Rokkaku Middle School
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Rokkaku Middle School (市立六角中学校 Rokkaku Chūgakkō?) is a fictional school that appears on Prince of Tennis, mostly known amongst their rivals for having a freshman captain.
Their manager, an old man of few words who is always called "Oji" on the series, is a racquet manufacturer who creates special wooden racquets for his players, taking into consideration their skills and personality.
Rokkaku has a big playground incorporated into it that is always open to the neighborhood kids. Their tennis courts are right next to this playground, exposing the children to tennis at a very young age so that they can eventually join the tennis team as they enter the school.
After qualifying to the National Championships after making the semifinals in the Kantō regional tournament (where they were defeated by Seigaku), Rokkaku faces the tournament's 'dark horse', Higa Chuu of Okinawa, whose regulars play very dirty. Oji is hospitalized after being hit by a ball intentionally shot by Yuujiro Kai, which infuriates not only the Rokkaku players but also the Seigaku regulars, who are watching and cheering for their friends. Though Rokkaku puts up a good fight, they lose all five games to Higa Chuu and are eliminated (Higa is then eliminated by Seigaku). However, they stay to cheer for Seigaku during Seigaku's quarterfinal match with Hyotei Gakuen.
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[edit] Members
[edit] Kentaro Aoi (Captain)
Voiced By: Toyonaga Toshiyuki 1st year. Aoi is a cheerful and talkative freshman who does not show any signs of arrogance despite being the captain of a national level tennis team at such a young age. He often plays Singles 3.
Oji has trusted Aoi since he was very young, giving him his racquet several years before the manga begins. By using this racquet for many different objectives every day, Aoi developed an impressive control. Through his excitement and play, Aoi shows his genuine love for the game of tennis.
Oji's custom racquet for Kentaro is very unorthodox: not only is it shaped hexagonally, the strings are also crossed up in hexagons. This strange combination grants the ball an incredible control, which, combined with Kentaro's natural great ball control, allows Kentaro to have super-human ball control. Aoi uses this ability to always return his opponent's shots to the same spots, disregarding the way the shot is hit, which makes his opponents grow frustrated. He can also use this exceptional control to purposely hit cord balls (balls that hit the net before going inbounds) whenever he wants to.
Kentaro develops a friendly liking towards Ryoma Echizen, feeling linked by the fact they're both freshmen, and is even more talkative and cheerful when talking to him. However, he doesn't exactly receive his talk back from the aloof Ryoma, who has no patience to hear what Aoi has to say, claiming more than once that "Your [Kentaro's] voice is too loud.".
In the manga, he was defeated by Kaoru Kaidoh. In the anime, it was Ryoma Echizen who defeated him.
[edit] Kojiro Saeki 佐伯虎次郎 (Vice-Captain)
3rd year. A very stern and confident player who is a childhood friend of the Fuji brothers, Saeki excels in doubles with his outstanding game reading capabilities. Combined with his incredible motion vision, Saeki is a very fearsome opponent. He is even able to read where an opponent is going to run or hit the ball by watching the contractions of their muscles prior to their action.
Saeki plays Doubles 1 with Marehiko Itsuki when Rokkaku faces Seigaku in the Kantō semifinals, and he faces Eiji Kikumaru and Saeki's old friend, Shusuke Fuji. Although they are initially checked by Saeki's incredible vision and Itsuki's ability to hit sinkers (explained below), Seigaku wins the match when Fuji forces Itsuki to hit cord balls. At the National Competition, Saeki faces Yuujiro Kai in Singles 1. During this match, in which Yuujiro intentionally hits Oji with the tennis ball as punishment for explaining Higa's signature move, the Shukuchihou, Saeki uses his analytical skills to find a way to seal the Shukuchihou and reveal this method to Higa's next opponents, Seigaku.
[edit] Hikaru "David" Amane
Voiced By: Takeuchi Kosuke
2nd year. Davide stands out of the remaining cast for two reasons: because of his weirdly shaped racquet that has a huge body length and a small head, and because of his trademark puns that often involve mixtures of English and Japanese. Even though Davide insists on shooting as many puns as possible, he himself is the only person to find them funny - and if he says them within his doubles partner Harukaze Kurobane's earshot, he finds himself on the receiving end of a vicious kick to the head. Kurabane usually also scolds him, saying "It's not funny, David!" Only once does he make someone, Takashi Kawamura of Seigaku, laugh during the volleyball special. On the other hand, he's among the few who makes the always calm Yuushi Oshitari of Hyoutei Gakuen fame openly upset and frustrated, as proved in the Senbatsu.
