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Echizen Household
Nanjirou Echizen
Echizen Nanjirou is the father of the series' protagonist Echizen Ryoma. Nanjirou is very outspoken, eccentric, a shameless flirt, brash, perverted, and almost childish at times. He is known as "Samurai Nanjirou" for his mighty tennis skills during his earlier years as a professional tennis player. Aside from Ryoma, he is the only other player to have attained the "Pinnacle of Perfection". He was trained by Ryuuzaki during middle school and eventually became a touring professional after leaving Japan. He remains undefeated and was only one win away from earning a Grand Slam title before he unexpectedly decided to retire in order to raise his son Ryoma and teach him tennis. In New Prince of Tennis, he is coaching the Spain U-17 World Cup Team.
- Voiced by: Takashi Matsuyama (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN), Juan Guzmán (LA SP)
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Poor Ryoma.
- Almighty Janitor: He was one match away from winning a Grand Slam title before suddenly retiring. Within the series proper, people have yet to challenge his skill (Ryoma even remarked that he loses to him every day).
- Berserk Button: In the anime, the mere mention of Banji can send him into screaming fits.
- Big Damn Heroes: Like Father, Like Son.
- Bumbling Dad: By his personality, it's easy to assume all the discipline in the household comes from his wife and niece. In the live-action chinese series, Nanjiroh forgot to pick up Ryoma at the airport and mistook his cellphone for the remote controller of the TV.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Nobody believes the old, bum-looking monk used to be one of the best professional tennis players of Japan.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: When Inoue finds him and tries to interview him, Nanjirou tries to play the "I'm not a Nanjiro", until Shiba says that she would have a coffee with Nanjiro, quickly dropping the rouse, and gets offended whenever Shiba insults Nanjiro on purpose.
- Dirty Old Man: Now spends time looking at porn magazines.
- Goal in Life: He wanted to become the best player in the world. Once his new dream in life became raising Ryoma and teaching him tennis, he retired from the professional circuit.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: He reveals that the Pinnacle of Perfection (Teni Muhou no Kiwami) lies within every player, and that everyone is already in this state when they first start playing tennis. The Pinnacle of Perfection starts to fade away as a player starts to get more competitive and becomes too preoccupied with winning or losing, and can only be regained when the player forsakes the outcome of the match and plays simply for the fun of enjoying tennis.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Lovable Sex Maniac: He is constantly flirting with women and looking at gravure idol magazines, but no less funny.
- Love at First Punch: He falls for Rinko, the only girl to reject him.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: His tennis abilities haven't diminished, but he loves acting like a moron until he's got to comment on tennis or play.
- Perma-Stubble: Another thing that leads people to think he’s a perverted bum.
- Retired Badass: He retired once Ryoma was born.
- Trickster Mentor: His usual method to train Ryoma is provoking him.
- World's Best Warrior: Very likely the best tennis player in the series, if not the world.
Karupin
Karupin is Echizen Ryoma's Himalayan cat.
- Voiced by: Akira Nakagawa (JP)
- Cute Kitten: A very playful Himalayan cat.
- Morality Pet:
- He is the only living thing Ryoma is consistently loving to. The only time Ryoma looks worried, afraid and sad is when he learns that his cat escaped from the house.
- Also with Kaidoh. He has a slight happy vibe after playing with Karupin.
Rinko Echizen (née Takeuchi)
Ryoma's mother.
- Voiced by: Yuki Nakao (episode 5), Junko Minagawa (episode 129) (JP), Melanie Enríquez (LA SP)
- A-Cup Angst: She is not amused when Nanjirou mentions her lack of size. It doesn't help that he's got quite the Hands-On Approach.
- Love at First Punch: She was the first girl who didn't take Nanjirou's crap. Of course, they ended up married.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: The first proof of her growing feelings for Nanjirou is how she switches from a T-Shirt and baggy pants into a cute tennis dress. He keeps teasing her, though.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: We barely get to see her face in the modern time stories.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: She started off bickering a lot with Nanjirou.
