Hiyoshi Wakashi

Age: 13 (+1/2)
Hair: Orange (I guess... ^^;)
Eyes: Gray
Height: 172 cm (or about 5'9")
Blood Type: AB
Birthday: December 5th
Dominant Hand: Right
Favorite Subject: Math, History
Favorite Color: None
Hobby: Reading (esp. horror/mystery novels)
Family: Mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, older brother
Seiyuu: Iwasaki Masami (see also Akazawa Yoshiroh)

Basic: Hiyoshi Wakashi is one of the regulars on the Hyoutei tennis team, and apparently a real up-and-coming talent in the club. His first appearance is in the reserve position during the Hyoutei arc, during which he ends up playing Ryoma. Which counts for something in this series, despite the fact that out of all the Hyoutei regulars, Hiyoshi probably has the least character development.

At First Glance: Hiyoshi's... just kind of an angry, ticked-off sort of guy. He's also calculating, and more than a little arrogant. But you might not even remember that much about him if you only watch the Hyoutei arc once. You might only remember that he's the guy jumping around and hitting tennis balls in really bizarre martial arts positions. And that he calls one of these moves "Dance To the Heavens." I mean, seriously. -_-;

Personality: Well, Hiyoshi fits right into Hyoutei's tennis club in the sense that he's calculating and over-confident. He likes the idea of getting rid of those who lose even one match (a policy at Hyoutei put in place by their coach). He's personally aiming to be on top of the whole club, possibly as the captain next year. His motto is "Gekokujou," which basically refers to the idea of a lower-class person defeating an upper-class person and taking their place. I guess this reveals how cold and ambitious Hiyoshi is. He also doesn't seem to have any doubts whatsoever that he will end up on top, so I'd have to say that even for a Hyoutei regular, he's pretty cocky. He seems like he's probably also a very disciplined kind of guy, especially since he studies martial arts at a dojo run by his own father.

Tennis Ability: Hiyoshi's big tennis technique is to take the moves he uses at his family's _ dojo and apply them to tennis. This results in some pretty weird postures that are the most memorable thing about Hiyoshi. He calls one of these moves (that looks an awful lot like crane-style kung fu) the "Dance To the Heavens." Hiyoshi also seems to have pretty good stamina, since he and Ryoma challenged each other about how many games they could play during their match. (Ryoma won, but hey, he's Ryoma.)

While Hiyoshi was not one of the most formidable opponents Ryoma faced in the series, he has the reputation among other Hyoutei players as being an "ace." Therefore, one must assume that he is one of the better players among the Hyoutei regulars, or if he isn't, he will be next year. But for the most part, this is just my own speculation, since his match against Ryoma lasted all of, well, one episode. ^^; It's a bit difficult to gauge a player's talent in that time frame.

Plot Points: Well, Hiyoshi has mainly one plot point, and that is his match with Ryoma. During that match, we gather mainly that Hiyoshi is a cocky kind of guy who is determined to defeat all his teammates and become the best in his club. Of course, sometimes he is so busy plotting about that goal that he forgets to focus on the opponent at hand (i.e. Ryoma, for example...). He seems like a very intense character and doesn't mind verbally challenging Ryoma during the match. Of course, Ryoma challenges him right back, so Seigaku's rookie apparently still holds the gold medal for Sass in PoT. :P

Odds and Ends: None.

My Take: Hiyoshi is not a particularly likable character. I admit it. And he's given so little character development that it's hard to form any sort of in-depth opinion about him. Among all the Hyoutei regulars, he's probably my least favorite, but again, this has less to do with him as a character and more to do with the fact that the other characters are more interesting. Still, it's too bad he's such a severely under-appreciated character in the PoT fandom. So if any of you out there really love Hiyoshi, for whatever reason, rock on.

And Hiyoushi, you just keep on dancing toward the heavens. Whatever in the heck that means. (And my friends and I shall continue to playfully mimic your tennis moves on the court during our leisure time. :P)

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. It is copyrighted to its respective owners, including the wonderful Konomi-sensei. This site is intended as an informative site only, to promote awareness of the series. I make no money whatsoever. Please do not repost material on this site without permission. Screenshots provided by Tsubame Gaeshi. Thanks for your understanding!