Episode 27: Karupin's Adventure

 

            As Ryoma prepared for another school day, he accidentally threw inside his bag Karupin's toy.  The Himalayan cat saw this and tried to follow his master.  Ryoma shooed him back as he raced to school with Momoshiro.  However, when he opened his bag, he found his cat's toy and realized what it wanted all along.  As Ryoma was taking his English test, he saw through the window Karupin passing by.  However, since it only happened for a moment, he was unsure if it was really his pet.  Nonetheless, this bothered Ryoma for the rest of the day.

 

            Karupin really visited Seigaku that day and searched for Ryoma.  He passed by the rooms of the Seigaku players, which allowed a view of how these guys spend a typical day.  The cat was even spotted climbing a tree by Fuji during his Literature class with Kikumaru.  Karupin next explored the rooftop where he was trapped when the door shut.  He was eventually able to leave only when some girls went there.

 

            After eating his lunch, the worried Ryoma searched for his pet narrowly missing him as he raced down the stairs from the deck.  The ochibi still had Karupin in mind as he sat inside the tennis club's locker room holding the cat's toy.  Momoshiro asked him what was wrong and then he told Ryoma that his classmates saw a "raccoon" on the rooftop.  As Ryoma rushed to see for himself, Momoshiro stopped him saying that it happened during lunchtime and it had already left the place.  Besides, if it were actually his cat, it could have gone home already.  Nevertheless, Ryoma was not appeased by his senpai's words so Momoshiro lent him his bike so that he can go home, check on the cat, and return to school.  Momoshiro even promised to make an excuse for his favorite kohai for being late for practice.  As it turned out, their practice was cut short due to the next day's competition.

 

            Karupin never left Seigaku.  In fact, he had been sleeping on the tennis club's roof and even ventured inside the room where he found his toy lying on top of Ryoma's bag.  Karupin was discovered by Kaidoh, who happened to like cats.  Kaidoh took the toy and played with Karupin.  This put the Viper in a good mood.  After tennis practice, Karupin was seen by the other club members sleeping on a bench clutching his toy.  Momoshiro, together with Tezuka (who was asked by Ryusaki-sensei to deliver a note to Ryoma), Oishi and Kikumaru eventually brought the cat home.  The relief in Ryoma's face upon seeing his cat was so obvious.  To express his gratitude to Momoshiro, he challenged his senpai to a match.  While playing on the temple court, each of them vowed to create a commotion during the next tournament (Spoiler: they both will!).

 

            Whereas this episode highlighted the importance of Karupin to Ryoma that perhaps, Sakuno would like to trade places with him, and the growing closeness between Ryoma and Momoshiro, Karupin's adventure revealed interesting bits of information about the people in Seigaku such as:

 

• Ryoma chronically oversleeps.  He prefers Japanese breakfast to the Western style.  English is his favorite subject.
• Eiji likes variety in the toothpaste he uses.
• Momoshiro has a monstrous appetite and even eats during class hours.  He has rowdy younger siblings.
• Kaidoh jogs to school every morning as part of his training program.  He likes home cooked meals and often brings food to school.
• Inui, when not gathering and analyzing data, spends his break time experimenting on his juices.
• Kawamura incorporates helping out his father in their sushi store in his daily physical fitness regiment.
• Oishi always goes to school early and appears to be also an officer in his class.  He likes to watch the fish in his aquarium.
• Tezuka is also formidable inside the classroom that even his Geometry teacher looked scared when he pointed out an incorrect formula used in a problem.
• Fuji has a cacti collection.  He likes literature and the classics.  Yumiko, his older sister, reads tarot cards and can make accurate predictions that even scare Syusuke.
• Sakuno taught was how to bake by her grandmother.  

Episode 28: A New Regular Appears!?

 

            When the eagerly awaited prefectural tournament arrived, the players and spectators alike were excited.  Shiba, the lady reporter, even bought a new video camera recorder while Tomoka had a new cheer for Ryoma.  Unfortunately, it was also on this day that Ryoma woke extremely late and missed the assembly time.  He made up an unbelievable alibi that he had to bring a pregnant woman to the hospital.  As the team would be disqualified if they did not register at 10 am, they dressed up Horio to look like Ryoma.  Presto, Horio's dream of becoming a Seigaku regular comes to life, albeit only temporarily!  However, this "Echizen" immediately got into trouble when he started bragging and criticized others.  A furious player from another school challenged him to a match wherein "Echizen" can demonstrate the Twist Serve he had been talking about.  Fortunately, the real Echizen arrived in time to take the fake one's place.

 

            Seigaku easily won in their initial round wherein they had to play the entire set of five matches.  This was one of the rare moments where Tezuka was seen in action and everyone, including the other seeded players, watched with interest.  While the others thought that this was already a demonstration of the buchou's power, Ryoma corrected them by saying that he is merely warming up.  Fuji commented that very few could make Tezuka go all out.

 

            In this tournament, one of the schools that Seigaku would be going up against is St. Rudolph Academy, which Syusuke Fuji's younger brother, Yuuta, attends.  Yuuta also plays tennis but had been living in the shadow of his famous brother for a long time.  He hates being compared to Seigaku's tennis tensai and would like a chance to defeat him.  The contrast between the brothers is striking: Syusuke is always smiling while Yuuta is always scowling.  However, the biggest threat to Seigaku is Mizuki, St. Rudolph's manager and a regular player.  Mizuki had been gathering data on their competitors and developing strategies to defeat them.  Based on the information obtained, he makes forecasts of the matches.  Sadly, he also resorts to dirty tactics but Inui had immediately caught up with this.