- Tsundere: Type B. She's normally sweet and soft-spoken, but used to be rather violent to Nanjirou before they got together, and now she's hinted to be the main breadwinner.
Nanako Meino
Nanako Meino is Ryoma's cousin; she is a student at a local Tokyo college, who currently lives with her relatives, the Echizen family. She plays the role of an elder sibling figure to Ryoma, who is an only child and helps him and the other Echizens with their daily lives. She is sweet-tempered, very polite, loyal, and devoted.
- Voiced by: Risa Mizuno (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)
- Deadpan Snarker: She can be pretty snarky sometimes, mostly towards Nanjiroh.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: She is the one in charge of the chores whenever Ryoma's mom is out, and is always demure and gentle... unless she's dealing with Nanjirou, that is.
Seisshun Gakuen Students
Yamato Yuudai
See U-17 Highschoolers
Satoshi Horio
- Voiced by: Shigenori Yamazaki (JP), Adam Lawson (EN), Melanie Enríquez (LA SP)
- Ascended Extra: In the manga he is a Flat Character. He appears along with the other freshmen more prominently in the anime and the musicals.
- Attention Whore: He will inform everyone he has two years of experience in tennis (or other activities), whether the others want to hear about it or not.
- Audience Surrogate: He, along with the Freshmen Trio, are there to get explanations about certain techniques or game rules.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Tomoka.
- Big Ol' Unibrow: His most visible characteristic.
- Bromantic Foil: Tries to be this to Ryoma, as he is his polar opposite both in skills and personality.
- The Chew Toy: He has really bad luck at getting in trouble with random bullies. He often has to be rescued by Ryoma, who doesn't miss the chance to mess up with him a little more before saving his butt.
- Informed Ability: His "two years of tennis experience".
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's annoying, loud and more childish than he should be, but is also a very loyal friend.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He claims he has "two years of experience in tennis", and yet he fails to provide useful information during games.
- One Degree of Separation: Turns out that the random cyclist who helps Kintarou reach Tokyo from Mount Fuji is his older cousin Junpei.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Rather than “skill”, him having the same height as Ryoma saved the team to avoid disqualification when Ryoma is late to a tournament, only needing to get him a white cap and a team jersey. It helped the first time when Ryoma sleeps through before a tournament, and it helps again when he goes missing before the Finals against Rikkaidai.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Proclaims his experience proudly, despite being very average himself.
Kachirou Kato
Kachirou Kato hangs around a lot with Horio Satoshi and Mizuno Katsuo. Although he is not very good at tennis, he thoroughly supports the team. He has a father who coaches at an expensive tennis club. Though he is normally polite and meek, Kachirou believes strongly in justice and fights to the end to defend his beliefs. As such, he has proven to be brave and stubborn when a situation calls for it.
- Voiced by: Akira Nakagawa (JP), Wendee Lee (EN), Lileana Chacón (LA SP)
- Alliterative Name
- Ascended Extra: In the manga he is a Flat Character. He appears along with the other freshmen more prominently in the anime and the musicals.
- Audience Surrogate, The Watson: He, along with the Freshmen Trio, are there to get explanations about certain techniques or game rules.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Especially in the anime, where he isn't afraid of calling out Arai's bad attitude.
- A Day in the Limelight: An episode of the anime is dedicated to him confronting Arai about his smugness, only to discover they also have been pushing themselves to reach the Regulars.
- Nice Guy: He is the most shy and polite of the Freshmen trio, but more willing to speak up to injustice.
- Odd Friendship: Only in the anime, he develops one with Arai.
- Put on a Bus: He and Katsuo don't show in New Prince of Tennis, while Horio visits the camp with Shiita and Taichi.
- Satellite Character: His only role in the story is to cheer on the Regulars along with Horio and Katsuo.
- Those Two Guys: With Katsuo. While Horio has made appearances by himself, Kachiro and Katsuo are never seen apart from eah other.
