Character [Fanfiction] 1st Court Profiles (and others)

[Kaoz]

I've been trying to think of ways to pass this stuff as theories, but I don't think I can get away with that, so in the end I settled on labeling the thread as fanfiction after all.

Now, what is this? Basically this is going to be a mini series of five profiles for the five gentlemen that made the top ranks of the 2nd string line-up back then who we don't really know anything about (except that the one guy is actually called Handa and not Hitsujida). I'll be posting one profile per day starting with the lowest rank and then moving up in order. I also won't give any additional comments to avoid extremely long walls of text, but feel free to ask if you'd like me to elaborate on anything (either if something's unclear or if you want to know why I wrote something in a particular way).

Finally, I'd like to give you some pictures of the people in question, but there aren't really any good ones, so for Kishimoto, Taniyoshi, Ishimaru and Sekine you'll have to do with this one and this one, for Handa I can offer a slightly better panel though.

Profile Directory
Becker, Franz (Pro B) (Germany)
Crawford, Ramos (Australia)
Detlef, Michael (Pro D) (Germany)
Handa, Yoshimasa (4th Court)
Hewitt, Hill (Australia)
Ishimaru, Mihito (1st Court)
Kiritani, Motoshi (1st String, former)
Kishimoto, Masato (1st Court)
Migihashi, Itarou (2nd Court)
Sekine, Kazuyoshi (1st Court)
Taniyoshi, Kigarashi (1st Court)

Mini chapters
22.5: Mizuki's Revolution

 

[Kaoz]

Kazuyoshi Sekine
His specialty is doubles, but his singles play has improved enough to let him advance to the 1st court with his own strength.

Supplemental Info:
- He and his twin sister are the top ranked mixed doubles pair in Hokkaido.
- He regularly helps out in the camp cafeteria.

Height: 185 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 2.2 Left: 2.2
Special Technique: Progressive Synchronization
Playstyle: Counter Puncher
Shoes: KSwiss Hypercourt Express
Racket: Prince Tour 95

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: July 6 (Cancer)
Blood Type: A
Hobbies: Reading - Cooking
Family Members: Grandfather - Grandmother - Sister
Committee: Library Committee
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Food: Sushi
Thing he wants most: Cookbook
Thing he is bad at: Horror stories
Specialty outside of tennis: Fishing

Stats

Speed - 3: When facing an opponent with good control, he often has trouble keeping the ball in play throughout longer rallies. Once he has synchronized with his opponents, however, his speed is no longer an issue except when tracking down the most accurate of shots.

Power - 3: He desperately needs to build up more muscles or he will be blown off the court against stronger opponents.

Stamina - 6: After pushing his stamina to the limits, he is now able to use his abilities to the fullest even in long matches. This way he can also draw out the match until his Progressive Synchronization reaches its peak.

Mental - 5: As the match goes on, he can understand the other players on the court better and better. This way, he can anticipate upcoming developments, plan ahead and keep his cool where others would be caught off-guard.

Technique - 4: His shot placement can be improved upon, but he is one of the players with the lowest error rates in the camp.

Kurobe's Memo:
Being able to synchronize with friend and foe alike makes him a truly terrifying opponent for anyone not equipped with powerful special moves. Combined with his tactical abilities, this also makes him a central pillar in any doubles combination. However, if he wants to truly excel he will need to further improve his physical abilities.


Side Image Text 1: Once the Synchronization is complete, he kicks into high gear.

Side Image Text 2: Since he can read the thoughts of his opponents, he can come up with counter strategies ahead of time and direct his partner accordingly.

 

[Kaoz]

Mihito Ishimaru
An encounter with Tanegashima 3 years ago marked the turning point in his tennis career and he has grown rapidly ever since. At this rate, it is only a matter of time until he is ready to join the 1st string.

Supplemental Info:
- He gets seasick easily.
- Once a week he spends the day with Tanegashima to reflect on his progress.

Height: 179 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 1.0 Left: 1.0
Special Technique: One Cut
Playstyle: All Rounder
Shoes: Prince Warrior TeXtreme
Racket: Prince Warrior TeXtreme 100

School Year: 1st Year
Birthday: May 24 (Gemini)
Blood Type: AB
Hobbies: First Person Shooter Games
Family Members: Grandfather - Grandmother - Father - Mother
Committee: None
Favorite Color: Sunset Colors
Favorite Food: Chicken Nanban
Thing he wants most: Victory
Thing he is bad at: Ships
Specialty outside of tennis: Mathematics - Drawing

Stats

Speed - 3: He moves as little and as slowly as possible to prevent unsettling his spirit, yet as much and as fast as necessary to keep the ball in play. Due to his superior strategic abilities he can select the best pace for himself, however, he would benefit from improving his top speed.

Power - 3: Even though his style does not rely on power, he should strengthen his muscles to open up more tactical opportunities.

Stamina - 4: Since he rarely overexerts himself, he almost never runs out of energy. He still needs to be careful if an opponent manages to see through his schemes, however.

Mental - 6: Winning is the only thing that matters to him. By carefully observing his opponents and developing an optimal strategy, he pursues that goal regardless of the means necessary to achieve it.

