Echizen Ryoma

Age: 12 1/2
Hair: Blue-ish/green-ish black (err... yeah)
Eyes: Golden brown
Height: 151 cm (or about 5 feet tall)
Blood Type: O
Birthday: December 24th
Dominant Hand: Left (& Right)
Favorite Subject: Science
Favorite Color: Silver
Hobby: Probably sleeping ^^;
Family: Father, mother, cousin, cat
Seiyuu: Mingawa Junko

Basic: Well, Ryoma is of course the protagonist of Prince of Tennis. He becomes the only Seigaku regular player who is a first-year (i.e. in the seventh grade) because he's of course that talented. And of course he's got a legacy on his shoulders; his father Nanjiroh was known as "The Samurai" and would have been world tennis champ were it not for his mysteriously early retirement.

At First Glance: Ryoma is a unusual character when you first get to know him. He looks like the typical sports anime hero: shorter than his teammates and dark-haired. But it is obvious from the first episode that he's not a typical protagonist. He's got quite an attitude and is more than a little cocky. At first glance, he might come across as abrasive or annoying.

Personality: Ryoma actually has more than one side to him. Sure, he's a sassy little boy with a big mouth and a smirk to match. There's no doubt about that. And he knows he has some serious skills. Surprisingly, however, it becomes obvious that he is not as arrogant as he first appears. Ryoma may mouth off to people, but for the most part he's very quiet and unresponsive. (This is why his typical look is that eyes-half-open vacant stare, like he just rolled out of bed.) At first, this makes him seem stuck up. And he's more than a little distant. For example, he does NOT seem to be fond of the frequent hugs/glomps/noogies he so often receives from his senpais Momo and Eiji. That said, like many characters, he has a side that he doesn't show at first. It becomes more and more obvious that he is as capable of great respect as he is of disdain. (And you better believe that ANYONE who earns Ryoma's respect deserves it.) Moreover, Ryoma actually is capable of affection in his own quiet way. He reveals a weakness for the well-being of his cat Karupin fairly early in the series, and it becomes more and more obvious that he has a soft spot for some of his teammates as well. However, since this is the mainly stoic Ryoma we are talking about here, you're going to have to dig for this to find it. Also, despite his willingness to challenge anybody who ticks him off, it's clear he has a profound sense of honor about beating even the worst characters fair and square.

Tennis Ability: Obviously, Ryoma is one of the most talented players in the whole series. This is obvious from the get-go. After all, not just any kid can win four junior tournaments in America in a row and come out with a nickname like 'the Prince of Tennis.' Consistent with this reality is the fact that he can hit a Twist Serve, which is essentially a serve with so much topspin on it that it flys up at you and can potentially hit you in the fact if you're not careful. It's also an EXTREMELY difficult serve to master. Case in point, Andy Roddick's kick serve (basically just a different name for the twist serve) has enough killer spin on it to be just as scary as his record-breaking flat serve that has no spin. Moreover, Ryoma doesn't just have an awesome serve in his arsenal. He can also play with either hand, even though he's really a lefty. (Mad love for lefty players! *giggles and holds up her dominant left hand*) This means... well, it means playing against him would be darn confusing. Ryoma also likes to name signature moves that he makes up, such as the infamous "Drive B" which involves him sliding on the ground and jumping up at a ball so he can hit downward on it without hitting it into the net. Since of course the main character has to have lots of interesting moves, I'm not sure how many of those moves, like the "Cyclone Smash" (created later in the series), are even possible in real tennis. But it's certainly lots of fun to watch, and there is no doubt he is one of the most talented players in the show. This becomes more and more evident as his potential grows at Seigaku and he starts beating truly impressive opponents. He's certainly the miracle rookie of Seigaku and has even played at the number one singles slot, which is pretty amazing for a seventh grader.

Plot Points: The plot itself reveals some pretty interesting things about Ryoma besides the obvious fact that he rocks at tennis. For one thing, he is very obviously clueless when it comes to the guiles of women. Case in point, he usually doesn't know how to react to Sakuno's gestures of affection, such as when she congratulates him on becoming a Seigaku regular. Tennis is also clearly more important to him than crushes, as revealed when he shoos Sakuno off the court after he gets injured in the Fudomine arc. He hasn't demonstrated any reciprocal feelings for Sakuno, but all that said, he does show a certain level of sensitivity toward her affections despite his clueless demeanor. For example, he actually makes an effort to patch up a misunderstanding in one incident wherein Ryoma went on what many considered a date with her. (Ryoma clearly did not think it was a date, but that's beside the point. At least he tried, lol.)

