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Title:  The Prince of Tennis Vol 12

Author: Takeshi Konomi

Publisher: Viz

ISBN: 9781421503370

May Contain Spoilers

I love this series, and this volume is a great installment of Takeshi Konomi’s highly engaging and intense sports manga. The showdown between Ryoma and the very scary Jin gets underway, and all I can say is “wow!” The art is one of my favorite aspects of the titles, and it just zips and zings with excitement and barely contained fury.  Jin is a physically intimidating individual, and you get such a believable sense of action that you can almost hear the tennis ball thrum off of the racks.  For Ryoma and Jin, this isn’t a game of tennis, but a brutal battle to thoroughly humiliate and dominate the other player.  There is no room here for even a sliver of cowardice, because that tiny spark of fear will be instantly sensed, nurtured, and exploited. 

Jin is like a lithe and sinewy lion,  while Ryoma is like a clever and cunning coyote.  Jin smashes forcefully at the ball, thinking to overpower his smaller opponent, but Ryoma isn’t going to roll over and let Jin close in for the kill.  The match between these two gifted and passionate players was breathtakingly exhilarating.  Both of the boys have something to prove, and they aren’t going to quit until they have achieved the utter annihilation of the other.

While the match between Momo and Sengoku wasn’t anything to sneeze at, it lacked the cut-throat atmosphere of Ryoma and Jin’s confrontation.  I really love the tennis tournaments in PoT, as much for the illustrations as for the changes that always occur between the players.  Both Jin and Ryoma have lessons to learn, about themselves and about each other.  Pure talent will only get you so far in the game, and without a dedication and a love for the sport, true excellence will always be elusive.  I don’t even like tennis, and The Prince of Tennis is fast becoming a favorite read of mine.  When rackets are wielded with the ferocity of swords, both sweat and blood flow, sucking the reader into this impossibly addictive title.

Grade: A