Technique - 5: Using his great control he aims for places that prevent the opponent from attacking. Once an opening presents itself, he utilizes his sure kill move.

Kurobe's Memo:
He is fixated on victory to an almost unhealthy degree. However, maybe that is what spurs his development. I am curious to see what level he can reach in the future.


Side Image Text 1 + 2: Depending on the opponent's weak point, the nature of his One Cut technique changes.

Side Image Text 3: He takes on skilled opponents by sealing their strong points.

 

[Kaoz]

Kigarashi Taniyoshi
Also known as the "Gambler of the Court." Despite this nickname, his strength is the real deal and has the skills to back up his hazardous playstyle.

Supplemental Info:
- There are rumors of him running a secret underground casino at his school, however, so far nobody has been able to confirm its existence.

Height: 188 cm
Weight: 83 kg
Handedness: Left
Eyesight: Right: 2.9 Left: 2.9
Special Technique: -
Playstyle: Aggressive Baseliner
Shoes: New Balance MC 996v2 D
Racket: Tecnifibre TFight 300 Dynacore

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: April 18th (Aries)
Blood Type: O
Hobbies: Walking shelter dogs
Family Members: Grandfather - Grandmother - Father - Mother - Younger Sister - Younger Brother
Committee: Student Council
Favorite Color: Gold
Favorite Food: Yakiniku
Thing he wants most: Breathing Mask
Thing he is bad at: Luck
Specialty outside of tennis: Mahjong

Stats

Speed - 4: Normally, he moves at an average speed, however, once the adrenaline rushes through his blood, his court coverage improves significantly.

Power - 4: Even though his regular strength is already sufficient, his shots become even faster the more his accuracy increases.

Stamina - 4: He can easily last even through close sets, but when he is in high spirits, it is almost as if he does not feel any fatigue at all.

Mental - 4: The more impossible shots he lands, the more excited he becomes. It seems his body releases more adrenaline than normal at that time which causes his level to rise significantly.

Technique - 6: Whether it's the cord of the net or the outer edge of the line, he only ever aims for the most difficult spots. The fact that he can win like that borders on a miracle by itself.

Kurobe's Memo:
The shots he goes for are outrageous and once he gets rolling, there is no stopping him. However, if he does not manage to establish himself early on in the match, he loses quickly - he is an all-or-nothing player. I hope he can further improve his consistency in the future.


Side Image Text 1: Barely scratching the line even on a second serve shows his determination to go through with his style no matter what.

Side Image Text 2: This manic smile marks the beginning of the end.

 

[Kaoz]

Yoshimasa Handa
When he entered the camp, he was the weakest player of his generation. However, through hard work and determination, he climbed all the way to 1st court. Currently leads 4th court to strengthen promising talents.

Supplemental Info:
- Due to his history, he has earned the respect of many.
- He runs 10 km every day in addition to the regular training menu.

Height: 183 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 1.0 Left: 1.0
Special Techniques: Justice Cannon Serve - Handa Kick - Ultra Beam - One Shot Kill - Flexing
Playstyle: All Rounder
Shoes: Head Nitro Pro
Racket: Dunlop Biomimetic F5.0 Tour

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: August 3 (Leo)
Blood Type: O
Hobbies: Bodybuilding - Superhero Shows
Family Members: Father - Mother
Committee: Beautification Committee
Favorite Color: Red - Blue - Yellow - Pink - Green
Favorite Food: Seaweed
Thing he wants most: Action Figures
Thing he is bad at: Jokes - Arrogant People
Specialty outside of tennis: Cleaning

Stats

Speed - 4: While normally moving at an average speed, his acceleration and vertical coverage are off the charts when he uses his special kicking technique.

Power - 6: His might far exceeds that of the average player. Is there even a limit to his potential power?

Stamina - 5: No matter how often his enemies strike him down, he will rise time and time again. However, sometimes he pushes himself too much when trying to fulfill his comrades' expectations.

Mental - 3: Despite having a strong mental fortitude, he cannot handle it when someone's attitude does not reflect the nature of a serious battle.

Technique - 4: He possesses a wide variety of special moves. Even though their effectiveness cannot be disputed, they are only situationally useful.

Kurobe's Memo:
He is the very definition of the phrase "From Zero to Hero." Even though he has improved so much already since first entering the camp, there is no telling which heights he can reach if he continues to apply himself. He should try to become a bit more flexible, however.


Side Image Text 1: One of his finishing moves, the Justice Cannon Serve, adds his partner's strength to his own.

Side Image Text 2: He does not tolerate anyone disturbing peace.

 

[Kaoz]

Masato Kishimoto
An aspiring doctor whose meticulous gameplan destroys the opponent's confidence and leaves them paralyzed.

Supplemental Info:
- His family owns a hospital.
- He follows the nutrition guide his brother developed for him.

Height: 186 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 1.5 Left: 1.5
Special Technique: Phantasm
Playstyle: Counter Puncher
Shoes: Yonex Power Cushion Fusion Rev
Racket: Yonex EZONE Ai 100

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: February 11th (Aquarius)
Blood Type: O
Hobbies: Jogging - Sleeping
Family Members: Grandmother - Father - Mother - Older Brother
Committee: Health Committee
Favorite Color: Amethyst
Favorite Food: Kinpira
Thing he wants most: Alarm clock
Thing he is bad at: Being on time
Specialty outside of tennis: Pharmacy

Stats

Speed - 6: By using advanced movement techniques, he is able to position himself perfectly before every shot which gives him enough time to prepare for executing his precise strokes.

