OVA
Description
Eiji Kikumaru is a third-year student at Seishun Academy and a regular on its nationally competitive tennis team. He forms one half of the renowned "Golden Pair" doubles team with Shuichiro Oishi. His tennis is defined by acrobatic, flexible movements that enable him to return seemingly unreachable balls. Signature techniques include the Kikumaru Beam, a sharp behind-the-back volley; the Kikumaru Bazooka, an upside-down smash; and the Seal Step, a high-speed movement that creates a visual doppelganger effect. He possesses exceptional visual perception, allowing him to track moving objects with precision, a trait shared only with teammate Ryoma Echizen.
He has vivid red hair parted in the center, dark blue eyes in the anime, and often wears a plaster on his right cheek. He stands 171 cm tall, weighs 52 kg, and is right-handed. His birthday is November 28th, making him a Sagittarius, and his blood type is A. He uses a DUNLOP REVELATION PRO TOUR SERIES 90 racket and wears WILSON Slash DTmid shoes. His family consists of his grandparents, parents, two older brothers, two older sisters, a dog, and a parrot. His father is an office worker and news reporter. Eiji enjoys brushing his teeth and visiting pet shops. His favorite subject is Japanese History, his preferred color is red, and his favorite foods include soft omelets, tender fried prawns, and shaved ice. He likes anime, fantasy movies, idol magazines, and J-Pop music. He dislikes going to the toilet at night and is skilled at cooking, fly-swatting, and collecting bugs.
His personality is friendly, sweet-tempered, and outgoing. As the youngest in a large family, he exhibits playful, childish mannerisms and often adds "nya" to his speech. Energetic and attention-seeking, his concentration improves when cheered on by a crowd. He can be insensitive and is sometimes slow to notice things. A significant trait is his deep insecurity and dependence on his doubles partner, Oishi. He shares a strong friendship with Shusuke Fuji, and together they are known as pranksters and the "Dream Pair" on the court. He frequently hugs or hangs off the younger teammate Ryoma Echizen, whom he calls "o-chibi."
The Golden Pair formed in their first year. In the anime, Eiji was initially a flashy singles player who found Oishi's style boring. After challenging and losing to Oishi, he agreed to play doubles with him until he could win. In the manga, they met on their first day of school, and Eiji quickly admired Oishi, asking him to be his partner. They have a special spot at a storage bin overlooking the city where they reflect after losses, and where they first decided to play together.
A significant weakness was his lack of stamina, which he overcame through rigorous training. This flaw was exploited during a match against St. Rudolph, leading to a loss that deeply affected him and caused him to retreat to the storage bin, where Oishi found him. Their partnership faced a test when Oishi reprimanded him for insensitivity about Momoshiro Takeshi losing his regular spot. Eiji laughed at Oishi for wearing his shirt inside-out, causing Oishi to shove him and leading Eiji to declare their partnership over. The disagreement was resolved the next day when Momoshiro returned. Another critical moment occurred when Oishi missed a match against Hyotei Gakuen due to assisting a pregnant woman, injuring his wrist. Eiji struggled to play alone but continued when Oishi arrived late to support him.
During the Nationals tournament, he played a singles match against Yujiro Kai from Higa Chuu after Oishi gave his regular spot to Kunimitsu Tezuka, winning 7-6. He found singles tennis lonely and reaffirmed his desire to only play doubles with Oishi. In their semifinal match at Nationals against Rikkai Dai, they used their Synchronization technique to act as one player but lost to Niou Masaharu and Yagyū Hiroshi. Eiji sustained a minor concussion from a ball hit by Niou but continued playing after remembering his promise with Oishi.
After Nationals, he participated in the Junior Kanto Regional Select Camp and was selected to represent Kanto against the Junior West Coast USA team. He played doubles with Yushi Oshitari in the Doubles 1 match, losing 7-5, though Kanto won the overall event. He later entered the U-17 training camp, initially assigned to Court 7 before moving to Court 6.
