Grandma!
Tomorrow we meet at 2 oclock, right?
Im just making sure.
Oh, Im so sorry! I cant go tomorrow.
Huh?
I forgot completely that I have to work on Sunday.
Then what about introducing me to the man who can restring my racket?
I know Hmm?
Ryoma! Can you come here a minute?
Are you free tomorrow?
Why?
Sakunos strings are pretty loose. And you know him, right?
Old Man Haritatsu. I was going to take Sakuno over there.
And?
Well, I cant go.
So can I ask you to take Sakuno?
UmGrandma!
I dont get along with that man
Oh, come on! Please take her.
Well
You wont turn down a young lady, will you?
I-Id really appreciate it.
O-Okay
Im counting on you!
Tomorrow at 2:00 at the station ticket window!
Sakuno Ryuzaki, what a bind youre in!
Oh, no! What am I going to do?!
I cant decide what to wear!
Only 15 minutes left til 2 oclock.
Oh...
Hello, the Ryuzakis
Sakuno! Are you free today?!
This is Tomoka!
If you are, can you come over and hang out with me?
I have to watch my kid brothers.
Huh? Restringing? Oh, your racket!
Uh-huh... And...
Oh yeah...? With Ryoma?!
What?! No way! You have a date with Ryoma?!
Its not a date! My grandmother forced him to take me.
Sakuno, you sneak! I want to go with you, too!
Im telling you! Its not a date!
Iamstarved!
Hey, young fella! Where you going? On a date?
To the old guy who restrings rackets.
Now thats unusual for you to go see Haritatsu.
I have to take Coach Ryuzakis granddaughter.
Granddaughter?!
Aha! I knew it was a date!
Well, well!
Youve finally grown into a man, huh?
Your daddys happy to hear it!
Were only going to have her racket restrung!
Make sure you have fun, so you dont have any regrets.
So Hes finally grown up
Hold it! Does he even know how to take a girl on a date?!
I gotta see this!
Oh!
Old Man Haritatsus place is this way.
Im so sorry!
You mustve waited a long time!
Oh!
Oh, dear! What shall I do?
I knew it... Hes angry
I was 30 minutes late Whatll I do?
Youre still green, Ryoma
Youll never be a man if you cant forgive a girl for being a little late!
Geez! Whats with that priest?
Hes weird
Thank you so much for today!
Thanks to you, we learned a lot about how to pick out shoes!
And you treated us to lunch, too!
Dont mention it.
Its the least I can do as your upperclassman.
Hey! Its Echizen!
Youre right! Its Ryoma!
Hes with Sakuno.
Is it a date, you suppose?
I guess it is
No way! That son-of-a-gun! Im jealous!
No kidding? So those two have a thing going, do they?
Ah, the joys of youth!
Looks like fun! Lets follow them!
Huh?!
But Momoshiro!
You sure have a lot of time.
Come on! At least hold her hand!
All right.
I didnt mean you two... but well, go for it.
I wonder where theyre going. To a movie?
Hah! That Echizen! He doesnt know a thing!
Whats with that guy?!
Hey, its that priest! The sexual harassment priest!
Sexual harassment?!
Lets go!
Ive never been around here.
There are lots of sporting goods shops
I wonder if the man who strings rackets works in a place like this
Hmm? Ryoma?
This way.
Oh! Wait!
Geez! He sure doesnt talk much.
RAMEN NOODLES 300 YEN
Hm! Come to think of it, I havent eaten
Hey! You!
Whore you?
We saw you before.
Youre following Echizen.
Ino speakJapanese
Cut the act! A Buddhist monk pretending to be a foreigner?
Ah! Hes gone!
Very suspicious!
Whats up with him?
I know! Ill bet hes stalking her!
What?!
That bastard! Now with this, we all have to protect Echizens date!
Huh?!
Youre with me, right?!
Y-Yes!
This is it.
Thisis it?
Yeah. Whats wrong?
Umits not quite as I imagined it.
Why?
Well, its hard to say
Ive never had my racket restrung before,
but I thought it would be a nicer-looking place.
They went into that grubby old shop.
Wheres the stalker?
No sign of him!
HmmBut this is a little weird for a date
I wonder what theyre doing.
Hello?
Welcome.
Well! If it isnt Ryoma! Havent seen you in ages!
Is Nanjiro doing well?
I guess he is
Thats good! Im glad to hear it.
Now, what a cute girl you have with you.
A pleasure to meet you.
I am Tatsugoro, specialist in restringing rackets.
People remember me better as Haritatsu.
Oh! Yes, Im happy to meet you, too.
My name is Ryuzaki.
Ryuzaki? Oh! You must be Sumires
Yes! Im her granddaughter, Sakuno.
Well now, this really is a happy occasion.
Please! Come in the back and sit down.
Ryomas dad and Sumire have favored me for years,
and even though I havent seen him in ages,
I still get word about Ryomas activities.
Yeah?
Young lady, isnt Ryoma a strong tennis player?
Oh, hes amazing!
But, in my view, its still just childs play.
He needs to work towards becoming more like Nanjiro.
Im not him!
Oh well, Ive heard that til my ears hurt.
Never mind that...
Yes! Id like you to restring my racket, please!
Let me see.
Young Lady, I see that you try to hit as hard as you can,
but find it difficult to hit the sweet spot in the middle.
