Shusuke Fuji

:Fuji's third counter, Hakugei is a super slice lob with such extreme backspin that as soon as it passes over the net on to the opposite court, it curves upwards out of sight, than it falls straight down (usually on the baseline), and it flies back to Fuji's hand. However, Fuji needs wind to use the Hakugei.

:It is first shown during Fuji's match against Hyotei's Jirou Akutagawa. Hakugei can be returned if the opponent is fast enough to hit the ball as it flies back to Fuji's hand. Fuji can also change the direction of the ball after it hits the opponent's court, either to go with the direction of the wind or to lessen the chance of a return.

:In the anime, Fuji changes the direction in his match against Tezuka, where Tezuka approaches the net to wait for the technique, but Fuji adapts and the ball instead flies into the net away from Tezuka.

:Hakugei is completely broken by Kuranosuke Shiraishi's Perfect Tennis when he changes the direction of how he returns the ball by 90 degrees, hitting it softly in a lateral way.

;:The upgraded version of Higuma Otoshi. The only visible difference from this technique is that Fuji uses two hands to repel Shiraishi's smash rather than the one handed Higuma Otoshi. In the OVA, it reaches the opponent's baseline much faster than Higuma Otoshi.

:Kirin Otoshi is first defeated by Masaharu Niou, who uses Tezuka's form to return the ball by using the Tezuka Zone to make the ball enter his side rather than letting it go to his baseline.

; = Loss

Notable matches

Kunimitsu Tezuka

Two years ago, when Fuji and Tezuka were first years, Fuji requested a match against Tezuka. Though the match ended with Tezuka's complete defeat (6-0), Fuji was displeased with the outcome since Tezuka was not playing in his best form due to having his arm previously injured by an upperclassman. They promised to play each other once again after Tezuka's arm completely heals.

Ryoma Echizen

During a practice match, Fuji plays against Ryoma Echizen. They both start to play out evenly, but Fuji starts to use one of his Triple Counter, Higuma Otoshi, which gives him the upper-hand. However, Ryoma manages to find a way to break the counter, but the match is soon stopped due to rain, with Fuji leading 4 games to 3.

There have been countless references to it in the story afterwards, including some in the "TeniPuri" chibi episodes.

In an interview released in December 2007, Konomi mentioned that he originally planned to have Fuji transfer to Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku after this match, but he later scrapped that idea. [cite book |title= The Prince of Tennis Character Book (Vol. 40.5) |last= Konomi |first= Takeshi |authorlink= Takeshi Konomi |year= 2007 |publisher= Shueisha | isbn= 4088741986 ]

Jirou Akutagawa

Shusuke Fuji started the match by performing the Disappearing Serve, which excites Jirou Akutagawa, who decides to get serious, but fails to return the ball during Fuji's service game. During Jirou's service game, he serves the ball and suddenly approaches the net, which prompts Fuji to aim for Jirou's foot, but Jirou is able to volley it. The same pattern continues throughout the game, which Jirou subsequently wins.

During Fuji's service game, he prevents Jirou from going to the net and manages to win the game. Fuji later manages to win three straight points during Jirou's service game, so Jirou tries to counter by approaching the net right after using a flat serve. When Fuji returns the ball, Jirou takes the chance to smash it, but Fuji uses his Higuma Otoshi to take the point. When Jirou approaches the net right at the beginning of the next game, Fuji uses his third counter, Hakugei. From there, Fuji manages to dominate and win the match with 6 games to 1.

Akaya Kirihara (manga version)

Fuji starts off the game by going on the offense, winning him the first point. Akaya Kirihara then enters his Devil Mode and starts using his Split-Step to force Fuji into the corner, which Fuji countered by using Hakugei. Using the Split-Step, Kirihara is able to run up to the ball and smash the ball back, only for Fuji to return the ball with a Higuma Otoshi, winning him the first game.

Fuji also wins the next game, and has a brief flashback of Tezuka's match against Keigo Atobe, which makes Fuji decide to start playing seriously. Kirihara then injures Fuji with a smash that knocks away Fuji's racket, and Fuji is also blinded by the injury sustained as a result of Kirihara hitting the ball to Fuji's head. Though Fuji continues to play, Kirihara manages to win four straight games, turning the score to his favor 4 games to 3.

