Kunimitsu Tezuka
Kunimitsu Tezuka (手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series The Prince of Tennis. He was created by Takeshi Konomi, who described Tezuka as the character with whom he has the least in common. Tezuka's character is well received by readers and has ranked in the top five most popular characters in every Shonen Jump character popularity poll of the series. He is known for his seriousness, strictness, and fair leadership as the captain of the team. Tezuka often sacrifices his injured left arm to defeat opponents and lead his team to victory.
| Kunimitsu Tezuka | |
|---|---|
| The Prince of Tennis character | |
Kunimitsu Tezuka as portrayed in the anime | |
| First appearance | Manga chapter 4 Anime episode 3 |
| Created by | Takeshi Konomi |
| Portrayed by | Yu Shirota |
| Voiced by | Japanese Ryōtarō Okiayu English Kirk Thornton (Viz Media dub) Jonah Scott (Crunchyroll dub) |
| In-universe information | |
| Relatives | Kuniharu Tezuka (father) Ayana Tezuka (mother) Kunikazu Tezuka (paternal grandfather) |
In the story, he is introduced as the strict and serious captain of Seishun Academy's ("Seigaku" for short) tennis team who enforces order within his team, often forcing its members to run laps. With his all-around tennis style and advanced techniques, Tezuka is considered to be a national-level tennis player by many of the other characters.