Power - 4: His strength is great enough to not get overpowered.

Stamina - 3: While he has sufficient stamina for regular sets, he starts having problems when the match turns into an endurance battle. In order to make full use of his play style and continue until the opponent makes mistakes in long rallies, he has to raise his stamina.

Mental - 4: He has a wide field of vision and is good at seeing through his opponent's next move, however, he still becomes too easily discouraged at times. By developing a greater mental fortitude, he should be able to follow through with his own style even more effectively.

Technique - 5: The control he has over the ball is astounding. By manipulating the spin and course of each shot, he forces his opponents to commit errors and strips away their confidence.

Kurobe's Memo:
His unorthodox style of forcing the opponent into committing errors and making them seem like unforced ones is quite nasty. Rather than just losing points, it becomes a mental burden for the opponent as well. His weakness is drawn-out matches; if he wants to secure a position on the 1st string, training his endurance is a necessity.


Side Image Text 1: The rotation on the ball makes it rise or drop slightly just as the opponent is about to return it. Due to this, hitting with the super sweet spot becomes almost impossible.

Side Image Text 2: By using the Phantasm he either jams the opponent or forces them to overhit.

 

[Hardy]

I've been reading them as you were releasing them, and -while I do have some comments on them... but that'll be another day- I'm wondering if you created them a bit too... strong? Like, I love their concepts, but I kind of think they should have a stat total of 20 at most, or you theorize that the 1st court is good enough to try to get the lower 10 places in the 1st string? Because, to me, the 1st string as a whole -minus Akiba, who didn't really have a chance to show his skills anyway- seemed to be on a different level compared to the rest of the camp.

Also, I'm really curious about it so I'll just ask it now, why is Taniyoshi ¨bad with luck¨? Is it because he loves to gamble but his luck doesn't help -which wouldn't really fit his profile as a player that does risky shots- or is it because his good luck ¨forces¨ him to keep on gambling? If it's the latter, would Sengoku be a good partner for him ? If it's the former, how fast would he be 6-0'ed by Sengoku '-' ?

Masato Kishimoto

...if he wants to secure a position on the 1st string, training his endurance is a necessity.

1st court* o/ nvm I can't read

 

[Kaoz]

I'm wondering if you created them a bit too... strong? Like, I love their concepts, but I kind of think they should have a stat total of 20 at most, or you theorize that the 1st court is good enough to try to get the lower 10 places in the 1st string? Because, to me, the 1st string as a whole -minus Akiba, who didn't really have a chance to show his skills anyway- seemed to be on a different level compared to the rest of the camp.

@Bold: Yes. The difference between the 1st and 2nd string is overblown because 12-19 beat up 3rd and 4th court, but that fails to take into account that those players shouldn't have had to play those opponents. If you look at the 2nd string ranking again, you have Migihashi as the only 2nd court player at 11 and then it goes straight on to 3rd court, but that's because the BJB eliminated all the other 2nd court players when they returned to the camp. Not to mention Nakagauchi, the only challenger who ranked in the top 10, actually got Ban's spot in the end, and of course both Tokugawa and Oni did or would've put up a good fight against their respective opponents.

It also doesn't really make much logical sense to have a challenge where one side has no chance of winning anyway. Because of all that I'm pretty convinced that it only ended up that way due to those specific circumstances and that the 1st court players would've been able to do a decent job against the G10 even if they wouldn't have won.

Also, I'm really curious about it so I'll just ask it now, why is Taniyoshi ¨bad with luck¨? Is it because he loves to gamble but his luck doesn't help -which wouldn't really fit his profile as a player that does risky shots- or is it because his good luck ¨forces¨ him to keep on gambling? If it's the latter, would Sengoku be a good partner for him ? If it's the former, how fast would he be 6-0'ed by Sengoku '-' ?

I tried to establish a framework for each player based on the meaning of their names' kanji and Taniyoshi's implies a lot of luck. But I also thought having someone at that level who is all about luck wouldn't be very interesting, to instead I decided to go with a more ironic route. The idea is that Taniyoshi is incredibly unlucky, but because he plays like that and is a good gambler and such people think he is incredibly lucky instead - in reality he's just very skilled though.

--- Double Post Merged, Aug 28, 2016, Original Post Date: Aug 25, 2016 ---

-while I do have some comments on them... but that'll be another day

So, what about this?

 

[Hardy]

I was out the entire weekend, tomorrow I'll drop the thoughts. Im too lazy right now btw sorry '-'

--- Double Post Merged, Sep 8, 2016, Original Post Date: Aug 28, 2016 ---

K so here I go. First of all, I'd like to ask you how do you think these players would do agains the likes of Mitsuya, Date, Hakamada and Fuwa. Do you think they are better than the bottom 3 of the 1st String -not only the players you ¨created¨ but their real counter-parts.

