Character U-17 Camp & OB's

[Ninomiya]

Since Echizen Ryoga is LIKELY to appear after a Movie appearance, then OVA appearance,

And then we have Yamato Yuudai upgrading from being a ''Prefectural level'' Player(Stated in the anime) and being annihalated by Tezuka as a freshman, to being able to push Tezuka and being amongst the best in the Camp.
Then we have Taira Yoshiyuki who was a former Captain of Shitenhouji who turns out to be kind of awesome.

I was just wondering, What are the chances of other OB's being brought into the storyline?
Is nobody else interested in the Senpais that took Makinofuji to last years final?
(Considering they were crushed by Fudomine the year after)

 

[Kaoz]

You forgot about Washio and Suzuki I believe.

And then we have Yamato Yuudai upgrading from being a ''Prefectural level'' Player(Stated in the anime) and being annihalated by Tezuka as a freshman, to being able to push Tezuka and being amongst the best in the Camp.

We now know that Yamato was injured when he played Freshman!Tezuka. Even though Yamato stated he might have lost either way, it's still something to consider I'd say.

Also I wouldn't necessarily say he's among the best, I think we'll have to wait for the upcoming matches to see whether that's the case.

I was just wondering, What are the chances of other OB's being brought into the storyline?

Well, we're not really missing any important characters at this point I believe. Unless someone gets randomly introduced, the only one I can really think of is the old No. 4 and I guess that Dai guy Tachibana and Chitose mentioned.

 

[LetalHawk]

I think that appart from Ryoga there has to be an OB from Rikkaidai around the camp, maybe one of the first stringers was from Rikkai when Sanada and Yukimura were on the team.

Also, we have Muuri Jusaburou, a high school freshman, he was on the nationals when Rikkai won their second consecutive championship so he should know well who Yukimura and Sanada are (and Renji). Also, he must have heard of Tezuka, there's no way that none of the first stringers haven't heard a thing about him, who is the strongest middle schooler in Japan.

 

[Surprise]

I like the idea of a Rikkaidai OB who graduated the year before Yuki and Sanada joined. He would be godly, but because the rest of his team wasn't high leveled enough they never won nationals. Now he's all pissed at Sanada and Yuki because they got all the attention and recogniton and he wants to stomp Sanada in the shuffle.

 

[LetalHawk]

I like the idea of a Rikkaidai OB who graduated the year before Yuki and Sanada joined. He would be godly, but because the rest of his team wasn't high leveled enough they never won nationals. Now he's all pissed at Sanada and Yuki because they got all the attention and recogniton and he wants to stomp Sanada in the shuffle.

Lol I highly doubt an OB from Rikkai would stomp Sanada, mainly because without black aura he could rape his ass lol.

But yeah, I hope some first stringers know about Yukimura and Sanada, and if they played nationals when they were on high school and faced them.

 

[Ninomiya]

What about the Captain of Hyotei that Tezuka defeated, and the Captain of Seigaku that Atobe defeated.

And how Yukimura and Sanada became Captain and Vice-Captain in their 2nd year, even though they were the strongest from their 1st Year. Who was captain then?

And that Dai-Sempai that Chitose mentions.

And how Yamabuki were powerful last year, if Akutsu didnt play for Yamabuki all the time, and it was only Sengoku and Jimmies pair for some matches. Surely they had an awesome senpai?

But my main mystery is how Makinofuji reached the final last year if they sucked in the current year.

 

[Surprise]

Lol I highly doubt an OB from Rikkai would stomp Sanada, mainly because without black aura he could rape his ass lol.

But yeah, I hope some first stringers know about Yukimura and Sanada, and if they played nationals when they were on high school and faced them.

Ha ha, never said that he actually would be ABLE to stomp Sanada, but it would be a good grudge match. I hope that my theoretical OB would be able to deal with Black Aura but Sanada would have to make a mid match innovation to win, hopefully not spamming rai

---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:24 PM ----------

What about the Captain of Hyotei that Tezuka defeated, and the Captain of Seigaku that Tezuka defeated.