After being mocked by Kirihara, Fuji begins to play better despite his injury with his eyes closed, winning the next 2 games. However, Kirihara unconsciously enters Muga no Kyōchi, giving Fuji a run for it, and only manages to win the last point by using the side of his racket after Kirihara broke it with Sanada's Ka technique. The match ends with Fuji winning 7 games to 5.

Akaya Kirihara (anime version)

Fuji starts off the match with his Disappearing Serve, which Akaya Kirihara fails to return three times in a row. However, on the fourth try, Kirihara is able to hit it, but it hits the net, so Fuji wins the game. During Kirihara's service game, he hits a Twist Serve, but it is evaded by Fuji. After Kirihara fails to win a few points from Fuji, he activates his "Devil Mode". Kirihara then smashes the ball and hits Fuji's knee twice in a row, subsequently winning him the game. Due to the pain in his knee, Fuji loses three straight games.

When Kirihara tries to hit Tachibana, who came to encourage Fuji, with a Knuckle Serve, Fuji gets angry, and uses the Knuckle Serve himself, which scares Kirihara. Due to Kirihara's fear, Fuji manages to win that game. When Kirihara's fear grows, he steps back, causing him to get hit on his knee. Believing that Fuji hit his knee on purpose, Kirihara is paralyzed by his fear, which results in Fuji winning the last few points with service aces, and the last with a Hakugei.

Kunimitsu Tezuka (anime only)

During Seigaku's inter-school match-ups, Kunimitsu Tezuka and Shusuke Fuji are pitted against each other. Fuji dominates at first and easily wins the first game, however, Tezuka wins the next game in no time because Fuji had difficulty returning Tezuka serves. Fuji tries to counter by using his Triple Counter, but everyone is surprised when Tezuka seals Fuji's Triple Counter in one play. The match continues and Tezuka dominates at 4 games to 2.

Fuji becomes serious and his shots begin to change as he displays improved Triple Counter. As Fuji begins to dominate the match, Tezuka responds by using smashes that hit the net, which seals Fuji's improved Higuma Otoshi. During the match point, Tezuka smashes, but Fuji had predicted his hit already and used his Higuma Otoshi. When the ball passes Tezuka, Fuji believes that he has won, but Tezuka, while in mid-air, quickly switches his racket to his right hand, and uses the Tezuka Zone, which allows him to hit his Zero-Shiki Drop Shot. Tezuka wins with a score of 7 games to 6.

Kuranosuke Shiraishi

During the National Semifinals - Seigaku versus Shitenhouji -, Fuji is pitted against Shitenhouji's captain, Kuranosuke Shiraishi, in the Singles 3 slot. Shiraishi completely dominates the match by using his "Perfect Tennis", sealing Fuji's Disappearing Serve and even his (first) four counters, resulting in Shiraishi taking the lead with 5 games to 0.

Just when Shiraishi is winning the sixth game with 40-0, Fuji receives encouragement from Ryoma Echizen, and starts to play aggressively. He displays his upgraded Triple Counter and finally Hecatoncheires no Monban, his "final" counter, winning him six straight games. Before Fuji's match point, Shiraishi nearly returns Fuji's final counter, and is able to return the technique with a cord ball during the next turn. Fuji continuously hits his final counter, but Shiraishi returns them all with cord balls. In the end, after Fuji's final Hakuryu lands out, Shiraishi wins with 7 games to 6, being the first person to ever beat Fuji in an official singles match.

Masaharu Niou

During the National Finals - Seigaku versus Rikkai Dai -, Fuji plays against the "King of Swindlers", Masaharu Niou, in the Singles 2 slot. The match starts out with Fuji playing seriously right from the start, using his upgraded Triple Counter and his Hecatoncheires no Monban to win him three straight games. In order to counter-attack, Niou creates an illusion in the form of Tezuka.

