Hyotei Gakuen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] School system

Hyotei Gakuen (氷帝学園中等部, Hyoutei Gakuen Chuutou Bu^?) is one of the schools in the manga/anime series Prince of Tennis. Hyotei is on an elevator system, meaning that provided one passes the exam at every level, students may move up the academic ladder from primary school to university. The school's headmaster is Teruzane Sakujii.

[edit] Curriculum

The curriculum at Hyotei allows students to choose their own subjects. Subjects are divided into "specialised" and "generalist" subjects in which, through the specialised subjects, students can expand their knowledge for a career in specialist related fields. It is up to the student to take specialised or generalist subjects. 　

[edit] The Study Abroad Program

In preparation of a multi-cultural society, Hyotei Gakuen has arranged the study abroad program. This allows students first-hand experience with over-seas students from the four sister schools Hyotei has around the world. Many find this a valuable experience and also find possible career paths through this rare experience.

[edit] Extra curricular activity

Hyotei also puts strength into its after-school sporting clubs and Student Council Chamber. By participating in these extra curricular activities, students are able to gain a wide range of experiences and responsibiliies as a representative of Hyotei Gakuen.

[edit] Transport

When travelling to and from school, students must walk or make use of the bus or train. If, however, a parent or guardian is present, private transport methods can be arranged.

[edit] Tennis team

Hyoutei Regulars, clockwise from center: Atobe; Kabaji; Gakuto; Jirou; Shishido; Ohtori; Hiyoshi; Oshitari

Hyotei's strength lies in its strict stratification and merit system, which prioritizes ability only rather than emotion. This allows for the members to reach their full potential. Hyotei is considered a rival school of Seishun Academy Middle School. They two teams compete against each other in the first match of the Kantō region Tournament and in the second match of the National Tournament.

With Keigo Atobe as their leader, Hyotei's tennis club is 200+ members strong. The coach, Tarou Sakaki, chooses the best players of the tennis club as the regulars and the others as assistant regulars. Usually the regulars start to play in the Kantou Tournament, although after losing to Fudomine Middle School, the regulars go up against St. Rudolph Gakuen for the 5th place in the Doh-Daikai.

[edit] Regulars

• Keigo Atobe (跡部景吾, Atobe Keigo^?) - 3rd year. Atobe is the captain of Hyotei Gakuen and the one who leads Hyoutei's tennis club of over 200 members. His play style is All Rounder, and he likes to play long matches against his opponents. He wins against Kunimitsu Tezuka, but the victory does not satisfy him, as Tezuka does not show his true potential because of his shoulder injury. Atobe then loses to Ryoma Echizen in the Nationals.

• Yuushi Oshitari (忍足侑士, Oshitari Yuushi^?) - 3rd year. Play Style: All Rounder. The Tensai (Genius) of Hyotei Gakuen. He can perform Higuma Otoshi (one of Shusuke Fuji's Triple Counters) perfectly and makes the Momoshiro Takeshi's Dunk Smash useless. He is called 'Oshitari of the one thousand skills'. He plays Doubles with Gakuto Mukahi in the Kantou Tournament against the Eiji Kikumaru-Takeshi Momoshiro pair and Singles in National Tournament against Takeshi Momoshiro, winning 6-4. Oshitari is originally from Kansai. Oshitari also plays the violin pretty fluently, as shown in the nationals.

• Jirou Akutagawa (芥川慈郎, Akutagawa Jirou^?) - 3rd year. Play Style: Serve and Volley. Jirou is considered the "magic volleyer" of Hyotei Gakuen. His play style was inspired by Rikkai's Bunta Marui during a match two years ago. In the Regional Tournament, Jirou defeats Yuuta Fuji (Shuusuke Fuji's younger brother), whom Echizen had a considerably tough time facing, in only fifteen minutes. Later on, in the Kantou tournament, Jirou plays Shuusuke Fuji. It is revealed that he has very flexible wrists and can return almost any shot. In the end he loses 6-1 against the third of Fuji's Triple Counters, Hakugei. When Jirou is not sleeping (which is rare), he's a very bouncy and happy guy, especially at the court when he's playing strong rivals like Fuji, Marui, or even Atobe. For the fact that he sleeps A LOT Jirou has the title of 'the sleeping beauty of hyotei'

