The Prince of Tennis volume 35 continues with the finish to the epic battle between Keigo Atobe and Ryoma Echizen. After a brief interlude, Ryoma and team face off against the next school: Shitenhoji. Now Seishun Academy's tennis team will have to pull out all the stops and even that probably won't be enough against a team known to have its own Prince of Tennis.
The major point of this volume is the climatic battle between Ryoma and Keigo. Unlike the other battles Ryoma's been in though, this battle truly has someone who is just as skilled in his own ability. Keigo is skilled enough to see through the Tezuka shot which was developed as a legendary skill by his father. However, it isn't skill in the end that gives Ryoma his victory, but stamina and a bit of luck. As the match continues, you don't want either one to lose and Takeshi Konomi does a good job with the title “First-Ever Defeat” at letting the player know the battle ends without revealing the winner beforehand.
After this battle, the ones with Shitenhoji in this volume pale in comparison. This includes the last one with Shitenhoji's Prince of Tennis, Senrei Chitose, and Kippei Tachibana, although that one still is worth reading. With this, Konomi gives us a glimpse at the true potential of Ryoma's Selfless State. Senrei uses a second level of the ability that allows him to determine the most likely scenario in his mind even before the ball is served. Through Senrei's defeat of Kippei, Konomi foreshadows Ryoma's potential in the coming battles while also giving an opening to show that there is something even beyond that which Senrei couldn't access so Konomi has the ability to develop Ryoma's abilities further still.
Given the overall superiority of Shitenhoji on the field, its clear we can expect some new power-ups for the protagonists in the next few volumes.
Overview:
Konomi does a great job of giving each team their own personality. The dark shirts of Seishun Academy which contrast with the white shirts of Shitenhoji make it easy to distinguish each side and lend impact to Seishun as a dark horse as before this they weren't on the radar as competitive tennis schools. Shitenhoji by contrast have all but one of their members appear as aloof, indifferent and confident of their abilities. The one exception, Kintaro Tomaya, is a rambunctious exuberant youth reminiscent of what one might expect the main character in a typical shonen manga to look and act like – he reminds me of Goku from Saiyuki if he played Tennis.
Of all the volumes of The Prince of Tennis, volume 35 might be one of the better ones to buy as it features the climatic battle with the fan-favorite Keigo Atobe.
ComicsOnline gives The Prince of Tennis volume 35 3 out of 5 victorious tennis matches.
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