Katsuo Mizuno
Katsuo Mizuno is the third of the "Freshman Three". He is a kind and soft-spoken person, but lacks confidence. Often when he does something good he would just consider it to be good luck or a coincidence. He respects his senior club members a lot and would never lose hope in them. Therefore when something is amiss within the club Katsuo would often get very worried, despite the fact that it does not concern him.
- Voiced by: Kei Watanabe (JP), Yuri Lowenthal (EN), Yensi Rivero (LA SP)
- Ascended Extra: In the manga he is a Flat Character. He appears along with the other freshmen more prominently in the anime and the musicals.
- Audience Surrogate, The Watson: He, along with the Freshmen Trio, are there to get explanations about certain techniques or game rules.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: In the last chapter of the series, Mizuno let his hair grow when they passed to 2nd year. This is a parallel to Oishi, who also used to change his hairstyle the following year.
- Flat Character: Compared to Kachiro and Horio, who at least they got some moments in the anime, Katsuo is the one of the Freshmen Trio with the less characterization.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Hilariously averted. When Oishi is late for the match against Hyotei, the team tries to disguise him as Oishi by putting a swimming cap on his head and painting his bangs with a black marker. It doesn't work and only makes the others laugh at the result.
- Put on a Bus: He and Kachiro don't show in New Prince of Tennis, while Horio visits the camp with Shiita and Taichi.
- Satellite Character: He is never seen without Kachiro, and his only role in the story, aside from acompany Kachiro and Horio, is to cheer on the Regulars.
- Supreme Chef: Really good at making curry.
- Those Two Guys: With Kachiro. While Horio has made appearances by himself, Kachiro and Katsuo are never seen apart from eah other.
Masashi Arai
Masashi Arai is a second year student and the best reserve player on the team, who is the closest to becoming a regular, almost getting a shot to play in Kanto Tournament finals in the anime when Momoshiro and Kaidou were nowhere to be seen. He is known for his hotheadedness and hazing of weaker players. He is as hard on himself as he is on the others during training. Although he had a very bitter relationship with Ryoma at first, he cheered him on during his match with Akutsu.
- Voiced by: Norihisa Mori (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN), Angel Balam (LA SP)
- Butt-Monkey: He lost games against Ryoma, doesn't make it into the Regulars during the series run and then gets beaten up by Akutsu.
- A Day in the Limelight: He receives more focus along with Kachiro in a filler episode of the anime, where he is revealed to be pushing himself to reach the Regulars and gains a newfound respect for Kachiro's determination.
- Hot-Blooded: Gets easily angry at any provokation, especially at Ryoma being cocky.
- Jerkass: Especially at the beginning.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sparsely, but it's there.
- Odd Friendship: In the anime only, he develops one with Kachiro.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Arguably the best non-regular player and fairly hardworking, but he's still far outclassed. Even happens at school. When Oishi appears at his classroom looking for Momoshiro, he tries to tell the girls to back off from the vice-captain, but they ignore him to flock around Oishi.
Masaya Ikeda
- Voiced by: Hiroshi Shimozaki (JP)
- Satellite Character: He is only seen with Arai as part of his group.
- Those Two Guys: With Hayashi.
Daisuke Hayashi
- Voiced by: Makoto Ueki (JP)
- Satellite Character: He is only seen with Arai as part of his group.
- Those Two Guys: With Ikeda.
Sakuno Ryuuzaki
Sakuno Ryuuzaki is the granddaughter of Ryuuzaki Sumire. She is a kind, nice, and quiet girl with very long hair kept in twin braids, and often worries about Ryoma and the others. She starts playing tennis after watching Ryoma helps support the Seigaku team. Sakuno is attracted towards Ryoma and has feelings for him, she has not had a chance to tell him due to her own shy nature, a degree of bad luck, and the meddling of other people. In the manga, she is shown to be more intuitive, mature and a good tennis player. Out of all the girls in the story, she is the only one whom Ryoma shows his kind personality.
- Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (JP), Cindy Robinson (EN, Viz Media), Xanthe Huynh (EN, Funimation), Yaraiví Alcedo (LA SP, Episodes 1-52), Marycel González (LA SP, Episodes 53-97)
- Butt-Monkey: Poor little girl has pretty lousy luck, though not as bad as Horio's.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She is very prone to accidents and mistakes, like falling randomly, bumping into bullies, or giving bad directions.
- Fangirl: Ryoma's.
- Hyper-Awareness: She is quick to notice that Ryoma wasn't playing at his best during a practice match because they both knew the girl who claimed to be his fangirl was actually a spy. Ryoma compliments her for this, which he rarely does to anyone.
- I Feel Angry: She's softspoken and polite, but not incapable of anger. Even when she has to call out Ryoma's behavior, she shows her discomfort, but doesn't shout at him.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: She sports long twin braids that reach her hips, matching her innocent and cute personality. One of the criticisms Ryoma gives her to improve her tennis is to cut her hair a bit since her braids are too long.
- Morality Pet: One of the few people whom Ryoma shows his kinder side.
- No Sense of Direction: Her first appearance has her giving Ryoma the wrong way to a tournament. This gets worse when she gets lost in Australia and has to be rescued from delinquents by Ryoma and Ludovic.
- Passionate Sports Girl: She has just started playing tennis to try relating more to Ryoma. Though in the manga she does have what it takes and it's said she might reach regular player status next year. And she gets third place in a local tournament, which IS very good for a girl who has just started in the sport itself
. - Put on a Bus: Until Chapters 127 and 128 of Shinpuri.
- Shrinking Violet: Moreso in the anime than in the manga where is more shy than quiet.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: In the Chinese Live-Action series, she and coach Lin Qi (coach Sumire) are aunt and niece instead.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Between her demure attitude and long ponytails, she's the Girly Girl to Tomoka's tomboy.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the 2006 film, Sakuno is replaced by Shion Higaki, Egate's sister, who has no relation to coach Ryuuzaki.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: In the manga she is less shy and more mature than in the anime.
Tomoka Osakada
Tomoka Osakada is Sakuno's best friend and classmate. Unlike her best friend, Tomoka is very outgoing and assertive. She is the self-proclaimed and very enthusiastic president of the Echizen Ryoma fanclub. She supports Ryoma along with Sakuno at the team's matches. She and Sakuno cheer together and are very good friends. Tomoka is attached to Ryoma, and she shows this more than Sakuno. Although her obvious crush on the boy, she stated that the only one she considers her love rival is Sakuno. She also can be seen arguing with Horio at times.
- Voiced by: Fuyuka Ōura (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN), Marycel Gonzáles (LA SP, 2-52), Lidia Abbout (LA SP, Episodes 53-97)
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Her little siblings are very, very energetic...
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Horio. He often tries to flex his two-year experience in tennis, but she is having none of it.
- Bully Hunter: Never EVER mess with Sakuno, Ryoma, or the Seigaku team!
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She will be very defensive against any girl other than Sakuno who shows any interest on Ryoma.
- Cosplay Otaku Girl: Hinted to be one in the anime.
- Fangirl: Of Ryoma, to the point, she founded a Ryoma Fanclub.
- Foil: To Sakuno. Both admire Ryoma (but Tomoka only likes cheering and she is aware that Sakuno really likes Ryoma), and while Sakuno is shy and quiet, she is more loud and Hot-Blooded.
- Genki Girl: She is the most vocal supporter of Seigaku’s side, especially if it’s cheering for Ryoma.
- Girlish Pigtails: She has two high pigtails, contrasting with Sakuno’s long twin braids.
- Hot-Blooded: Gets easily irritated by rivals or every time Horio says something dumb.
- Plucky Girl: Nothing keeps this girl down for too long.
- Promotion to Parent: Both of her parents work, so she often has to take care of her baby siblings.
- Satellite Character: She is almost never seen without Sakuno.
- School Newspaper News Hound: In the Chinese drama.
- Shipper on Deck: Despite being a huge fangirl of Ryoma, she isn't interested in him romantically since she knows Sakuno likes him. Tomoka takes every chance she gets to make Ryoma notice her best friend, like trying to get Sakuno's homemade food with him, or encouraging her to congratulate him in person.
