Anime vs. Manga

The Prince of Tennis originally came into being in the form of a manga (or Japanese comic book) drawn by Konomi Takeshi. Actually, it was his first manga series, AND it also happened to be his first break-out hit. The popularity the manga enjoyed spawned an anime series, tons of merchandise, and even a full-length movie that just came out in Japan. Obviously, the series is extremely popular, no matter what form it's in. However, there are some key differences between the TV show and the manga that are important to keep in mind. This is because the manga artist decided that it would be boring to re-read everything that had already happened in the show (the anime was releasing episodes faster than he could release the manga chapters!) and so he changed some things to make it more interesting. The differences between the manga and the anime can be trivial, like some scenes in the anime not having enough time to make it into the manga. (And of course the anime has several filler episodes in it that the manga doesn't have.)

However, there are also some pretty big plot changes. Seigaku plays the school Jyousei in the Kantou Regionals, for example, in the anime show. They play a different school at that spot in the manga. So, when discussing Prince of Tennis, it's important to remember that there are some things that are very different about it when it comes to the anime vs. the manga stories. This is especially true given that the anime ended at episode 178, before the Nationals even began, whereas the current manga arc is taking place during the Nationals. That is why there are some huge differences in the way the anime ends (although I refuse to get into any spoilers here!). Interestingly enough, after the anime had ended its run on television, plans were finalized for an OVA version that continued the story and centered around Seigaku going to Nationals, despite the changes in the way the anime ended. As of March 2006, the OVA has started its release, and it remains to be seen if these straight-to-video episodes return to following the manga plotline.