Review : Season 2 & Vs Genius 10 (negative aspects)

Well, before I start writing up my thoughts, you need to know that I am not really convinced by the second season and its development. That being said, you now know that this review will lead towards the negative aspects of the new season. 

Since I feel like communicating my ideas, but don't really have figured out a logical order to connect them all; I'll simply list them up below, hoping it won't seem too messy and casual.

I . SENSELESS REALITY

This first point is not really something I'm against, but I've found it to be rather redundant : I'll be talking about the surreal aspect given to the series.

While, in the first season, I found the surreal specialties of the characters (tennis moves and predictable outcomes) appealing and somehow justified as they could represent the players' passion for tennis and youthful liveliness - I've found it to be extremely excessive in the second season of the franchise, making it lack credibility.

I know Prince of Tennis is not especially made to be realistic, and that's not what bothers me, actually. What does bother me, however, is the fact that adding to it too many quixotic aspects makes it regrettably grotesque; and gives off some kind of parody vibes to it, which is pretty sad, I would say, knowing that Tenipuri originally stands out for its more than real and meaningful values.

• Balls, balls, balls. Okay. I don't think playing with more than one ball really is necessary. I would have accepted one more, even a third; but too much sounds exaggerated. We know the characters are amazingly skilled, but I think there are other ways to show it than make them hit a dozen balls.

• Unrivaled killing instincts. Nope. I'm sorry, dear Tenipuri Staff, but rivals and antagonists are not necessarily bad people aiming to hit you and make you bleed and kill you while you sleep. I find the fact that most high schoolers behave all pretentious, aggressive and mean to be way too easy and disturbing. Sure, there are people who are naturally mean and like it this way, there are people who are mean for a reason (generally past traumas which is still not excusable), and there are people who are not mean at all and won't accept to be just for the sake of competition. It's not because someone disagrees or is better ranked - or I don't even know what situation to find in order to illustrate some kind of opposition - than someone else; that they are bad people or big bullies. I... it's probably very silly, but I had to mention it. Development is the key. Yes there could be really mean people opposing the characters. But there could also be really nice ones, who love tennis as much as the initial characters do; and it could go just fine this way, too. Why add unmatched violence to force the spectators' opinion a certain way ?

• Cast curaga on your party. An injury does not just heal one day to the next. Anyone who got injured and had to go through rehabilitation can assure you that willing to heal neither makes the injury any less painful or damaged nor does it make it magically disappear (sadly). It leaves a scar on your body, as much as it scars your mental - and I imagine it's even more the case when you are a sportsman and need your body to be in perfect condition for great results. Tezuka's arm, Tachibana's ankle, Momoshiro's wrist and ankle, Chitose's eye... Yamato was a perfect example of injuries being critical in the long run and harming both a personal talent and mental strength, so why ignoring it could be the case for other characters ? I might be a bit oversensitive about it because of my own experience as a non-sportive person, still I have troubles imagining sportsmen would be unaffected by such a situation.

•  Syncro- nized swimming. I like synchro, I really do. What I don't like is the fact that everyone and anyone can use it, just like that; especially characters who haven't known each other for a long time and have not taken the time to grow their tennis skills together. Don't get me wrong. I'm not doubting Niou will ever be able to get in sync with Yagyuu, that's not what I'm saying. But it's just too odd to imagine that just because of his ability to make illusions out of others; he would be able to use synchro with Oishi while both of them aren't especially familiar with each other. And it goes the same way for Oishi : being in sync with Kikumaru seems logical to me, but having the ability to use synchro with Niou, who used to make him feel uncomfortable for his tricky nature; seems a bit off. I believe I read that someone who develops synchro is then able to use it with any partner, and that's the issue, actually. It kills the whole point of it being rare to reach and learn, and it makes it all too common to be taken seriously.

• It's raining men. I didn't know before the end of the first season and the whole second season; that tennis men could fly. I mean... is it still Prince of Tennis or are we making a crossover with Dragon Ball Z ? I just... not that it couldn't be used as accentuation material, just like it was the case during the match opposing Kawamura and Ishida - which added great tension and intensity; but why is it now the case all the time ? Let us at least rename it Tennis Men Defying Gravity.

II . RANDOM, TOO RANDOM

It's something, I admit, I've been appreciating at first; and got a bit repulsed by once it became too much : it's all too random.