 

            Whereas Seigaku won over Akiyama Third Junior High School, Inui noticed that his teammates encountered difficulties in their matches.  It was as if the Akiyama players knew Seigaku's weaknesses and targeted hard places to return.  Inui confronted Mizuki to confirm his suspicions.  He told Mizuki that to be able to predict the outcome of a match based on data alone can be a double-edged sword.  Inui correctly guessed that Mizuki approached Akiyama to give them tips about Seigaku's weak areas in the pretext of helping them.  In reality, Mizuki wanted to know how the Seigaku players would react if their opponents knew their weaknesses so he can gather more data.  Subsequently, Inui warned his team to be careful of St. Rudolph because they would do anything to win.

Episode 29: Momo and the Viper

           

            Fudomine, which was virtually an unknown team, was likewise winning matches and would go to the quarterfinals to meet Hyotei Gakuen.  Meanwhile, Yamabuki's Lucky Sengoku approached Echizen but as expected, he was not recognized.  Momoshiro, however, was familiar with him.  Lucky Sengoku took the place of Tezuka in the previous Junior Tennis Camp when Tezuka declined the offer to participate.

 

            Seigaku will be meeting St. Rudolph in the quarterfinals.  If they win, they will definitely go to the Kantou Tournament.  Given that objective, the line-up announced by Ryusaki-sensei was surprising and disturbing: Singles 1 – Tezuka; Singles 2 – Fuji; Singles 3 – Echizen; Doubles 1 – Kikumaru and Oishi; Doubles 2 – Kaidoh and Momoshiro.  KAIDOH and MOMOSHIRO!?  How can one play with one's bitter rival?  Ever since their freshman year, they have always been at odds with each other.  They are both competitive and neither one would like to lose.

 

            According to Inui, St. Rudolph had been recruiting players and the current line-up is better that last year's.  Their captain, Akaza, beat one of the Seigaku senpais last time.  Yuuta, dubbed as the Left-Handed Killer, had been trained to attack left-handed players like Tezuka and Echizen, but is after his famous brother, Syusuke Fuji.  The new manager, Mizuki, had been controlling the team well.  He is also a member of St Rudolph's reinforcement group that is supposedly so strong that they only practice once or twice a week.

 

            Yuuta got furious when he earned that he would not be facing his anaki (older brother) after all and instead, would be playing against Echizen.  Mizuki pretended that he was misled by the information from Inui but in reality, Mizuki never intended the brothers to meet on the tennis court.  Captain Akaza realized the deception but Mizuki justified his action by stating that based on his investigation, Ryoma has not yet played against a fellow left-handed player, and Yuuta would surely win.  Of course, Mizuki did not know about the match between Tezuka and Echizen.

 

            Mizuki made elaborate scenarios by scouting out their opponents.  He realized that if they relied on beating Tezuka, St. Rudolph would be at a disadvantage.  However, if they target other players, they stand a better chance and he planned to sweep the first three matches.

 

            The tandem of Momoshiro and Kaidoh faced Yanagisawa and Kisaratsu.  Yanagisawa had this irritating habit of punctuating his sentences with "dane" (loosely translated as "right').  Mizuki predicted a 6-2 victory over Seigaku.  His scenario may happen considering that even when they were already inside the court, Momoshiro and Kaidoh continued quarrelling.   On the bright side, as Inui noted, the two had been observing each other for over a year and they are familiar with each other's moves.  Because each one refuses to lose to the other, this might be advantageous.  Initially, the partnership seemed to be working as they bring out each other's strong points.  Being rivals probably increased their energy levels, too.  Nonetheless, Mizuki's plan of targeting Kaidoh (a.k.a. Mr. Bandana) was soon executed.  The opponents were ready to seal Kaidoh's moves and aimed shots at his weak side.

Episode 30: Mizuki's Scenario

            Yanagisawa and Kisaratsu continued to play as planned.  As Kaidoh prepared to use his Snake Shot, he noticed that the two were seemingly anticipating his move.  He lost his concentration and hit a net ball.  St. Rudolph, courtesy of Mizuki, had details on all the Seigaku players' playing habits and special moves.  The Snake Shot had been studied and Mizuki asked their coach to develop a strategy and training program that will neutralize it.  As a result, St. Rudolph continued to aim shots at places that were difficult to return.  They avoided lobs so Momoshiro cannot use his Dunk Smash.  Unfortunately, the only one who can take advantage of the opponents not hitting lobs is Kaidoh's Snake but this move had been sealed as well.  Hence, Momoshiro and Kaidoh were limited to returning their shots.  This was stressful to both.  As the match dragged on under the hot, humid weather, the Seigaku rivals were not in good condition.

 

            Despite the other team's better technique and combination, Momoshiro and Kaidoh vowed to counter them with their strength and determination.  Yanagisawa provoked them saying that it is all working as Mizuki planned but Momoshiro simply pointed that in tennis, there is no such thing a scenario.  To make matters worse, Mizuki once more resorted to his dirty tactics.  On the guise that dirt blurred the lines on Seigaku's side, he asked permission from the umpire to sweep the area.  What he really wanted was to destroy the momentum building up on Seigaku as well as to be able to goad Inui that it is too bad that he is not a regular player and cannot enter the court to provide advice.  Inui coolly replied that there is no advice to give.  Nobody in Seigaku would listen to advice during a match like a puppet.

 

            As the freshman trio panicked, Ryoma remained calm saying that people are not data alone.  He was right.  Momoshiro and Kaidoh soon increased their speed and geared up.  With support from Momoshiro, Kaidoh managed to execute his Boomerang Snake instead of the anticipated plain Snake, which surprised their opponents.  Ryoma, ever the party pooper, stated that the Boomerang Snake is not yet perfect because it would have been out in a singles court.  Then Team Seigaku realized the reason why Kaidoh was used in doubles.  The others said that Momoshiro would not be content on being a bystander and would be heated up because of Kaidoh's display.  Fuji, however, opined that Momoshiro would not be so simple as to get affected that way.  Nevertheless, Momoshiro did get heated up!  Tezuka correctly observed that Momoshiro is that simple-minded.

