Funimation to stream The Prince of Tennis, The Prince of Tennis II, OVAs, Films, Hyotei vs Rikkai Game of Future anime series
After tweeting a random tennis ball icon, distributor Funimation announced they have acquired the rights to The Prince of Tennis and many of its instalments for the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada and other territories.
The distributor will start by releasing The Prince of Tennis II Hyotei vs Rikkai Game of Future Parts 1 and 2 on Friday 16th April 2021, with plans to cover the rest of the franchise over the course of the year. In addition, they have confirmed that The Prince of Tennis will receive an all-new English dub, as Viz Media only covered the first 50 episodes back in the mid-2000s.
Funimation has clarified that they have the following from the franchise:
The Prince of Tennis
(Tennis no Ouji-sama)
2001-2005 television series from studio Trans Arts covering 178 episodes in total.
The Prince of Tennis OVAs
Funimation weren’t clear on how much this covers, but it’s likely going to be both the National Tournament Saga series (Tennis no Ouji-sama: Zenkoku Taikai-hen) from 2006-2009 covering 26 episodes in total across three seasons and Another Story series (Tennis no Ouji-sama: Another Story) from 2009-2011 covering 8 episodes in total.
The Prince of Tennis II
(Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama)
2012 television series from studios Production I.G and M.S.C covering 12 episodes total.
The Prince of Tennis II OVAs
Funimation weren’t clear on this part also, but it’s likely going to be The Prince of Tennis II Specials (Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama SPECIAL) from 2012-2013 covering 7 episodes in total.
The Prince of Tennis II OVA vs Genius 10
(Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama OVA vs. Genius 10)
2014-2015 OVA series from studios Production I.G and M.S.C covering 10 episodes total.
The Prince of Tennis II Hyotei vs Rikkai Game of Future
(Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama: Hyoutei vs. Rikkai – Game of Future)
2021 ONA series from studios M.S.C and Studio Kai covering 2 episodes total. As mentioned above, the two episodes will begin streaming on Friday 16th April in Japanese audio with English subtitles.
The Prince of Tennis: Futari no Samurai
(Tennis no Ouji-sama Movie 1: Futari no Samurai – The First Game)
2005 theatrical film from studios NAS and Production I.G.
The Prince of Tennis: Atobe Kara no Okurimono
(Tennis no Ouji-sama: Atobe kara no Okurimono – Kimi ni Sasageru Tennis Prince Matsuri)
2005 film from studios NAS and Production I.G.
The Prince of Tennis: Eikokushiki Teikyujo Kessen!!
(Tennis no Ouji-sama Movie 2: Eikokushiki Teikyuu Shiro Kessen!)
2011 theatrical film from studios Production I.G and M.S.C.
The Prince of Tennis Best Games
(Tennis no Ouji-sama: Best Games!!)
An on-going 2018 OVA series.
In addition, the distributor did not mention the upcoming 2021 CG anime film Ryouma! The Prince of Tennis Shinsei Movie: Tennis no Ouji-sama as part of their license round-up. There was also no mention for home video.
The Prince of Tennis II, OVAs and the vs Genius 10 series have all previously streamed on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio with English subtitles in the past.
“There is a rumor going around that a twelve-year-old boy is going to enter the sixteen-year-old and under tennis group. How can someone so young ever hope to compete with kids much older and more experienced than him? This is no ordinary kid: he is none other than Ryoma Echizen, the Prince of Tennis! Ryoma’s father was destined for greatness until he injured himself during a match, ending his career forever. His talent was passed on to his son, who is determined to be the best tennis player in the world. Can the prince gain the respect of his fellow teammates despite his small size and young age?”
Plot Synopsis of The Prince of Tennis Volume 1 via Viz Media
Viz Media released the first 50 episodes of The Prince of Tennis for North America on DVD, and translated the manga in English for paperback and digital. The series is based on the manga written by Takeshi Konomi and serialised on Weekly Shonen Jump for a total of 42 volumes between 1999-2008, with his sequel New Prince of Tennis currently serialising on Jump Square with 32 volumes so far.
Source: Funimation Blog
