English Dub Review: The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup “Samurai vs Knight”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The #3 singles match between Japan and France comes to a tragic halt when Ryoma gets seriously injured.

Our Take:

Well, isn’t this a pain for us fans of the Prince of Tennis franchise? We finally get the chance to see Ryoma play in the tournament, and all of a sudden, he gets knocked out by his own shot. What a way to scare your teammates, Mr. Tennis Prodigy.  

Last week’s episode and the season finale were supposed to be Ryoma’s time to shine, with him playing against Chardard from Team France. But now it looks like he has to survive his severe injury if he wants to continue playing. Ryoma has been known for never backing down from a challenge and striving to win every match possible, proving himself to be an unstoppable force. But, of course, it isn’t without a few setbacks attempting to hold him back, including his conflict with where he stands regarding the team he’s playing for.

The season finale sees Ryoma tackling two different situations for the price of one. One of them is attempting to awaken before Team Japan gets disqualified. Thankfully, with his friends’ support, Ryoma recovered and continued playing for Team Japan. The only thing standing in his way now is Chardard, whose skills outmatch Ryoma’s in more ways than one. Unfortunately for Ryoma, he has to beat Chardard without using his Hope shot again.

It wasn’t until the ever-lasting tiebreaker that Ryoma tried to go for his ultimate shot again. After a couple of intense counters between the two expert players, Ryoma finally came out on top after performing a drop shot to earn the winning point. However, his performance leaves him highly exhausted, and he faints before he even celebrates. But of course, knowing Ryoma, he’s not going to spend more than a day resting as he quickly prepares himself for his next match.

The season finale has almost everything a fan could’ve wanted out of a Prince of Tennis series. Along with an enticing high-stakes conclusion to Ryoma’s match, “Samurai vs Knight” displays Ryoma and Chardard as honorable players with more in common than they thought. Additionally, it showcases why Ryoma is one of the more beloved characters in anime. He refuses to stand down even when knocked down by a powerful shot and is not afraid to play against anyone who seems impossible to beat. The flashback showcasing Ryoma and his brother stuck in the well is a suitable example, with him refusing to accept defeat after failing to climb out numerous times.

With Team Japan finishing the semifinal match, they’re heading towards another obstacle that stands between them and victory: Team Germany. This important matchup would definitely be the main focus of season two, especially since Ryoma and Tezuka are playing on opposite sides. The question right now is when we’ll be able to see it. Considering how much I enjoyed this journey as a newcomer, I hope that’s soon.