- Shorttank: Her usual dress-style outfit out of school.
- Supreme Chef: Her friends often praise her cooking.
- Token Mini-Moe: She is a freshman, along with Sakuno and the Freshmen Trio.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Sakuno's girly girl.
- Tsundere: Type B. Sweet, energetic, kind, cheerful, kinda clingy... unless Horio is near or someone threatens her friends.
Others
An Tachibana
An Tachibana the cute younger sister of Kippei. She is a member of the girls tennis club, and often supports her brother's team. An cares very much for her brother and her friends from both the Seigaku and Fudomine teams and tries to help them as much as possible. On the other hand, she has a rather explosive and even downright vicious temper that leads her to either get in trouble for the sake of others (as proved by Sakuno and Atobe) or become physically violent (as proved by Kirihara).
- Voiced by: Akiko Kimura (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN), Valeria Castillo (LA SP, Episodes 11-48), María José Estévez (LA SP, 53-86)
- Accidental Misnaming: "Don't call me 'Tachibana-imouto'! My name is An!".
- Cool Big Sis: To Sakuno.
- Cute Sports Club Manager: She is the only girl seen around the Fudoumine tennis club, serving as support for her brother and the team, and knows every detail about her school team and rivals.
- Dude Magnet: Attracts men with her beauty and her firey personality.
- Passionate Sports Girl: In her free times after school, she likes to go to the street tennis courts.
- Ship Tease: With Momoshiro. On the other hand, with Kamio is more one-sided from him, she is apparently clueless about it.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is the only female we see near the Fudomine Tennis Team.
- The Tease: The most fashion-conscious of the girls, and likes to make some playful comments to Momoshiro.
Shiita Urayama
- Voiced by: Takase Asaki (JP)
- Idiot Hair: The tip of his hair is shaped like a swirl. Even when many fans claim it looks like an ice cream... just see Punny Name below.
- Keet: He is just like Taichi and serves as a Foil for Horio.
- Punny Name: His name is a literal poop joke.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In Shinpuri he essentially replaces Katsuo (while Dan takes Kachiro's role) in the new "Freshmen Trio" with Horio.
- Tag Along Kid: He is this along with Taichi and Horio.
- Trademark Favorite Food: His favorite soft serve ice cream flavors are chocolate, coffee and chestnut... Make of it whatever you want...
Miyuki Chitose
- Voiced by: Rina Sato (JP),
- Gender Reveal: On Tezuka, who mistook her as a boy because of the hat.
- Girlish Pigtails: Hidden under a hat.
- The Nicknamer: She refers to Tezuka as “Thief bro” because he took her racquet. Even after clearing the misunderstanding, she still calls him this.
- One Degree of Separation: Turns out that Miyuki is the younger sister of Senri Chitose, old doubles partner of Kippei Tachibana and current member of the Shitenhouji tennis club, both schools rivals with Tezuka, who she casually meets in Kyuushu and indirectly helps him overcome his own yips, eventually allowing Tezuka to have a match against her brother.
- Plucky Girl: Despite her yips, she is very enthusiastic about tennis. Her bravery and energy is what inspires Tezuka to get rid of his own yips.
- Token Mini-Moe: She is in elementary school.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is a very good player, but suffers a bad case of stage fright.
Yuki Akutsu
- Voiced by: Haruhi Terada (JP), Úrsula Cobucci (LA SP)
- Ma'am Shock: One of the reasons the Seigaku Regulars think she is Kawamura's girlfriend is because he refers to her as "Yuki-chan", despite her being the mother of one of his childhood friends. This is because Yuki gets upset if he calls her "Aunt", "Ma'am", or any other name that will make her feel old.
- Mistaken for Romance: When they meet her, the Seigaku Regulars think she is Kawamura's girlfriend and that Kawamura Likes Older Women. She was actually asking Kawamura to keep Akutsu out of trouble.
