Tennis no Oujisama Ep. 143-145 - Thoughts

I surely didn’t think that a blog on what I watch would be one of my very first, but these three episodes of Tennis no Oujisama, or The Prince of Tennis, have proved to be rather thought-provoking. To me, at least. Though I don’t appreciate the plot of this specific arc (which I have classified as basically-pointless filler episodes while the manga advances far enough for the anime to continue the actual storyline), I have recognized, at this point, the potent plot point that these episodes have presented.

Of course, any person may read into something differently, but this is my view and my thoughts on the mentioned three episodes.

I’ve personally believed, ever since episode 25 of this series (if not earlier), that the main character, Echizen Ryoma, shares a special relationship with his tennis club captain Tezuka Kunimitsu, platonic or romantic (your choice), that transcends the boundaries and emotions that the relationships of other partnerships in the entirety of the canon posses. The two seem to understand each other on a higher level, to the point where they need not say anything to each other, or even look at each other. In fact, some of the most potent scenes from the earlier half of the series where these two are together, they don’t speak a word in each other’s presence.

There’s a sort of feel about seeing Tezuka and Ryoma standing quietly together that gives me a feeling of the importance of their relationship with each other. The relationship has become a more implicit subplot that has spanned this entire series, though it is constantly displayed throughout the episodes, and after episode 26 it is hard to find an opening or ending song where the two are not engaged with each other somehow. Even when Tezuka leaves for Germany in episode 75, his influence and presence in the back of Ryoma’s mind serves to propel the younger boy forward throughout the sixty-five episodes that Tezuka is absent from the main plot. I have become so comfortable with, and so fond of, this important element of the story that it has become, in essence, my favourite part of the entire series.

So, perhaps you can imagine my shock and slight distress to see the relationship beginning to crumble, fed by Ryoma’s selfish desire to be able to progress past the wall that is Tezuka. Tezuka, who is usually the only person that can control Ryoma’s behavior, has no luck in trying to steer Ryoma back onto the path that he needs to follow at the given time. He even refuses a promise of a future rematch, surely in hopes that Ryoma would realize his responsibility as his chosen heir to the title of Seishun Gakuen’s (Seigaku’s) Pillar of Strength to continue on his way until the time to take that title is right. As Ryoma continues to shirk Tezuka’s guidance, you can slowly but surely see the effects on both of them. Tezuka withdraws almost completely from Ryoma (though he continues to watch from a distance), and Ryoma becomes irritable and disobedient (also watching the captain’s back from distance). It gets to the point where Ryoma not silently refuses but does as he’s told anyway, but flat-out refuses Tezuka’s careful instruction.

I, despite being as horrified as I was, can completely understand the reason Tezuka, in perhaps a last gesture of desperation to try and drive realization into his charge’s head, knocks Ryoma to the ground. This doesn’t mean my heart didn’t stop for a second. It’s one of those moments when the animated characters become so real-life it hurts. The look of hurt on Ryoma’s face and the coldly smouldering light in Tezuka’s eyes have sent me into a meditation.

I did try to laugh it off, laugh at myself at being so silly and for taking something like that so seriously. However, that scene where Tezuka coldly slaps Ryoma has been replaying in my mind, over and over and over. It did finally knock some sense into Ryoma, as he silently followed Tezuka off the courts, and it’s obvious he took the slap deeply to heart. The next day he walks around looking a bit lost, a bit angry, upset. When coming upon Ryoma the next day, Atobe Keigo told Ryoma to “be obedient and go home with his tail between his legs”, which, in my opinion, describes the way Ryoma looks.

It doesn’t seem like it was any easier on Tezuka, who, when confronted by an admirer of Ryoma’s the next day, basically tells her he’s had no choice but to drop Ryoma from the team in an effort to show Ryoma the way. He describes Ryoma as having lost something important, having completely lost his way. The quietly upset look on his face when she replies that he’s always understood Ryoma was hauntingly touching.

That slap seems to have knocked some things into place in my head as well.

So, what happens when such an important relationship begins to fall apart? What does it take to work through the kinks and knots that are naturally part of anything in life? I know most people have overlooked the importance of this specific relationship, but when you look deeper than the surface it’s easy to tell how much one means to the other.