Second, I really like how you inspired yourself in some characters and poured some of that in some others, I'll go back to that later -EDIT: I didn't remark this specifically, but you can see some comparisons I did with already existing players.

Third, you did a great job roleplaying as a Coach ^^

-Sekine: his Progressive Synchro is basically what we saw Niou doing to the Mutsus? Would it work in Singles? Its ¨peak¨ is Sekine's limit to predict his opponents? If that is the case, if he were to develop a better Mental would that mean that said ¨peak¨ would increase?

I went back and read one of the Mutsu's description in speed, it says:

¨-Speed - 4: He is quick to respond on the ad side of the court. Since his speed in doubles is influenced by predetermined movement patterns, it is worse in singles.¨

Having that in mind, and knowing that Sekine is mostly a doubles player, wouldn't that mean that with his 3 in speed he would have some serious struggles in Singles?

-Ishimaru: he's terrible with ships just as Tanegashima is terrible with planes ? How does he feel about ties? Could you make some examples to show how One Cut could work on different moves? It's by far what interests me the most in this guy.

-Taniyoshi: well, I asked you about him already. Tbh when I read his name the first thing I was expecting was reading some Tezuka references as in the Fan League he was basically Nationals! Tezuka. Is Taniyoshi basically an improved/more interesting version of Aoi Kentarou?

Edit: going back to a match of him vs Sengoku, do you think that he could BARELY miss some shots due to Sengoku's luck, and that it could end up frustrating Taniyoshi?

-Handa: he sounds a bit like Kaidou to me -which is a good thing. Kaidou started as a not SO impressive player, but with his determination and hard work -he always seemed to train more than the rest- he managed to be ahead of Inui's data -and I think he's the only non super high tier player that did that- and in the end he became Seigaku's captain and one of the best players in the series.

I'm assuming he went to the loser's camp. If that's the case, did he leave rather early or he had to stay there for a good while? His Justice Cannon sounds a bit like Goku's Genki-dama, would you say its a good comparison?

How would he feel around Akaya, would he bite his seaweed hair? '-'

-Kishimoto: this is going to sound silly but reading his profile I can think of some character development to him -if he were to be a manga character about to get a bugg. As a Counter Puncher he probably plays far from the net, but being close to the net is where I think he would show the best of his skills, because:

-He's extremely fast -so that probably means he has great reflexes and a superb net coverage.

-His profile literally says that he won't be overpowered thanks to his strength, which is a weakness many serve and volley players have in PoT.

-His stamina is quite low. Until he improves it, a perfect way to solve it would be playing short rallies.

-¨He has a wide field of vision and is good at seeing through his opponent's next move¨. Perfect definition for a player volleying.

-Playing at the net would fit his playstyle of ¨forcing errors¨ greatly, as it would provide him a great tool to pressure his opponent. His technique is impressive so he should be able to get use to volleying with ease.

Talking about the character himself, I don't super get what you meant with ¨forcing his opponent to jam¨. Would it sort of be like what Yukimura does making his opponents lose their sense of tact -but not so extreme-, so the opponent can't control his strength and either hits the ball too strong or too weak?

Him making a very slight rotation in the ball -which allows him to almost perfectly seal SPOT- reminds me a bit of that match in the anime that Ryoma and Fuji had, where IIRC Ryoma was hitting the net slightly forcing Fuji to miss his counters.

...and that's it kinda. I'd like to know if there is any meaning behind the favourite colours you picked for the players and if it's related to their playing style -same for their hobbies.

In which of the schools we know would you have some these players btw?

Edit: after checking the fanbook thread, I might bump it if you don't mind, it's a great resource of data and it's quite buried by other threads at this point

 

[Kaoz]

First of all, I'd like to ask you how do you think these players would do agains the likes of Mitsuya, Date, Hakamada and Fuwa. Do you think they are better than the bottom 3 of the 1st String -not only the players you ¨created¨ but their real counter-parts.

I definitely believe these guys are a step above No. 18-20. I don't really want to compare them to Date since I still feel like Date is hiding something that might put him on a higher level than we currently know, but I'd say the strongest of these guys would be able to play good matches against their respective G10 opponents. Like I said before, Tokugawa did well against Byoudouin and we know Tanegashima - Oni is an even match-up, so I would expect that kind of trend to continue, although Irie wandering off might distort the level again.

If you look at Tokugawa and Irie (and in my opinion Oni as well, but I can't prove it), they have low stats in comparison to the top of the 1st string, but then they have something else to make up for that in terms of special abilities, so I tried to design these guys the same way.

Overall, I'd put them somewhere around Fuwa level (maybe slightly above, hard to say since we haven't seen Fuwa go up against Mouri for instance) with the exception of Sekine who'd be more around Ban and Hakamada in singles.

-Sekine: his Progressive Synchro is basically what we saw Niou doing to the Mutsus? Would it work in Singles? Its ¨peak¨ is Sekine's limit to predict his opponents? If that is the case, if he were to develop a better Mental would that mean that said ¨peak¨ would increase?

Yeah, it's similar to what Niou did. The differences are that he can do it against any opponent and that he can't do it instantly - in that sense his abilities are a combination of Niou's and Nitobe's (if memory serves) from Yamabuki. And yes, it does work in singles.

