Kunimitsu Tezuka (手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series The Prince of Tennis created by Takeshi Konomi.
In the fourth The Prince of Tennis popularity poll, Tezuka came in fourth place.
Character
Tezuka is the captain of the tennis club and a third year student at Seishun Academy, or Seigaku (full name Seishun Gakuen). He is an incredibly talented player and went to Nationals the year before the series took place. Tezuka is serious about everything he does, and he is very strict - one of his trademark phrases is "Don't let your guard down" ("Yudan sezu ni ikō" - this phrase is often parodied in the chibi series). As a captain, he is fair and sticks to his word. If the rules are broken, he punishes everyone, including the regulars.
As a first-year student, Tezuka was seen as overconfident and arrogant by the upperclassmen at Seigaku due to his talents and seriousness, especially when they discovered that he was left-handed even though he played with his right. A jealous teammate then injured Tezuka's left arm, leading to chronic problems. It healed to some extent, but the doctor still warns Tezuka against long matches and using his drop shot (Tezuka's arm injury is also parodied in the chibi series, where he will grasp his arm in pain when reacting to injuries on his finger or elsewhere). Tezuka, however, considers his health secondary to the team's success, and he re-injures his arm in a grueling tie-break match against Keigo Atobe of Hyotei Gakuen. In the manga, he is sent to a health clinic in Kyūshū, but in the anime, he is sent to a health clinic in Germany, where he hopes to recuperate in order to play at the Nationals.
Tezuka shows a strong interest in Ryoma Echizen, possibly because Ryoma reminds him of himself as a first-year. He plays against Ryoma using his full strength, despite the risk of re-injuring his arm, in order to convince him that he needs to become more than a clone of his father. He hopes that Ryoma will succeed him as Seigaku's pillar of support.
In the manga, before the National Finals against Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, it appears that Tezuka told Shuichiro Oishi, Seigaku's vice-captain, that his match against Genichirou Sanada may be his last game as captain, and that the tournament may be the last one he plays in Japan. Tezuka continues on to say that he plans to go to Germany, in order to become a professional tennis player.
Although Tezuka never smiles, he appears to be immensely popular among the female fans of his school. However, the fact that Tezuka never smiles and always look so serious has also been made into a running joke. At one point in the musical where Tezuka has to impersonate someone in a competition, he actually smiles, which Atobe quickly points out.
In the anime, Tezuka is one of two people (the other being Shusuke Fuji) who are immune to Inui's famous vegetable juices. However, he is shown to dislike it on two occasions: once when he accidentally drinks it during practice (though he outwardly shows no reaction), and another when he is asked by Fuji if he wants to drink it, which he sternly declines (at that time, a drop of sweat was shown on the side of his face).
Tezuka is an only child and lives with his grandfather Kunikazu (72), father Kuniharu (48), and mother Ayana (45). While his parents are more laid-back, his grandfather, who was a former police officer and is currently teaching judo at a police academy, is remarkably alert for his old age and Tezuka seems to have picked up lots of his character traits from him. A running gag of the story is that Tezuka looks older than his actual age of 14-15, despite the fact that many characters also look older. There are many instances when he was mistaken for a grown-up. For example, on the plane to Kyūshū and in Kawamura's father's restaurant, people mistook him as his teammates' teacher. Variations of this joke can also be seen in the Prince of Tennis Radio shows, musicals, songs (where Tezuka will often point out suddenly in a song that he is only 14), and it is even mentioned constantly by the voice actor. Ironically, in the TeniPuri Family chibi episodes, Tezuka is portrayed as the grandfather and is often paired up with Shusuke Fuji, who portrays the grandmother.
Techniques
Zero-Shiki Drop Shot
Whereas a normal drop shot catches the opponent off-guard and could potentially break their rhythm, the Zero-Shiki (literally zero-degree) Drop Shot almost completely demoralizes the opponent; Tezuka has accomplished the Zero-Shiki to such a level that he only needs to drop his racket head 3.2 mm in order to pull it off, thus the opponent is deceived into thinking that it will be a normal return. Once hit, the ball then floats over to the other side and drops a foot away from the base of the net. As soon as the ball hits the ground, it rolls backwards, preventing the other player from returning the drop shot.
Tezuka can use this move from virtually anywhere on the court. However, it is most often utilized from the baseline so that when an opponent is expecting a powerful return and strays to the back of the court, Tezuka can optimize the success of the drop shot.
