The Prince of Tennis (テニスの王子様, Tenisu no Ōjisama?) is a popular manga and anime series created by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan on July 1999. The manga is published in English in North America by Viz Media. The series was put under hiatus when Konomi was injured in an accident during the Summer of 2006, but publication resumed in September 2006. Publication is scheduled to end in late November in issue 52 of Weekly Shonen Jump.[1]
The anime series, directed by Takayuki Hamana, animated by Trans Arts and co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network Animax and the terrestrial TV Tokyo network from October 10, 2001 to March 30, 2005, spanning a total of 178 episodes. Beginning in April of 2006, an OVA continuation of the anime began to be released on DVD. A second OVA series has been announced to begin release on June 22, 2007, roughly 3 months after the end of the first.
The title is often shortened to Teni-Puri, a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words, Tennis Prince. This is also evident in some of the Chibi episodes in the anime, where all the regulars of Seishun Gakuen are members of the Teni-Puri family.
The series has produced a half-hour weekly radio show, nearly 200 music CDs, several games, movies, multiple live-action musicals and a large selection of merchandise. On May 13, 2006 the live-action adaptation film, The Prince of Tennis, was released in Japan. As of volume 35, the manga has sold over 37 million copies in Japan.[2]
The Prince of Tennis anime has been announced to be a part of Cartoon Network's new online broadband service called Toonami Jetstream. It began streaming July 14, 2006. The anime began airing on Toonami's Saturday night block on December 23, 2006, though some episodes were initially skipped. Beginning on February 24, 2007, the episodes aired, restarting at the beginning, going in order. However, it is now off the schedule as of June 9, 2007.
In the Philippines, The Prince of Tennis aired weekdays on QTV 11 (now Q 11) (part of its afternoon anime block "Anime Revolution"), but later ended. Although, due to popular demand, The Prince of Tennis was aired back on Q on the same time slot. It later moves to GMA 7, airing on weekdays.
On
August 16,
2007, Japan's
Nikkan Sports newspaper announced that
China, which began airing
The Prince of Tennis anime series in the summer of 2006, will be producing a live-action drama of
The Prince of Tennis manga. Shooting of the series will begin in October 2007, and it is expected to begin broadcast sometime around June 2008, just before the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing.
