Prince of Tennis (2019)
Nov. 10th, 2021 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Prince of Tennis, a.k.a. The Prince of Tennis: Match! Tennis Juniors (also known as Fen Dou Ba Shao Nian) is a live-action Chinese adaptation of the Japanese Prince of Tennis franchise. It is a Netflix Original Series, first released in China in 2019 before being made available internationally, and has 40 hour-long episodes.
I was not at all familiar with the Prince of Tennis franchise previously before watching this. I was only vaguely curious because while I don't watch the sport myself I have family members that have done so from time to time (and I played the classic tennis video game on NES when I was a kid, and that's how far my knowledge of the sport goes), so naturally I was just mildly curious about whether or not the show was at least going to be accurate in certain parts of the sport alone. Mild curiosity turned into being intrigued with where the story was going and wanting to know more about the characters, and has now it has become my next biggest obsession. It was rather unexpected, as with most things I end up becoming obsessed with, and I count this among one of the best new fandoms I've discovered this year. Based on my observations, those who know of the franchise have have praised the Chinese adaptation saying that it stayed true to the source material, and doing some research on my own (to understand which characters were based on who) they really did try to be as accurate as possible, and that is something I really appreciate just in general.
(Sidenote, I've had the main theme and ending theme stuck in my head for weeks now, and I'm not complaining, they're upbeat songs that make me feel happy.)
** First, one of the official music videos made in promotion for the show, because I just can't not share it:
** I love and adore all of these precious idiot boys for different reasons, but I came out from watching this drama with four ultimate favorites: Zhang Baiyang, Yan Zhiming, Mu Siyang, and Ji Jingwu.
** When I started watching I had no prior knowledge of anything involving the characters or how incredibly shippy the drama actually is, which based on research the entire franchise is filled with so much potential ships and plenty of slashy vibes because, obviously, and this was no exception to that. So, I ended up having certain OTPs that I loved by the end of watching: Chi Dayong/Tang Jiale (aka the Golden Pair), Mu Siyang/Ji Jingwu (aka the Imperial Pair), Zhang Baiyang/Qiao Chen (aka the Rival Pair), and Zhang Baiyang/Yan Zhiming (aka the Emerald Pair). I also OT3 Yan Zhiming/Zhang Baiyang/Qiao Chen, as well.
** The entire drama had so many good moments, though throughout all forty-episodes there were particular storylines and arcs that really stuck out to me, personally.
I know that shows centered around sports might not be everyone's thing, but I consider this something similar to that of Friday Night Lights where while it is featured it's less about the sport itself and more about the development of the characters and the camaraderie they have with one another, that's the main draw that pulled me in. Well, that, and the lighthearted and charming nature of the drama itself. It has a good mixture of heartfelt moments and wacky shenanigans, and going along with its own genre, for those unfamiliar with manga/anime in general, it's definitely of the "crack treated seriously" category since some of the tennis moves and styles are defying physics and gravity and clearly not something that happens in real life and it can be absolutely ridiculous, but you accept it because of what it's based on and you come to love it because of that. Again, it's part of the charm.
Apparently there is a petition about getting Prince of Tennis a second season, however while that would be lovely I don't think it'll happen since most Asian dramas, especially cdramas, are often a one-and-done kind of a deal. There are, of course, some exceptions to this. I, personally, wouldn't mind there miraculously being a spin-off movie with them at Nationals because I do crave more content with these characters that I've grown emotionally attached to. With that being said, I'm happy with what we got. It was a fun ride and I enjoyed it for what it was. ❤
I was not at all familiar with the Prince of Tennis franchise previously before watching this. I was only vaguely curious because while I don't watch the sport myself I have family members that have done so from time to time (and I played the classic tennis video game on NES when I was a kid, and that's how far my knowledge of the sport goes), so naturally I was just mildly curious about whether or not the show was at least going to be accurate in certain parts of the sport alone. Mild curiosity turned into being intrigued with where the story was going and wanting to know more about the characters, and has now it has become my next biggest obsession. It was rather unexpected, as with most things I end up becoming obsessed with, and I count this among one of the best new fandoms I've discovered this year. Based on my observations, those who know of the franchise have have praised the Chinese adaptation saying that it stayed true to the source material, and doing some research on my own (to understand which characters were based on who) they really did try to be as accurate as possible, and that is something I really appreciate just in general.
