Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku

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Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku (私立立海大附属中学校, Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku^?), located in Kanagawa prefecture, also known as Rikkai Dai, is one of the rival schools in the manga/anime Prince of Tennis. They were considered to be the best team before they played Seigaku. Rikkai Dai has won the Japanese National Tournament for the last two years, aiming for a third one.

The Rikkai Dai Fuzoku tennis team. Clockwise from the lower left to the centre: Seiichi Yukimura, Masaharu Nio, Hiroshi Yagyuu, Renji Yanagi, Akaya Kirihara, Jackal Kuwahara, Bunta Marui, Genichirou Sanada.

[edit] Role in the story

Rikkai Dai are introduced early on in the story as the imposing back to back National champions. Their role in the story is relatively minimal early on, due to the fact that they are in a different prefecture than where the main action takes place. Once the Kantou Tournament starts, they have a much larger role.

Rikkai Dai defeats the strong Fudomine team with relative ease in the semi-finals, shocking Seigaku. In the finals, they attempt to win their 16th straight Kantou Championship, while playing against Seishun Gakuen.

In the first round of the match, the Doubles 2 match, Takeshi Momoshiro and Kaoru Kaido of Seigaku play against Kuwahara Jackal and Bunta Marui. Although Kaido and Momoshiro persevere for awhile, Jackal and Marui win the match 6-1.

In the Doubles 1 match, Seigaku's golden pair of Eiji Kikumaru and Shuichiro Oishi play against Rikkai Dai's Masaharu Nio and Hiroshi Yagyuu. Initially it appears that Kikumaru, who is hit by a wayward shot, will have to drop out, but he gets back up to continue. Although Oishi and Kikumaru do well for Seigaku, they eventually realize that they've been deceived the entire time, and Yagyuu and Nio had disguised themselves as each other. Rikkai Dai's pair wins 6-4, and puts their school up 2-0, needing just one more match to win.

In Singles 3, victory is close at hand for Rikkai Dai, with Renji Yanagi taking the court against Seigaku's Sadaharu Inui. The two were former teammates from Elementary school, and their familiarity of each other showed early on. In the match between the two data masters, Yanagi seemed to have the clear upper hand. Because of this, Inui abandoned his data and began playing recklessly. When Yanagi seemed to have the game in hand, Inui reminded him that this was the same score of an interrupted match of theirs from 3 years ago. At that point, he realized that Inui had never abandoned the data, but had been manipulating the match to play out the same way all along. At that point, both players got serious, and Inui won the match in a tiebreak (7-6(31-29)), keeping Rikkai Dai from clinching.

Following the match, Sanada attempts to hit Yanagi in punishment for losing, but Akaya Kirihara blocks his hand with his racket, and declares that he'll win the match for them. He faces against Seigaku's genius Shusuke Fuji. Although Fuji's skills are formidable, Kirihara fights back without holding back at all. Once forced into 'Bloodshot' due to the pressure of Fuji's formidable skills, he eventually directs a shot to Fuji's head, causing him to go temporary blind. However, Fuji uses this as a chance to reach even deeper into his skills, and catches up again. In this desperate pinch, Kirihara activates Muga no Kyouchi for the first time. However, despite his regaining of the upper-hand and his use of Sanada's 'Ka' technique, his weaker grip is unable to handle the powerful move and he loses to Fuji 7-5.

In the final match, Rikkai Dai's Vice-Captain Genichirou Sanada is up against Seigaku's cocky first year Ryoma Echizen. Ryoma starts out strongly, unleashing Muga no Kyouchi and taking the first game from Sanada. However, he runs out of stamina quickly, and his skills are no match for Sanada's deadly FuuRinKaZan set of techniques. As the match goes on, Sanada gets up 5-1, and is on the verge of guaranteeing victory for Rikkai Dai. However, Ryoma finally manages to get his strength back and fights all the way back to a 6-5 lead against Sanada. Realizing that Ryoma isn't going to run out of stamina this time, Sanada also enters Muga no Kyouchi, however it is too late as he is unable to return Ryoma's Cool Drive smash, and Ryoma wins the match 7-5, ending Rikkai Dai's streak of consecutive Kantou tournament victories.

