Characters In Order of Appearance[]
- Eiichiro Maruo
- Yukichi Fukazawa
- Ryuhei Aoi
- Masumi Makihara
- Akiko Kosaka
- Yuki Tajima
- Natsu Takasaki
- Yoshiaki Ide
- Takayuki Okada
- Yu Nabae
- Yusaku Miura
- Tadanori Yakabe
- Takuma Egawa (flashback)
- Kojirou Kageyama
- Himeko Sasaki
- Hiroto Narikiyo (flashback)
Summary[]
Eiichiro easily manages to win the first round and as expected, he will face Ide on the next round. However, just as he is about to go for their match, he learns that Ide encounters an accident and decides to wait for Ide to arrive. At the match, he has to deal not only with Ide's skills but also, the cheers of the spectators.
Synopsis[]
Yakabe uses a serve-and-volley style against Eiichiro
Eiichiro is prepared for his first match in Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament. However, when he sees Yakabe in person for the first time, he is surprised on Yakabe's growth spurt. Even in the match, Yakabe uses a serve and volley style instead of the usual baseliner style. Nonetheless, Eiichiro notices that Yakabe is not used on the serve and volley yet, thus, he takes advantage of it to break and wins the first round. When he meets Coach Aoi after the game, he learns that Ide wins the first round as well. Later, Natsu appears as well and happily announces that she wins the first round. Aside from the STC members, Nabae, Okada, and Araya also pass the first round. On that night, Natsu and Eiichiro announce that they are now dating, which shocks Yukichi.
Ide promises to the child that he will win his match today
The next day, while Ide is warming-up, he sees a child meets an accident. He decides to call an ambulance and accompanies the injured child. At the hospital, he convinces the child to get through the surgery by swearing that he will win his match today. On the other hand, Eiichiro meets up with Kageyama and Sasaki who plans to watch the match as well. Due to Yukichi's insists, Eiichiro tells them his current relationship with Natsu. Kageyama wants to congratulate Eiichiro but he cannot due to gloomy atmosphere around Sasaki. As he is about to go to the court for the match, he is called out by Kageyama to tell him that there is a big problem related to his match.
Eiichiro is being thanked by Ide's friends after Eiichiro decides to wait for Ide
When Eiichiro reaches the office, he sees the commotion of Ide's friends to convince the committee to delay the start of the match. After learning from Kageyama Ide's circumstances, the committee gives the decision to Eiichiro whether the start of the match will be delayed or not. Eiichiro tells them that it will be fine for him to wait. Hearing the response, Ide's friends breathe a sigh of relief and thanks Eiichiro. Eiichiro hears how Ide "becomes a hero" on every action he did and he feels that he is being pulled on such atmosphere - that he has to regain his composure.
At the court, there are a lot of spectators present when they heard Ide's story. Coach Aoi feels a bad feeling for this match as Eiichiro is not used on matches with many spectators. After 30 minutes, Ide reaches the court and meets up with his friends. After getting his things from one of his friends, he goes to the court to greet Eiichiro and changes his t-shirt. During their practice match, he realizes that a match with many spectators can be similar to a professional match - and that, he has to get used with that feeling. At the first game, Eiichiro is surprised not only with Ide's fast serves but also, the insane cheers of the spectators.
Manga & Anime Differences[]
- The scenes only present in the manga:
- The three-minute practice time of Eiichiro and Yakabe before their match
- Most of the details involved during the match between Eiichiro and Yakabe
- Mogami's results in the first round in Kanto Junior
- Ike's appearance when Eiichiro remembers that his current situation can be similar to a professional match.
- The scenes only present in the anime:
- Ide's friends congratulating Ide after his win in the first round
- Eiichiro being kicked by Tajima
- The event when Ide sees an accident during his warm-up and how he helped the child
- While Eiichiro is checking his notes before his match against Yakabe, in the manga, his notebook is numbered 60 while in the anime, it is numbered 61.
- When Ide arrives at the court for his second round match, in the manga, he already has his bag while in the anime, one of his friends passes it to him before Ide enters the court.
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