Kintarō Tooyama

Infobox animanga character
name = Kintarō Tooyama
series = The Prince of Tennis


caption = Kintarō Tooyama
first =
last =
creator = Takeshi Konomi
voiced by = Yū Sugimoto (Japanese)
age =
born = unknown
class = 1st year
relatives =
aux1 name = School
aux1 = Shitenhōji Junior High
aux2 name = Style
aux2 = Wild, right-handed

nihongo|Kintarō Tooyama|遠山 金太郎|Tōyama Kintarō is a fictional character in the Japanese anime and manga series "The Prince of Tennis". Kintarō is the youngest member of Shitenhōji, a team that is introduced during the series Nationals Tournament of junior high tennis.

Character outline

Kintarō is a freshman player for Shitenhōji, one of the strongest teams playing in the Nationals Tournament and one of Seigaku's toughest hurdles. He is also shown in the opening song as Ryoma's equal and new rival, and there is also a scene in the manga where Yuushi Oshitari of Hyotei Gakuen talks to his cousin Kenya over the phone, who incidentally is a member of Shitenhōji as well. Kenya boasts Shintenhōji's Kintarō's talents, all the while going up against Yuushi's uncharacteristic boasting about Tokyo's Ryoma Echizen, representing a brewing rivalry between the players from the South and the players from the East (Tokyo).

In the manga, during a conversation between Shitenhōji regular Senri Chitose and Seigaku captain Kunimitsu Tezuka, Chitose mentions that Kintarō, not Ryoma, is probably the closest person to the activation of "Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami", or "Pinnacle of Perfection" (the last door of Muga no Kyōchi), the ultimate and highest state of self-actualization known to have been achieved by only one person: Nanjiro Echizen. The other two doors are Pinnacle of Hard Work, used by Tezuka, and Pinnacle of Wisdom, used by Chitose and Tezuka.

Kintarō seems unnaturally afraid of Shitenhōji's captain, Kuranosuke Shiraishi. He had read a manga about monsters with poison claws, and as such, his unbound imagination came up with the peculiar idea of Kuranosuke having poison claws under the bandages that he always wears around his hands and arms. Kintarō is serious about this fear and leashes himself when Kuranosuke exploits this idea while threatening him. This is only done if Kintarō goes over the line, though, or if Kuranosuke wants something done.

Kintarō's open and cheerful personality shows not only when he befriends Junpei, but also when he meets up with Ryoma's friend Sakuno Ryuzaki. After accidentally falling from a tree branch and on her, Kintarō eats some rice balls made by her that had previously fallen to the ground, and then compliments Sakuno on her cooking.

Kintarō's grasp of the Japanese language is not the best. Consequently, when his teammate Kenya Oshitari reports that the star freshman from Tokyo "has nerves of steel and is very cocky; he'll stare you down with his "san paku gan" (i.e. the whites of his eyes)", Kintarō misinterprets Kenya's words and incorrectly believes that Ryoma "has a body of steel, his fingers release deadly toxins, and he'll stare you down with his three eyes." ["The Prince of Tennis" manga chapters 246, 247, and 307.] Kintarō also comes to believe Ryoma's last name is read as "Koshimae" and constantly calls him that (the kanji for 'Echizen' can also be read as 'Koshimae').

Plot overview

Kintarō is first introduced when he bumps into Horio Junpei, a minor character and cousin of Seigaku freshman member Satoshi Horio. Kintarō is headed for the Nationals Tournament in Tokyo, but mistakenly gets off the train at the wrong stop, assuming he was already in Tokyo since Mount Fuji was already within his line of sight. The situation in the anime differs quite a bit from the manga, but the plotline is consistent.

Even though Shitenhōji loses to Seigaku in the semifinals before singles 1 occurs, Kintarō still insists on playing against Ryoma. They play an unofficial one-point match, which is considered a draw as the ball is split in half, with each half landing on opposite sides of the net due to Ryoma using his Samurai Drive. Kintarō later challenges Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkai Dai to a one point match while trying to stall for Ryoma when the latter had amnesia before his match. Though the match was not shown, the aftermath had Kintarō exhausted and beaten as Yukimura walks away unphased.

Tennis style and techniques

Kintarō's normal style of play is called "Wild", which is similar to Eiji Kikumaru's acrobatic style. However, due to his high stamina and great strength, Kintarō's normal playing style is equal to that of Ryoma Echizen's style when in Muga no Kyōchi. ["The Prince of Tennis" manga chapter 337.]

His only known special technique is the "Yama Arashi" ("Mountain Storm"); the full name he calls it by is his "Chou (Super) Ultra Great Delicious DaiShaRin Yama Arashi". Kintarō performs this technique by spinning rapidly, causing a violent cyclone to erupt from his position. Once he reaches the top of the cyclone, he delivers a powerful overhead smash. Gin Ishida, known as one of the strongest power players in Japan, claims that this move is more powerful than his 108th style Hadokyū. ["The Prince of Tennis" manga chapter 339 page 09 ] This shot was returned once by Ryoma, though the ball was split in half.

Actors

* In the Prince of Tennis National OVAs, Kintarō's seiyū (or voice actor) is Yū Sugimoto.

* For the live-action adaptation film of The Prince of Tennis, actor Wada Masato portrays Kintarō.

References