Mimicking all of Tezuka's techniques, including Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami and Tezuka Phantom, Niou beats all of Fuji's counters and turns the tables with 5 games to 4. With Niou's service game, everyone thought he could win the match with four Zero-Shiki Serves, but instead Niou activates Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami. However, Fuji learns to defeat the technique by returning the ball with his eyes closed, thus making it impossible for Niou to predict Fuji's movements. With his "closed eyes" mode, Fuji then breaks all of Tezuka's techniques and turns the match in his favor with 6 games to 5.

With the advantage, Fuji emphazises that Niou could have won the match if he used four Zero-Shiki Serves in his last service game, but certainly Niou's didn't hit them because he can't do it, which meant that Niou's illusion is not perfect after all. Realizing that Tezuka is not longer effective against Fuji, Niou changes into Shiraishi's form, the first person to beat Fuji in a singles match, which is when Fuji announces the name of his new counter: Hoshi Hanabi. Niou uses Shiraishi's Perfect Tennis, defeating all of Fuji's previous counters and returning Hecatoncheires no Monban with a cord ball, as the true Shiraishi did at the Semifinal match, but Fuji reveals his sixth counter, Hoshi Hanabi, winning him the point and completely breaking Niou's illusion. With his new counter, Fuji finally wins the match with a score of 7 games to 5.

After the match, it was noted by coach Ryuzaki that Fuji got his revenge against Shiraishi and has surpassed Tezuka.

Reception

In all the "Shonen Jump" character popularity poll of series, Fuji has remained in the top two. Besides the second character popularity poll, where Fuji came in first place, [cite book |title= Prince of Tennis　Vol. 18 |last= Konomi |first= Takeshi |year= 2003 |publisher= Shueisha |isbn= 4-08-873407-6 |pages= 192 |chapter= Genius 158 ] Fuji has come in second place in every other poll. [cite book |title= Prince of Tennis　Vol. 10 |last= Konomi |first= Takeshi |year= 2001 |publisher= Shueisha |isbn= 4-08-873162-X |pages= 184 |chapter= Genius 83 ] [cite book |title= Prince of Tennis　Vol. 33 |last= Konomi |first= Takeshi |year= 2006 |publisher= Shueisha |isbn= 4-08-874048-3 |pages= 192 |chapter= Genius 276 ] [cite book |title= Prince of Tennis　Vol. 38 |last= Konomi |first= Takeshi |year= 2007 |publisher= Shueisha |isbn= 978-4-08-874353-0 |pages= 192 |chapter= Genius 333 ]

In addition, in the Valentine Chocolate specials of the manga, Fuji has constantly been in the top three recipients of chocolate, including receiving the most in 2001 [cite book |last=Konomi |first= Takeshi |year= 2001 |title= Prince of Tennis Vol. 8 |publisher= Shueisha |isbn= 4-08-873112-3 |pages= 184 |chapter= Genius 62 ] , with the exception of the years 2005 and 2006.

Actors

Fuji is one of the few male characters in the anime who is voiced by a female voice actor, others being Ryoma Echizen, Kintarou Tooyama of Shitenhouji, Taichi Dan of Yamabuki, Youhei and Kouhei Tanaka of Jyosei Shonan (the latter two being anime only characters), and Seiichi Yukimura of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku. However, Ryoma, Kintarō and Taichi are first years, thus younger and more naturally voiced by a female seiyū, but despite Fuji and Yukimura being third years, they are also voiced by female seiyū.

* In the anime series, Fuji's seiyū is Yuki Kaida. In the Japanese original, both Fuji and his sister Yumiko are voiced by Yuki Kaida.

* For the live-action adaptation film of "The Prince of Tennis", Tenimyu actor Hiroki Aiba portrays Fuji.

* In The Prince of Tennis Musicals, Fuji is portrayed by actors Kimeru (2003-2005), Takashi Nagayama (2003-2004), Hiroki Aiba (2005-2007, 2008), and Yuuta Furukawa (2007-present)

* In the English anime series, Fuji is voiced first by Adam Lawson, and later (from episode 31 on) by Johnny Yong Bosch.

References