The Zero-Shiki Drop Shot is one of the reasons Tezuka is acknowledged as a National level tennis player. The Zero-Shiki is truly a trump card, and as such, Tezuka only has to use the Zero-Shiki when he is facing an opponent that truly challenges him. The few players that have actually caused Tezuka to reveal his trump card either have been nationally ranked or are players that have an extremely high level of talent.
Ryoma Echizen can also use this shot, but to pull it off, Ryoma must lower the racket 30 mm. Because of this, Ryoma can only do this shot successfully once or twice each match without his opponent noticing.
In the anime, Tezuka shows that he can use the Zero-Shiki with his right hand as well.
One notable difference between the anime and the manga versions is that in the anime, Tezuka can do the Zero-Shiki only with the backhand, while in the manga he can do it with the forehand.
Zero-Shiki Serve
This shot seems identical to Tezuka's trademark Zero-Shiki Drop Shot. However, it is hit as a serve, not even giving the opponent a chance to touch the ball, although Genichirou Sanada managed to return it by using a combination of 3 of his 6 moves of FuuRinKaInZanRai. Tezuka first uses this when he plays against Shitenhōji's Senri Chitose during their semifinal match at the Nationals.
Tezuka Zone
While using the Tezuka Zone, Tezuka pivots around one foot without lifting it from the ground. He can do this because the technique does not require him to move from his original position (usually at the center of the baseline). With every shot, Tezuka puts a specific rotation on the ball, forcing nearly all returns to be "sucked" into his hit zone (hence the vortex image that surrounds him when he's using it). To counter Tezuka's extreme spin, his opponent must aim his shot away from Tezuka, whilst putting a powerful new rotation on the ball.
This technique was first seen when Nanjiro Echizen performed it with both his eyes closed, but naturally, he does not call it the Tezuka Zone.
In almost all the chibi episodes, there is always either a variation of his move Tezuka Zone or the actual move; but the effects are exaggerated (he will actually say "Tezuka Zoooooooone" to activate it) and he always ends up being hit squarely on the head. For example, in episode 165, Tezuka uses Tezuka Zone after being hit with a can, due to a move by Oishi. He gets mad and makes them run 10 laps around the village. Also, in episode 115, the western part, Tezuka uses his Gunman Zone, a variation of the Tezuka Zone where Tezuka does the matrix in order to avoid the bullets Ryoma is shooting at him.
The Tezuka Zone, though physically impossible, is loosely based on the Magnus Effect.
Tezuka Phantom
During the National Finals, in his match against Sanada, Tezuka was able to use the Tezuka Zone in the opposite way (i.e by hitting the ball such that the ball, when returned, will go out). However, in order to do this, Tezuka must create a spin six times that of the normal hit done in Tezuka Zone, as pointed out by Keigo Atobe. Consecutive uses of this technique may result in Tezuka re-injuring his arm or being permanently sidelined.
Muga no Kyōchi (State of Self Actualization)
The Muga no Kyōchi is a technique containing three doors that can only be achieved when a tennis player reached and surpasses his limits. The user naturally intakes all techniques that he has seen and is able to copy them perfectly. Tezuka has not been seen using Muga by itself, but since he has opened Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami, this implies that he has indeed learned Muga no Kyōchi.
Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Hard Work)
Tezuka activating Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami
The Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami is one of the Three Doors of the Muga no Kyōchi. What makes it possible is the Tezuka Zone. Tezuka enters Muga no Kyōchi while focusing all his strength into his left arm. Combining Hyaku Ren with the Tezuka Zone allows Tezuka to prevent the immense loss of stamina caused by the Muga release, and it gives him the ability to return balls with twice the strength, or spin, that they were hit with.
Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Great Wisdom)
The Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami is the second of the Three Doors of the Muga no Kyōchi. As opposed to Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami, which focuses the power of Muga no Kyōchi in the arm to increase power, Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami focuses the power of Muga no Kyōchi in the mind. It allows the person using it to be able to tell how many shots the current rally will take and who will win the point, giving them a form of foresight.
After Shitenhōji's Senri Chitose loses the match against Tezuka, Chitose believes that Tezuka is the one who is closest to activating Teni Muhō No Kiwami (Pinnacle of Perfection), the last door of Muga no Kyōchi.