Though I can’t say that I’ve ever been in a relationship that’s possibly as deep as the one Tezuka and Ryoma share, I know how much it can hurt when someone stops trying to work with you, stops trying to support your relationship and just lets it crash to the floor. It hurts when someone betrays your trust. When someone you feel so close to decides that whatever they share with you just isn’t worth it anymore, whether it be abrupt or slowly over time, if you feel close to that person, no matter what the reason, no matter how they do it, it still hurts.

I’ve felt like Ryoma seemed to feel as he stared up at Tezuka, with that slap fresh on his cheek. “Why… why are you doing this?” seems to be running through his mind. “Why do you continue to refuse me? I’ve been chasing after you… why can’t you just look at me?”

And at the same time, I can feel what Tezuka might be thinking as he looks down at that small boy, so full of potential. “Why can’t you listen to what I have to say? Why can’t you see that what I’m trying to do is for your own good? Why can’t you look past right now, and see what I’m trying to do for your future?”

Perhaps the fact that I can feel for both of them is why this plot point has hit me so hard. A couple years ago a relationship that was very important to me shattered so quickly I don’t think it really set in until a bit later. I reflect on it often. I didn’t spend too long in that relationship, and I don’t think I was quite as dedicated to it as the other was, at least not emotionally. But, the fact that I trusted them, and thought that they were one of my best friends, come thick or thin, and the fact that they made me feel that way, made the fact that they went cold on me hurt so much worse. They were someone I thought I could rely on no matter what, someone that I thought would comfort me and see past my actions and my words to see who I truly was, and how I really felt.

I’m disappointed in myself for not letting them know how much I really cared.

Relationships, no matter what kind they are, require tender care. My uncle has likened relationships to gardens. I like that. Take care of them, and in time they will blossom and become beautiful, strong, and healthy. Abuse them or abandon them, and they will die. Maybe not quickly, but they will die. They will rot. They will be fragile until they break. Patience is a must. Trying to push things forward will make them just as weak as not caring at all. The roots need to go deep, or the slightest upsetting will completely tear it up. Get rid of the weeds while they're still small, before their roots go too deep and they're too difficult to get rid of. Just enough of what it needs will help it to grow steadily.

It’s not necessarily that these two were lacking any of that. They had seventy-five episodes to develop their relationship on- (and possibly off-) screen before Tezuka left, and you really get to see the fullest of that before Tezuka’s lengthy departure. Under Tezuka’s steady hand, and paired with Ryoma’s energetic, eager response to his guidance, their “garden” probably grew to be fairly large and fairly beautiful, and certainly strong enough to survive their being separated by half the planet. It was definitely strong enough to keep Ryoma going. It’s a sad fact, though, that any realistic relationship will hit the rocks – big or small – sometime or another, sooner or later.

The important question is – do you let the rocks rip through you? And if so, do you make the effort to repair the damage?

Ryoma did, by the end of episode 145, go to Tezuka to apologize and beg for another chance, and it looks like their relationship might be on the mend. Perhaps it will even be fully restored come the end of the anime and the beginning of the OVA, when they need to move forward into the biggest test of how strong their relationship with each other is – to pull each other and their teammates through the Japan National tournament. Though it really wasn’t a huge argument they got into, it was probably enough to remind each other just how much they care about each other… however much that might be. They understand each other enough that things are surely going to be okay. It upset the ground, and they’ll need to settle things back down in order to continue on.

My relationship has never quite rebounded like I’m fairly sure theirs will, if things in the anime stay relatively true to the manga. The other and I never really speak anymore, and when we do the words are empty and meaningless, cold even. Our feelings don’t flow freely between each other like they used to. I feel somehow like I can’t forgive them, since I’ve never given up on the hope that someday things will be like they were and they have made no effort to respond to me, but I still hold myself partly to blame. Over and over, I’ve wanted to say, “I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I did care back then, truly I did, no matter what I said.”

Funny how it takes a few episodes of my favourite anime to get me to really dig deep inside of myself to begin to figure out things in my head.

(Screencaps courtesy of Ore-Sama.)