 

            As the momentum swung to Seigaku, Yanagisawa and Kisaratsu panicked.  They started to make mistakes and even lobbed enabling Momoshiro to use his Dunk Smash.  Mizuki watched in disbelief as the rivals evolved during the match itself.  Would this be enough for Seigaku to win?

Episode 21: Is the tennis court heating up?

            With Seigaku's victory in the district tournament, interest in the team escalated.  A number of scouts as well as players from other schools trooped to Seigaku to watch tennis practices.  Some even expressed interest to hold practice matches with them but Ryusaki-sensei turned them down.  True to form, Inui even counted their visitors and reported a 175% increase from the figures in the past two years!  Among them is the duo of Kenzo and his kohai, Shunsuke.  They used to be members of the tennis club in their school but because of negligence in attending practices, Kenzo was kicked out and he took Shunsuke with him.  The schemed to gather data about the top junior tennis players in other schools in order to prove their worth to their former teammates and avenge what they felt was shabby treatment.   They were particularly interested in Ryoma.

 

            This marks the first appearance of Lucky Sengoku, a nationally ranked junior player from Yamabuki Junior High, and was also in Seigaku to observe.  He encountered Ryoma who was trying out a tennis gadget (a ball with an elastic string) being used by Sakuno and Tomoka for practice.   Sengoku displayed his good tennis sense just by looking at what Ryoma was doing and gauging that the ball would not be able to reach him as the shots lacked power.  Ryoma immediately reacted by switching the racket to his left hand and bang, hit Sengoku smack in the face.  The poor ace of Yamabuki was knocked unconscious.

 

            Kenzo and Shunsuke finally spotted Ryoma, who was late for practice because of his duties as library representative, and stalked him from there on.  When the ochibi left the school with Momoshiro, they even followed them inside A-burger and the sports shop.   What is funny with these spy-wannabes is that they can't seem to distinguish what is significant data from trash.  They were eventually exposed in the sports shop because of their amateur tactics: Momoshiro spotted Shunsuke through a mirror on the ceiling.  Sakuno and Tomoka turned up in the store and apparently, Kenzo had a crush on one of them (a potential rival for Ryoma?)  To save face, Kenzo challenged the AH UN boys to a doubles match, which turned out to be a disaster.  It nearly became a love match in favor of Seigaku, save for a lucky accidental return of Shunsuke. 

 

            The episode showed the innate good nature of Momoshiro who praised Shunsuke and encouraged these comedic duo to practice harder whereas Ryoma simply uttered his patented "mada mada dane."  In return, the would-be-spies destroyed their XXX notebook and vowed to work at their skills.  Much to Momoshiro's annoyance, Ryoma discovered that the notebook contained the observation that his senpai is apparently interested in a girl in his year level.  Could there be truth to this and who is she?

 

Episode 22: The Troubles of Kaoru / Kaoru's Misfortune

 

            They say that disasters come in threes.  It would seem that way for Kaoru Kaidoh on what started out as an ordinary after school day.  

 

            Round One: The freshmen, accompanied by their senpai-Momo, were on their way to do assigned shopping when they encountered a thief on roller skates who snatched a lady's handbag.  Momoshiro unsuccessfully blocked the thief's way so he just ran after him and ordered his kohais to go on with their errands.  The thief-on-wheels was getting away so Momo decided to "borrow" some wheels of his own.  He grabbed a bike, which turned out to be owned by Fudomine's Akira Kamio.  Kamio was off in a flash to pursuit the "bicycle thief", assuming all along that it was Kaidoh on the basis of the school uniform.    Of course, Momoshiro denied that he is the "mamushi" but Kamio only realized his mistake when they eventually run into Kaidoh, who was out on his after school training.  Kaidoh banged into the thief and fell on the pavement.  As he was getting up, he was run over by Momoshiro and Kamio.  Unfortunately, these two did not stop and continued their race.  The thief got away but the bag flew into Kaidoh's direction and was hauled into the police station mistaking him for the snatcher.  He was soon released when the policeman and the lady victim realized the mistake. 

 

            Round Two: Once more the thief struck and headed in the direction of the Seigaku seniors, Eiji Kikumaru and Takashi Kawamura who were walking home.  Kikumaru handed his racket to Kawamura who immediately transformed into his burning mode.  Using the coffee can he was drinking from as ball, Taka-san was able to stop the thief with the bag he snatched landing again on Kaidoh's head but this time with the unempty can.  However, the thief still got away and Kaidoh returned the bag to the station.

 

            Round Three: When Momoshiro left his younger charges, they met Ibu Shinji who was hanging out with Kamio earlier.  Shinji was the opponent of Ryoma when he got his eye injured.  The two recognized and eyed each other warily.  As it turned out, Shinji and the freshmen were all heading to the sports shop.  Tension arose when Shinji and Echizen wanted to purchase the only grip tape in stock.  Neither of the two wanted to give in and started an argument.  The freshman trio was relieved to see their senpais Kawamura and Kikumaru enter the shop.  Kikumaru's racket had to be repaired after it was used to foil the snatching attempt.  To make matters worse, the childish Kikumaru simply egged Echizen not to yield to Shinji for the sake of Seigaku.   Fortunately, the sober Taka-san prevailed on them to settle the dispute elsewhere to avoid disrupting the store.

 

            Meanwhile, the race between Kamio and Momo only stopped when Momo fell down the flight of stairs near the street tennis court.  They overheard Ann Tachibana quarrelling with Keigo Atobe, the captain of Hyotei Gakuen tennis club and defending champions in the Kantou Tournament.  Apparently, Ann made a deal with Atobe that if he and his teammate, Kabaji, would win against all the players there, she would go out on a date with them.  Kamio and Momoshiro challenged them using borrowed rackets from the Gyokurin doubles pair.  Atobe simply sat on the court and ordered Kabaji to hit the balls.  Momo earned Atobe's interest when he was able to return the powerful shots of Kabaji.  Atobe stopped the one-point match and asked for Momo's identity.  When Atobe introduced himself, Momo realized who they have been playing with.  Kamio was angry when Atobe simply ignored his introduction and vowed to get even.