And how Yukimura and Sanada became Captain and Vice-Captain in their 2nd year, even though they were the strongest from their 1st Year. Who was captain then?

And that Dai-Sempai that Chitose mentions.

And how Yamabuki were powerful last year, if Akutsu didnt play for Yamabuki all the time, and it was only Sengoku and Jimmies pair for some matches. Surely they had an awesome senpai?

But my main mystery is how Makinofuji reached the final last year if they sucked in the current year.

I'm skeptical of the Hyoutei and Seigaku captains, mainly because they were most likely destroyed by Atobe and Tezuka and were given only passing mention. Then again, if Yamato could be resurrected, why not.

I'm assuming that Yamabuki just tried to win in three with their hacked doubles two team that can beat fuji and taka, the jimmies and sengoku. The deal with akutsu was that he made it so they didn't have to win in three. As their singles 2 and 1 were defeated by non Tezuka seigaku players, dunno if they can be incredible, one presumably lost to fuji, but I'm still doubtful of any yamabuki people.

And yeah, there will likely be a ton of good Makinofuji people

 

[Ninomiya]

Considering the Another Story OVA showed Atobe, Mukahi, Shishido, Akutagawa and Oshitari to gain regular jerseys in their freshman year, It was similar to the Seigaku story and well... I imagine Rikkai story and Shitenhouji story, but the 3rd Years when they arrived, sucked compared to the freshman.
Seeing as Yamato was brought back as awesome, surely one of those OB's could be brought back. Or more characters for example, the one who gave captaincy to Yukimura, (Unlike Atobe walking in and declaring he was King).
Or the guy who gave captaincy to crappy Kadowaki who must be awesome since Makinofuji went to the final and beat Shishigaku last year.

 

[Kaoz]

I'm assuming that Yamabuki just tried to win in three with their hacked doubles two team that can beat fuji and taka, the jimmies and sengoku. The deal with akutsu was that he made it so they didn't have to win in three. As their singles 2 and 1 were defeated by non Tezuka seigaku players, dunno if they can be incredible, one presumably lost to fuji, but I'm still doubtful of any yamabuki people.

This is mostly correct. Yamabuki's "sure win pattern" was to win 2 Doubles and 1 Singles, and that they would be have been a lot more dangerous if they had had just one more strong Singles player.

http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-092/page004.html
http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-092/page005.html

However it should be noted that there is no information on whether Fuji played in any tournaments during his 2nd year. The only confirmed ones are Tezuka, Oishi and Kikumaru (Kikumaru only made the team in time for the Nationals though and didn't participate in the Tokyo and Kantou tournaments).

Or the guy who gave captaincy to crappy Kadowaki who must be awesome since Makinofuji went to the final and beat Shishigaku last year.

They don't really have to be awesome. If you look at the camp at large, a lot of the HSers simply aren't that good. And you have to consider they stayed longer at the camp than the MSers, which means they probably improved quite a bit during that time.

It isn't unlikely that Makinofuji beat Shishigaku 3-2 with Tachibana and Chitose winning their matches, and their teammates losing the others. In other words, the Makinofuji players didn't have to be all that strong if the Shishigaku ones were simply even worse.

 

[Ninomiya]

However it should be noted that there is no information on whether Fuji played in any tournaments during his 2nd year. The only confirmed ones are Tezuka, Oishi and Kikumaru (Kikumaru only made the team in time for the Nationals though and didn't participate in the Tokyo and Kantou tournaments).

SERIOUSLY?? So were there players in the year above them BETTER than them? Since I cant see who was stronger than Fuji or Inui.
Did the manga explain? Since it never said that Fuji only just joined the regulars this year.

 

[Kaoz]

SERIOUSLY?? So were there players in the year above them BETTER than them? Since I cant see who was stronger than Fuji or Inui.
Did the manga explain? Since it never said that Fuji only just joined the regulars this year.

