Luly
Argentina
The best live action Tenipuri I've seen to date
I'm sure this review is unnecessary, considering this title came out a minute ago and my opinion isn't worth much but I'd be dishonoring my younger self if I didn't give credit where credit is due where a Prince of Tennis product is concerned.
Like the title says, this might be my favorite live action adaptation of Prince of Tennis (without counting tenimyu, because that's another beast entirely). Hands down.
Even though the characters and teams were re-named (due to the switch of country), their personalities were fleshed out really well and the characterization was delivered with a lot more nuance than I had anticipated. The relationships between the characters was explored more than in other live action versions and they chose their focus well.
The age of the characters was increased, going from the original middle school age (which is whacky bananas at this point, Konomi, that 40-year-old-looking-man is not 14) to a more believable high school age, with actors over the age of 20. That worked, not only because it fits the target audience better, but also because they were able to go in depth with added conversations I was super impressed with.
My favorite, for example, was that they gave Oishi/DaYong a struggle with anxiety that made his fight with Eiji/Jiale a lot more intense when it happened and the match against this version's Hyotei a lot more meaningful. It works really well narratively-wise to deepen his journey as a vice captain, considering his abilities and the situation regarding Tezuka/SiYang's health, with something like that, and they handled it really well.
They also gave Sakuno/Qi Ying more room, as well as her relationship with Ryoma/Lu Xia, which gives the show a bit more of a romantic flare than the original, not enough to interrupt the tennis, but enough to sustain the show in a market of cdramas by its own.
The references to the original were everywhere (cakes with chibi versions of the characters included) and, despite the insatiable censorship, the tension between the characters that the anime loves to play with was there 100%, for whoever wants to know.
All in all, I hope with all my heart this gets another season and we can see them at Nationals because it's been a blast and there's still more Prince of Tennis to adapt with a cast as great as this one.
Like the title says, this might be my favorite live action adaptation of Prince of Tennis (without counting tenimyu, because that's another beast entirely). Hands down.
Even though the characters and teams were re-named (due to the switch of country), their personalities were fleshed out really well and the characterization was delivered with a lot more nuance than I had anticipated. The relationships between the characters was explored more than in other live action versions and they chose their focus well.
The age of the characters was increased, going from the original middle school age (which is whacky bananas at this point, Konomi, that 40-year-old-looking-man is not 14) to a more believable high school age, with actors over the age of 20. That worked, not only because it fits the target audience better, but also because they were able to go in depth with added conversations I was super impressed with.
My favorite, for example, was that they gave Oishi/DaYong a struggle with anxiety that made his fight with Eiji/Jiale a lot more intense when it happened and the match against this version's Hyotei a lot more meaningful. It works really well narratively-wise to deepen his journey as a vice captain, considering his abilities and the situation regarding Tezuka/SiYang's health, with something like that, and they handled it really well.
They also gave Sakuno/Qi Ying more room, as well as her relationship with Ryoma/Lu Xia, which gives the show a bit more of a romantic flare than the original, not enough to interrupt the tennis, but enough to sustain the show in a market of cdramas by its own.
The references to the original were everywhere (cakes with chibi versions of the characters included) and, despite the insatiable censorship, the tension between the characters that the anime loves to play with was there 100%, for whoever wants to know.
All in all, I hope with all my heart this gets another season and we can see them at Nationals because it's been a blast and there's still more Prince of Tennis to adapt with a cast as great as this one.
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