(Sidenote, I've had the main theme and ending theme stuck in my head for weeks now, and I'm not complaining, they're upbeat songs that make me feel happy.)
** First, one of the official music videos made in promotion for the show, because I just can't not share it:
** I love and adore all of these precious idiot boys for different reasons, but I came out from watching this drama with four ultimate favorites: Zhang Baiyang, Yan Zhiming, Mu Siyang, and Ji Jingwu.
** When I started watching I had no prior knowledge of anything involving the characters or how incredibly shippy the drama actually is, which based on research the entire franchise is filled with so much potential ships and plenty of slashy vibes because, obviously, and this was no exception to that. So, I ended up having certain OTPs that I loved by the end of watching: Chi Dayong/Tang Jiale (aka the Golden Pair), Mu Siyang/Ji Jingwu (aka the Imperial Pair), Zhang Baiyang/Qiao Chen (aka the Rival Pair), and Zhang Baiyang/Yan Zhiming (aka the Emerald Pair). I also OT3 Yan Zhiming/Zhang Baiyang/Qiao Chen, as well.
** The entire drama had so many good moments, though throughout all forty-episodes there were particular storylines and arcs that really stuck out to me, personally.
→ Pretty much any time Lu Xia confronts someone who is a bully and gives them a taste of their own medicine. It happens a few times in the drama, but two really standout which is when he confronts the punk who was bullying his friends and Xinglong, and who also inadvertently hurt Lu Xia while he was protecting his friends, and he challenges him during a game. That was satisfying to watch, because we got to see him being a cheeky little troll as he defeats him. The other time is towards the end of the drama where he is playing against a punkass kid who was talking shit, who also happens to be a member of the team they are competing against in their next (and final) game, and this is where Lu Xia essentially "levels up" his playing style. I kind of wished we'd see him go against him again during the game, but we got a good challenge with Lu Xia versus the opposing team's vice captain to further his leveling up skills, but nevertheless it was satisfying seeing him put that punk in his place, especially when he started speaking English which the other couldn't understand.** Something I really appreciated about the drama is how it gradually sets the pace and shows us the development of the characters and what they're going through. The Yu Qing tennis team are introduced to being a fantastic team with talented players, but the show doesn't allow them to get cocky, and it even shows us them kind of getting a bit relaxed before reality hits them that they really shouldn't get too comfortable where they are because the more games the win the more challenging the teams they'll face will be. Another thing that I appreciated is seeing that, even though some of the opposing teams are basically "antagonists" to our main team, aside from a few nasty characters here and there, they aren't really that bad because they, like them, just want to win. Some of them are good sports despite losing and it was nice seeing them sitting in the stands watching the Yu Qing team playing in the final game. I just love the way the story progresses and the developments that are given, even minor characters that appear are fleshed out as being three-dimensional people in such a way that you wish you'd seen more of them. It's probably one of
→ The entire tennis training camp arc was perhaps some of the best episodes for numerous reasons, mostly for having all the characters together in a single location and having them overcome their struggles. Not all their problems are solved, of course, but we get some developments and realizations of what some of them were lacking and confronting certain conflicts they were having, individually and with each other, which at the end helped strengthen their purpose of continuing forward to hopefully winning future games in order to get to nationals. It was just having some nice heartfelt character moments, particularly with Chi Dayong and Tang Jiale finally talking out the issues they've been having, along with the amazing interactive moments with Baiyang and Zhiming where Zhiming ended up carrying Baiyang on his back when he was injured, strengthening that trust between them. And of course Xinglong coming to realize that he really wants to play tennis after all and wanting to be back on the team (and Siyang going, "you never left", awwww).
