“We don’t know what will happen then but it does feel a little warm. That is the tomorrow for you and I.”
(“Tomorrow for You & I”, Musical Tennis no Oujisama 2nd Season)
Musical Tennis no Oujisama or most commonly known as TeniMyu is the 2.5D adaptation of Weekly Shounen Jump’s Tennis no Oujisama (Prince of Tennis) that began in the Golden Week of 2003. It’s safe to say that TeniMyu is the longest running 2.5D musical with three “seasons” (as of writing), more than 280 actors, at least 50 productions and 15 years of tennis – TeniMyu has begun to write it’s legacy.
TeniMyu is the first sports anime to be transitioned into 2.5D and paved a path for future sports anime to transition to 2.5D as well such as Kuroko no Basuke and Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu.
The musical is also one of the first who established a concert-like events that brings together the cast called “Dream Live”. This carried on to the succeeding seasons. The 2nd Season of TeniMyu introduced the Undoukai Events where we see the characters play sports other than Tennis. The 3rd Season introduced the Team Lives where the concept is pretty much like a Dream Live but it focuses on one particular team.
What others might not know is that TeniMyu has been the starting point for a lot of 2.5D that we know today. Some of the most famous ones are Shirota Yu (Seigaku 2nd Generation), Kato Kazuki (Hyotei 1st Generation), Ogoe Yuki (Seigaku 6th Generation), Kawahara Kazuma (Rokkaku 1st Generation), to name a few. While Shirota Yu and Kato Kazuki have “moved on” to star in Toho Productions, Ogoe Yuki (who played the role of Horikawa Kunihiro in Musical Touken Ranbu until 2017) and Kawahara Kazuma (who currently plays Ennoshita Chikara in Engeki Haikyuu) have stayed in the 2.5D scene.
TeniMyu was also the first production for most of the earlier fans of 2.5D. I, for one, am proud to be one of them. Most of these fans would even remember the epic “Seigaku Game” that was created by 1st Generation Seigaku.
In the 15 years of TeniMyu, it has introduced to us amazing actors, sensational tunes, phenomenal choreography and most of all, unforgettable memories. As the musical continues to grow, it can’t be denied that TeniMyu is a spectacle to behold and a treat to everyone who watches it.
Musical Tennis No Oujisama has started the run of Dream Live 2018 on the 5th of May 2018 in Kobe until the 20th of May in Yokohama.
Here’s to more years of Tennis!
LizzieDust
Leave a Comment