TV-Series
Description
Eishirō Kite is a third-year student and the captain of the tennis team at Higa Middle School in Okinawa. Born on November 9, he is 16 years old during the series and stands 179 cm tall, weighing 72 kg. He is characterized by his purple-dyed hair, which is originally black, and his signature glasses, which he requires due to having uncorrected vision of 0.2 in both eyes. His dominant arm is his left, and he plays an all-rounder style of tennis.
Nicknamed the "Hitman" or "Assassin," Kite is renowned for his ruthless and calculating approach to tennis, a reputation solidified by systematically defeating every opposing team's ace player during the Kyushu Tournament. Kite is highly intelligent and a master strategist, believing in a "win by force" philosophy, which has led him to employ underhanded tactics, such as attempting to blind an opponent with sand, to secure victory. Despite this cold exterior and win-at-all-costs mentality, Kite is the unshakeable pillar of his team. He single-handedly assembled the Higa team by recruiting other martial arts prodigies and personally taught them most of their techniques. He has deep, albeit gruff, care for his teammates, often threatening them with eating bitter melon as a form of discipline while also monitoring their well-being and even designing their team uniforms. His loyalty extends to standing up against abusive authority, such as when he struck his own coach with a tennis ball for abandoning the team.
Kite's primary motivation is a fierce pride in his home prefecture of Okinawa, and his aggressive style is entirely focused on demonstrating the strength of his region on the national stage. In the national tournament, he was defeated by Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, in a match that served as a turning point for him. Following this loss and the team's subsequent hardships, Kite and his teammates agreed to abandon their violent and aggressive tennis tactics..
His role in the story expands significantly when he is invited to the U-17 training camp, where he is selected as a member of the Japanese Representative team, ranked as the No. 12 middle schooler on the expedition roster. At the camp, his most prominent storyline is his partnership with Marui Bunta of Rikkai University. During the challenge against the Genius 10, Kite initially feigns betrayal of Marui at the request of his opponent, Kimijima Ikuto. Mid-match, he breaks this agreement and endures a brutal barrage of finishing techniques from Atsukyo Tono, suffering significant injury, as an act of atonement for his perceived betrayal, solidifying his bond with his new partner.
Kite undergoes significant character development, evolving from a purely vindictive player to someone who values trust and growth. He learns the "Nitoryu" two-racket style from Ryuji Omagari, utilizing his perfect balance to master this complex technique. In the U-17 World Cup semifinals, he represents Japan, partnering first with Ryuji Omagari in a losing effort against Switzerland before reuniting with Marui Bunta for the decisive matches against Germany and the finals against Spain. He is noted to have created a new technique called the "Shishi Wosaa," an Okinawan-style dual-racket attack performed with Marui.
Notably, Kite possesses a unique technique called "Shukuchihō" (縮地法), a footwork method based on martial arts that allows him to appear to teleport to the ball. Unlike his teammates, who can only move forward and backward, Kite's incredible balance allows him to use this technique in all directions. His other signature abilities include the powerful "Big Bang" serve, the sharply curving "Habu" which can be used as a serve or smash, and its advanced version, the "Giant Habu," which curves immediately after being struck. He is also proficient in using the "Viking Horn," a shot that curves based on the opponent's reaction. Beyond tennis, his daily routine involves precisely one hour and fifteen minutes of hair styling, and he has a deep appreciation for fashion, once winning a Grand Prix in a costume design competition.
Nicknamed the "Hitman" or "Assassin," Kite is renowned for his ruthless and calculating approach to tennis, a reputation solidified by systematically defeating every opposing team's ace player during the Kyushu Tournament. Kite is highly intelligent and a master strategist, believing in a "win by force" philosophy, which has led him to employ underhanded tactics, such as attempting to blind an opponent with sand, to secure victory. Despite this cold exterior and win-at-all-costs mentality, Kite is the unshakeable pillar of his team. He single-handedly assembled the Higa team by recruiting other martial arts prodigies and personally taught them most of their techniques. He has deep, albeit gruff, care for his teammates, often threatening them with eating bitter melon as a form of discipline while also monitoring their well-being and even designing their team uniforms. His loyalty extends to standing up against abusive authority, such as when he struck his own coach with a tennis ball for abandoning the team.
Kite's primary motivation is a fierce pride in his home prefecture of Okinawa, and his aggressive style is entirely focused on demonstrating the strength of his region on the national stage. In the national tournament, he was defeated by Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, in a match that served as a turning point for him. Following this loss and the team's subsequent hardships, Kite and his teammates agreed to abandon their violent and aggressive tennis tactics..
His role in the story expands significantly when he is invited to the U-17 training camp, where he is selected as a member of the Japanese Representative team, ranked as the No. 12 middle schooler on the expedition roster. At the camp, his most prominent storyline is his partnership with Marui Bunta of Rikkai University. During the challenge against the Genius 10, Kite initially feigns betrayal of Marui at the request of his opponent, Kimijima Ikuto. Mid-match, he breaks this agreement and endures a brutal barrage of finishing techniques from Atsukyo Tono, suffering significant injury, as an act of atonement for his perceived betrayal, solidifying his bond with his new partner.
Kite undergoes significant character development, evolving from a purely vindictive player to someone who values trust and growth. He learns the "Nitoryu" two-racket style from Ryuji Omagari, utilizing his perfect balance to master this complex technique. In the U-17 World Cup semifinals, he represents Japan, partnering first with Ryuji Omagari in a losing effort against Switzerland before reuniting with Marui Bunta for the decisive matches against Germany and the finals against Spain. He is noted to have created a new technique called the "Shishi Wosaa," an Okinawan-style dual-racket attack performed with Marui.
Notably, Kite possesses a unique technique called "Shukuchihō" (縮地法), a footwork method based on martial arts that allows him to appear to teleport to the ball. Unlike his teammates, who can only move forward and backward, Kite's incredible balance allows him to use this technique in all directions. His other signature abilities include the powerful "Big Bang" serve, the sharply curving "Habu" which can be used as a serve or smash, and its advanced version, the "Giant Habu," which curves immediately after being struck. He is also proficient in using the "Viking Horn," a shot that curves based on the opponent's reaction. Beyond tennis, his daily routine involves precisely one hour and fifteen minutes of hair styling, and he has a deep appreciation for fashion, once winning a Grand Prix in a costume design competition.