→ The match between Siyang and Jingwu, which took an entire episode (and a half). It was such an intense match with a lot of (unresolvedsexual) tension between the two, and it gave us background through flashbacks on how Siyang got his elbow injury in the first place along with his determination of continuing to play despite risking his well-being. Never mind that we got to see a completely different side to Jingwu. In the end while Siyang unfortunately lost the match, Jingwu wasn't celebratory at all and instead he raises Siyang's hand during their after-match handshake which was a powerful moment (and yes, I'm aware that this was directly lifted from the anime, but the way it was done in this drama was so beautifully done and you could see the emotions in Jingwu's face, the confusion and admiration and confliction all at once). It was so good.
→ Yan Zhiming going absolutely feral during his match in the final game. Listen, that was so fucking hot, I was caught off guard. There is something about characters who are normally rather calm and put-together just going off the rails and Zhiming did absolutely that. It was an intentional strategic move, of course, to pretend to abandon his data-tennis and just go based on instincts in order to throw off his opponent, but it absolutely was worth it. He went primal, unhinged, and it was absolutely hot as fuck. Yes, this is me being shallow and idgaf. Aside from that though, it was a good character moment of him overcoming an ongoing struggle he was having throughout the series when it came to his data-tennis strategies, that it can be helpful but it's not all there is and here he found that balance while also taking advantage of it at the same time. He won the match and I was so proud of him.
I know that shows centered around sports might not be everyone's thing, but I consider this something similar to that of Friday Night Lights where while it is featured it's less about the sport itself and more about the development of the characters and the camaraderie they have with one another, that's the main draw that pulled me in. Well, that, and the lighthearted and charming nature of the drama itself. It has a good mixture of heartfelt moments and wacky shenanigans, and going along with its own genre, for those unfamiliar with manga/anime in general, it's definitely of the "crack treated seriously" category since some of the tennis moves and styles are defying physics and gravity and clearly not something that happens in real life and it can be absolutely ridiculous, but you accept it because of what it's based on and you come to love it because of that. Again, it's part of the charm.
Apparently there is a petition about getting Prince of Tennis a second season, however while that would be lovely I don't think it'll happen since most Asian dramas, especially cdramas, are often a one-and-done kind of a deal. There are, of course, some exceptions to this. I, personally, wouldn't mind there miraculously being a spin-off movie with them at Nationals because I do crave more content with these characters that I've grown emotionally attached to. With that being said, I'm happy with what we got. It was a fun ride and I enjoyed it for what it was. ❤
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no subject
Date: 2021-11-12 07:09 pm (UTC)My to-watch list is pretty long as it is, but it seems close enough to the anime that we can talk about it. From the trailer, it even looks like they managed to make the special techniques look good.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-13 05:48 am (UTC)They really are! I'm actually impressed with how well they made them.
On a general note, I know it's often a joke about how bad CGI is in cdramas, but it's not something that really concerns me tbh? Yes, sometimes it's quite noticeable and looks cheesy and ridiculous, but sometimes it fits in with the genre and feel the drama is going for. And besides, I tend to forgive it most of the time since I know that it's probably due to limitations of budget and resources, and if I'm engaged with the story it doesn't really matter one way or another.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-13 12:44 pm (UTC)Once you've seen donghua like Scumbag System, any other CGI looks good. lol
What matters the most to me is the characters and the plot. Well, for sports series, just the characters, since the plot itself is pretty similar from one series to another.
If at some point you want to watch sports anime, I recommend Kuroko no Basuke and Yuri on Ice.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-14 10:40 pm (UTC)I've been curious about Yuri On Ice since it was everywhere a few years ago with people going nuts over it.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-15 12:47 pm (UTC)