUS. The melodrama is so mind-numbingly over-the-top and every school is so filled with such outrageous weirdos you can't help but laugh, and shake your head at the ridiculousness of the entire show. Plus, and let's be totally honest here, some of those boys are very, very pretty. And later on there's even a boy band. Or twelve. Hehehehe.
I wouldn't pass the death sentence on TeniPuri until you've watched the Hyoutei arc, because that team is charismatic and highly amusing. And the later filler episodes are also extremely entertaining, in their utterly cracktastic way. (I don't think I've ever said 'WTF?!' outloud as many times as I have while watching this show. Seriously.) Which means I also wouldn't actually recommend buying the first box set, as nothing at all of interest happens. Unless of course you're a proud fan and want to support the region one releases, in which case please do buy one, for you and your friends. 
Prince of Tennis is not a great show. That much is very true. It is, however, fantastically fun, once you get through the long, hard slog of tedious early episodes. I'd rather buy Hikaru no Go though. Especially as I've already spent far too much money on the TeniPuri cast cds. And Musical dvds. God, I love those musicals. Tee hee. 
Zallis -- you should give this a try. Some of the later cast members are deliciously Ouran-esque.
Sakuharu -- One of the silliest things about the show is that it is a shounen series, which means every character has a Special Move that makes his (and occasionally her) tennis unique. It's just like a Naruto ninja showdown. Except with tennis rackets. Heh.
I think you'll find most of the devoted fanbase are women. ;- ) (Edited to reply to previous posts.) |
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Nebs
 Posts: 386 Location: University of Illinois |
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Cardinal rule: the first 13 episodes of any long-running anime series (especially of the shonen variety) will likely suck compared to later episodes.
That's not to say it's true in every case (heck, with InuYasha the first 13 eps are probably the best), but it is true with Prince of Tennis & most other Shonen Jump series. |
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ikky
Posts: 76 |
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hah, I am thinking of getting into PoT, as many of my friends are into it, but what I've seen and read so far has been really boring.
It does seem like it will take iself less seriously later, judging by some official artwork I've seen for the series... Could anyone confirm this?
Pretty boys! |
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domino
 Posts: 373 |
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Agreed: the first several episodes are painful to watch (especially dubbed), but then suddenly you get to the point where you start feeling "holy crap, I actually care about what happens to these characters, and I'm interested in this match even though it's been going on for three episodes and the ball is on fire and I have no idea what's going on".
It's just one of those shows that will cast a spell on you if you stick with it long enough. And as it goes, the animation gets better and better and it takes itself less and less seriously as it realizes that TENNIS BALLS ON FIRE ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS. I'm a big fan of sports anime, and will shamelessly admit that I find it to be the best of the sports bunch, no matter how ridiculous it gets. |
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Mylene
 Posts: 2792 Location: Indiana |
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The best episodes of PoT are the episodes in which there IS NO TENNIS! Being an avid fan of the sport (over 12 years now), the tennis in this show just bugs the heck out of me. I prefer a more realistic approach to sports (ala Princess Nine) than the mind-numbingly impossible stuff that PoT shows.
That said, the non-tennis episodes are a riot. There aren't many of them, maybe one every 10 to 20 episodes (I think the first 'good' episode shows up around episode 17 to 18, so you have to wait for the second box) but those are what kept me watching. My husband has a much higher opinion of the series than I because he'd only turn around and watch when I was making sounds that suggested it was a good episode (meaning he's seen maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the series at most.) Also as the show went on, some of the characters develop a nice, enjoyable personality. I'm personally a fan of Fuji and Kikumaru, and even enjoy a couple of their tennis episodes, surprisingly enough. Oh, I do have to disagree about the music though, at least the opening and closing themes. The animation sequences were rather dull, but I'm fond of quite a few of the themes, particularly "White Line." Looking at the ratings for the show in the Encyclopedia, I'm shocked to see how many very good to masterpiece ratings its received. I gave it a decent, but could see maybe going all the way up to good for people who like tournament-style over-the-top anime like PoT. But a masterpiece? O_o; I would definitely say the show doesn't really get much better, but mercifully it really doesn't get any worse either (until you start dipping into the movie and OAV series...wow, those are awful.) |
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Reliak
Posts: 50 |
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I'll admit, I'm a Tenipuri fangirl. I watched the first episode fansubbed, walked away from the series for months, came back to watch the second...and ended up marathoning about 80 episodes in one week.
As for the music...ymmv. Personally, I love the original OP/ED, and in this day and age there is no reason to change out the music for stuff the producer's kid wrote unless there's a rights issue (which clearly isn't the case, since the Japanese songs are in the extras). Still, a really fun show (and yes, the boys are pretty). I won't be picking this up until I hear the word on the music in set 2, But I love this show. |
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ReinaMorena
Posts: 1 |
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It may be lame, but I love when the underdog comes out on top. It may be slow moving but its just makes it that more intense.
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Mylene
Posts: 2792 Location: Indiana |
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When does the underdog ever come out on top in PoT? Ryoma was clearly never an underdog (underestimated perhaps, but never the underdog), nor were any of the other Seigaku characters. I'm not really sure where you're getting the underdog aspect. |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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I started watching this because one of my favorite seiyuu was in it. And I actually enjoyed this series, being a fan of real tennis. Or maybe I should say despite being a fan of real tennis. The earlier episodes were fun because they at least tried to stick with what was in the realm of possibility, but the later episodes were fun too because tennis turned into a type of mystical ninja warfare that was pretty darned funny. It does get stale after a while, especially now that Ryoma's super duper self-realized state has been topped by another's ultra super duper self-realized state, so that Ryoma has to acquire, and of course does just in time, the supreme super duper self-realized state.
I think that last sentence sums up the sports in this series. As someone else pointed out though, the non-tennis episodes were the best, and what I loved. The chibi episodes alone are worth finding and watching. One note, from some of the specials I've seen, it's clear that there are two intended audiences for Prince of Tennis, children under ten, and teenage fangirls. I don't know that most others would enjoy it it, except for the laughs. |
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GoodLuckSaturday
 Posts: 567 Location: Indiana |
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I'm a big fan of The Prince of Tennis, but I can agree here. The early episodes are a bit drab, but it's so ridiculous that it's enjoyable to watch, especially later. And the non-tennis episodes are reallly really funny. The show's worth watching for those alone. The Prince of Tennis definitely becomes better later on when Konomi lets loose and makes the tennis matches unbelievably ridiculous with tennis balls making characters fly six rows into a stadium's seats, but I still really enjoy it as a whole.
It takes itself seriously in the sense that it's not off the wall like Excel Saga or Bo-bobo, but to take it seriously is another thing. |
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