While the matchup order does not change, the final scores of each match as well as the progression in the anime are significantly different, especially in Doubles 2, where the scores are complete opposites of each other (crushing 1-6 defeat vs. "close" 5-7).

With the nationals, the matches followed up the same way as the Kanto conference with Rikkai winning the the first two matches, Seigaku winning the next two, and going into all five matches with the last one to decide the winner.

In the Nationals:

S3- Genichirou Sanada vs.Kunimitsu Tezuka - Rikkaidai Wins 7-5

D2- Akaya Kirihara/Renji Yanagi vs. Sadaharu Inui/Kaoru Kaidoh - Rikkaidai Wins 5-1 (Seigaku Forfeits)

S2- Masaharu Nioh vs. Shusuke Fuji - Seigaku Wins 5-7

D1- Jackal Kuwahara/Bunta Marui vs. Shuichiro Oishi/Eiji Kikumaru - Seigaku Wins 5-7

S1- Seiichi Yukimura vs. Ryoma Echizen - Seigaku Wins 4-6

Rikkaidai becomes Runner-up, losing the nationals, unable to fulfill the dream of winning 3 consecutive times in the Nationals.

[edit] Training

Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku provides its tennis regulars with a lot of equipment for increasing their strength and skills, including a gym, ball machines, and many tennis courts. Rikkai Dai doesn't have a coach, which shows Yukimura and Sanada's skills in leadership. Rikkai Dai has a very strict training regimen, which has had spectacular results on the tennis courts. Because of this, they are considered to be "Tezuka class" or National level players. During the semifinal match of the National tournament, Rikkai Dai purposely loses the first two matches to Nagoya Seitoku on purpose for the sake of increasing Akaya Kirihara's strength as a tennis player. After Akaya reveals his progress, Rikkai Dai crushes Nagoya in the last two matches 6-1, 6-0. Takeshi Konomi mentioned in an interview that he had originally not been sure who would be in the finals between Nagoya Seitoku and Rikkai Dai, but he ultimately decided on Rikkai Dai because he felt they were more interesting.^[1]

[edit] Tennis team members

[edit] Seiichi Yukimura

Seiichi Yukimura (幸村 精市, Yukimura Seiichi^?) is a third year and the captain of Rikkai Dai. Yukimura, vice captain Genichirou Sanada, and regular Renji Yanagi are known as the Three Demons (Sannin Bakemono) of Rikkai Dai, since all three joined the regulars when they were first years. Yukimura and Sanada have been Captain and Vice-Captain of the tennis team since they were second years.

Supposedly Yukimura is the best player on the team, as well as the best junior tennis player in all of Japan-- as good as Seigaku captain Kunimitsu Tezuka, or even better. Members of the Rikkai team said once that, as Yukimura is not playing now, the best player is Tezuka, showing that they firmly believed in Yukimura's position as the best player. When the author Takeshi Konomi was asked in one interview who he thought was the best player in the whole story, he answered Yukimura. His playstyle appears to be Counterpuncher, as he effortlessly returns any shot and hasn't been shown to rely on netplay. However according to Shusuke Fuji and Genichirou Sanada, he has achieved Muga no Kyouchi.

Yukimura has a delicate and almost feminine appearance, which contrasts with his strong willpower and a rather stern, brutally honest attitude on court. Still, when not on the court, Yukimura is at first portrayed as a very kind and friendly person, if still proud and dignified; however, it has been verified that his love/obsession for tennis can make him harsh towards other people, as seen when Sanada tries to report the results of the Kanto Finals to Yukimura when he is in the hospital. Yukimura says that he is one of few people that can defeat Sanada and seems confident that he can defeat Keigo Atobe of Hyotei.

After going through a successful surgery on the day Rikkai Dai lost the Kanto Finals to Seigaku, Yukimura has returned to lead his team in the National Tournament, where they have managed to make it to the Finals against Seigaku. Although Sanada usually plays in Singles 1, he played in Singles 3 this time, leaving Yukimura to play against Ryoma in Singles 1.

