The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tennis no Ōjisama), is a 2006 live-action movie directed by Yuichi Abe a live-action movie based on the manga series The Prince of Tennis. It condenses the storyline from when Ryoma arrives in Japan to the match against Hyotei Academy.
Synopsis[]
Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Gakuen (also known as Seigaku, for short), a 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.
Cast[]
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Ryoma Echizen | Kanata Hongo |
| Kunimitsu Tezuka | Yuu Shirota |
| Shuichiro Oishi | Hiroki Suzuki |
| Shusuke Fuji | Hiroki Aiba |
| Eiji Kikumaru | Osamu Adachi |
| Sadaharu Inui | Hirofumi Araki |
| Takashi Kawamura | Yoshikazu Kotani |
| Takeshi Momoshiro | Masaki Kaji |
| Kaoru Kaidoh | Kousuke Kujirai |
| Keigo Atobe | Ryuji Sainei |
| Egate Mcleod Higaki | RIKIYA |
| Oshitari Yūshi | Daiki Nakae |
| Ryo Shishido | Junpei Suzuki |
| Chōtarō Ootori | Koji Date |
| Gakuto Mukahi | Tokio Emoto |
| Jirō Akutagawa | Genki Ishii |
| Munehiro Kabaji | Kazutoshi Yamakawa |
| Echizen Nanjiro | Goro Kishitani |
| Sumire Ryuzaki | Hitomi Shimatani |
| Shinji Ibu | Yasuka Saitoh |
| Akira Kamio | Yuuki Fujiwara |
| Genichirou Sanada | Eiji Moriyama |
| Renji Yanagi | Mamoru Miyano |
| Kintarou Tooyama | Masato Wada |
| Shioin Higaki | Sayuri Iwata |
| Kentarō Aoi | Daiki Sano |
| Hikaru Amane | JURI |
| Masaya Sakurai | Shun Takagi |
| Sasabe | Mitsuyoshi Shinoda |
| Sasabe's friend #1 | Kenta Kamakari |
| Sasabe's friend #2 | Takashi Nagayama |
| Referee | Yusuke Ishibashi |
| Bystander | Ruito Aoyagi |
| Bystander | Takumi Saito |
| Bystander | Ryou Washimi |
| Bystander | YOH |
| Eishirō Kite | Yuichi Tsuchiya |
| Shiraishi Kuranosuke | Noboru Washio |
Soundtrack[]
The soundtrack was composed by Tarō Iwashiro and was released in Japan on May 12, 2006. It also features music from the group, Yellow Cherry.
- Mada Mada Dane (まだまだだね)
- Ryōma vs Kaidō (リョーマVS海堂)
- Soko Made Da (そこまでだ)
- Ano Ko wa Samurai Jr. (あの子は侍Jr.)
- Seigaku Ranking Ikusa (青学ランキング戦)
- Chiku Yosen (地区予選)
- Ryōma vs Ibu (リョーマVS伊武)
- Hyōtei Fight (氷帝ファイト)
- Echizen Omae wa Tashikani Tsuyoi (越前お前は確かに強い)
- Ryōma no Omoi (リョーマの思い)
- Higaki Tōjō (檜垣登場)
- Oboete Okeyo (覚えておけよ)
- Kantō Taikai (関東大会)
- Oishi, Kikumaru vs Oshitari, Mukahi (Acrobat Shōbu) (大石・菊丸VS忍足・向日(アクロバット勝負))
- Inui, Kaidou vs Ōtori, Shishido (Data & Tairyoku Shōbu) (乾・海堂VS鳳・宍戸(データ&体力勝負))
- Kawamura vs Kabaji (Power Shōbu) (河村VS樺地(パワー勝負))
- Kono Racket Tsukawasete Morauyo (このラケット使わせてもらうよ)
- Fuji vs Akutagawa (Tensai! Fuji) (不二VS芥川(天才!不二))
- Tezuka Shutsujin (手塚出陣)
- Tezuka Zone (手塚ゾーン)
- Atobe Hametsu e no Rondo (跡部 破滅への輪舞曲)
- Tezuka e no Omoi (手塚への思い)
- Ore wa Makenai (オレは負けない)
- Ryōma Shutsujin (リョーマ出陣)
- Ryōma vs Higaki (リョーマVS檜垣)
- Ryōma Kōgeki Kaishi (リョーマ攻撃開始)
- Ryōma Kakusei (リョーマ覚醒)
- Last Battle (Sorezore no Omoi) (ラストバトル(それぞれの思い))
- Ippome (Tenipuri Edit) (一歩目(テニプリEdit)?)
- Kimi o Omou (君を想う)
Differences from Anime/Manga[]
- Sumire Ryuzaki's age was changed to her being one year younger than Nanjiro and them being former middle school students together. She says that he was her inspiration to play tennis.
- Wakashi Hiyoshi was replaced by the movie only character Egate Mcleod Higaki as was his sister Shioin Higaki replacing Sakuno Ryuzaki.
- The prefectural tournament, along with the St.Rudolph and Yamabuki matches, are skipped over in the movie.
- In the movie, the Oishi/Kikumaru pair takes on the Oshitari/Mukahi pair, while originally it was the Momoshiro/Kikumaru pair who did so. Also, the results of their match and that of Inui and Kaidoh are reversed; in the movie, they lose and the Inui/Kaidoh pair win, while in the manga/anime the opposite happened. Likewise, Fuji wins 6-0 in the movie, while the manga/anime has Jiro Akutagawa, his opponent, take one game before Fuji shuts him out.
- Originally Ryoma faces against Arai prior to becoming a regular. In the movie, Kaidoh is the first to challenge him. Because of this change, when Ryoma plays in the ranking matches, he faces against Momoshiro and Inui. In the manga/anime, his second match was with Inui, but the first match was with Kaidoh.
- In the ranking match, Momoshiro has already developed the Jack Knife.
- In the film, the Seigaku uniforms have a little flap on the back of the jackets and the blue colors are much brighter. The flaps were featured in the anime, but slowly disappeared in later episodes. Also, Ryoma's shirt that he wears in the beginning is of a different design and colors.
- Just before his match with Egate, Ryoma uses a line from the anime that Fuji said to Kirihara of Rikkaidai, "A dog that doesn't bite barks the most."
Cast Background[]
- The whole Seigaku cast is the same second musical cast from the Prince of Tennis Musical, except Ryoma, who was recast due to Kotaro Yanagi's accident, as well as to cast an actor closer to the character's age. However, the only members of another team from the musicals to reprise their roles were Koji Date as Choutaro Ohtori and Shun Takagi as Masaya Sakurai. Every other role in the movie was entirely recast. For most of these actors, this film was their first major appearance in the film industry.
- Several people casted as cameo appearances are actually former members of the musicals as well. Those people includes: Takashi Nagayama (Kikumaru from the 1st Seigaku cast), Eiji Moriyama (Momoshiro from the 1st Seigaku cast), Yuichi Tsuchiya (Oishi from the 1st Seigaku cast), Yasuka Saitoh (Rin Hirakoba from Higa cast), Masato Wada (Kiyosumi Sengoku from Yamabuki cast), and Mitsuyoshi Shinoda (Yanagisawa Shinya from the St. Rudolph cast).