| Prince of Tennis #2 |
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| Sunday, 04 May 2008 | |
 The Prince of Tennis is back, and still teaching allcomers a valuable lesson in how to play tennis. I doubt being the child of a famous former player is doing him any harm, but where's the fun in watching an infallable player at work? It's like a video game where you've got the system sussed and know you're going to win - it quickly loses its appeal. And so it is here...8 - Adder's Fangs Ryoma's first match in the qualifiers is against Kaido, who he's been warned to be careful about. Most of the spectators are expecting Kaido to easily take the match, but it's not long before it becomes clear that Ryoma's not going to let the older kid claim a win... 9 - Trap Kaido's been forced to rely on his 'signature' stroke, the Snake, to keep Ryoma on the back foot - but the more he uses it, the more of a chance Ryoma has to analyse it and work out how to return it. But that's part of Kaido's plan - by making Ryoma run around the court on a hot day, chasing his Snake, he's hoping to wear him down. But by making it a battle of stamina, Kaido's just walked into Ryoma's trap... 10 - Mind Game Kaido realises he's been suckered by Ryoma, but he's determined not to lose to a mere 7th-grader - both boys are reaching their limit, and it won't take much to tip the match decisively. Like Ryoma turning Kaido's own signature stroke against him - and so Ryoma seals a 6-4 win and instantly marks himself out to the rest of a school as a player to watch. As if we didn't know that already. Meanwhile, it seems Ryoma's fame may already have reached beyond the school... 11 - Someone I Want to Beat Already leading him qualifying group, Ryoma just has to win one more match to win it - but that match is against Inui, possibly the strongest player in the school. Before that, though, Ryoma's classmates become curious as to why he's so interested in tennis, and why he put in the effort required to become as good as he is. All he'll say is that there's someone he wants to beat - but who that someone is, he isn't saying. Meanwhile, two reporters from Pro Tennis Monthly arrive at the school to cover the qualifiers - they're on the lookout for Japan's next great tennis player 12 - Unreachable Time for Ryoma's match against Inui, with a place in the school's team up for grabs for the winner. Inui has a huge height advantage over Ryoma for starters, and the reputation of being the best the school has to offer, but reputation doesn't count for much with Ryoma. Inui's done his homework, though, and in the early matches of the set seems like he almost knows in advance where Ryoma's going to hit the ball - the younger boy just can't get a shot past him... 13 - 9th Grade Poise Inui's knowledge of his game has Ryoma on the back foot, but his uncontrollable urge to brag also means that Ryoma knows what Inui's looking for - and that means that, if he can change his usual pattern of play, he'll be able to regain the upper hand. No matter what he throws at Inui, though, he still can't get that elusive game under his belt... 14 - Not There Yet The pair from Pro Tennis Monthly came to Seishun because of its reputation - they hadn't heard of Ryoma in advance, but on hearing that he'd already beaten Kaido they suddenly take an interest in his match against Inui. They picked a good time to start watching, too - Ryoma has finally gotten tired of playing with Inui, and unleashes his best game... 15 - Half a Step Ryoma's not just competing against Inui now, he's toying with him, telling him where every shot is going to land and challenging him to get there. For the spectators, including the pair from Pro Tennis Monthly, it's a lesson in how tennis should be played. But Inoue and Saori have seen at least one other player recently who could challenge Ryoma's skills... 16 - Arrogant Rookie Ryoma's got enough of the upper hand in the match now that his usual cockiness has been ramped up a level, and he's becoming positively obnoxious. Yes, he's won the match, but he's done such a good job of rubbing Inui's nose in it that he hasn't exactly endeared himself to anyone. A 6-0 sweep in his final match sees Ryoma end top of his group - and sees Ryoma join the school tennis team's starting eight... Lots of short chapters, minimal dialogue for most of the story, just Ryoma getting down to the business of proving how good he is against a steady stream of the school's best players, punctuated by the odd detailed explanation of who's picking apart what advanced technique. Much the same as volume one, then, just without the added interest of Sakuno, who only makes the briefest of appearances here to set up a potential rivalry for Ryoma's affections with her friend Momo. I like Sakuno - she's the shy type who you want to see get her own way - and more of her would be a good thing. It's not to be this time around, though (and based on what we've seen of him so far, I'd question her taste for settling on Ryoma so quickly). The rest of the story could be summarised very easily: Ryoma must play and older kid, who is cocky about his own skills and overconfident. Ryoma wins. Rinse and repeat - there are two matches in this volume, and they follow the same pattern, which the matches in volume one also followed. It all begins to get a bit repetitive after a while, and I'm left wondering if this is all there is to Prince of Tennis? Does the tennis get put the back for a while at any point, to let us see Ryoma's life outside tennis or let Sakuno and Momo get their hands on him? That's what I want to see from future volumes, and I still haven't lost faith that we'll get there in the end, but for the meantime this book is simply too repetitive to be really enjoyable.  |