Since tennis is all but his life, most of Ryoma's world naturally revolves around the tennis team. Despite the fact that he is not above completely destroying his senpais in a tennis match, like he did in the qualifying matches to become a Seigaku regular, he nevertheless treats them with enough appropriate respect to call them all by the deferential honorific 'senpai.' He is not yet familiar enough with any of them to drop honorifics and he calls them all by their last name. However, he has shortened Momoshiro's name to 'Momo-senpai.' This definitely isn't the only indication that they become very close friends. Their long-standing friendship appears to really start when they have an impromptu food-eating contest at a fast food joint before the Fudomine arc. They both prefer singles when it comes to tennis; hence they decide to try duking it out on a tennis court for the third singles spot. However, the street tennis courts only allow doubles, which they are then forced to play together... and thus begins a permanent friendship. In fact, Ryoma's affection for Momo is probably the most obvious when it comes to his feelings for his teammates. As apathetic as he seems when Momo is temporarily taken out of the Seigaku regulars, it is revealed that Ryoma is geniunely concerned about him. One of the best moments, relationally speaking, in PoT occurs when we see Ryoma watching Momo from the school rooftop, trying to decipher whether or not his happy-go-lucky senpai is really going to be okay. When he decides that he is, he gives probably the most genuine smile you'll see from this character.

There is another character that has just as much of an impact on Ryoma as Momo does. That would be Tezuka, captain of the Seigaku tennis team. Even though Ryoma has a polite level of respect for his senpais in the beginning, he is not, tennis-wise, particularly impressed with any of their abilities. That all changes when Tezuka asks to play a private match with Ryoma. After he cleans Ryoma's clock amid the roar of a passing train, he stands before the awe-stricken rookie and charges him to "become Seigaku's pillar of support!" What this cryptic phrase actually means becomes more obvious as the series progresses. It is revealed that essentially Tezuka wants Ryoma to take his place as the metaphorical glue that holds Seigaku together. The fact that Ryoma winds up having the highest respect for Tezuka and follows through on fulfilling his captain's request is key to understanding the rest of the series. It is also obvious at this point that this is the first time Ryoma has been soundly beaten by anyone other than his father. This fact changes his tennis goal from simply beating his father to becoming the best of the best.

Ryoma actually reveals a level of protectiveness over the people he cares about later on in the series. He is especially protective of his cat, which is obvious when Karupin runs away and Ryoma does nothing but stare at the cat's toy in worry all day until he can try to find it again. He is also protective of his friends on some level, including the Freshman Trio (which is most obvious because unlike many of the other characters, they can't protect themselves very well...). But there is one instance where Ryoma reveals a sense of protectiveness over his senpais, I think. This occurs when the oh-so-scary Akutsu Jin shows up and starts bullying both a member of the Freshman Trio and Arai. Akutsu later acts cruelly to Kawamura as well, and Ryoma then attempts to trip the abrasive player and starts mouthing off to him. So for all of his atypical qualities, Ryoma does occasionally play the cliche role of the hero of the story. And frankly, with Ryoma, the cliche aspect fits with the quirks and make him into a real character, unlike many protagonists.

Odds and Ends: There are a couple of other notable things about Ryoma. One is that he apparently speaks perfect English. (Although in the anime, it will not SOUND like perfect English, but that's just because it's a Japanese voice actress, yes I did say actress, who's doing the lines.) Many of his classmates admire him for this fact. He also is probably pretty smart, given the fact that he studies a little for an English exam just to make sure he doesn't make any small errors accidentally. This gives me the impression he has a good GPA to keep up, especially given his favorite subject is actually science and not English. Hmm. Another point of interest is that Ryoma is noted by his teammates as bearing a striking resemblance to Tezuka in his first year. This is not so much a matter of looks as it is a matter of personality, but they do apparently have the same eye color. Ryoma also has a father complex. He seems to want to get out of his father's shadow to some extent (as well as beat the pants off of him), and the fact that his father is a pervert does not go over well with him. Like many adolescents, he all but commands his father not to reveal the fact that they're father and son to his friends. Ryoma also develops rivalries on some level with many of the characters. At the top of this list would probably be Kaidoh, Fuji, Shinji, Akutsu, and Yuuta. Outside of his tennis skills, this may have something to do with his occasional willingness to smart off to even the best players. And this ties in with my last interesting point about Ryoma... he loves to say the phrase "Mada Mada Dane." This can mean a couple of things, but it means roughly "Not yet" and generally means he is less than impressed with someone's skills - or lack thereof. And if that doesn't embody the essence of Ryoma's sass, I don't know what does.

My Take: Ryoma was, oddly enough, somewhat annoying to me at first. This strikes me as hilarious now, because today I am a mad crazy RyomaFan. He has a tendency to become even more and more lovable with every episode, and I fell in love with him mainly because I started watching the anime in addition to reading the manga. For one thing, he has an adorable voice that makes even the most caustic of his comments pretty humorous. (And mad props to Mingawa Junko for doing a perfect job voicing him! I seriously idolize her for that.) This of course meant I had to start loving him. And the fact that he has a softer side as revealed later on is a big plus. But the killer with Ryoma has to be that he is just so dang short. This makes him cute no matter what he does, and the classic !Ryoma is Short! joke never gets old. If you find this hard to believe, trust me and start watching the anime episodes. He is so cute it's criminal.

On a more serious note, I think Ryoma is a really cool character on many levels. He has a complex personality that reveals there is a good person underneath that sassy demeanor. And watching him grow as a tennis player is actually exciting. I love watching his matches now, because I look forward to seeing what happens when the soul of PoT finally gets on the court. Because in my opinion, the character of Ryoma really is the soul of Prince of Tennis, even apart from being the title character and the protagonist. And he is more than worthy of the distinction.

Ganbatte, Ryoma-sama! ^^

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!