Prince of Tennis

The series is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy (青春学園, Seishun Gakuen?), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot on the regulars team. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.



Background
Ryoma is a first year student at Seishun Gakuen Academy ('Seigaku' for short), which he attends immediately after his arrival in Japan after formerly residing in the United States. Although only a first year in middle school, Ryoma had already earned notoriety through winning four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. Due to his nearly invincible tennis play, Ryoma has earned the label 'prodigy' by the age of twelve. His looks and confidence make him highly popular with ladies, although he seems not to notice, having his focus exclusively on tennis.

He is an all-court tennis player with many special shots and abilities. One of Ryoma's greatest talents is his ability to learn new techniques after only seeing them performed a few times. He also has an amazing amount of stamina and does not sweat as much as the other players. Along with fellow Seigaku regular Eiji Kikumaru, Ryoma is known to have an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. He does not go easy on himself and pushes himself more, rather than letting himself rest.

Although he is left-handed, his famous Twist Serve is only effective when delivered from the dominant hand of his opponents (i.e. he uses his right hand when serving against right handed players). He occasionally plays tennis with his right hand as either a handicap for weaker opponents or a way to test his opponent's abilities. When the need for returning at a difficult angle or distance arises, Ryoma also incorporates the use of "nitōryū", or ambidexterity.

Ryoma also demonstrates prowess in other sports, such as bowling, table tennis, and billiards. His abilities in beach volleyball, however, may be questioned.; when the Seigaku students go to the beach during the anime series, Ryoma plays well when paired with Kaidoh. However, he plays quite poorly in the OVA when paired with Tezuka, so much as to be taunted by the other Seigaku students and Rokkaku Chuu students alike by having his "Mada mada dane" returned with "Omae danna!", which translates roughly into "You do!" In the same event in the manga, Ryoma, paired with Rokkaku's Kentaro Aoi, plays decently only after activating Muga no Kyōchi.

His favorite subject is Science, though he is better at English because he was in America for three years, which his classmates admire him for.

His catchphrase in the Japanese anime is "mada mada dane," literally meaning "no, not yet" or "not good enough." In the Prince of Tennis English dub, this is translated as "You still have a ways to go." Having been brought up in the United States, Ryoma is fluent in English, and in the manga and the match with Sanada in the anime, he says "You still have lots more to work on" in English.

In the Prince of Tennis movie Futari no Samurai, Ryoma supposedly has an older brother named Ryoga Echizen, but the latter is later revealed to simply be a child that Nanjiro took in a few years ago.


Personality
Ryoma can be quite cocky and arrogant at times, but is always able to back up his statements with his tennis skills. He is usually distrustful of other tennis players, and Ryoma often provokes his opponent before a match. In the beginning of the series, Ryoma is not taken seriously by the other students at his school, especially at the Seigaku tennis club. It is only after he beats two of Seigaku's regulars (Kaoru Kaido and Sadaharu Inui) that he gains respect from fellow club members.

Ryoma is quiet by nature, but always stands up for himself and others, even if it involves confronting an upperclassman. He is unafraid almost to the point of recklessness, but rarely gets angry or out of control. Most of the time, he is serious, quiet, and not talkative. In the TeniPuri Family chibi episodes, Ryoma is the oldest son of the family and always gets into all sorts of mischief.

At the beginning of the series, all of Ryoma's tennis skills are a copy of his father's. With the help of his team captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, Ryoma realizes his need to develop his own style of tennis if he intends to reach his goal and defeat his father. The kanji that make up Ryoma's family name, Echizen, fits well, as "越" means "to surpass" and "前" means "the above".

With each match, it becomes apparent that Ryoma not only brings his potential to the front, but that he is constantly reaching a new point in the state of self-actualization – especially so during crucial points in a match. Although he views each opponent as a stepping stone of advancement, Tezuka soon becomes the wall that Ryoma has set up for himself in order to achieve actual greatness.

Although Ryoma has a rather tunneled vision as to whom he considers a rival (Tezuka and his father), there are many that view the first year as just that. One of the more notable examples of this in the anime is Kevin Smith, the son of the tennis coach George Smith, who was defeated by Nanjiro Echizen in defense of George's pupil Rinko Takeuchi, who becomes Ryoma's mother, fifteen years ago. Kevin appears later in the series in the "friendly" match between the U.S. and Japan. Kevin became obsessed with wanting to play Ryoma because of their pasts, whereas in the beginning Ryoma regarded Kevin's threats with a rather unconcerned attitude until he saw him play against Yamabuki's Jin Akutsu in the streets. Tezuka was unimpressed with Ryoma's attitude toward the matches, and as a result, Ryoma was forced to earn his place as a reserve player.

Sakuno Ryuzaki, Ryoma's friend and coach Sumire Ryuzaki's granddaughter, has a crush on him, but because he is so aloof and she is so shy, he does not recognize her feelings for him and treats her much the same as he treats the other freshmen students. However, in the manga, Ryoma shows signs of jealousy after Sakuno befriends Shitenhōji's Kintarō Tooyama. A running-gag in the anime was Ryoma often commenting on her tennis form by telling Sakuno that her arms are too bent, her knees are to stretched and her hair is too long.