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Prince of Tennis Creator Takeshi Konomi Reveals He Uses Wheelchair
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The Prince of Tennis manga creator Takeshi Konomi revealed on Twitter on Sunday that he is currently unable to walk and is using a wheelchair. He stated he could not attend the latest The Prince of Tennis musical production, but he received a video of encouragement from the staff and cast of the musical.
In December, Konomi did not attend the Jump Festa '23 event as planned due to his poor health. He explained at the time that he had been in poor health several times in 2022 due to an unspecified illness.
Konomi serialized The Prince of Tennis manga's original run in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1999 to 2008. The manga follows middle school tennis player Ryōma Echizen as he battles rivals to reach the national tournament. That original manga inspired a 2001-2005 television anime, two anime feature films and a theatrical short, various video anime projects, a live-action film, a live-action television series in China, and a popular stage musical series.
Konomi then launched The Prince of Tennis II (The New Prince of Tennis) manga series in Shueisha's Jump SQ. magazine in 2009. The story picks up after the national tournament, when Ryōma joins a select group of middle school players at Japan's top training camp for players under 17. This ongoing sequel manga spawned its own 2012 television anime series The Prince of Tennis II. The Prince of Tennis II OVA vs. Genius 10 series then ran for five volumes from October 2014 to June 2015.
The franchise has more recently inspired the The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup anime series and the Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis 3DCG film.
Source: Takeshi Konomi's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō
