<Basic>

Atobe Keigo is the captain of Hyoutei Academy's junior high tennis team. This means he is the most qualified player out of over 200 students to lead that prestigious tennis club. It also means that he is the most flamboyant guy in an entire school of snobby, stuck-up rich kids. The best part? Just about every PoT fan loves his gorgeous guts. Including me. :3

<At First Glance>

Atobe is a diva. Oh, yes, he is a diva. He is arrogant, and probably spoiled. He is flashy and occasionally frivolous. He plays tennis with all the finesse and showmanship of a pop idol. He can be a jerk, especially if you take him at face value in his first PoT appearance, where he picks on An Tachibana just for fun and royally snubs Kamio. But above all, Atobe is a diva, and the self-appointed king of Hyoutei.

<Personality>

Atobe is... a diva! XD No, but seriously, everything that Atobe seems to be at first glance remains true of him throughout the series. He is conceited, narcississtic, spoiled, and a grade-A showoff. But he also has the skills to back up his massive ego, which is quite an impressive accomplishment. He's one of those people who is admired by everyone, with good reason, and he loves every minute of it. Maybe it's because he so obviously loves it that he is so lovable. Because it's true. Atobe is extremely lovable. He is clearly a charismatic person, because he not only leads all 200 members of the Hyoutei tennis club, but he also seems to have the loyalty of even the haughtiest of his regular players. (The possible exception to this rule is the calculating Hiyoshi, but this has very little to do with Atobe and more to do with Hiyoshi.) Atobe is also an ambitious kind of guy, and probably either a genius, or an overacheiver, or both. He's first in his class in every subject, and he's also Hyoutei's student body president. To do something like that, you'd have to be EXTREMELY talented, and Atobe is. And Atobe knows it. Atobe is, without a doubt, a spoiled guy. He has butlers and maids following him around, and his "summer cabin" looks bigger than the U.S. White House. He's obviously filthy rich, which probably is the source of his very sophisticated composure. One thing that's hard to determine about Atobe is if there's another side to him, other than self-love. It's quite possible he cares about his teammates as much as Tezuka cares about his, but it's impossible to tell. Atobe talks about his players only in a matter-of-fact kind of tone, one that coldly observes what they're doing wrong and aims only to fix it. It's hard to tell if Atobe cares about them on a deeper level, but it's possible. A few events in the anime seem to hint at this possibility, but no conclusions can be drawn. One thing everyone knows about Atobe, though, is that he's observant. He has very keen powers of observation in tennis, especially when it comes to others' weaknesses. He often seems to know what will happen in a given tennis match before it actually occurs. There is also indication that he is equally perceptive of things outside of tennis, such as relationships... and possibly more. Atobe is a very competitive person, especially against what he deems to be worthy opponents. And when he finds a worthy opponent, he doesn't have any qualms about doing all he can to destroy that opponent.

<Tennis Ability>

Atobe is a national level player. In terms of the series, he is on par with Tezuka and Sanada, both of whom are probably the most intimidating players in the entire show. It's easy to forget this when watching Atobe play, because he has two very flashy techniques that viewers tend to watch for, but Atobe is simply an all-around great tennis player. He keeps up with Tezuka in their match easily, and is a master at manipulating a game to his favor.

The first technique in Atobe's arsenal is the infamous "Insight." It's usually preluded by a strange gesture of Atobe's, probably just a quirky habit, where he brings his hand up to his face and stares at the opponent in a rather frightening manner. As some of Yamabuki's players explained, Atobe has very good eyesight, and I presume very good powers of observation, both of which he uses to identify players' weaknesses. When you think about it, this is a technique that would pretty much enable a person to win almost every match they played, so long as they had the skills to back up the observations. Since Atobe does have a tremendous amount of skill, this "Insight" technique makes him a terrifying opponent and gave him a pretty dark role in the series. He is responsible for a career-threatening injury to Tezuka that sends Seigaku's captain into a lengthy rehabilitation process. (You would think this would make Atobe a very villian-like character, but it doesn't necessarily, as I'll explain later.)

Atobe's other signature technique is one that he calls the "Rondo to Destruction." It's an overhead smash, during which he aims the ball so that it hits the grip on his opponent's racquet. As you might imagine, this loosens the opponent's hold on the racquet, and it often goes flying out of their hands, giving Atobe plenty of time to smash the ball right past them. I can't even imagine being on the receiving end of such a shocking move, but I can see how opponents would be almost incapable of fighting back against such a technique. Obviously, Atobe is a very talented tennis player. He even has the remarkable distinction of having received a compliment from the ever-stoic Sanada about his potential. And, personally, he's someone I wouldn't want to face on the court, if only to be able to keep playing tennis afterwards. O_o

<Plot Points>

Atobe is another one of those characters that can easily be described outside the plot, but a few plot points are worth noting to give you a better idea of some lesser known sides to Atobe's character.

Atobe is clearly a diva and apparently doesn't have any qualms about harassing girls, as seen in his first appearance where he teases An Tachibana and invites the wrath of the regular visitors at the street tennis courts. He also is so casually conceited that he actually sits down during the resulting doubles match against Momoshiro and Kamio. Instead of playing himself, he lets his partner Kabaji get all the shots. This is, in fact, the first time we see the strange relationship between Atobe and Kabaji. Kabaji is sort of a cross between Atobe's bag boy and Atobe's dog. I'm not sure which describes him better. ^^; Atobe gives Kabaji orders frequently, and he even snaps his fingers during one of Kabaji's matches to signal to the second-yeart to "finish off" his opponent quickly. If that isn't like how a master commands his dog, I don't know what is. Atobe also frequently uses the injection, "Right, Kabaji?" in his conversations, to which Kabaji always replies, without fail, "Usu." Which basically means "Yup." I guess that makes Kabaji a "yes man" to Atobe, too. Literally. O_o Especially since Kabaji always, ALWAYS follows Atobe around, so he's always on hand to say "Yup." I imagine Atobe likes it this way, although we never learn anything about how that relationship came to be.

The plot also shows that Atobe can be somewhat unfeeling toward his teammates when he feels he needs to be. He frequently harasses Shishido at the beginning of the series, mainly about not finishing off his matches quickly enough. Then, when Shishido loses, he reports the fact to their coach and remarks that "of course he'll be removed from the regulars." However, Atobe is also the one to finally endorse Shishido when he's returned from his grueling training as a much better player. Atobe says he does this out of pure ambition, viewing it as what was best for the team, since after all Shishido had become one heck of a player during the time he was off the regulars. But it's hard to say if Atobe was also somewhat impressed by Shishido's determination to be put back on the regulars. In the end, it's probably best to just leave speculation about Atobe's motives at that.

Atobe is also revealed to have a very deep respect for none other than Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. He plays against Tezuka in what is definitely the most memorable match in the Hyoutei arc and probably the most memorable match in all of PoT. What makes this match remarkable is not only the high level of tennis, but also the emotion behind the match. It's emotion that even Atobe himself is swept up in, although Tezuka's motivation in taking Seigaku to the Nationals remains the focal point. Atobe is especially impressed by Tezuka's passion during the match, and he vows he too will put the same kind of effort into each and every shot that he hits. I think this reveals that Atobe has a sense of the romantic and a love for dramatic situations. But it also reveals that Atobe is capable of being moved and inspired by a truly talented player giving everything he has in a "do-or-die" situation. Atobe is an ambitious guy, and he tries to destroy Tezuka's arm during this match on purpose. (I think we can chalk up these sadistic tendencies to "thrill issues," much like Fuji's craving of "the thrill" of drawing out an opponent's talent. ^^;) But Atobe also reveals that he can be impressed, moved, and even touched by the passion of a player like Tezuka. It's that attitude that moves him to raise Tezuka's arm at the end and say, "That was the greatest match."