Just prior to facing Ryoma, Tooyama Kintarou challenged Yukimura to a match. Yukimura accepts, and promptly defeats Kintarou in a decimating fashion without taking his jacket off his shoulders. He is referred to at this moment as the Child of God. According to Gin Ishida, anyone who plays Yukimura loses all their senses and goes into a state of 'yips', caused by extreme nervousness, causing one to lose control of his/her body.

On his match with Ryoma, Yukimura returns all of Ryoma's shots. Even with the Muga and (the two doors), Echizen fails to equalize. However, after he wins 4 games, Ryoma finally activates Tenimuhou no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Perfection). Yukimura could not return any of the shots that Ryoma hit due to the "Last Door of Muga". Although Yukimura eventually stating returning Ryoma's shots including the Samurai Drive, he eventually loses all the remaining games to his despair.

The conclusion of the last chapter shows him smiling and shaking Ryoma's hand demonstrating his graceful nature despite his defeat.

Voiced by: Sachiko Nagai (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Yagami Ren

Stats

• Birthday: 5th March
• Height: 175cm
• Weight: 61kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Counter Puncher
• Family: Grandmother, parents, younger sister
• Blood Type: A

Special Moves/Shots

Creeping Shadow (manga)

A move that slowly steals the opponent's senses--first touch, then sight, then hearing. Is possibly the cause of the 'state of yips' that his opponents suffer. Kintarou, who played Yukimura shortly before Echizen, explains that one's body stops responding as a result of Yukimura returning every single shot, causing one to subconsciously "no longer wanting to even cross the net". As a result, "the body gradually loses it's ability to move". First seen in Genius 375 in his match against Echizen.

Muga no Kyochi (State of Self Actualization)

This technique allows the user to naturally imitate the opponents move and style. This move can be attained by going beyond your limit. This move can be improve by opening the doors of this move. Yukimura is not yet seen to use this move but Fuji noted (in the OVA) that Rikkai Dai's Yukimura, Sanada, Chitose in Kyushu and Tezuka can use this move.

[edit] Genichirou Sanada

Genichirou Sanada (真田 弦一郎, Sanada Gen'ichirō^?) is the team's third-year Vice-Captain, and served as the temporary captain while captain Seiichi Yukimura was on leave to treat his illness. Sanada, Yukimura, and Renji Yanagi are known as the Three Demons of Rikkai Dai, as all three joined the regulars when they were first years. He and Yukimura have been Captain and Vice-Captain since they were in second year.

Sanada comes from a very traditional family (his grandfather and father are the owners of a famous kendo dojo), is stern and noble, plays with honor, and expects the best from both himself and his teammates. In fact, he insists that people on his team are not supposed to lose, and there have been instances where he slapped his teammates for either losing or not obeying the Rikkai Dai rules off-court.

In the anime, he has the extraordinary ability to swing his racket at an incredibly high speed so that his swings and serves become "invisible". This renders the opponent unable to predict where the ball will land. He is characterized as unquestioningly loyal to Yukimura. In the anime, he plays a match with Ryoma Echizen before the actual match and crushes him 6-0. However, in the manga, Akaya Kirihara plays Echizen before the match, and Sanada slaps Kirihara when he finds out both because Kirihara didn't ask him for permission and, more importantly, because he lost.

Voiced by: Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Kanesaki Kentarou

Stats

• Birthday: 21st May
• Height: 180cm
• Weight: 68kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: All-Rounder
• Family: Grandfather, parents, older brother
• Bloodtype: A

Special Moves/Shots

Invisible Swing(anime)

His Invisible Swing has a very simple concept behind it despite the very destructive power and speed it has. Basically, Sanada had mastered an incredibly fast swing, making it near invisible for normal naked eyes to see the exact swing, hit and spin of the ball he handles. His swing doesn't work for people like Ryoma Echizen or Eiji Kikumaru, though, because of their extraordinary ability to see moving things more clearly with their inborn enhanced eyesight.

