Prince of Tennis, The Box Set 2 (DVD) (Japanese Animation) >Out of Print<

As the first season of the popular shonen (boy’s) series Prince of Tennis concludes, the Seigaku Junior High team is preparing for a city-wide tournament that could propel them to a new level of competition, and 7th grade ace Ryoma Echizen is confronting his personal demons. Much of the story is devoted to a preliminary match with Fudomine Academy, whose team is led by a proudly independent student-coach. Ryoma suffers an injury while playing an underhanded opponent, but recovers using the “Two Sword Style,” a technique for switching hands in mid-play developed by his father, legendary pro Nanjiro Echizen. That victory reveals Ryoma’s problem: he emulates his father while seeking to escape from his shadow. Team captain Kunimitsu Tezuka pressures Ryoma to develop his own playing style and become the “Pillar of Seigaku.” These adventures grow more entertaining as Ryoma’s icy facade crumbles and he befriends irrepressible Takeshi “Momo” Momoshiro. In addition to Momo, other team members emerge as interesting secondary characters: They win Ryoma over with their celebratory hijinks in a sushi bar after beating Fudomine. In short, the second collection of Prince of Tennis is far more enjoyable than the first.