The plot reveals more about Atobe later on, especially during the second Hyoutei arc. For one thing, we all are able to confirm that Atobe really is as spoiled as we thought. He lives in mansions and is waited upon by maids and butlers. But the second arc also reveals something about Atobe we didn't expect... He has some kind of connection to Tezuka other than just as his opponent in that one match. It may be a very one-dimensional connection, but Tezuka appears to be in contact with Atobe on some level even while in Germany. He even asks Atobe to play against Ryoma personally and draw out his talent, much like Tezuka had been doing before his shoulder gave out. The interesting thing about this is that Atobe agrees to do so. It's hard to say whether Tezuka has any influence over Atobe or not, especially because Atobe is the type to be intrigued by such an offer and do it just for the heck of it. But either way, Tezuka and Atobe do seem to have some type of connection other than just as one-time opponents.

Atobe is also the type of guy, apparently, who is intrigued by discovering new talent. He is actually impressed by Ryoma during their match, and later on during the Rikkai arc, he seems to take the idea of Ryoma losing to Sanada personally. This is probably because he feels like if he condescended to play against Ryoma, Ryoma sure as heck better follow through and be just as impressive as Atobe thought he was. It's an almost humorous facet of Atobe's personality, mainly because it reflects his narcississtic attitude perfectly. But, either way, Atobe definitely comes to appreciate Ryoma's potential as a tennis player, which is an interesting turn of events for such a self-centered guy.

<Odds and Ends>

As a guy who is very much in love with himself, Atobe definitely has more than his share of quirks. His favorite saying is "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoina!" which translates to "Be awed by my prowess" or "Be obsessed with my beautiful skill." ... Needless to say, it takes a very special person to just say that out loud. ^^; (By the way, "ore" is a pronoun only used by Japanese males and it's extremely self-assured, so "ore-sama" is almost like using the royal "we" or something equally... err... pompous.) Atobe also has a very interesting way of preparing for tennis matches... he gives himself his own introduction. A very flamboyant introduction. The Hyoutei tennis club members are already used to chanting "Hyoutei! Hyoutei!" over and over at tennis matches. It's a very intimidating technique to anyone who has to play against them. But Atobe takes this to a whole new level. He leads the 200+ members in an elaborately choreographed cheer with his own special hand signals. He then throws off his jacket, almost matador-style, and declares that "The winner will be me!" If this doesn't speak volumes about the ridiculously arrogant and yet so irresistably likable nature of Hyoutei's captain, I don't know what does. On a side note, Atobe apparently has a dog. A cute, white, fluffy dog. Which Kabaji seems to get along with, as one might expect... Atobe also has a purple cell phone. And if you don't believe me, check episode 36.

<My Take>

I. LOVE. ATOBE. I don't know anyone who DOESN'T love Atobe. How can you not love Atobe??? I know, I know... based on my description alone, there's probably some people out there who would think Atobe sounds more than a little despicable. But, seriously, Atobe is GREAT. Atobe is more levels of great than I can count. He's so arrogant that you will just laugh, he's so beautiful that you will swoon, and he is so lovable that you will declare your devotion aloud. I know I have.

It's a bit hard to explain exactly why I love Atobe so much, but if you've watched the series, you already know why. Far and away, Atobe is the most popular character of PoT, other than the Seigaku regulars. And, really, I would bet only Ryoma is more popular than he is. Atobe is just such a fun character. Plus, Atobe took part in the tennis match that I love the most in the whole series, the famous match against Tezuka himself. And that fact earned him tons of bonus points in my eyes. So, really, it was just about impossible for me NOT to love Hyoutei's exceptionally naracississtic captain. And the more flashy he becomes, the more I love him. It's a phenomenon I can't explain, but it's oh so true.

To put it simply, Atobe, I AM awed by your prowess. So awed I can't even express it. Yes, Atobe, you are just that beautiful. And I know you already knew that. ^^;

<Screencaps>

Coming soon!

<More Thoughts>

Coming soon!