 

            The conflict between Shinji and Echizen was resolved when the thief struck for the third time.  Kikumaru decided that whoever stops him would win and get the grip tape.  Ryoma won using his Twist Serve.  Like in previous instances, the ball and the bag landed on . . . you guessed it – Kaidoh's head.  An irate and dirty Kaidoh finally met the person responsible for all his misfortune and had to be restrained to prevent him from hurting the thief. 

 

            Realizations:  The viper is unmasked.  Kaidoh, despite the mean, sullen face he often wears, is really a shy young man who blushes when people praise and say nice things about him!  This episode also seems to mark the beginning of the Momo-Ann-Kamio love triangle.  It's also interesting to know that these tennis players are competitive both in and out of the tennis court.  Ibu Shinji is one weird person who would give monologue artists a run for their money.  He may have tennis sense that is comparable to Fuji but he is more sinister than Seigaku's tennis tensai.  With the introduction of new players from other schools, Seigaku willl have very tough opponents in the future.  Still, go Seigaku!  Fight!

 

Episode 23: Appeared! Inui's Juice Deluxe

 

            Which is a better motivator: a carrot or a stick?  Supposedly beating one's opponent brings satisfaction in itself and would suffice to motivate a person to do his best.  However, Sadaharu Inui seems to believe other wise and tries to come up with ways to reinforce his team's desire to win.

 

            In preparation for the upcoming prefectural competition, a special training program was prepared for the Seigaku regulars.  One of which is the zone practice – a rally match with limitations as to where the tennis can land.  For this exercise, players were grouped according to their playing styles.  The counter punchers (Oishi, Fuji and Kaidoh) and the serve-and-volley players (Kikumaru) were assigned the defensive position and had to guard their entire side of the court.  On the other hand, the aggressive baseliners such as Kawamura and Momoshiro, as well as the all-rounders Tezuka and Echizen were on the offensive using only half of their side of the court.  Given a five-rally match, a player on defense must return the ball to his opponent's half-side of the court only and prevent them from scoring.  If the ball is hit outside this area, he would lose.  As for the attacking player, he would lose if he can not score a point within five rallies.  As an added incentive, losers have to drink Inui's special vegetable juice.  All the players remembered what happened when they drank this and naturally loath to lose.

 

            The match between Kawamura and Kaidoh was a battle of power versus stamina.  Kaidoh's snake was hampered by playing only half of the usual space so in the end, Kawamura overpowers him.  Kaidoh once more falls prey to the deadly concoction.

 

            Seeing Kaidoh collapse provided Oishi and Momoshiro more reason not to lose.  Momoshiro defeated his senpai using the powerful Dunk Smash.  As fuku buchou, Oishi was happy to see Momoshiro gaining strength but the smile was replaced by fear as he realized that he would have to drink the dangerous potion.  He collapses even sooner than Kaidoh did.

 

            In his match against the always serious Tezuka, Fuji gave up the point too easily because he wanted to taste the new version of Inui's drink.  This is another testament to his strange preferences.  However, there was a mix-up in the drinking bottles of Inui and Tezuka.  The buchou ended up drinking the juice as the rest of the team watched with interest and apprehension.  He feigned that he was okay and that it had no ill effects on him because he knew that the others were watching him closely.  He was able to convince the others except that his shaking hand betrayed him to the more observant Inui.  The Inui juice always gets its man!

 

            As Tezuka drank directly from the container, Inui had to bring out the version he had been reserving for the national tournament dubbed as the Golden Power Remix Inui Juice.  The freshman trio of Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro shuddered when they remembered seeing Inui looking for bugs the day before in the empty field near the tennis courts.  They concluded that since this new juice may no longer be pure vegetable juice, it would be best just to keep quiet.  What the others don't know won't hurt!!  As the last pair to compete, it would either be Kikumaru or Echizen who would have to try its potency.  Determined not to lose, Kikumaru was uncommonly serious and used his acrobatic play to return even Echizen's calculated shots.   Inui's juice induced a change in him as he attacked aggressively while Ryoma became the one taking the shots from the baseline.  As a last resort, Ryoma decided to go for net play as well and met Kikumaru head on.  Alas, Inui forgot to announce that should the designated attacker go for net play, he would now have to cover his entire side of the court.   Kikumaru immediately took advantage of the twist and lobbed a shot at the far end of the court, which would be difficult for Ryoma to reach.  To everyone's surprise, the ochibi returned it via an amazing between the legs shot!  He can also do acrobatic shots?!  Unfortunately for him, Kikumaru won through a technicality as five rallies lapsed.   As expected, when Inui announced that those who would not want to participate in the next exercise would have to drink his juice as well, all the players immediately trooped in the courts.

 

            Inui seems to enjoy tormenting others for the sake of data gathering but he needs to be more careful as Horio seems to be following in his footsteps.  He has also developed his own juice!

 

Episode 24: Ryoma's Holiday

 

            Ryusaki-sensei's plan to accompany her granddaughter, Sakuno, to the racket stringer, Haritatsu, to have her racket repaired ran in conflict with her school duty.  The coach requested Ryoma to take her place.  They agreed to meet at the train station the next day at 3 p.m. but Sakuno could not decide on what to wear so she ended up 30 minutes late.

 

            When Nanjiroh learned where his son was going on a Sunday afternoon, he assumed that it was a date and decided to follow him.  He was not happy to see Ryoma seemingly irritated by Sakuno's late arrival.  Sakuno was uncertain about Ryoma's reaction but Ryoma simply continued drinking his Ponta and walked ahead.