"Peak" refers to, like, the percentage of how much he's synchronized with the other players. The idea is that not X amount of time passes and he suddenly gets into their heads, but that it builds up progressively. I think if his Mental improved it would rather cut down on the time needed to reach the peak than the peak level itself.

Having that in mind, and knowing that Sekine is mostly a doubles player, wouldn't that mean that with his 3 in speed he would have some serious struggles in Singles?

Yes, that's correct. Out of these characters he's the only one who ended up below Nakagauchi in the ranking, so I felt he should match up badly against him. The two options were to either go for low Speed or low Stamina, but I decided to go with Speed since that's something you can cover for with tactics in doubles and in my mind high Stamina also had better synergy with his special ability than high speed.

As you can probably tell I wanted to give each of them the 6 in a different stat, which also played into it.

-Ishimaru: he's terrible with ships just as Tanegashima is terrible with planes ? How does he feel about ties?

Yeah, since they're both from an island and the only ways to get off of it are by plane and by ship I thought this seems like some small thing Konomi would throw in. His hobby and favorite colors are also inspired by Tanegashima for that matter.

I'm guessing the ties are referencing Tanegashima and Oni? I think Ishimaru strongly dislikes them.

Could you make some examples to show how One Cut could work on different moves? It's by far what interests me the most in this guy.

Hm I'm not sure what a good way to describe it would be... maybe think of it as something like Yuushi's 1000 techniques under one label and with a different purpose. It's not something he would just throw out, but it's supposed to seal points 100% of the time after backing the opponent into a corner. This could for instance mean to pin the opponent behind the baseline and then hit a drop shot, or also to lure them in, throw them off balance and then hit them into the face.

If I had to sum it up it's the ability to recognize an opening and convert it into a point, of course again mirroring Tanegashima's ability to void all surekill techniques.

-Taniyoshi: well, I asked you about him already. Tbh when I read his name the first thing I was expecting was reading some Tezuka references as in the Fan League he was basically Nationals! Tezuka. Is Taniyoshi basically an improved/more interesting version of Aoi Kentarou?

Yeah, I used both Taniyoshi and I think Sekine in the fan league before to fill different rolls. The way I made him here, you could indeed describe him as a superior Aoi in a way though, yeah. There are still a lot of differences, however. Taniyoshi is much more versatile in the sense that he goes for all the crazy shots, not just cord balls in particular, and for him it's also the thrill of landing them, period, rather than the comeback factor or trying to impress anyone.

Edit: going back to a match of him vs Sengoku, do you think that he could BARELY miss some shots due to Sengoku's luck, and that it could end up frustrating Taniyoshi?

I could see that. I think Sengoku would only benefit from it if it happened early on though. Once Taniyoshi's gotten going he wouldn't be particularly bothered by a miss here and there I think.

I'm assuming he went to the loser's camp. If that's the case, did he leave rather early or he had to stay there for a good while?

Ah, Mifune probably tormented him to no end. If I had to guess he stayed there for quite a while, he might've even been on the verge of getting kicked out completely. It's an interesting question though, maybe I'll write about it someday.

His Justice Cannon sounds a bit like Goku's Genki-dama, would you say its a good comparison?

Hm not sure. It's certainly not the inspiration for the move. As you might be able to tell, Handa references a bunch of superhero shows - Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Onepunch Man, My Hero Academia - and the Justice Cannon in particular is based on the Sentai combo weapons. It's a really powerful shot, but can only be executed under the following conditions: it's a doubles only technique that requires the partner to be left handed and can then only be used when serving from the ad side of the court. Basically the partner strikes the ball from behind Handa to give it extra power.

I'm sure this is literally impossible in practice, but I doubt that's a solid counter argument at this point.

How would he feel around Akaya, would he bite his seaweed hair? '-'

Sure, why not.

-Kishimoto: this is going to sound silly but reading his profile I can think of some character development to him -if he were to be a manga character about to get a bugg. As a Counter Puncher he probably plays far from the net, but being close to the net is where I think he would show the best of his skills, because:

Those are some pretty good arguments. The only issue might be that he potentially wouldn't be able to hit Phantasm anymore from that position, just because carefully manipulating the power and spin on a volley should be more difficult than doing it on a ground stroke. That said, once the opponent starts crumbling, using serve and volley plays sounds like a great option to keep up the pressure to me while conserving stamina as you said.

Talking about the character himself, I don't super get what you meant with ¨forcing his opponent to jam¨. Would it sort of be like what Yukimura does making his opponents lose their sense of tact -but not so extreme-, so the opponent can't control his strength and either hits the ball too strong or too weak?

Him making a very slight rotation in the ball -which allows him to almost perfectly seal SPOT- reminds me a bit of that match in the anime that Ryoma and Fuji had, where IIRC Ryoma was hitting the net slightly forcing Fuji to miss his counters.

Both of those examples are basically correct. My inspiration for Kishimoto comes from the One Outs main character Toa. Toa can only pitch fastballs, but he can manipulate the rotations on the ball at will which forces the batters either into bad hits or missing completely. The idea here is similar except that since it's much easier to hit with a tennis racket than a baseball bat, the opponent missing isn't really an option. That's why the small changes in trajectory, rotation and power make the opponent either hit the net or out.

