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First Appearance
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Volume 1, Chapter 1
Echizen is the featured tennis player in the show. His father was a famous professional tennis player who retired really early but otherwise could have became the number 1 tennis player in the world. His reason was so he could be with his wife and new child which happens to be Ryoma. Echizen is the only 1st year regular player in Seigaku. Since he's short compared to the other members, he's been nicknamed Ochibi (baby boy) by fellow player, Eiji. Additional info worth noting: Echizen grew up in United States and knows English very well (many classmates admires him for this). Ryoma is arrogant by nature, yet he can be very childish at times. He is also unafraid almost to the point of recklessness, but rarely gets angry or out of control. In the anime, he is chosen as a wildcard for the U.S. Open and goes to it, eventually beating Lleyton Hewitt in the finals. Winning the U.S. Open. Ryoma also demonstrates prowess in other sports, such as bowling, table tennis, and billiards. His abilities in beach volleyball, however, may be questioned. When the Seigaku students go to the beach during the anime series, Ryoma plays well when paired with Kaidoh. However, he plays quite poorly in the OVA when paired with Tezuka. In the same event in the manga, Ryoma, paired with Rokkaku's Kentaro Aoi, plays decently only after activating the State of Self Actualization. It is possible however, that the second time, they were using a beach ball, which was too light for any tennis related moves. |
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Mini-Bio |
Like his legendary father Nanjirou, the American-born Echizen is a gifted tennis player. He won four junior titles in America before arriving in Japan and is the only first-year to earn a regular spot in Seigaku's history. When Echizen first arrived at Seigaku, his tennis was a copy of his father's. Tezuka Kunimitsu, who wanted Echizen to become Seigaku's next pillar of support, decided to become a catalyst for Echizen to evolve his game, mercilessly trashing Echizen in an off-campus match. Echizen's game hit a new height when he attained Muga no Kyouchi (State of Self Actualization) during an unofficial match against Kirihara Akaya. With this new technique, Echizen put himself on the map as one of few players who could potentially dethrone the Emperor Sanada Genichirou. Cornered by Sanada's FuuRinKaZan during the Kantou finals, Echizen overcame the odds and won the tournament for Seigaku. At the Nationals, Echizen continued to break down the nation's elites, including the King Atobe Keigo and Son of God Yukimura Seiichi, to propel Seigaku to Japan's No. 1. At the end of the series, Echizen is shown to have returned to America. |
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Technique |
Twist Serve - A serve Ryoma typically performs with his right hand, though it needs to be hit with the opponent's dominant hand. The twist serve is Ryoma's most notable shot. Twist Smash - The Twist Serve in the form of a smash.The ball changes direction after it hits the ground. Twist Serve Tornado - The Twist Serve curve |
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Snake - A forehand or backhand shot that has an offset topspin that causes it to curve to the corners of the court, making the opponent run around and lose stamina.This is basically a Buggy Whip Shot. Taken from Kaidoh. | |
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One-footed Split Step - A split step involving landing only one foot. This difference allows Ryoma to increase his speed and cover the court more effectively. | |
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Drive B - Echizen slides to the front of the court, jumps, and hits a topspin drive volley with two consecutive bounce arcs, the shape of which form the eponymous 'B'. | |
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Super Rising - One of the common shots used by most characters, Super Rising is a half volley where the returner hits the ball they are returning just as it is bouncing up in order to give the opponent less time to react. Taken from Fuji Yuuta. | |
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Twist Spin Shot - It has incredible bounce, but the posture required to prepare for the shot can destroy Echizen's shoulder. Taken from Fuji Yuuta. | |
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Drive A - A drive (topspin) volley hit towards the face at point blank range. Ryoma first uses this shot during his match against Yamabuki's Jin Akutsu. | |
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Zero-Shiki Drop Shot - In the reserve match against Wakashi Hiyoshi, Ryoma shows the ability to use Tezuka's famed drop shot, which is a heavy backspin drop shot that drops after passing 1 foot, then after it lands on the ground, rolls back to the net instead of bouncing. | |
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Sky Inversion Drop Volley - Echizen jumps up and appears ready to smash. Then suddenly, while he is still in the air, he makes a 360 turn and hits a drop shot. Taken from Atsushi. The Samurai's Eye - It gives Ryoma a very dynamic play style because he is able to switch between many other player's techniques. | |