You have to consider that Fuji never played anywhere close to his true potential, so while he was certainly regarded as talented, it probably wasn't enough to get a regular spot.

However, that's only my personal theory. The manga doesn't directly state when Fuji became a regular (or at least from what I recall it doesn't), unlike for most of the others.

Furthermore, just because he didn't play in the previous year's Nationals doesn't mean he didn't become a regular during his second year, since Japanese schools apparently have two more terms after the Nationals end (source, Nationals are held during August).

 

[Surprise]

You have to consider that Fuji never played anywhere close to his true potential, so while he was certainly regarded as talented, it probably wasn't enough to get a regular spot.

However, that's only my personal theory. The manga doesn't directly state when Fuji became a regular (or at least from what I recall it doesn't), unlike for most of the others.

Furthermore, just because he didn't play in the previous year's Nationals doesn't mean he didn't become a regular during his second year, since Japanese schools apparently have two more terms after the Nationals end (source, Nationals are held during August).

While it is all speculation, as their regular spots are decided by their rankings tourneys, I can't see even half-assed fuji losing to faceless sempai. Taka noted in his flashbacks that the other people his age, inui, fuji, kikumaru, were able already to get wins over senpais. Also, as yanagi who inui was slightly but not insurmountably below, was able to help rikkai get a national title as a freshman, I can't see a much lower caliber school like seigaku benching inui or fuji even as first years other than the fact that they were freshmen. Of course, it doesn't specify how good the sempai they beat were, how consistently they were able to win, or by how much, but nonetheless I can't picture nameless people a year older than inui or fuji beating them in singles matches, especially considering how much data inui is likely to have on them, and as how when yuuta was a freshman going to seigaku he was already pressured by comparisons to his brother, meaning fuji was already a prominent player by his second year.

 

[Kaoz]

While it is all speculation, as their regular spots are decided by their rankings tourneys, I can't see even half-assed fuji losing to faceless sempai.
[...]
I can't see a much lower caliber school like seigaku benching inui or fuji even as first years other than the fact that they were freshmen.

Well, 1st years aren't allowed to play in the ranking tournaments anyway (with Echizen being the exception... I'm actually unsure about Tezuka).

Of course, it doesn't specify how good the sempai they beat were, how consistently they were able to win, or by how much, but nonetheless I can't picture nameless people a year older than inui or fuji beating them in singles matches, especially considering how much data inui is likely to have on them

Only because he has data doesn't necessarily mean he'll win if he's outclassed physically. There's also the possibility that he concentrated so much on gathering Tezuka's data that he neglected everyone else's a bit.

and as how when yuuta was a freshman going to seigaku he was already pressured by comparisons to his brother, meaning fuji was already a prominent player by his second year.

This is true. However it should be noted that that's only in his school, and it's probably a lot easier to be prominent there.

---

I would like to bring up the following two pages though.

http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-318/page013.html
http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-320/page010.html

Basically we can see that Shiraishi and Fuji are in similar positions regarding how well they are known in the nation, a few people know about them but the majority doesn't.

Shitenhouji made it to the Semifinals in the previous year, so I think it's fair to assume they had some relatively strong players (at least for the time) and Shiraishi might have been a hidden ace for the Rikkai match. As you said before, Seigaku likely couldn't compare, and even though Fuji isn't well known outside Kantou.

Overall I think that if he was truly a regular during the Nationals, it seems odd that there was no mention of it (since Tezuka, Oishi and Kikumaru all were specifically mentioned). Same with Inui.

 

[Ninomiya]

Well, 1st years aren't allowed to play in the ranking tournaments anyway (with Echizen being the exception... I'm actually unsure about Tezuka).

I was gonna bring up Tezuka but you dont so fair enough.

Only because he has data doesn't necessarily mean he'll win if he's outclassed physically. There's also the possibility that he concentrated so much on gathering Tezuka's data that he neglected everyone else's a bit.