Invisible Serve(anime)

The Invisible Serve is essentially the same thing, except this time, it's a serve swing, and not a return swing. It has the same concept and does the same thing. Despite the simple concept, it does a lot to hinder the opponent from a successful return, since there is no sure way of seeing the speed, direction and spin of the ball.

Fuu Rin In Ka Zan Rai (Wind Forest Shadow Fire Mountain Lightning)

This was the name given to Sanada's special moves in the manga. The first of these special moves was Fuu (wind), an extremely fast swing which is based on the quick sword drawing technique. This is the move where most likely his invisible swing was based on in the anime. The next of his moves that was shown in the manga is Ka (fire), an extremely powerful ground smash. His other moves are Rin (forest) and Zan (mountain), which have not been shown in the manga yet, although it has been hinted that both Renji and Atobe was defeated by these two moves. When performing the "Fuu Rin Ka Zan"; Sanada would usually say a phrase for each of his moves, e.g. "swift like the wind" for Fuu, "silent as the forest" for Rin, "Invade like fire" for Ka, and "immovable like a mountain" for Zan. When he does Rai, he says "strike like lightning". It is also noted that each of his attacks elemental based: as such, the Fuu (wind) move can be used to counter the Ka (fire) move. Later in the manga, during his match against Tezuka in the national tournament, Sanada also reveals In, which makes him unreadable and thereby can confuse Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami, and Rai. Rai is a technique that gives him very fast movement and also allows him to hit balls that bounce at strange angles to the court. The only person to successfully return Rai is the Rikkaidai captain, Yukimura.

[edit] Renji Yanagi

Third-year Renji Yanagi (柳 蓮二, Yanagi Renji^?) is also known as the Data Master, as he is a data specialist. Renji, captain Seiichi Yukimura, and vice captain Genichirou Sanada are known as the Three Demons of Rikkai Dai, as all three joined the regulars when they were first years. Yanagi usually plays Singles 3, but is still an excellent doubles player; he has played doubles with Sanada, and lately with Akaya Kirihara.

Before entering Rikkai Dai, Renji lived in Tokyo and was the friend and former doubles partner of Seigaku's Sadaharu Inui. Inui used to call him 'kyojyu' (Japanese for 'professor'), and in return, Yanagi called him 'hakase' ('doctor'). He keeps his eyes perpetually half-closed just as Inui hides his eyes behind his thick glasses.

Yanagi is quiet, mysterious, soft-spoken and has a somewhat acid sense of humor, though he is somewhat more approachable than the aloof and serious Sanada. Still, Yanagi can be as rough as the other Demons when required; in the manga, he once hit Kirihara for asking him a stupid question in public, and also asked Sanada to slap him after he lost against Inui.

Voiced by: Eiji Takemoto (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Ono Kento

Stats

• Birthday: 4th June
• Height: 181cm
• Weight: 67kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Counter Puncher
• Family: Grandparents, parents, older sister
• Blood Type: A

Special Moves/Shots

Kamaitachi (Whirlwind Slice)

A high speed slice with a very powerful cut.

Utsusemi (Cicada)

Used in the manga during the finals in double match with Kirihara against Inui-Kaidoh pair. This is a slice shot like Tezuka's Zero-Shiki Drop Shot in that the ball will not bounce, but instead it rolls forward and not backward.

[edit] Hiroshi Yagyuu

Third-year Hiroshi Yagyuu (柳生 比呂士, Yagyū Hiroshi^?) is known as "The Gentleman" for his polite demeanor, especially in comparison to his doubles partner Masaharu Niou. His special move in the anime, the Golf Swing, is an adaptation of a golf swing from his days in the golf club prior to his recruitment to the Rikkai Dai tennis team by his current doubles partner. In the manga, his special move is the Laser Beam, an extremely high speed technique that is difficult to return. Though usually calm, a latent aggressive side is apparent during tennis matches. In the manga, he and his partner Niou pull off a switch where each impersonates the other in appearance, persona, and play style for half the game. He also pulls off a switch with Kaoru Kaidoh in a later incident. Yagyuu does not play in the National Finals, since Niou plays Singles 2 against Fuji and the Doubles 1 spot is taken by Jackal and Marui, while Yanagi and Kirihara take Doubles 2.