Huh?! How can you tell that?!
Ill adjust the thickness and the tension of the strings
so that your hand is more sensitive to what the ball does on your racket.
Oh, thank you!
Well, weve finally come to the finals of the All-Japan Tennis Championships.
Today will be the mens singles final.
This is going to be a battle between two of the greatest rivals
in the present-day Japanese tennis world.
We hope theyll soon earn international recognition.
Ryoma, you may not know this, but Nanjiro at his peak was very strong.
He had power, speed, great reflexes,
and he amazed the crowd with his flawless play.
He retired so suddenly, but after his debut as a pro,
he played 37 tournaments the world over and won them all.
He shook... the tennis world.
I wonder who this Nanjiro is?
Is he Ryomas father?
Geez! This wont even pay for a bowl of noodles!
Man, am I starved!
Maybe Old Man Haritatsu will give me something to eat
Young lady, this is going to take a little while.
Why dont the two of you go out for a walk?
Lets go.
Ryoma, did you want your racket restrung, too?
No, thanks.
Huh? Then why did you bring it along?
NOODLES BUCKWHEAT NOODLES, UDON
Theyve finally come out!
Where are they going now?
Anyway, lets follow them!
HARITATSU
Man, the District Matches were so exciting!
Ill say! Especially that 7th grade kid.
He was that good?
Yeah! In the finals,
he got hurt and one eye was swollen shut,
but he still won in just ten minutes!
On top of that, it was the guy who beat Kuki of Kakinoki!
He was terrific.
Wow He won in ten minutes? Over the one who beat Kuki?
What was the name of this 7th grader?
What was his name, that kid?
It was Echizen. Ryoma Echizen.
Yeah, yeah! Thats it! Ryoma Echizen!
I wonder if he will catch up to his legendary dad?
Ryoma, thanks for bringing me today.
No problem.
Mr. Haritatsu is a very interesting man.
Yeah?
I cant get a conversation going
That idiot son of mine!
Boring a young girl!
Tennis isnt all there is to life!
It doesnt look like theyre on a date!
Echizen keeps walking farther and farther ahead.
Nah, thats just the way Echizen is!
But, he sure doesnt know how to treat a girl!
Im going to go tell him to be nicer to her!
You cant, Momo!
Lets just leave them alone!
I know, butthat poor girl!
OK, Ive got nothing to lose if I act like Tomoka and
be more aggressive!
Huh?
UmRyoma, what kind of music do you listen to? I like
Music? Whats so good about listening to music?
Huh? Well, I just
That Echizen...hes making it worse!
Hang in there, Ryoma!
Cripes, that idiot! Whatre you doing?!
Hurry up and say something!
Umit seems like today...
Youre sure talking a lot. Why?
Cripes!
Why...?!
Oh...!
Huh?
I cant stand it anymore!
Momoshiro!
E-chi-zen!! Ive been watching!
I saw the whole thing!
What are you doing here?
What difference does that make?!
What are you doing?!
What am I?
Never mind! Just go after her and apologize!
I didnt say anything to her.
Never mind! Just go apologize!
Even if God can forgive you for making a girl cry,
I know I cant forgive you!
Now, RUN!
Huh!
This is an order from your superior!
Get going!
Now thats what the springtime of youth is all about!
Hey, kid. Youre a passionate one.
I like you.
Old man...just who are you?
Were two of a kind!
Im so stupid, getting upset like this.
Im always like this. Thats why Ryoma doesnt...
Want one?
Yeah
Thank you.
Its finished.
Thank you so much!
Young lady, in tennis as well as in life,
dont you lose focus.
You see, I Haritatsu see everything that goes on.
Yes, sir!
Tell Sumire I said hello.
Yes, thank you.
Lets go.
Ryoma, got a minute?
Just playing pretty tennis must get boring.
Its time you gave up kids play.
But Im a kid.
Just like his dad...
Okay, so now come with me on my errand.
Errand? What could that be?
There now! Thats more like it.
Its building to the climax: the kiss!
Wh-What should I do?!
Playing tennis against Ryoma?!
Dont get flustered. This isnt a match.
Im just checking your form.
Thats why he brought his racket!
Ryoma! My upperclassman praised my form the other day!
Remember? You coached me.
Im glad.
Thats the form he praised?
No, of course not!
Please feed me another ball.
Ryoma, thank you for taking me in Grandmas place.
In Grandmas place?
What?! So this wasnt a date, after all?
I should have known!
I knew it was weird... Echizen having a date!
What?! Boring!
What a waste of time!
Im outta here!
Hey Mister!
Whats wrong? Are you all right?!
Im so hungry I cant move.
What?!
What a loser!
All right, Ill buy you something to eat.
Yeah? Gee, thanks!
Whats with this weirdo?!
Well! What are you doing here on a Sunday?
Coach Ryuzaki
Huh?
Let me play a match against Echizen.
Im Tezuka, the team captain.
Echizen, the most important thing for you now is
to wake up your true potential.
Right now youre just a copy of your dad.
Youve got to want something badly, otherwise youll never achieve it.
Let me see it...the kind of tennis that only you can play.
Show me you can overcome this wall, me.
Next on The Prince of Tennis: Seigakus Strongest Man Part 1
Echizen, you think you can beat me?