his is a very well done manga. The characters each have a unique personality. The subject of tennis is done very well. But the one thing that I would have wanted to see more progress in, after 56 chapters, is a good love interest. No progress there at all! So I'm dropping it for now. Maybe I'll give a look-see after it hits 120 chapters.

I really want to read this manga, but at the rate the releases come out I'd have to wait three more years just to get to volume 14. I might consider it if a chapter came out each week or even every 2 weeks, but right now I just don't know.

quite frankly one of my fave sports manga to date. I like how the mangaka explores E-chan's overly meticulous personality as a student, a son, and a tennis player. It's quite intriguing how he used that behavior from being the best in class to being the best in the sport, realizing he found his dream in the attempt of trying to stay fit. The mangaka has managed to keep this one simple yet fun, and the pacing is just about right. . .

I got thrown off by some of the bad reviews from the start, but this is a manga that has none of the superfluous BS from POT.

The main character has quite a bit of charisma once you get to know his nature of working hard towards his goals. Not many people dislike others who work hard and doesn't brag about it. In regards to Liquidsin comment, I read up to volume 14 so I will like to point out some things.

- Ei works hard and manages to get a reasonable body that lasts just enough for 1 full tennis match. He even lost a long match due to lack of stamina.
- He has a great personality. He told his parents he wanted to stop studying for cram schools for a full year to concentrate on Tennis alone. How many 16-17 year old teens you know will do such a thing?
- He does gather data outside of the matches, but more than anything he does it in game against a strong opponent to reflect upon his mistakes and come up with a strategy for lack of experience.

Reading until this far, I felt that the pace is slightly slow and think that the rivalry section isn't right there yet. Looks like it will be really baby steps for a pretty long while.

Edit: Read up to volume 19 (with some really shoddy japanese knowledge). This manga is really quite awesome and makes you sort of cheer for the main guy. Can't wait to see more. Ahh, but it best be reading 10 volumes in 1 shot. This manga is slow...

... Last updated on December 16th, 2011, 9:23am

The only problem is that we only have, almost, 6 volumes to 17 that exist T_T

I'm not the kind of guy who thinks he has the right to actually hurry the scalation, but i wish there would be more.

I thoroughly enjoy this manga! It's one that I'd love to buy just to have it if I could get it here in the States. I like reading it so much that I go back and forth (much easier if it's on paper) between the pages and read them again and again. This is a very well written manga.

Responding to the main character being "weak", as one reader wrote:
I read the comment that one reader wrote that he/she thinks the male protagonist is 'weak'. I completely disagree. Just because someone takes notes and follows those notes does not make them weak. This is the same character that immediately started physical training so as NOT to be weak in the game, so I have to disagree with you. Look up V.A.R.K. Some people learn by seeing something (Visual). Some by hearing (Aural). Some by reading &/or writing the information (Reading/writing). And others by hands-on (Kinesthetic). Most people are able use all of them to some degree but most lean to one or two preferred styles - because that's the way we're made. It's how our minds are wired to learn and process information and everyone's brain is wired differently. It has nothing to do with weakness. Ei-chan (Maruo) would be a Visual and Reading/writing learner. He learns by seeing and by reading/writing. And he internally processes the information learned. It's why he does well in school. A Kinesthetic learner would have to do what that other reader suggests because he would have to externally, physically, 'do' the plan first to visualize it and learn it because that's how he learns and processes information - externally. Have you ever met someone who's great at sports and terrible in class? That person is probably not lacking in ability to learn nor in intelligence. He/she is probably just a Kinesthetic learner and unless they receive help, Kinesthetic learners frequently struggle in school regardless of their level of intelligence. So the next time you encounter someone whose learning style is different from your own, remember that a particular learning style doesn't have anything to do with either intelligence or strength.

... Last updated on May 9th, 2011, 9:28pm

I don't mean to say that this is the best sports manga (probably far from the truth) but something about this one just struck out at me. I think it was the main character actually. In an age of manga where main characters are either endearingly stupid or scary smart Ei-chan is somewhere in the middle and its refreshing. He's actually very smart compared to most characters but he's far from super geniuses like L and Akiyama. The tennis is also interesting and creative playstyles abound in sport which I thought was pretty cut-and-dry. Over-all I think this manga hinges on the main character, if you like him keep reading, if you hate him drop it.

This manga is enjoyable and simple; very laid back but pretty exciting as well at times. Ei-chan is responsible, sweet and serious, a rare commodity in shounen manga, and I like that he doesn't automatically win everything; he works hard for everything he gets. He's also smart. Perfecting everything you put effort into is an ideal I feel good about applauding.

... Last updated on August 6th, 2013, 12:35am

The mangaka absolutely and undeniably failed when he created the main character. Within every chapter, his image and personality grind away at my mind to the point where I wonder why I even read this series.

Main Character: Maruo Eiitirou

Looks

• Unique, in other words he has a fugly hairstyle that makes his face look like a fish.
• Baby face and oversized eyes which only add to the problem. They also destroy any possible hope of masculinity in the main character though that's another issue entirely.
• Weak physique that contradicts him ever being competitive in the sport of tennis. I also don't see how the mangaka expects the readers to believe that his endurance can keep up with the perseverance aspect.

Personality

• Meticulously annoying. He carries the same style of data tennis as Inui from PoT while having none of his redeeming qualities.
• Weak. Like his physique, he has a meek personality.
• Rather than gather data before the match, crunching the numbers, and then forming a strategy, "Ei-chan" does it all in the very game he's playing.

Biased or not, I have come to despise this potentially good manga because of a single character. Unfortunately, this character can't be killed off or pushed to the sidelines which he rightfully deserves. Test this manga though it's not one I'll recommend to friends.

... Last updated on May 5th, 2016, 7:52pm

Can't tell if the main character is a genius or if he's awesome because he works hard. I guess it's a combination of the two. Certainly, you can't deny that he trains his ass off to improve his skills, so first you think, "Oh, he's just an average kid who surpasses expectations because he puts in the effort." But then you see the way his mind works during matches and you're like, "What the hell is he? Nobody can think like this in these situations." But that's what makes Maruo so unique. He's kind of a genius when it comes to processing large amounts of data and analyzing what they all mean and organizing them in way that allows him to form plans of attack against his opponents (sometimes on the fly). On the other hand, he's not physically gifted, so he has to train his average body to be able to do the things his superior mind knows he needs to do during matches.

So yeah, this is a manga where you get to see the main character train hard to improve himself and sweat and bleed to earn his victories, as well as see him blow the minds of spectators with his one-of-a-kind, almost machine-like mental ability.

Makes for an interesting read.

... Last updated on June 20th, 2014, 3:57am