 

            The freshman trio who were eating at the A-burger with Momoshiro spotted the couple passing by and also assumed that they were dating.  Momoshiro saw Nanjiroh, who he identified as the perverted monk he encountered previously, stalking his kohais.  He decided to confront and follow Nanjiroh to protect Ryoma and his "date".  Hence, Ryoma and Sakuno had two groups tailing them.  When they arrived outside Haritatsu's, the "stalkers" thought that it was a strange place for a date seeing that the façade was an old and drab place.

 

            The racket stringer, Tenmon Tatsuguro (a.k.a. Haritatsu) is an old friend of Nanjiroh and Sumire Ryusaki-sensei.  He was also the one who stringed Ryoma's racket.  When the old man suggested that Ryoma follow his father's footsteps, Ryoma got angry.  He definitely disliked being compared to Nanjiroh.

 

            As per Haritatsu's suggestion, the two went out for a walk while the racket stringer tightens the strings in Sakuno's racket.  The "stalkers" followed suit.  Sakuno tried to engage Ryoma in a conversation but how does one talk to somebody who seems to begrudge responding and prefers to walk by himself?  The poor girl was becoming unhappy and miserable which made both Momoshiro and Nanjiroh angry.  Sakuno tried a more aggressive approach ala Tomoka but only embarrassed herself further when Ryoma told her she was talking too much.  She ran away crying.  How can Ryoma have perfect tennis sense and be an utter dolt on everything else?!  Unable to control himself any longer, Momoshiro came out of his hiding place and ordered his clueless kohai to go after Sakuno and apologize.  Nanjiroh expressed liking Momoshiro's style and even if he did not introduce who he really was, he joined the Seigaku stalkers in their pursuit.

 

            Ryoma offered a can of Ponta to Sakuno as peace offering and soon returned at Haritatsu's.  The racket stringer earlier told Sakuno her racket revealed a lot of things to him like even if she had put in a lot of effort in practicing basic strokes, she still can't hit the center of the racket.  Hence, she should not confuse tennis with something else.  Was Sakuno's motive really that obvious?  To Ryoma, whom he heard so much about through other junior tennis players, Haritatsu had this question: why does he play childish games?   But Ryoma quipped that he is a kid, hence, that is expected.   Only when the two proceeded to a tennis court so Ryoma can check on Sakuno's tennis form that those trailing them realized that it was not really a date but a favor to coach Ryusaki.

 

Episode 25-26: The Strongest Man in Seigaku (Parts 1 and 2)

 

            Ryoma has aroused the interest of the people around him, including the buchou of the Seigaku Tennis Club.  Tezuka has had him in mind ever since he saw him play against Arai and the school ranking competition.  The interest even rose higher when he learned that Ryoma is the son of the legendary tennis player, Nanjiroh Echizen.  It was therefore not surprising that he would challenge the freshman tennis ace to play against him.  He sought Ryusaki-sensei's permission but she had reservations granting the request primarily because Tezuka was also nursing an injury on his left arm.  With the prefectural tournament fast approaching, it may be risky.  Moreover, she believed that Ryoma's desire to defeat his father is enough motivation for him to perform better.  Still, Tezuka contended that Ryoma's tennis is merely a copy of Nanjiroh's – power, speed, reflexes and even Nitouryuu.  The father was able to develop due to his exposure in international competition but Ryoma does not have that luxury at the moment and if this keeps up, he will only be a copy.  Tezuka was adamant that what Ryoma needed is to expand his abilities and besides, he claimed that his arm was fine.  Ryusaki-sensei reluctantly gives permission acknowledging that Nanjiroh is a wall that Ryoma would have to overcome.

 

            After the next practice session, Tezuka secretly talked to Ryoma and told him to meet him at the tennis court in Haruno University.  Oishi overheard the conversation and confronted Tezuka about the folly of this rash decision.  However, the buchou assured him that there was nothing to worry about.  The coach told Ryoma to prepare because Tezuka is very much like Nanjiroh.  Ryoma was disturbed by the upcoming match and this manifested in his behavior at home and in school.

 

            Tezuka, accompanied by Oishi, went to the hospital for a check-up.  The doctor, an uncle of Oishi, told them that Tezuka's injury was actually on the joint and not on the elbow but the Drop Shot put some strain into it.  While it was already healed, Tezuka must stay away from long matches and refrain from using the Drop Shot.  Despite the happy news, Oishi continued to worry about the repercussions of Tezuka's match against Ryoma.

 

            On the day of the "duel", Tezuka, Echizen and Oishi were conspicuously absent during tennis practice and although Ryusaki-sensei told the other members that the three were all sick, they did not believe her.  Inui even smelled a conspiracy going on.

 

            Tezuka displayed his arsenal of shots and immediately launched a No-Touch Serve.  He decided to go all out in order to bring out Ryoma's full potential as Oishi watched in apprehension.  Tezuka challenges him to beat him and asked him why he plays tennis.  Ryoma confirmed that he wants to beat someone but the buchou argued that it was not enough reason.  What would happen after that person is defeated?  Ryoma had not though about that and claimed that he just needed to concentrate at the current opponent.  Ryoma's moves were easily neutralized, including the Twist Serve.  Tezuka encouraged him to show him the kind of tennis that only Ryoma Echizen can play.  Tezuka's victory was capped by a Drop Shot.  He later asked Ryoma to be Seigaku's Pillar of Support.

 

            On their way home, Oishi chided Tezuka for going all out arguing that even Ryoma was just recovering from an eye injury.  Oishi was right.  For someone who keeps on reminding his teammates not to be careless and avoid injuries, Tezuka was being reckless.  However, Tezuka deemed it necessary to play seriously; otherwise it would have been useless.  That was the only thing he can do for Ryoma.  Hopefully, the shock of losing to someone else aside from his dad would bring in the necessary changes in the ochibi.

