Characters In Order of Appearance[]
- Yusaku Miura (flashback)
- Eiichiro Maruo (flashback)
- Natsu Takasaki (flashback)
- Eiichiro Maruo
- Kojirou Kageyama
- Sanae Maruo
- Yukichi Fukazawa
- Natsu Takasaki
- Himeko Sasaki
- Takuma Egawa
- Hiroshi Araya
- Takuya Miyagawa
- Ryou Oobayashi
- Hiromi Iwasa
Summary[]
For the following months before his second Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit, Eiichiro tries to master every shot and does whatever he can in order to catch up with the seeded players.
Synopsis[]
Eiichiro has won his first two matches in the Otowa Tennis Championship due to his persistence and the 3x3 panel, but lost in the third round. While he is sad for his loss, he feels satisfied as he managed to make some progress though he still needs a lot of things to do to catch up Takuma.
Yukichi and another STC member's reaction after Eiichiro has successfully called Natsu "Nat-chan" instead of "Takasaki-san"
At STC, Natsu calls out Eiichiro, who is with Yukichi, and congratulates him for the previous tournament. Eiichiro thanks Natsu awkwardly, making Yukichi wonders on such reaction. During the warm-up, Yukichi asks Eiichiro why Eiichiro still calls Natsu "Takasaki-san" instead of "Nat-chan" since they are friends now. However, Eiichiro declines as it feels weird and a bit embarrassing to change the way he calls her. While Eiichiro is still resting from his training, Natsu approaches him to know if he has about to go home. After their conversation, Eiichiro tries to call Natsu "Nat-chan", making Natsu pause a bit and then, returns his greeting with a smile. Yukichi and their colleague, upon hearing Eiichiro's attempt, are snickering and silently cheers him for a job well-done.
At school, Eiichiro and Sasaki are busy collecting the class' homeworks. Sasaki is busy on looking at the change on Eiichiro's body, that she becomes flustered when Eiichiro calls her out and asks her if there is a problem. Suddenly, Takuma appears and calls out Eiichiro, making the whole class surprised and wonders if Eiichiro is being bullied. Turns out, Takuma is relaying a message, telling that Eiichiro is allowed to participate on the practice together with Miyagawa and Araya. After the class, Eiichiro goes to Natsu and calls her on her last name. Natsu remains on ignoring Eiichiro until Eiichiro calls her "Nat-chan". Natsu finally answers his calls and tells him not to change the way he calls her as it will be confusing. After clearing the misunderstanding, Eiichiro asks Natsu regarding on the joint practice and if he is indeed allowed to participate. Natsu assures Eiichiro that it is fine for him to join as it is an opportunity for them to experience matches with players having different skills. Due to the practice matches, Eiichiro has realized that he still needs a lot of improvement in order to catch up with the seeded players.
Eiichiro and Natsu making wishes for the success of their goals this year
For the following months, Eiichiro continues to improve his tennis techniques to master every shot. As he continues to spend more time on tennis, his academic standing starts to suffer. Still, Eiichiro admits that he enjoys playing tennis. Kageyama asks Eiichiro to invite Natsu on New Year to visit some shrine but Eiichiro declines as he feels weird to invite her out of the blue. However, as Eiichiro and Kageyama are strolling on the stalls, they bump Natsu together with her sister. Turns out, Natsu had planned to invite Eiichiro as well as it will better to visit shrine together with the people who share similar goals. Natsu, Kageyama, Eiichiro and Sasaki are now under the same class for their 2nd year. Aside from Kageyama, Sasaki plans to cheer Eiichiro on his matches in the Kanagawa Junior. Finally, the day of the Kanagawa Junior has come - and shows whether Eiichiro's efforts has indeed bear fruit.
Manga & Anime Differences[]
- When Eiichiro participated in Otowa Tennis Championship, in the anime, Kageyama is present as one of the spectators during Eiichiro's matches. In the manga, not only the tournament is not mentioned but Kageyama is not seen in the spectators' area as well.
- During the time when Eiichiro is thinking whether he will call Natsu "Nacchan" instead of her last name, Eiichiro is in Court C, as stated in the manga.
- The season is different when Eiichiro starts calling Natsu as "Nacchan" - Winter in the manga while Summer in the anime. Thus, some adjustments were made:
- When Natsu approaches Eiichiro before she goes home after practice, in the manga, she is wearing lots of jackets but in the anime, she is not wearing any jacket.
- When Eiichiro calls Natsu "Takasaki-san" again since they are at school, in the manga, the students are wearing their winter uniforms while in the anime, they are wearing their summer uniforms.
- In the anime, Sasaki stares at Eiichiro's arm because she has an idea that Eiichiro is playing tennis. In the manga, she simply stares at Eiichiro's arm and nothing is mentioned if she has an idea behind Eiichiro's firmer muscles.
- When Natsu is complaining to Eiichiro regarding on how Eiichiro should call Natsu now, in the anime, Sasaki is present around the corridors while in the manga, she is not.
- When Sasaki thinks that Eiichiro has changed, in the manga, she thinks it after Eiichiro and Takuma's conversation while in the anime, she thinks it after Eiichiro and Natsu's conversation.
- The scenes only happened in the anime:
- Eiichiro convincing his mother that he will stop attending his cram school to have more time in tennis.
- Eiichiro's practices - hitting at a wall, court covering and control with Coach Miura and practices with "live balls".
- Eiichiro and Kageyama's conversation regarding on Eiichiro's increase in tennis practice.
- Eiichiro's slide in the top 10 list of highest scores in their batch at their school.
- The events related to visiting of shrine on New Year and the appearance of Natsu's older sister
- Eiichiro, Natsu, Kageyama and Sasaki being on the same class for their 2nd year.
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