• Ryou Shishido (宍戸亮, Shishido Ryou^?) - 3rd year. Play Style: Counter Puncher. After a humiliating defeat at the Tokyo Prefectural quarterfinals against Kippei Tachibana, Shishido is dropped from the regulars. Later, he comes back after defeating starter Haginosuke Taki. One of Shishido's sacrifices to prove his sincerity and that he was worthy of reinstatement is cutting off his precious long hair. He plays doubles with Chotarou Ohtori and is known as Hyotei's "dash specialist" due to his speed and ability to return almost any ball. He often says "geki dasa", which translates roughly to "way uncool".

• Gakuto Mukahi (向日岳人, Mukahi Gakuto^?) - 3rd year. Play Style: Serve and Volley. Gakuto is typically a doubles player who teams up with Yuushi Oshitari. He has acrobatic skills rivaling those of Seigaku's Eiji Kikumaru with his move the Moonsault, in which he flips into the air. In the Kantou tournament he teams up with Oshitari and loses to the Kikumaru-Momoshiro pair. In the Nationals he pairs up with Hiyoshi and again loses on the verge of victory.

• Chotarou Ohtori (鳳長太郎, Ohtori Chotarou^?) - 2nd year. Play Style: Serve and Volley. Chotarou teams up with Ryou Shishido in both the Kanto and Nationals. In both games they barely win their matches. Chotarou has a very fast serve called the Scud Serve, which can go up to 200 km/h. While the Scud Serve is virtually unreturnable, it has limited accuracy until it is overcome by training with Shishido. In the nationals, he redubs it the Neo Scud Serve, which goes up to 215 km/h and goes in every time. Each time he serves, he recites "Ikyuunyuukon"( 一球入魂), which translates to "One Shot to the Soul". Ohtori also plays the piano and violin.

• Wakashi Hiyoshi (日吉若, Hiyoshi Wakashi^?) - 2nd year. Play Style: Aggressive Baseliner. Hiyoshi uses an unorthodox style of tennis he dubs "Enbu Tennis", which combines martial arts with standard tennis. In the Kantou tournament, he ends up playing Ryoma and loses; in the Nationals he teams up with Gakuto and loses again. Hiyoshi's motto is "gekokujou"(下克上) meaning "to defeat the greater and take his place". Hiyoshi is expected to be the next Hyotei captain after Atobe graduates.

• Munehiro Kabaji (樺地崇弘, Kabaji Munehiro^?) - 2nd year. Play Style: Unknown, Changes every time. Kabaji is a powerful hitter, with a strange ability: he is able to copy the moves of anyone he faces. In the Kantou tournament, his match against Takashi Kawamura ends in a draw when both players injure their hands using the Hadokyuu, a move Kabaji copies after seeing Kawamura use it. He later plays Tezuka in the Nationals and loses when he can't control a form of the State of Self-Actualization (Tezuka's Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami). Kabaji is almost always seen together with his captain, Keigo Atobe, whom he has known since childhood. He rarely speaks and answers Atobe's questions only with "usu" (roughly translated as "yeah").

[edit] Sub-Regulars

Haginosuke Taki (滝萩之介, Taki Haginosuke^?) - 3rd year. First Manga Appearance: Volume 14, Chapter 118. Taki was a regular until he was dismissed from the lineup by Sakaki just before the Kantou Tournament for losing to Ryou Shishido, who at that time had been dropped from the regulars. At the nationals, Taki seems to have a small role, telling the other players the speed of Sadaharu Inui's Waterfall.

[edit] Coach

Tarou Sakaki (榊太郎, Sakaki Tarou^?) - 43 years old. As a good coach, Sakaki doesn't tolerate losses and knows how to motivate and push his players to the top. It's well known that Sakaki always keeps the best players for the important tournaments (such as Kantou and the Nationals) and plans the most favorable game strategies (i.e. the distribution of the singles-doubles places). He trusts blindly in Atobe, knowing that Atobe is capable of leading the school name to first place.

• His most known gesture is rising his hand and pointing with two fingers saying "Itteyoshi" ("You may go") when he finishes the advising with the players.
• He's also "just a music teacher" (even the regulars doubt about the "just")