 

            It was not only Tezuka who had been thinking of Ryoma's needs.  Mr. Inoue, the reporter, even went to see Nanjiroh to confirm his hunches as to what the young Echizen needed to become a world-class player and surpass his father.  Like Tezuka, he believed that by being just a copy, Ryoma would not able to do better than the original.  The Twist Spin Shot that Ryoma used in the last tournament was his own and not a copy.  Hence, he has already gone through the wall known as Nanjiroh Echizen, right?  Wrong, according to Nanjiroh, because even if Ryoma stops imitating him, he still can't win against his old man.  So Mr. Inoue visited Coach Ryusaki.  The coach told him that he is not the only person asking the same question.  When the reported asked for the name of this other person, Ryusaki-sensei cryptically replied that he is the one most similar to Nanjiroh Echizen.

 

            The next day, Tezuka and Ryoma still did not attend tennis practice, which heightened the interest of the others.  Tezuka again went to see his doctor.  The doctor was displeased that Tezuka used the Drop Shot and demanded a reason why he did follow the advice.  Tezuka then rationalized that the objective is not to merely follow the old generation but rather to mold a player for the new generation.  For that purpose, he had to make some sacrifices.  There are many strong opponents out there in the world and Tezuka simply wanted to show his own style of tennis to serve as catalyst for Ryoma to develop his own style.  This is one example of what can be considered Tezuka's hero complex and as a fan, one could not be any prouder but at the same time worry.

 

            Ryoma went home to challenge his father and was able to take a point.  Nanjiroh noticed a subtle change in his son and he was pleasantly surprised when Ryoma declared that he wanted to be stronger.  Ryoma vowed to develop and show his own tennis style.  The old tennis samurai was glad that he sent his son to Seigaku because there he met someone who understood him and gave what he needed the most.  This someone inspired Ryoma and lit a fire under him. 

         

EPISODE SUMMARIES

Episode 11: Echizen Vs. Momoshiro

Sakuno & Tomoka looking for Ryoma to cheer him for the upcoming preliminaries, but both of them are unsuccessful. So they decided to grab a snack on a local burger chain where they found their beloved Ryoma. Momoshiro entered the burger chain too & saw Ryoma who's at the counter waiting to be served. They greeted each other when suddenly a mysterious girl appeared & talked to them. She appeared to be very knowledgeable about tennis clubs around the area & at the same time Seigaku's Tennis Club, & she was wondering if who would be Seigaku's Singles 3 when both Tezuka & Fuji are Singles 1 & Singles 2 respectively. After that, she left them because her order was called & left the question hanging between the two tennis players.That question about who will be playing Singles 3 fired the two Seigaku regulars & both ordered & order more than the other. At last, they were able to order & take their foods onto their table. They were now racing each other on who will finish their foods first. This childish behavior went on until both Sakuno & Tomoka noticed it & commented their eating. Surprisingly, they both stayed on their seats & did not bother either Ryoma or Momoshiro. After eating, that was already nighttime, they were both so tired from eating & already full.

They were on a bridge talking on who will be chosen as the player for Singles 3. Since 4 of them who are not yet given positions in the game including Kaidoh & Kawamura as well as Momo & Ryoma. But Ryoma told Momoshiro that Coach Ryuzaki will decide. Suddenly, they stood up & decided that they need to play somewhere to ease their tension. So they go & find a tennis court where they can play & not to be interrupted. They find a street tennis court where anyone is allowed to play. The problem is, there seems to be many players who used the court & it is play only for doubles. Suddenly, two guys approached them & explained the rules. To be able to continue playing on the court, they must defeat other doubles player who will challenge them & if they lose they would be out of the court & can't play longer. Of course, Ryoma & Momo accept the challenge. Ryoma's Twist Serve & good returns easily defeated the 1st two doubles-pair challengers. And now, the 2 guys who explained to them about rules of the court, challenges them, namely: Fukawa & Izumi. In the end, Ryoma & Momo lose the game & they were out in the court. Both of them agreed that they would not be playing for Singles 3 & decided instead to play doubles, telling each other in the same time "Real Men Play Doubles".

 

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Episode 12: The Two AH-UN boys

At last the day of the District Preliminaries has arrived. Seigaku is going to have their first match against Gyokurin Jr. High where Izumi & Fukawa are among the regulars who will play Doubles 1. It was sort of a rematch since their opponent's were none other than Momo and Ryoma who volunteered to play on Doubles since they wanted to beat opponents on where they are good at. At the start of the match, the Gyokurin doubles pair thought that it would be easy to defeat the two since they only started playing doubles two days ago. But to everyone's surprise, Momo and Ryoma developed a unique strategy to overcome their weakness (at the center line). They developed the AH-UN strategy wherein it signals a co-player on who will hit the ball in order to avoid bumping. It was a good start though for our Seigaku boys until Gyokurin has slowly discovered many of their weaknesses and soon gained the first set. As for Ryoma and Momo, they are beginning to fight...and as Horio thinks that Ryoma could figure out something in order to win, Fuji and the others saw a book on "Doubles For Beginners" on Ryoma's bag.

 

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Episode 13: Real Men Play Doubles

Ryoma and Momoshiro finally came up on an idea to divide their court in TWO.. meaning they drew a dividing line on their sides so instead of playing doubles. .its as if they were playing singles.. then when Gyokurin aimed the ball at the center line, they used AH-UN strategy. This combination made Ryoma and Momo win the game against Gyokurin.