The Mirage guy in the anime filler did something similar if you need another comparison, but I try to forget about him.

...and that's it kinda. I'd like to know if there is any meaning behind the favourite colours you picked for the players and if it's related to their playing style -same for their hobbies.

Like I mentioned earlier, Ishimaru references Tanegashima's a little. Handa's are the colors of the original Super Sentai squad and I went with gold for Taniyoshi for gambling and money. For the other two I tried to pick something that I thought fit them from here.

In which of the schools we know would you have these players btw?

Good question. Sekine is kind of out here since we don't know any Hokkaido schools besides the one of that girl who tried to spy on Ryoma. Though you could maybe create an interesting tie-in there, I'd have to think about it. For Handa, since he didn't have much talent but kept going at it anyway, I think he might've gone to the same school as one of the current G10 and gotten inspired by them - if I had to pick one I'd say Makinofuji.

Ishimaru would've gone to the same school as Tanegashima, but we don't know which one that is of course. If I have to pick between known schools I'd probably put Kishimoto into either Yamabuki or Shitenhouji, Banda in particular would probably love his style. Taniyoshi on the other hand I can't place at all, to me it feels like he could've gone anywhere and you could make it fit.

Edit: after checking the fanbook thread, I might bump it if you don't mind, it's a great resource of data and it's quite buried by other threads at this point

I've stickied it for the time being.

 

[Hardy]

I'll reply more deeply later -sorry ><- but I'd like to remark that -now that I understood it- Justice Cannon is similar to a shot that is seen a bunch of times in Captain Tsubasa:

Spoiler

Edit: yes they are hitting a volley after immediatly after receiving a pass from the guy behind them.

This one is funnier tho

The Genki-dama idea sounded silly although a bit cool but it would make no sense in PoT -although kids smash walls and do black holes so who knows.

The Mirage Guy was supposed to be the best in his team yet he didn't even make it into the filler camp, that's how liked he was '-'

Do you plan on doing any more in the future? -doesn't have to be the near future.

 

[Kaoz]

Ah yeah, the Captain Tsubasa comparison works. I forgot they did that.

Do you plan on doing any more in the future? -doesn't have to be the near future.

Well, I don't think there's any more material really, or is there? I don't want to do the guys from 11th to 13th court that dropped out at the beginning and them aside I feel like I'm lacking information. Ideally I'd want to have a character's full name, roughly their level and a potential opponent. I guess Migihashi would qualify, so I could do a proper one for him and expand on the mini profile Konomi did.

Basically, I'd definitely be willing to do more profiles, I just don't really know whose. If you or anyone else has ideas, feel free to request one and I'll see if I can come up with something.

One thing I do want to do is to write a match for Kishimoto, Taniyoshi, Ishimaru and Sekine each and offer an interpretation of what would've happened if they hadn't waited for the BJB to show up after the 1st string had returned. And I guess the side story flashback for Handa now that you've brought that up.

 

[Hardy]

Well, I wrote that having Migihashi in my mind -and I guess there should be enough info to do Sakata and Kadowaki although that's prolly not the most thrilling activity ever. You could also do your own take on some of your favourite characters that didn't get a translation -hell, you could even do that to characters that weren't called to the camp.

I would definetly be interested in reading those matches, you have any idea who they would play against? -or, at least, which characters would make an interesting match against them if we follow the profiles you did.

Edit: crap, even better than camp rejects, you could do some profiles of international players, and the memos could be an analysis of how much of a threat the player is and what match-up could favour Japan.

 

[Kaoz]

Migihashi should be doable. Kadowaki and Sakata I'm iffy on, and like you said, they wouldn't be particularly worthwhile either way. From the camp rejects, I could offer Kiraku and maybe some of the Nagoya guys. I guess Saeki if anyone wants me to do one for him, I'm not too keen on that one myself though.

I don't really want to do players that already have full profiles or are likely to get them in the next fanbook. If some of the international guys don't get one in 20.5 though that's a different story.

I would definetly be interested in reading those matches, you have any idea who they would play against? -or, at least, which characters would make an interesting match against them if we follow the profiles you did.

Yeah, I already know the match-ups:
Ochi/Mouri vs Migihashi/Yamato
No. 4 vs Taniyoshi
Kimijima/Tohno vs [I have something in mind, but it's a secret.]
Duke vs Kishimoto
Kaji/Ohmagari vs Ishimaru/Sekine

 

[Kaoz]

Itarou Migihashi
He will show you his perverted fascination with the right side. With his iron will, he excels at leadership.

Supplemental Data:
- He is the former court leader of Court 2.

Height: 188cm
Weight: 77kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight (Unaided): Right: 1.5 Left: 0.8
Playstyle: Right Rounder
Shoes: Prince Prohold Tour VII CG DPS2C7
Racket: Prince EXO3 Black 100

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: 8/4 (Leo)
Blood Type: Type B
Hobbies: Looking up information on an idol group called The Chocolates
Family Members: Father - Mother - Little Brother - Older Sister
Committee: Student Beautification Council
Favorite Color: Warm Color types
Favorite Food: Deep Fried Bread Crusts
Thing he wants most: The Newest Chocolates Album
Thing he is bad at: Sketchy looking people
Specialty outside of tennis: Messing around with PCs

Stats

Speed - 5: His agility allows him to cover the entire court with ease. Gaps in his defense become apparent only due to his insistence on running around shots aimed towards his left side.

