Shishido Ryoh

Age: 14 (turning 15 in the fall)
Hair: Darker brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 172 cm (or about 5'9")
Blood Type: B
Birthday: September 29th
Dominant Hand: Right
Favorite Subject: Geography, History
Favorite Color: Red, purple
Hobby: Billiards
Family: Mother, father, grandmother, older brother, dog
Seiyuu: Toshiyuki Kusuda

Basic: Shishido Ryoh is another one of the third year regulars on Hyoutei's tennis team. He appears to be more of a singles player at the start of the series, but due to tons of drama and backstory, ends up playing doubles later on with Ohtori Choutarou as his partner. He begins the series with long hair, but, as you can see, it was cut during the course of the plot.

At First Glance: Shishido is your typical Hyoutei brat. He's a snobby singles player who thinks he can beat anyone in twenty minutes or less. He also seems more than a little vain, which is probably because he has long hair tied into a ponytail at the beginning of the series. He even talks back to Atobe. So, at first, Shishido is just your average Hyoutei regular, and even pretty unlikable.

Personality: At the start of the series, it's obvious that Shishido is both arrogant and self-absorbed. The interesting thing about Shishido is that he changes as a character pretty dramatically during the course of the plot. In a sneaky move by Fudomine, Shishido is forced to play against Tachibana Kippei in the third singles spot. Of course, against Fudomine's national-level captain, even someone as self-assured as Shishido loses. However, Hyoutei's policy is that if a regular loses even one match, they're removed from the regulars for good. So Shishido finds himself, even before the Hyoutei arc, without a position on the team and with no way to regain it.

This is when a different aspect to Shishido's personality starts to emerge. He proves himself to be stubborn, dedicated, hard-working, and not too proud to beg for another chance. He even cuts his hair, showing that, to him, some things are much more important than personal vanity. He also becomes close to Ohtori Choutarou by making him help with his training, which is how they become a doubles partnership. But Shishido also seems to have a strong sense of fair play, since he returns the favor to Ohtori some time later by helping him perfect his Scud Serve. So really, Shishido as a character can be both self-absorbed and dedicated. Unlike some of the characters on Hyoutei's team, he is not above showing his passion, but he is also the type to never make excuses. He would consider that to be "uncool," to borrow his pet phrase.

Tennis Ability: Shishido's a Hyoutei regular. That fact alone proves he has skills. But more than that, Shishido must have been particularly gifted even before the Fudomine incident. Atobe seems to expect a great deal of him, and even scolds him for taking too long to finish off a match. (i.e. 20 minutes= too long... O_o) Shishido's skill at this point does have a limit, though, as Tachibana proved.

Once Shishido returns to the regulars, however, he is an even better player. He apparently has very quick reflexes, and he trained with Ohtori's super-fast serve to speed up his reaction time to the limit. This means he also can use the "rising" technique, where you hit a ball right after it bounces, just like Fuji Yuuta can. Shishido's tenacity also means that he will dive for balls that he can't reach, so it's very hard to get any shots past him.

Plot Points: Obviously, the most important plot point with Shishido is the part where he is kicked off the regulars. He shows a lot of courage and determination by training so hard that he winds up covered in bruises. He then asks Sakaki, their coach, to put him back on the regulars. This is completely unprecedented in a club like Hyoutei, and it obviously took a lot of guts on Shishido's part. It also took a lot of drama, as Shishido cut his long hair right in front of Sakaki as a show of his determination to be a regular again. Some people might interpret the whole "Shishido incident" as simply proving the character is quite a drama queen. While in some ways that is true, I disagree in that it also shows that Shishido makes no excuses for his failure. He knows that actions speak louder than words, so actions are his weapon of choice in such situations.

Shishido can still seem pretty self-centered as a character, though, unless you look carefully at his developing relationship with Ohtori. On the surface, Shishido made Ohtori practice with him out of selfish reasons. But he seems more than happy to pair up with Ohtori for doubles, and he's very confident in the underclassman's abilities. More than that, later on, he returns the favor by helping Ohtori perfect his serve. He and Ohtori certainly work extremely hard, but it seems to be because Shishido wants to take Ohtori with him to the next level. You could interpret this too as being selfish, since Ohtori is after all Shishido's doubles partner and Shishido would hate it if they lost. But I think it shows that Shishido also considers Ohtori his friend and his equal, and that he wants to repay his debt as well.

Odds and Ends: The strangest thing about Shishido is probably that bandage on his forehead. Is that some kind of wound from when he cut his hair? O_o No one ever explains that... Anyway, other than that, Shishido is a pretty normal guy. His favorite phrase is "Gekidasa," which roughly means "uncool." He tends to use this phrase when either his teammates or his opponents are whining. He considers that as a sign of weakness, I guess. By the way, Shishido's closest relationship is with his doubles partner, Ohtori. He calls him "Choutarou," his first name, with no honorifics. (This indicates a fairly close relationship.) But more than that, the two of them have "dependence" on each other, as Oishi called it. What is that, exactly? Well, that's up to your interpretation. I'm sure you can imagine what the interpretation of yaoi fangirls tends to be... -_-; Either way, they're very close.

My Take: I actually like Shishido. I really, really do. Which is a surprising fact, because at first, he annoyed the heck out of me. I mean, I realize Hyoutei players are arrogant, but at the time, I wasn't used to their very diva-ish personalities. But he's MUCH more likable after all the "Shishido drama." Really. Shishido is at his best when he's giving his all, and that only happens after his removal from the regulars. Actually, I think his determination is even inspiring, which says a lot, given that he's just a very minor character in an anime show. In fact, in some ways, I can even relate to his overly stubborn attitude.

I also really enjoy observing the relationship between Shishido and Ohtori. It's a kind of deep friendship that is fascinating to watch as it develops. They're both very different, but I think at heart they have a similiar kind of willpower, which is probably why they get along so well.

So, Shishido, I love you, man. And I don't care how many times you say that it's "uncool" to say so. :)

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!