 

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Episode 14: The Swallow Return

 

Seigaku is now preparing for their next match. Everybody expected that its going to end up with Kakinokizaki Vs. Seigaku in the finals.. but to everybody's surprise.. Kakinokizaki was defeated by Fudoumine.. the same Fudoumine who withdrawed in a match 6 months ago. As the doubles begun between Fudoumine's Sakurai/Ishida and Seigaku's Fuji/Kawamura, Inoue had a brief interview with Tachibana Kippei, captain of Fudoumine. It was said that the new Fudoumine's strength has something to do with what happened in their school 6 months ago. (Flashback: The freshmen had confronted their coach about becoming regulars since it was a deal that if they beat their sempais in a match they get to play tennis, but their coach and sempai negated this agreement and the freshmen ended up as ball pickers and court cleaners.. until a 2nd year transfer student, Kippei Tachibana, entered the scene and defended the freshmen and ends up making a mutiny against their coach and sempai. Tachibana had hit their coach and making it a controversy. Later on, it ends up.. that Tachibana and the freshmen had built a new Tennis Club and their coach and sempais leave the school for good.) Back to the Doubles 1 game, Fudoumine seems to gain the advantage until Fuji, the so-called Tennis Genius, had released one of his techniques called the Swallow Return or Tsubame Gaeshi.

 

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Episode 15: Their respective fights

With Fuji's Swallow Return, Seigaku has gained back the advantage. But Fudoumine does not give up the fight that easy, Ishida has some plan to seal Fuji's swallow return using his Hadoukyu. With this, a tremendous counter attack might have injured Fuji but Taka-san returned the ball back to Ishida saving Fuji. But Taka's wrist got injured due to the great impact of the return, so Fuji decided to forfeit the game even if Taka insists that they continue. The game ends with a first loss to Seigaku. After their game, Taka was brought to the doctor. Now Doubles 2 begins with the greater advantage on Seigaku's Golden Pair. 

 

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016. Boomerang Snake

 

It's raining during the game with Seigaku's Golden Pair against Fudomine's Uchimura-Mori pair and it's still on.  Kikumaru slipped on the rain, but eventually returned the ball, which surprised Uchimura because he thought that Kikumaru would fall.  Coach Ryuzaki commented that Oishi and Kikumaru's teamwork is the "Ah-Un" synchronization, and looked at Ryoma and Momo and asked if they were listening. Seigaku's Golden Pair wins the match. The Fudomine pair hung their heads as they walked to Tachibana and apologized, but were interrupted by Tachibana because he explained that they did great and they would win the next game.

Ryoma tells Kaidoh that it's his turn to play, and Kaidoh replies with a grunt and looks at Ryoma. Kikumaru predicted that the game will be postponed and Coach Ryuzaki tells them that when the weather is in good, they will continue the singles match. Ryoma comments that what they call "Skinning the snake alive" is happening that moment and receives a glare from Kaidoh. From Fudomine's side, Kamio comments that the rain won't stop. Tachibana tells him not to lose his concentration because it's unsure if they're going to continue the game and Kamio just grins at him and tells him that he understands.

The freshmen trio (Kachirou, Horio & Katsuo) notices that Ryoma has suddenly disappeared so they all decided to look for him with Sakuno. They all found Ryoma sitting and they call out his name. Horio demands why he is so calm when his match is going to start after Kaidoh, but Ryoma just ignored his question. The weather has finally cleared and Oishi asked Momo where Kaidoh had gone off too, and Momo replied that he is probably doing an image training. Kaidoh has finally returned and bent down to get his racket from his bag. Ryoma tells him that he is late, also that he should try his best and Kaidoh glared at him and growled at him that he doesn't need his advice. Tezuka told him that Ryoma's not his opponent.

It is now the 3rd singles match with Kaidoh (Seigaku) and Kamio (Fudomine). Kamio asked Kaidoh if his nickname is "Viper" and added that it definitely suited him. Kaidoh got mad at this and tried to hit Kamio. Oishi told him to stop, on timing Kamio dodged it and commented that he has a nice swing. Tezuka apologized to Tachibana about Kaidoh but Tachibana said that Kamio provoked him first so he is sorry about it. Kamio serves and runs to the net, but Kaidoh returns it. Kamio says that he is feeling the rhythm, and Kaidoh snarled that he doesn't like it when he does it and also that he should hurry up and serve. Kamio serves and Kaidoh returns it with a "Snake", but Kamio returns it back to him.

Kaidoh hit a shot around the post and everyone was shocked about that attack. Everyone was calling it a Boomerang Snake and he comments that it doesn't sound bad.

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017. The small winning pose

 

The crowd was awed by the unexpected Boomerang Snake from Kaidoh. Shiba even asked Inoue if that shot was legal and Inoue said that it is, although, there are few around-the-pole shots ever and this was the greatest shot of that kind he's ever seen. Kamio was star struck although he just commented that he'll just raise his rhythm. He hit a no-touch ace serve on Kaidoh's expense, making it a 1-0 game to Kamio.

Kaidoh however, was star struck on his own shot. It was a lucky shot on his part and he tried it over and over again in middle of his match with Kamio although his shots were missed shots or "out", he just couldn't get the knack of his "Boomerang Snake". He thought that if only he could master that shot, he would be able to defeat Kamio. It was then a 4-2 game to Kamio this dismayed Coach Ryuzaki, saying that Kaidoh's not that weak to only rely on a lucky shot. Kaidoh finally realizes after quite some time that the style of tennis he's playing isn't his.

Meanwhile, Sakuno ventured out to the washroom and got lost again, for the 9th time. This time, as she was finding her way back to Seigaku's court, she accidentally stepped on someone's shoes and that someone belonged to a very obnoxious guy who insists that she pay Y30, 000 for the cleaning of his now dirtied new shoes.

Back to the game, Kaidoh's now very persistent making Fudomine's Kamio very tired. They went from 4-3 to 5-4 games to Kamio's lead. Finally, the inevitable happened, it was now matchpoint for Kamio. Only another point and he would win this match. This time, it's his turn to serve and he's used his Quick Serve hoping that Kaidoh wouldn't be able to return it, but he was mistaken. Kaidoh hit another Snake towards him and Kamio failed to return.