Power - 5: By stepping into the shot and putting the weight of his entire body behind the ball, he is able to fire off powerful blows. This also means, however, that his power drops considerably when he is out of position.

Stamina - 5: Since he moves around a lot to cover for his left side, he has developed a high level of endurance to keep up with his competitors.

Mental - 1: The stubbornness he displays regarding his own playstyle is unparalleled. He needs to overcome this self-imposed limitation if he wants to break into the top ranks.

Technique - 5: Through continuous refinement, the form with which he hits his forehand is nothing short of perfect and sets him apart from the rest.

Kurobe Memo:
A problem with him is his low interest in the left side of the court. It is an urgent matter to strengthen his mental.


Side Image Text 1: He can hit multiple balls at once. However, since he completely ignores his backhand in the process his true limit is unknown.

 

[Kaoz]

Michael Detlef
One of the pros we have on the team this year. He is a little too easygoing, however when it comes to tennis I can't describe him as anything but reliable.

Supplemental Info:
- His parents own a butchery and a high-class steakhouse.
- He has made numerous attempts to change Kunimitsu's diet, so far without success.
- In order to raise his concentration, he prays before every match.

Height: 193 cm
Weight: 89 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 2.0 Left: 2.0
Special Technique: Hand Gottes
Playstyle: All Rounder
Shoes: Nike Zoom Cage 2
Racket: Pacific BX2 X Force Lite

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: October 18
Blood Type: O
Hobbies: Grilling - Football
Family Members: Father - Mother
Committee: None
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Food: Sausages
Thing he wants most: Weights for weightlifting
Thing he is bad at: Studying
Specialty outside of tennis: Butchering animals

Stats

Speed - 5: Supplemented by his high tennis IQ, he is fast enough to have earned the nickname "The Wall."

Power - 5: Despite his bulk, the balls he hits aren't particularly powerful. He needs to build up his muscle strength further and put more weight behind his shots to truly catch up to the international elite in this area.

Stamina - 8: The level of endurance he possesses surpasses even Volk's. Because of this he still has plenty of energy to spare even when he pushes his body past its limits.

Mental - 5: While it is hard to disturb his pace under normal circumstances, sometimes he becomes absolutely furious. When that happens, the power of his shots increases, but his concentration inevitably drops.

Technique - 8: The kinds of shots he can hit surpass common sense. Being able to hit any shot at any time and making full use of everything the court has to offer is what sets him apart from his competitors.

Q.P.'s Memo:
Both his offensive and defensive capabilities are superb. Since he also radiates stability and easily gets along with others, he might be the most potent doubles player on the team. Not only that, playing at the professional level means he is perfectly capable of shutting down most opponents by himself too. I only wish he wasn't so persistently trying to meddle in my menu creation for the other players.

 

[Kaoz]

Franz Becker
A pro with two faces. Does he employ tricks to secure victory or merely for his own amusement?

Supplemental Info:
- Supposedly his pro contract contains several unusual clauses.
- During the summer he worked part-time in the human resources department of an advertising agency.

Height: 190 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Handedness: Right
Eyesight: Right: 2.0 Left: 2.0
Special Technique: Cannon Ball - Underhanded Serve - Skill Adaptation
Playstyle: All Rounder
Shoes: adidas adizero Ubersonic 2
Racket: Volkl Classic V1 DE

School Year: High School 3rd Year
Birthday: November 22 (Scorpio)
Blood Type: AB
Hobbies: Poker
Family Members: Grandfather - Grandmother - Father - Mother - Older Brother
Committee: Student Council President
Favorite Color: Gold
Favorite Food: Potatoes - Spinach
Thing he wants most: Calculator
Thing he is bad at: Polluted air
Specialty outside of tennis: Escape rooms

Stats

Speed - 5: In order to surprise his opponent in key moments, he purposefully slows down his movements during the first half of the match.

Power - 8: He controls the pace of the match with his powerful serve. The various mix-ups he has in his repertoire increase its effectiveness even further.

Stamina - 5: After refining his breathing technique, he is now able to perfectly conceal his fatigue and leave the opponent guessing.

Mental - 7: If necessary, he goes to great lengths to disturb the opponent's pace all the while staying perfectly composed himself. The longer the match goes on for, the larger this psychological gap becomes.

Technique - 6: Possessing superior technical skill, he freely adopts other players' special moves and makes them fit his own style. By selecting moves that are meaningful to his opponents, he aims to crush their spirits.

Q.P.'s Memo:
The fact that he can face opponents head-on while still having a great bag of tricks to fall back on makes him quite troublesome to play against. Thus, players without excellent mental fortitude have essentially no chance of beating him.

 

[Kaoz]

Something different today. I decided to pick up on a story from the shuffle match information of the pair puris and try my hand at a mini chapter based on that. Here are the relevant parts:

Pair Puri 4
Court 13
In essence, Mizuki is taking control of the practices...

Minami did not have a match. Mizuki had a match with a player from the 6th court, but he lost.