- Morality Chain: Akutsu only agrees to join the U-17 training camp because her mother took the effort to gather all the pieces of the shredded invitation and put them together. Akutsu finds her asleep while gluing all the pieces.
- Teen Pregnancy: Had Akutsu when she was as young as 18-19 years old.
Yumiko Fuji
Yumiko Fuji is the older sister of Fuji Shuusuke and Fuji Yuuta.
- Voiced by: Yuki Kaida (JP)
- Cool Big Sis: Both Shuusuke and Yuuta adore her.
- Fortune Teller: She likes reading the Tarot, and she wrote the Horoscope book that Sengoku has.
- Ms. Fanservice: She is tall, slim, pretty and has a nice smile.
- Stacy's Mom: Or in this case "Stacy's Sister", after Mizuki develops a crush on her.
- Supreme Chef: Shuusuke mentions Yuuta loves her home made cakes.
Mamoru Inoue
Mamoru Inoue is a journalist for the Monthly Tennis Pro magazine. Inoue takes a special interest in the progress of Seigaku. He is also an amateur tennis player, as well as being a big fan of Echizen Nanjirou.
- Voiced by: Hozumi Gouda (JP), Luis Miguel Pérez (LA SP)
- Ascended Extra: Only in the TV anime.
- Combat Commentator: He is the one who gives most of the tennis trivia and insight for the Audience Surrogates
- Crazy-Prepared: Always has his tennis stuff in his car, in case he needs it.
- Fan Boy: Of Nanjirou.
- Hypocritical Humor: Lightly scolds Shiba for not taking work seriously, then goes all blushy when he meets Nanako. Shiba immediately lampshades the trope.
- Intrepid Reporter: Nothing interests him more than covering the best tennis matches.
- Mr. Exposition: In the anime he is used as this to give some background (by expaining how Wakato made impersonations on Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, etc.), techniques or other Useful Notes on Tennis.
- Nice Guy: Despite being a professional journalist, he is interested in helping and supporting the young tennis players.
Saori Shiba
Saori Shiba is the new photographer for the Monthly Tennis Pro magazine. Along with Inoue, she takes a special interest in Seigaku.
- Voiced by: Noriko Namiki (JP), Wendee Lee (EN), Rebeca Aponte (LA SP)
- Alliterative Name: Shiba Saori.
- Ascended Extra: Only in the TV anime.
- Audience Surrogate, The Watson: She mostly is the one asking the questions to get either Inoue or Ryuzaki-sensei to explain about the techniques or game rules.
- Butt-Monkey: She tends to be clumsy, like forgetting to take photos during a tennis match, or getting names mixed in some articles.
- Cool Big Sis: Tries to be this, though it doesn't alway work. She gives Sakuno a Kirk Summation.
- Fangirl: Although she is always taking photos of the middle school tennis clubs, she pays more attention to Seigaku. She even forgets to take pictures during a match because she got too focused on Seigaku's game.
- Naïve Newcomer: She is a rookie photographer tasked as Inoue’s assistant.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: She is one of the few characters that has different outfits in each appearance.
Kitazono Kotoha
Kotoha is the manager of Tsubakikawa Gakuen's Boys' Tennis Club, which represents Hokkaido in the national tournament.
- Alliterative Name: Kitazono Kotoha.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Her strategy is to pose as a fangirl, act like the girlfriend-wannabe of the best player of the school she is visiting and gather all the data she can.
- The Bus Came Back: Briefly. She tries to flirt with Atobe with an obento, but he blows her off on the spot.
- Cute Sports Club Manager: From the Tsubakikawa Gakuen tennis team.
- Fangirl: It's actually an act. She has tried this on Ryoma, and later on Atobe.
- The Mole: See Bitch in Sheep's Clothing above.
- One-Shot Character: She is only a one-shot character, whose only purpose in the story is to showcase how well Sakuno knows Ryoma.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Subverted. The only ones who can see through her "Nice Girl" act are Sakuno, Ryoma and Atobe.
- Stalker with a Crush: Or at least it looks like it, as she poses as a fangirl only to gather information about team rivals.