Voiced by: Eisuke Tsuda (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Baba Tooru

Stats

• Birthday: 19th October
• Height: 177cm
• Weight: 64kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Serve and Volley
• Family: Grandfather, parents, younger sister
• Blood Type: A

Special Moves/Shots

Golf Swing

By assuming the position of a golfer, he can deliver a very fast return. This is exclusive to the anime.

Laser Beam

A very fast shot that can be hit with either forehand or backhand- it is easily recoginisable due to the pose he falls into in its aftermath. This move is seen both in the manga and OVAs. Kaoru Kaidoh can also use this technique.

[edit] Masaharu Niou

Third-year Masaharu Niou (仁王 雅治, Niō Masaharu^?) is thought to be one of the scariest people on the court because of his tennis style. An all rounder, he specializes in trick play, hence the nickname "The Trickster". He can guess an opponent's move about 10 moves ahead. Niou uses black wristbands that supposedly tap his potential and physical strength, and he refuses to take them off in any circumstances. In the manga, he pulls a switch with his doubles partner, Yagyuu, and the two impersonate each other's appearance, persona and play style for half the game. Against Fuji in Singles 2 at the Nationals finals, Niou completely simulates Tezuka. Niou's reflection completely reflects Tezuka, able to utilize all of his techniques except the Zero-Shiki Serve. Behind 6-5 to Fuji, Niou stops his simulation of Tezuka and instead simulates Shiraishi, the only player who has defeated Fuji thus far in the manga. However, Fuji decides to counter by unveiling his 6th Counter, Hoshi Hanabi, defeating Niou 7 games to 5.

Voiced by: Yūki Masuda (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Nakagauchi Masataka

Stats

• Birthday: 4th December
• Height: 175cm
• Weight: 62kg
• Dominant Hand: Left
• Play Style: All-Rounder
• Family: Parents, older sister, younger brother
• Blood Type: AB

Special Moves/Shots

Laser Beam

Niou demonstrates his ability to use this move during his match against the golden pair (manga) and his match against Nagoya Seitoku in the Nationals (anime). The shot is a straight shot, characterized by its incredible speed and accuracy.

Meteor Drive

By launching the ball that high in the air, it creates a super high lob shot which hard to return by the opponent. He never used the technique in reality but it is seen in Inui's nightmare (he dreamed about Fuji losing to Niou 0-5, then he used Meteor Drive).

Copy/Illusion

Niou has the ability to copy the playstyle of any player he wants. Not only he copies the Moves of the players but their complete playstyle and appearance creating the Illusion his opponent is facing another person, it was stated by Fuji that this technique is unable to copy a certain move from the copied player.

[edit] Bunta Marui

Bunta Marui (丸井 ブン太, Marui Bunta^?) is a third year volley specialist and self-proclaimed genius, cocky and cheerful. He has stamina issues, so he overdoses on sugar (such as bubblegum and sweets, according to the anime). He is almost always seen blowing bubblegum, even when he plays tennis. He plays doubles with his friend Jackal Kuwahara. Jirou Akutagawa of Hyotei idolizes Marui and bases his style off of Marui's style, following a game they played in the Newcomers Tournament when they were both first years. In his recent match against Kikumaru and Oishi, he did not chew any gum during the match.

Voiced by: Naozumi Takahashi (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Kiriyama Renn

Stats

• Birthday: 20th April
• Height: 164cm
• Weight: 62kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Serve and Volley
• Family: Grandmother, parents, two younger brothers
• Blood Type: B

Special Moves/Shots

Tightrope Walking (Tsuna Watari)

A drop shot in which the ball rolls horizontally along the top of the net, much like a tightrope walker.

Metal Bell Hit (Tecchu Ate)

A shot that hits the iron pole that supports the net.

Temporal Difference Hell (Jikansa Jigoku)

Technique unknown; he seems to feint a smash, then catches it on his racket from behind his back instead and thus returns it differently at the last moment. Was used in the Finals match against Kikumaru and Oishi.