The OVA shows Inui and Fuji creaming senpais. But yeah the OVA isnt nearly enough to go by. But I think they would mention if Fuji lost. They always go on about how theyve never seen him lose in Singles. If there were guys better than Fuji & Inui, then Konomi would mention them in the ShinPoT.
Im pretty sure by their 2nd year, it was like how Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi owned Rikkai.
With Tezuka, Fuji, Inui. I dont even see Fuji losing to Yamato.

This is true. However it should be noted that that's only in his school, and it's probably a lot easier to be prominent there.

Not enough. The fact that Yuuta LEFT THE SCHOOL LOL. It must have been clear Fuji was one of the stars of the club.
Otherwise Atobe, Kite, Chitose wouldnt already be aware that he was ''The Genius''. With Yukimura saying ''His opponent is Fuji after all''. He wouldnt be feared if he had never been to a Nationals I reckon.

I would like to bring up the following two pages though.

http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-318/page013.html
http://read.mangashare.com/Prince-of-Tennis/chapter-320/page010.html

Basically we can see that Shiraishi and Fuji are in similar positions regarding how well they are known in the nation, a few people know about them but the majority doesn't.

Tezuka and Inui knew about Shiraishi. Perhaps Inui went Nationals last year then?

Shitenhouji made it to the Semifinals in the previous year, so I think it's fair to assume they had some relatively strong players (at least for the time) and Shiraishi might have been a hidden ace for the Rikkai match. As you said before, Seigaku likely couldn't compare, and even though Fuji isn't well known outside Kantou.

Overall I think that if he was truly a regular during the Nationals, it seems odd that there was no mention of it (since Tezuka, Oishi and Kikumaru all were specifically mentioned). Same with Inui.

Hara retired in the Spring after the Regionals. The OVA shows no 3rd Years left in the club. The regulars shown were Ishida, Kenjiro, Shiraishi, Kenya, Konjiki, Hitouji and perhaps Zaizen. No wonder they got wiped before Singles 1 lol. No better senpais have been even mentioned in the Shin PoT. Surely if a team had awesome players in the year above last year, Konomi would mention them, or show them here.

 

[Fuji Shusuke]

This may be noobish but what is an OB?

 

[Kaoz]

After doing some research (i.e. reading their biography pages on FET), it seems that Fuji and Inui were both confirmed as regulars in their 2nd year. What I find strange is that neither as listed as having played in the previous year's Nationals though.

 

[LetalHawk]

This may be noobish but what is an OB?

Old boys

 

[Surprise]

This may be noobish but what is an OB?

People who played for a team in years past. Rikkai brought theirs back in a chapter fo the manga to show how beastly their team is by wrecking all their old players

 

[LetalHawk]

Hyotei should haven an OB around the camp somewhere

 

[Ninomiya]

After doing some research (i.e. reading their biography pages on FET), it seems that Fuji and Inui were both confirmed as regulars in their 2nd year. What I find strange is that neither as listed as having played in the previous year's Nationals though.

There we are.

Hyotei should haven an OB around the camp somewhere

Definetely.
Also, Tezuka was Vice-Captain in his 2nd year. WHO was Captain instead of him?

---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:46 PM ----------

Also, Oishi lost to Yamabuki's Jimmies pair with a Senpai.
If there are 8-9 regulars, and Fuji, Tezuka, Inui, Oishi, Kikumaru are regulars, it leaves a possible 3-4 people left.
Also, the captain seems to play Singles since he was defeated by Atobe, so it leaves a possible 2-3 OBs.

I was expecting Konomi to reveal all these guys. Like the Captain of Rikkai during Yukimura and Sanada's freshman year, and I imagine that since Yamato could improve so greatly, then what about the Hyotei OB with Silver and red hair from the OVA.
The anime guys gave the captain of Hyotei during Atobe's freshman a VERY distinct look. Although its just an OVA, surely Hyotei should have some 2nd Year High School OB's.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 PM ----------

Also, last year, Rokkaku reached the Regional Semis. They sucked this year.
Im guessing they had a decent OB who is in his 1st Year of High School and Konomi should at least have him in this Camp.