His development involved maturing his understanding of doubles strategy. Typically a net player, he learned the difficulties of being a game maker during a match with Momoshiro against Hyotei, gaining deeper appreciation for Oishi's role. Their strategic formations include the Australian Formation and the I-Formation. They developed advanced techniques like Oishi Territory, where Oishi controls the net and relays information, and Synchronization, allowing them to move in unison without signals.
He has vivid red hair parted in the center, dark blue eyes in the anime, and often wears a plaster on his right cheek. He stands 171 cm tall, weighs 52 kg, and is right-handed. His birthday is November 28th, making him a Sagittarius, and his blood type is A. He uses a DUNLOP REVELATION PRO TOUR SERIES 90 racket and wears WILSON Slash DTmid shoes. His family consists of his grandparents, parents, two older brothers, two older sisters, a dog, and a parrot. His father is an office worker and news reporter. Eiji enjoys brushing his teeth and visiting pet shops. His favorite subject is Japanese History, his preferred color is red, and his favorite foods include soft omelets, tender fried prawns, and shaved ice. He likes anime, fantasy movies, idol magazines, and J-Pop music. He dislikes going to the toilet at night and is skilled at cooking, fly-swatting, and collecting bugs.
His personality is friendly, sweet-tempered, and outgoing. As the youngest in a large family, he exhibits playful, childish mannerisms and often adds "nya" to his speech. Energetic and attention-seeking, his concentration improves when cheered on by a crowd. He can be insensitive and is sometimes slow to notice things. A significant trait is his deep insecurity and dependence on his doubles partner, Oishi. He shares a strong friendship with Shusuke Fuji, and together they are known as pranksters and the "Dream Pair" on the court. He frequently hugs or hangs off the younger teammate Ryoma Echizen, whom he calls "o-chibi."
The Golden Pair formed in their first year. In the anime, Eiji was initially a flashy singles player who found Oishi's style boring. After challenging and losing to Oishi, he agreed to play doubles with him until he could win. In the manga, they met on their first day of school, and Eiji quickly admired Oishi, asking him to be his partner. They have a special spot at a storage bin overlooking the city where they reflect after losses, and where they first decided to play together.
A significant weakness was his lack of stamina, which he overcame through rigorous training. This flaw was exploited during a match against St. Rudolph, leading to a loss that deeply affected him and caused him to retreat to the storage bin, where Oishi found him. Their partnership faced a test when Oishi reprimanded him for insensitivity about Momoshiro Takeshi losing his regular spot. Eiji laughed at Oishi for wearing his shirt inside-out, causing Oishi to shove him and leading Eiji to declare their partnership over. The disagreement was resolved the next day when Momoshiro returned. Another critical moment occurred when Oishi missed a match against Hyotei Gakuen due to assisting a pregnant woman, injuring his wrist. Eiji struggled to play alone but continued when Oishi arrived late to support him.
During the Nationals tournament, he played a singles match against Yujiro Kai from Higa Chuu after Oishi gave his regular spot to Kunimitsu Tezuka, winning 7-6. He found singles tennis lonely and reaffirmed his desire to only play doubles with Oishi. In their semifinal match at Nationals against Rikkai Dai, they used their Synchronization technique to act as one player but lost to Niou Masaharu and Yagyū Hiroshi. Eiji sustained a minor concussion from a ball hit by Niou but continued playing after remembering his promise with Oishi.
After Nationals, he participated in the Junior Kanto Regional Select Camp and was selected to represent Kanto against the Junior West Coast USA team. He played doubles with Yushi Oshitari in the Doubles 1 match, losing 7-5, though Kanto won the overall event. He later entered the U-17 training camp, initially assigned to Court 7 before moving to Court 6.
His development involved maturing his understanding of doubles strategy. Typically a net player, he learned the difficulties of being a game maker during a match with Momoshiro against Hyotei, gaining deeper appreciation for Oishi's role. Their strategic formations include the Australian Formation and the I-Formation. They developed advanced techniques like Oishi Territory, where Oishi controls the net and relays information, and Synchronization, allowing them to move in unison without signals.