[edit] Jackal Kuwahara

Jackal Kuwahara (ジャッカル 桑原, Jakkaru Kuwahara^?) is half-Brazilian. This third-year is known as Rikkai Dai's Iron Wall of Defense and plays doubles with his friend Marui. He shaves his head as a tribute to his old coach in Brazil who taught him tennis despite the fact he wasn't exactly the best then. At the Kanto cofnerence, Jackal is shown to have the arm training Kaoru Kaido has to return a Boomerang Snake also around the net post. He often takes care of Kirihara off-courts (in fact, he was once slapped by Sanada when he lost track of Kirihara). In the anime, he told Kirihara to stop making rude remarks to Tachibana, captain of Fudomine who was injured by him in the Kantou semi finals. In the fandom, Jackal is often sympathized with, as he isn't usually listed in a list of characters. He is the only Rikkai Dai regular without a special move, although it's possible that he used one recently in the match against Kikumaru and Oishi.

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Yuuki Jutta

Stats

• Birthday: 3rd November
• Height: 178cm
• Weight: 69kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Counter Puncher
• Family: Parents
• Blood Type: O

Special Moves/Shots

Iron Wall of Defense

A style in which his defensive play is so great that no shots can get through.

[edit] Akaya Kirihara

Second-year Akaya Kirihara (切原 赤也, Kirihara Akaya^?) is often depicted as a demon in the anime, because his very aggressive play is capable of hurting his opponents. His first appearance is very early in the manga's run, when he mistakenly falls asleep on the bus on his way to school. Instead of getting off at Rikkai Dai, he wakes up at the last stop, which incidentally is Seishun Gakuen, in Tokyo. He decides to check out the tennis club, and he causes a lot of trouble at the tennis courts before he runs into Ryoma Echizen.

When he gets really excited about his matches and is able to fully concentrate, his eyes become bloodshot and his ability improves dramatically for a short span. This happens in the manga when Ryoma Echizen challenges him to an unofficial match before the matches between Seishun Gakuen and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. Ultimately, Akaya is defeated by Ryoma's sudden awakened State of Self-Actualization. He is defeated for a second time by Syuusuke Fuji during the Kanto tournament finals match with Seigaku, though it was a very close match and he even achieved some evolution of his own.

Akaya usually looks cheerful and happy-go-lucky, but this is not his only side. On-court, if his opponent is putting too much unwanted pressure on him, a more aggressive side shall be visible (i.e. his state of 'Bloodshot'). Along with Niou, he is one of few who have stood up against Sanada; in the manga, he blocks Sanada's hand with his racket to defend Yanagi from being slapped after his loss to Inui.

Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (Japanese)

Portrayed by (in the musicals): Ookawa Genki

Stats

• Birthday: 25th September
• Height: 168cm
• Weight: 61kg
• Dominant Hand: Right
• Play Style: Aggressive Baseliner
• Family: Parents, older sister
• Blood Type: O

Special Moves/Shots

Phantom Ball [Anime Only]

The Phantom Ball does not appear until after Kirihara's match with Seigaku's Shusuke Fuji. It was a new technique he had developed in order to prove to everyone that he was willing to change into a better person, and he didn't need shots that hurt his opponents in order to win. He first used this shot during his unfinished fight with the American Team's Kevin Smith.

This shot uses inhuman speed and extraordinary amount of hit precision and force application in order to produce the necessary spin for the ball to seemingly land in one area, disappear, and then bounce off from another area. The spin and speed of the ball creates an illusion of temporary disappearance, and then reappears at another place, in order to unsettle the opponent and prevent a return.

Knuckle Serve

The Knuckle Serve is a more powerful version of the Kick Serve and the Twist Serve. Those three have essentially the same concepts behind them, but they differ in spin speed, acceleration and force. The Knuckle Serve is the most powerful and destructive of three, followed by Ryoma Echizen's Twist Serve, and Ibu Shinji's Kick Serve.

Red Snake

A technique copied from Kaoru Kaidoh. He uses it during the 2nd match of 1st doubles against Inui-Kaidoh vs Kirihara-Yanagi. However, this shot causes physical harm to the opponent as it flies by their face.

[edit] References