Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie Review

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is an action-packed feature produced using CG animation. From GAGA Corporation, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis features executive CG production by Itsuki Chida alongside general production by Tatsumi Yoda (Initial D: Third Stage, Flip Flappers). Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis features music production by Shintaro Matsui (The Prince of Tennis, Digimon Adventure tri.: Reunion). Created by Takeshi Konomi, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is a CG animated feature which will appeal to CG animation fans with an interest in the popular The Prince of Tennis franchise.

The Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis feature film received two versions of the main feature: one version released under the subtitle of <Decide> and another under the subtitle of <Glory> and both versions of the film are provided on the Blu-ray release. The main feature release version is <Decide> and <Glory> is provided on the release as a supplemental feature to the main feature presentation. Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is produced by Shuhei Arai (Digimon Adventure tri.: Reunion, Digimon Adventure tri: Loss). Distributed by Shout! Factory, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis was licensed by Eleven Arts.

Ryōma Echizen (Junko Minagawa) is determined to be the best tennis player in the game because of the inspiration of his tennis-pro father. The youthful athlete decides it is time to train himself to be a better tennis player in the United States. Ryōma feels highly inspired to do even more with his training after winning a big competition in Japan – walking away as the champion.

As Ryōma wanders the streets of Japan, Ryōma stumbles in to his dear friend Sakuno Ryūzaki (Mikako Takahashi). Sakuno is in the middle of being attacked by a group of street thugs who are determined to mess with her. Ryōma doesn’t want anything to happen to Sakuno, so he protects her from the ruthless street thugs.

A new game is staged – Ryōma plays a game of tennis against the street gang. Yet things intensify when two tennis balls interact during collision and both Ryōma and Sakuno are trust into the past. Now in a different time altogether, Ryōma finds himself where his tennis-pro father was when he was in a big championship game in the United States. Can Ryōma ever return home and course-correct the time travel blues?

The journey of Ryōma is at the heart of the tale. The character is one who is determined to be the best at tennis. This determination to succeed and to be the absolute best he can be is something relatable. Anyone who has ever persevered through challenges to achieve their artistic and professional goals should find the journey of Ryōma a relatable one. As someone who has spent my entire life writing, beyond my years as a professional, the journey is something that is magical in many respects – even despite difficulties one must always push themselves to achieve their dreams.

The CG animation is one of the most interesting elements of the production. The film has a lot of CG animation and it is not a traditional Japanese anime feature. The CGI direction by Momoko Yamada accompanies CG animation direction by Kei Yoshimizu. Under CG supervision completed by Patricia Hishikawa (Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, Super Street Fighter IV), Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis features a decent CG animation world. Though the animation isn’t as good as hand-drawn animation in some respects (the animation can seem a bit choppy and movement is especially problematic at times), everything still manages to engage. The production does feel low-budget compared to traditional animated fare but this is unexpected for a modestly budget CG feature.

The score composed by Kei Tsuda (Aikatsu! Planet, Gekijō-ban Aikatsu Planet!) is reasonably engaging and the music adds to the charm of the production. Even though the score doesn’t stand out with as much gusto as some anime features, the music adds to the energy of the tennis matches and adds something noteworthy to the experience. A decent enough score (even if it’s not a first-rate one).

Written by Takehiko Hata (Lupin III: Goodbye Partner, The Aurora), Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis has a surprisingly decent script. The screenplay for Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is much more engaging than expected. The story has a fun concept involving time travel and this certainly piqued my interest as a big time travel fan (after all, Back to the Future remains my favorite film of all time).

Directed by Hiroshi Koujina (Hunter × Hunter, The Vampire Dies in No Time), Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis offers decent entertainment with a fun time-travel ride. Though the filmmaking in Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis isn’t perfect and director Koujina could have perhaps improved the film with a more traditional animation style, the CG art still seems decent-enough for the modestly entertaining motion-picture. Koujina certainly has fun with the time-travel element and the visuals have some fun panning shots. Perfection? Hardly. Yet Koujina made a fun movie that is worth watching at least once.

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray from Shout Factory, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The 1080p video presentation is actually surprisingly underwhelming and not as impressive as one might expect. Sequences vary in presentation quality. Some scenes are sharp and crisp and others are not.  

Some scenes in Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis appear underwhelming with lackluster clarity (with some inherent softness) and plenty of banding to the image. Compression isn't quite as tight or proficient on the release as expected, either. The video looks compressed more than it should and some noisy areas of the image appear to show a lack of fine detail in the animation. The video quality closely resembles a modest streaming presentation and is lackluster compared to more robust Blu-ray presentations. This was certainly a surprise.

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a plethora of audio options including the original Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles) and English DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1. The release also includes English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release also provides English SDH subtitles (for the deaf and hard of hearing). The lossless audio sounds engaging. Dialogue is well reproduced. The sound quality capably handles the sound design by Takeshi Takadera. English subtitles by Simona Stanzani are impressive and the translation was worthwhile. A solid audio presentation.

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis – Edition: A feature-length alternate cut of the film which features select different scenes featuring Hyotei Team Captain Keigo Atobe and Shitenhoji Team Captain Kuranosuke Shiraishi

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis is an entertaining action film with modern CG animation. The film doesn't resemble the traditional hand drawn animation of other versions of The Prince of Tennis but the animation still manages to provide some decent entertainment. Though not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis will likely appeal to fans of the series.

The Blu-ray release features underwhelming video and worthwhile audio. The release includes a second version of the main feature and it is included on the same disc: Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis – Edition. Perhaps the encode was not as good because both versions were put on the same disc. Fans may wish to consider a purchase based on the merits of the film itself.