Pair Puri 5
Court 13
With practice methods designed by Mizuki, this court is currently being revitalized.

Mizuki and Minami have no match. Mizuki's advice was effective and popular even among the high schoolers.

I thought about giving Minami some lines, but he's so plain, he probably wouldn't have any. Instead, please imagine him showing up once on every page without actually saying anything if you'd like. Finally, regarding the format, I only wrote down what would be in the text bubbles because I don't like descriptive texts for something like this, so use your imagination for the rest.


Golden age 22.5: Mizuki's Revolution

Page 1
Narration: While the losers are training diligently in the mountains, a revolution is about to start on the bottom courts!
Ref: Game won by Satoyama, 5-4.
Box: U-17 Selection Candidate (13th Court): Hayate Matsushita (High School 2nd Year)
Matsushita: Shi... shit, how could I net my backhand like that!?
Mizuki: Nfufufu that winner turned into an error. (small: Tragic.)
Title: Golden age 22.5: Mizuki's Revolution
Matsushita: What was that, brat!?
Matsushita: Don't act all high and mighty, you lost your shuffle match earlier too!

Page 2
Mizuki: Indeed. Even I cannot research so many players in this short amount of time...
Miuuki (thought): Those damn coaches... I didn't expect them to match me up with a 6th court player yet.
Mizuki: ...But as far as you guys are concerned, you're like an open book to me.
Matsushita: Kuh you little...
Mizuki: Hayate Matsushita, a 2nd year from Hyougo's Okakura. A speedy counter puncher who takes control of the match with his strong backhand.
Matsushita: !

Page 3
Mizuki: However, in high pressure situations, your wrist becomes too stiff. As a result, your shots are too flat and you're twice as likely to make an error.
Satoyama: What's going on over there?
Box: U-17 Selection Candidate (13th Court): Taro Satoyama (High School 2nd Year)
Satoyama: I haven't seen that middle schooler play yet, but he lost in today's shuffle matches.
Satoyama: Doesn't that mean he's one of their weakest?
Mizuki: ...so pay close attention when hitting backhands and add extra spin to the ball.
Ref: Time!
Mizuki: Ah, one more thing...

Page 4
Ref: Game set won by Masushita, 7-5!!
Satoyama: What just... I didn't win a single point in the last three games...
Satoyama: !
Satoyama: Hey, you! What did you tell him earlier!?
Mizuki: Nfufufu what did I tell him?
Mizuki: Your weak points of course.

Page 5
Satoyama: My... weak points? Don't fuck with me, there's no way you could've...
Mizuki: Would you like me to show them to you again, hmm? Then have a match with me.
Mizuki: In fact...
Mizuki: How about you all go up against me?
Mizuki: I will unveil all of your weak points right here and now!

Page 6
No text

Page 7
Ref: G... game set won by Mizuki, 6-0!!
Matsushita: I can't believe it... he beat all of us without breaking a sweat...
Mizuki: Now, now, don't sell yourself short! I merely exploited some weaknesses in your game.
Mizuki: But if you can patch those up, I'm sure you will rise through the ranks in no time.

Page 8
Box: The next day
Mizuki: Bend your knees more!
Mizuki: Satoyama, you have to take the shot earlier!
HS: Hey, Mizuki, can you look at my service form?
[In the monitor room.]
Saitou: The 13th court players are pretty lively. Weren't they all defeated by that middle schooler yesterday?
Kurobe: He started giving them advice after the matches.
Kurobe: Not only that, the rate at which they are improving is exceeding my expectations.
Kurobe (thought): Hajime Mizuki... I wanted to pit him against someone from the middle courts again, but maybe he is better suited for a different role.
Saitou: Ooh would you look at that! There's something interesting about to happen over there too!
Yukimura (on a monitor): Why don't you just hand over the top spot... and save yourself some suffering?
Narration: Just who is Yukimura battling!?

 

[Hardy]

That change from Mizuki to Mitsuki got me confused for a second, thought they were different characters

It was really fun to read, and it made me think how much the bottom courts... well, suck. We keep hearing the current MSer gen is a golden one, so -even though at first, as I was reading, it seemed silly- it makes sense that Mizuki could 6-0 them all.

I never saw the Jimmies plain tbh -even though that is basically their whole character-, specially Kentarou. I blame it on the anime and the games.

 

[Kaoz]

That change from Mizuki to Mitsuki got me confused for a second, thought they were different characters

I thought I'd gotten over this, but apparently I still typo the names of characters and actual people. Thanks for catching that.

It was really fun to read, and it made me think how much the bottom courts... well, suck. We keep hearing the current MSer gen is a golden one, so -even though at first, as I was reading, it seemed silly- it makes sense that Mizuki could 6-0 them all.

Mizuki's court ranking is incredibly suspicious if you think about it. In the last one we got to see in chapter 47, he's still on 9th court with all the other MSers being 7th court or higher. I bet Minami would've been on 6th court too if the 12 player cap didn't exist. There's frankly no way that Mizuki is weaker than Minami, let alone two courts weaker, so the fact that Konomi put him on a separate court with a gap in between him and the others probably means something - I'm not completely sure what that something might be, but I bet it holds some significance.