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Muga no Kyouchi (State of Self Actualization) - A state in which the user naturally intakes all techniques he sees and can perfectly copy them. Echizen achieved this state during his match against Kirihara. | |
| Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Hard Work) - One of Muga no Kyouchi's 3 doors. It spares the user the fatigue that results from using Muga no Kyouchi and allows the user to gather their body energy into their dominant arm and return shots with twice the power and spin. A requisite for this technique is the Echizen Zone. Echizen's mastery of Hyaku Ren exceeds Tezuka as he can gather the aura wherever he wants, whenever he wants. | |
| Saikikanpatsu no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Great Wisdom) - One of Muga no Kyouchi's 3 doors and a singles-only technique. The user gains the ability to foresee and predict the number of shots needed for a point. | |
| Ten-i Muhou no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Perfection) - One of Muga no Kyouchi's 3 doors. According to Nanjirou, everyone is in Ten-i Muhou the very first time they play tennis. A player loses it as he becomes too preoccupied with winning and losing. It can be regained when he forsakes the outcome of the match and is simply having fun playing tennis. | |
| Samurai Drive - A technique where Ryoma hits a powerful return toward the rope that is between the net and the pole. Because of the tremendous force, the rope slices the ball in half, resulting in both pieces going in different directions. | |
| Drive C - A shot similar to the COOL drive with only half the spin. Upon hitting the ground, it spins rapidly before curving across the court floor without bouncing. | |
| Drive D - A drive that follows up a returned Drive B, it has half the spin of the Drive B, but the speed of the return is enough to get the ball past most players. | |
| Cool Drive - A powerful smash with a huge spin that makes the ball roll instead of bouncing up. It can be used as a forehand or backhand shot. | |
| Tezuka Zone (Samurai Zone) – By putting a specific spin on each ball that he hits, causing the ball to automatically return to the player. This is one technique that Muga no Kyouchi can't copy. | |
| Nitōryū (Two Sword Style) - The name given to Ryoma's ambidexterity because he can play with either hand. It is a technique inherited from his father, Echizen Nanjiro. | |
| Cyclone Smash - An extraordinarily powerful smash done by jumping high into the air, and twisting, then un-twisting, the body back onto the ball. (Anime Only) | |
| Rondo towards Destruction - A high-level two-part smash that knocks away the opponent's racket with the first hit, and scores with the second smash. Taken from Atobe. | |
| Dragon Cyclone Smash - A move where Ryoma returns the ball at a high speed, creating a cyclone around him, which he then uses as a diversion as he hits his return. (Anime Only) |
Character Popularity Poll:
Round 1: 1st (21732 Votes)
Round 2: 2nd (13468 Votes)
Round 3: 1st (13578 Votes)
Round 4: 3rd (5591 Votes)
2008 U-17 Results:
Day 1 : Unofficial Match : Win : Opponent was Matsudaira Chikao
Official Record:
Official Singles Results:
8/2008 : National Finals Singles 1 : Win (6-4) : Yukimura Seiichi
8/2008 : National Quarter Finals Singles 1 : Win [7-6 (119-117)] : Atobe Keigo
8/2008 : National Round 2 Singles 3 : Win [7-6 (9-7)] : Tanishi Kei
7/2008 : Kantou Regional Finals Singles 1 : Win (7-5) : Sanada Genichirou
7/2008 : Kantou Regional Round 2 Singles 3 : Win (6-1) : Kiraku Yasuyuki
7/2008 : Kantou Regional Round 1 Tiebreaker : Win (6-4) : Hiyoshi Wakashi
5/2008 : Tokyo Prefectural Finals Singles 2 : Win (6-4) : Akutsu Jin
5/2008 : Tokyo Prefectural Quarter Finals Singles 3 : Win (6-3) : Fuji Yuuta
5/2008 : Tokyo Prefectural Round 4 Singles 3 : Win (6-0) : Nihonmatsu
5/2008 : Tokyo Prefectural Round 3 Singles 2 : Win (6-0) : Maekawa
4/2008 : Tokyo District Prelim. Finals Singles 2 : Win (6-3) : Ibu Shinji
Official Doubles Results
4/2008 : Tokyo District Prelim. Quarter Finals Doubles 2 : Win (6-2) : Momoshiro : Izumi-Fukawa
Seigaku Ranking Tournament (2008)
June : Block D : Win (6-3) : Ooishi Shuuichirou
June : Block D : Win (6-0) : Kuwahara Naoya
June : Block D : Win (6-0) : Mikami Koji
June : Block D : Win (6-0) : Ikeda Masaya
June : Block D : Win (6-0) : Tsuda Shuushi
April : Block D : Win (7-5) : Inui Sadaharu
April : Block D : Win (6-4) : Kaidou Kaoru
April : Block D : Win (6-0) : Nishi Hideto
April : Block D : Win (6-0) : Ikeda Masaya
April : Block D : Win (6-0) : Fushimi Ayata
Unofficial Singles Matches
8/2008 - Atobe Keigo
8/2008 - Sanada Genichirou
8/2008 - Tanishi Kei
8/2008 - Hiyoshi Wakashi
8/2008 - Kiraku Yasuyuki
8/2008 - Akutsu Jin
8/2008 - Fuji Yuuta
8/2008 - Ibu Shinji
8/2008 - Momoshiro Takeshi
8/2008 - Tooyama Kintarou
8/2008 : Lose : Echizen Nanjirou
8/2008 - Aoi Kentarou
7/2008 : Win (6-4) : Kirihara Akaya
5/2008 : Win : Fukushi Michiru
5/2008 : Win : Doumoto Gouki
5/2008 : Win : Tashiro
5/2008 : Win : Suzuki Yasaharu
5/2008 : 3-4 : Fuji Shuusuke
5/2008 : Win : Koyanagi
5/2008 - Momoshiro Takeshi
5/2008 : Lose : Echizen Nanjirou
5/2008 : Lose : Tezuka Kunimitsu
4/2008 : Win : Sasabe Sr.
4/2008 : Win (6-0) : Arai Masashi
4/2008 : 1-0 : Momoshiro Takeshi
4/2008 : Win (6-2) : Sasabe (Kitakou Koukou Captain)
Unofficial Doubles Matches
4/2008 : Lose (0-1) : Momoshiro : Izumi-Fukawa