Series Popularity

So what exactly makes an anime popular? Well, in my own, very informal definition, a popular anime is one with multiple seasons, over a hundred episodes, endless merchandise, dozens of character CDs and soundtracks, and, of course, a giant fanbase who will buy tons of doujinshi (fan-made comics) and then make truckloads of fan art and fanfiction because they're so obsessed they really can't do anything else. Let's just say Prince of Tennis surpasses those requirements. It's not as well-known outside of Japan, but since it's still an ongoing series in manga form, we here in the U.S. can still feel the series' popularity emanating from across the Pacific Ocean. Case in point, I read an article about Prince of Tennis and how it's encouraging lots of Japanese students to start playing the sport in my AMERICAN tennis magazine. And this was before I'd even come in contact with the series personally.

Prince of Tennis as an anime reached episode 178, fairly close to the 200-episode mark. It also spawned the release of over 100 PoT-related music CDs, which are still being released as of this upcoming summer of 2006. (Do you have any idea how many image songs that is?? Speaking from a fangirl's perspective, PoT is heaven.) There's also a mountain of PoT-related merchandise, most of which I'm sure I'm not even aware of. I've never seen so many plushies for one series in my life. O_o There is also a Prince of Tennis musical, and the Hyoutei version finished its run in December 2006, with every show completely sold out. Its actors are sometimes featured in the highest profile celebrity magazines in Japan, so the musical is quite well-known in and of itself. And of course, the first PoT movie premiered last winter, along with a special short OVA. The most recent Prince of Tennis releases include a new OVA series (straight-to-video animation) that picks up where the anime prematurely ended. It began its release in March 2006. In addition, the live action movie version of Prince of Tennis just came out in Japan as of May 2006. Clearly, the series is still going strong, in every possible way a series could be.

Besides these continued releases, which obviously show that PoT is not just another series but is basically reaching the level of an anime phenomenon, there is other evidence that PoT is extraordinarily popular. The clearest example is a survey that was recently conducted in Japan, about the top one hundred most popular anime series of all time. While the results were expectedly skewed to somewhat favor recent series, as those are usually the current favorites of respondents, the results were stunning. Prince of Tennis finished at number 18, just below the ever-popular Naruto, and directly above the famous favorite Sailor Moon. Other notable series that it beat out included Neon Genesis Evangelion, Astro Boy, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokemon, Ranma 1/2, Inu Yasha, Digimon, Tsubasa Chronicle, Ruroni Kenshin, Initial D, Ghost in the Shell, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Hikaru no Go. These are all VERY famous series which have also been brought to America and enjoyed a huge amount of popularity here. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what kind of popularity PoT will enjoy now that it's being brought to America, considering the series that it managed to beat in this list. (If you would like to see the full list, click here. I credit Anime News Network for the information.)

Considering these facts, a person would do well to ask... Who are the fans that have propelled the series into such a level of national and now international exposure? Well, the Prince of Tennis fanbase is particuarly interesting, because it really has a split personality. The original target audience of PoT was, of course, younger boys, mostly in elementary school and junior high. Since the series is being released in Shonen Jump, which is known for its shonen titles (shonen = boy, i.e. manga meant for a male audience), this is no surprise. What is a surprise is the other, more fanatical half of the PoT fanbase, of which I am a part. Due to the endless amount of handsome male characters in the series, PoT garnered an unprecedented amount of teenage girl and older female fans, who are by far the most dedicated to the series and continue to spend insane amounts of money on any and everything PoT. This may sound like an incredibly shallow phenomenon, and in some respects, it might very well be. However, it is interesting to note that most of my fellow fangirls cite the extraordinary care that Konomi took with character development and interpersonal relationships as key reasons why they just can't let the series go. I know that is the reason why I fell so deeply in love with this series, even apart from my initial fangirlish reactions at just how good-looking PoT's characters were.

It's also important to note that different aspects of Prince of Tennis were intended and are still oriented toward different parts of the fanbase. For example, the manga remains focused on appealing to its original target audience of young boys, which is a good idea to keep in mind when reading. The anime is more universal, as it contains several nods to the fangirl fans as well as retaining much of its original appeal. The musicals, on the other hand, are solely attended by the female fans, and you can tell. The casting consists almost solely of very handsome Japanese actors, and there are several nods to the yaoi/BL/slash fandom in all versions of it. Of course, as for the fandom material, it is almost solely comprised of the yaoi/BL/slash fans' personal works, so be warned. If you love to read fanfiction or have considered purchasing doujinshi (fan-made comics), they will probably be centered around BL pairings rather than het, and will consist of every possible rating from the fluffy, harmless shonen-ai kind to outright porn. (Though there are some fangirls who support het, but all that is a topic for an essay rather than this particular article.) So if you are a rating-conscious fan, dislike slash, or are underage, please do be careful about what you are exposed to in regards to this series. (This is true for every anime, however! No matter the series, there will always be the hentai fanatics who will use it for their own... uh... pleasure. o.o)

In summary, I think we can all agree. PoT is one VERY popular anime. And it hasn't even come out in America except very recently in manga form, as translated by Viz. (Plans are still being finalized about releasing a subtitled version of the anime as part of an online service that will be provided by Cartoon Network's Toonami.) As an American, it's usually hard for me to judge a series' popularity if it hasn't come out in the U.S. yet. This is especially true because my contact with other anime fans is fairly limited, usually to surfing anime websites. But with this series, it's pretty obvious that there's more to its much-lauded popularity than smoke and mirrors. I'm not one to judge a series by its popularity (my usual favorites tend to be VERY obscure), but in this case, it's a nice change to fall in love with a series that actually gets the recognition it deserves. So sometimes, popularity is a good thing. ^_^