Davide also seems to be particularly proud of his long, beautiful brown hair - he waxes it intensively before each match to the point where it takes a lot of effort and sweat to cause it to change form. When that happens, he ties it up in a ponytail, which is a sign that he is playing seriously.
Davide uses his above-average racquet length to volley balls that are far away, which makes him a very tough netplayer due to his large range. He also uses his racquet to absorb the strength of his opponent's shots, like Kawamura's Hadoukyuu.
It's shown in the dating simulation game 'Gakuensai no Oji-sama' that Davide keeps a notebook where he writes down all his puns and jokes.
[edit] Harukaze "Bane" Kurobane
Voiced By: Ouguro Kazehiro
3rd year. Very popular amongst the kids that often stand on Rokkaku's playgrounds, Bane plays doubles with Davide. Even though Bane delivers swift kicks to Davide's head when he hears one of Davide's puns, he is rational enough not to let his special move names (also based on puns) distract him.
Like Davide, Bane's tennis also uses the opponent's power to generate strong shots of his own; however, Bane focuses on the baseline, whereas Davide plays at the net. Also, he can jump and twist his body to return a ball with more power as well.
[edit] Marehiko Itsuki
Voiced By: Hasu Takehiro
3rd year. Itsuki is a very curious player who never stops asking about everything that happens around him, usually asking "Nande?" or "Nani?" nonstop, sometimes going to the extreme of chasing a person around if he doesn't satisfy his curiosity. Itsuki also has a very oddly shaped nose that produces a train whistle sound whenever he exhales stronger than usual.
In the regionals semifinal match against Seigaku, Itsuki (paired with Kojiro Saeki in Doubles) uses his sinkers (balls without spin) to seal Fuji's Tsubame Gaeshi, a move that utilizes the ball's spin. He is also able to hit balls bouncing very close to the ground, as proved when Fuji hits an imperfect Tsubame Gaeshi that floats just barely above the ground. It is unknown what role he plays in the matches against Higa Chuu. He is one of those few people who can annoy Eiji Kikumaru.
Ryo Kisarazu
Voiced By: Hiroki Takahashi
3rd year. Older twin brother of Atsushi Kisarazu, a player for St. Rudolph Gakuen. Rumors of his very good tennis skills once echoed through Kantō, reaching even Saint Rudolph's manager Hajime Mizuki's ears. However, when Mizuki traveled to Rokkaku to recruit Ryo for his team, he confused the twins and ended up with Atsushi. Although it's mentioned Atsushi improved a lot under Mizuki's guidance, Ryo is still the better player between the twins.
[edit] Satoshi Shudo
Nothing is known about this player, as he is never talked about. This is made fun of in the manga chapter 342, where the commentators for the all-you-can-eat match, Eiji Kikumaru of Seigaku and Oshitari Yuushi of Hyoutei, comment on him as being probably the first one to lose. Also, in the manga, it is him rather than Kentarou who drinks the Iwashimizu first.
[edit] V.S
[edit] Seigaku
D2-Takashi Kawamura/Momoshiro Takeshi v.s Harukaze "Bane" Kurobane/Hikaru "David" Amane. Seigaku Wins. 7-6
D1-Eiji Kikumaru/Shusuke Fuji v.s Kojiro Saeki/Marehiko Itsuki. Seigaku Wins. 6-3
S3-Ryoma Echizen(anime)/Kaoru Kaido(manga) v.s Kentaro Aoi. Seigaku Wins. 6-4
[edit] Higa
S3-Hiroshi Chinen v.s Kentaro Aoi. Higa Wins. 6-0
D2-Kei Tanishi/Rin Hirakoba v.s Harukaze "Bane" Kurobane/Hikaru "David" Amane. Higa Wins. 6-2
S2-Eishirou Kite v.s Ryou Kisarazu. Higa Wins. 6-0
D1-Tomoya Shiranui/Kouichi Aragaki v.s Marehiko Itsuki/Satoshi Shudo. Higa Wins. 6-1
S1-Yuujirou Kai v.s Kojiro Saeki. Higa Wins. 6-4
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