• Supairs. I initially liked the idea of characters being gathered, and particular pairs being made in order to mix up different potentials. It was, I thought, a great way to develop hidden and distinct aspects of the Princes and to show how partnerships can start and grow with time and practice. Or it was the case before excess was made. Partnership is not especially quick to build, as it needs time and experience to grow. It lines up with my point on synchro, but I think that too much similarities, a perfect bonding, and inborn understanding right off the boat is, 95% of the time, too creepy to be true. Partnership and pairs are made with patience, ultimately, and an incredible amount of meaningful and practical time spent between those involved. I don't really believe that, Kite and Marui would, all of a sudden, become the greatest pair ever; and I wouldn't believe the fact that they would be able to read each other's mind and movements either. It's like saying that, I don't know, say, Shishido and Ootori; share the very same bond as, imagine, Yanagisawa and Yukimura. It's a bit extreme, I know, but who would expect Yanagisawa and Yukimura to get in sync right away while we're not even sure they know each other's names ?

• Joking not joking. It's been something I used to get irritated by at the end of the first season; and that, instead of being pushed aside, has been amplified. I'm talking about characters being ridiculed. Being a fan of Inui is not always easy, especially when you take things very seriously. Thus, literally seeing his poor buttock every two episodes is not something I'm really fond of in all honesty. And as I imagined only Inui would be used in such a diminishing way; it was obviously not the case. Actually, I think Sensei and Tenipuri's Staff have a bad habit of overemphasizing the characters' reactions. And while you would think of it as a useful way of accentuation for some of their major personality traits and their raw temper; it's made in a comic way more than a useful one : you can't even take the characters seriously anymore because all you end up expecting of them are sketchy mannerisms and attitudes. It's such a pity.

 

• Famously neglected. It's sadly not something that's been only present in the second season, but in the first as well : the less popular characters being either used as stepping stones for the most famous' road to glory or being thrown away as waste. And it's a situation I'm still unable to accept. Why would you create so many characters and give them an identity of their own, if you know you will not make value of them ? I'm not criticizing the fact Konomi-sensei created the less popular characters, that's not what I'm saying; but I find the fact of them being misused to be unfair. What will the old and less popular characters like Ishida Tetsu, Kaneda Ichirou, Itsuki Marehiko, Taki Haginosuke and so many more potentially rich characters become ? And what about those disappearing little by little, such as Kabaji Munehiro ? It's too much for my oversensitive little heart.

• Fanservice overload. This point is probably one most people will disagree with, but I'm really tired of fanservice being this excessively made. If you need fanservice, it means you lack the right appeal to catch the attention of people - and try to buy them by giving them what they want or what they fantasize about. In Tenipuri's case, it's making seem partnerships ridiculously questionable. And while the characters get closer and make physical contact more often than not - not to obviously mention the crooked dialogs when you're not in your right state of mind (and it's the fangirl in me talking); no concrete point is ever made and no development is advanced. It's a bit manipulative to make use of fangirls' fantasies, knowing that most of the Prince of Tennis fandom is made of shippers who love ambiguity; to get the audience you're not succeeding in getting because you don't find any other way to captivate their attention. As a non-shipper, I find it sly, subtly so. I don't especially like fanservice in general, no matter the relationship, the genre or the situation; so seeing it being over present for the sake of buying a fair amount of audience is regrettable. It's especially the case in this second season.

• Déjà vu. Maybe it's only me and my bad faith, but why do the matches seem so absurdly familiar ? Their development not only is extremely predictable, but it's also the same one match to the next and the trick is getting a bit old. Characters being provocative → opponents getting offended → killing instincts → match starting with the princes thinking they have an advantage → they are proved wrong and the opponents counter them → the princes are in the middle of a conflict concerning their tennis abilities → trump card → one of them lose their head → turnaround → the match ends. And everything in just ten seconds, so that no development is ever made and you can't even get close to the characters. Alright, I'm exaggerating, I really am; some matches are somehow well developed, last, and defy the basic scenario. Still, it would be best to have them be more numerous... and not only centered on the most appreciated characters. No offense, King, your matches were pretty interesting so I'll forgive you.

• I'm losing it. While, in the first season, the point was made clear from the very start : winning the National Tournament; in the second season, it seems to be a bit... blurry. I feel like there's no real point, and that each new arc holds a new objective; which could be refreshing if we at least had an overall goal being pursued in the background. They want to be number one in Japan, and especially in the Under Seventeen camp. It's obvious, we all agree. But is that the second season's main goal... ? I sure hope not.

Let aside the recycled renders, very simple backgrounds and distorted models; the graphics are pretty acceptable overall. As for the rest, I guess it's okay. I'll certainly make another review centered on the positive points. I hope none of this came off as offensive.

Now, I would like to ask you... what are, according to you, the negative points of that second season ?