Momoshiro, seeing that it's now Kaidoh's time to make a comeback, decided that he would be fetching Kawamura from the hospital. Meanwhile, Sakuno's having a hard time with the guy who's obsessed with his own shoes. She was grateful to the girl she saw so many times before come to her aid and mouth off to the guy saying that his stupidity might be contagious. This angered the guy and he hit the mysterious girl who came to Sakuno's aid.

Shifting back to Kaidoh and Kamio's game. Their match now turned into an endurance match. Due to Kaidoh's persistence, Kamio's match point went away and came tons of deuces and advantages from the receiver which is Kaidoh. Both Seigaku and Fudomine's members wondered how Kaidoh got that amazing endurance. Kamio's already panting and sweating profusely while Kaidoh's not even got a pant on his breath. Inui then spoke up and told everyone the menu practice Kaidoh does every time. It was then they learned that Kaidoh's running 10km before practice, after practice and at night and he does 150 sit-ups everyday, along with other numerous exhilarating things. Suddenly all of their attention went back to Kamio and Kaidoh's match, miraculously, Kaidoh won the match: 7-5.

Kamio sat on the Fudomine's bench saying that he doesn't feel bad since he gave everything he could on that match and that Kaidoh's persistence really got him in the end. It was now time of Singles 2. Shinji stood up from the bench and turned to look at Seigaku's Singles 2, Ryoma Echizen.

Luckily, when the guy hit the mysterious girl who came to Sakuno's aid, Momoshiro saw everything and told the guy that hitting a girl isn't just right. The mysterious girl told Momo what happened and about the guy's shoes. Momoshiro just turned towards the guy and told him that he should learn how to clean his shoes and shoes are meant to be dirtied anyway. Momoshiro asked the guy if he should dirty his shoes some more and this prompted the guy to flee. Now, the mysterious girl introduced herself as the younger sister of Fudomine's captain. Her name is An Tachibana.

It's now Ryoma's debut in Singles. His opponent is Fudomine's Ibu Shinji.

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018. Love Letter

As Ryoma continues his match with Fudoumine's Shinji Ibu and showed off some great tennis skills like Nitoryuu  and twist serve, he gained many adorations from the audiences. Coach Ryuzaki, on the other hand, recollects the memories she had with Ryoma's former PRO father, Nanjirou, back when he was still in middle school. Coach Ryuzaki narrates that Nanjirou is one player who comes in the Tennis World "once in a century". He was a player who knows nothing other than to attack. One time when coach Ryuzaki is training him with his backhand skills, young Nanjirou developed a strategy of returning the ball with two forehands and he called it "Nitoryuu". After witnessing how young Nanjirou  used his ambidextrous skill, she gave him an envelope with a letter inside. Nanjirou mistakenly thought that it was a love letter but as he read it, he laughed. Back in the current times, Nanjirou was also narrating the same event to Nanako who found some of his "younger days" pictures as she was cleaning. Then she saw an an envelope clipped in one of the albums. It was the same one that Coach Ryuzaki gave. There was a letter in it along with a newsclip of a 15 year old tennis player who became a champion in the world tournament. The letter, on the other hand, says "Echizen, aim for the world!". At the courts, Ryoma is still showing advantage until Shinji slowly showed that he cannot be simply underestimated just because he came from an unknown school with unsupportive coach and sempais. 

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019. Ryoma is Injured

Ibu continuously alternates his topspins and slice shots as he attacks Ryoma. Making Ryoma's hands to temporarily became numb. Due to this technique, Ryoma tried to counterattack by turning his body around as he hits the ball but his racket slipped off his hands hitting one of the net poles and the broken piece of it hit Ryoma's left eye causing it to bleed. Sakuno rushed inside the court and offered her uniform ribbon but Ryoma refused and insists that she leaves the court right away. Also the umpire reprimands her but Sakuno insisted. She reasoned out that Ryoma is not anymore a player but an injured person then she quickly grabs Ryoma's arm as she drags him out when her grandmother stopped her. Sakuno hastily left the court. Ryoma is then taken to the bench and treated with initial aid. They were about to forfeit the game but Ryoma insisted to continue. The umpire said he can continue if the bleeding stops, so Ryoma rubbed his eye making the blood scatter to his shirt and so Coach Ryuzaki puts him an eye band. He was then allowed to play but with a condition that he can play for only ten minutes.  

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020. Time Limit

Ryoma plays with an injured eye but his injury made some hesitations on his attacks and with Shinji's SPOT, Fudoumine is still taking the lead. But Ryoma discovered his technique and uses his Nitoryuu along with his split step to seal off Shinji's SPOT. With this, Shinji could not do his technique on Ryoma. So Seigaku gains back the lead and Ryoma defeated Ibu within 9 mins and 58 seconds and Seigaku  wins the match. Seigaku became the District Tournament Champion with Fudoumine as a Runner-up. This makes both teams qualify for the Prefecturals. After the awarding, Seigaku proceeds to Kawamura Sushi, a sushi bar owned by Taka-san's father. There they ate a bounty meal of sushi's. Mr. Inoue and Ms. Shiba were also there. They celebrated their victory joyously but Coach Ryuzaki, Tezuka, and Oishi left earlier since they have to do some important things back in school. Ms. Shiba invites Ryoma for a pic with her with some *ahem!-watch the episode to know* and Sakuno who is beside Ryoma watches them. Eiji and Momo were at their back fighting over a plate of  Anago sushi. When Kajirou clicked the camera, Eiji's greediness for sushi pushed Momo over while Momo pushes Ms. Shiba out of the picture so it was Sakuno & Ryoma who were photographed  instead.