Fans will soon be able to enjoy another entry in the classic tennis anime franchise: The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup has been confirmed.
The announcement was made on Twitter and shared by @AIR_News01. It features a teaser visual with the tagline, "To a world yet unseen..." While The Prince of Tennis franchise has produced multiple films, video games and even a musical over the years, this will be the first anime series since the conclusion of the original series by Trans Arts and Nihon Ad Systems in 2005.
"The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 WORLD CUP" TV anime announced for 2022, animation production: Studio KAI, M.S.C.
— A.I.R (Anime Intelligence (and) Research) (@AIR_News01) October 10, 2021
The announcement also revealed a teaser visual:https://t.co/keyVJWf9Gi
Several voice actors from the original cast have already been confirmed to return for The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup. Junko Minagawa (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, Black Clover) is once again voicing protagonist Ryoma Echizen, Ryōtarō Okiayu (Shaman King, The Misfit of Demon King Academy) returns as Kunimitsu Tezuka and Junichi Suwabe (The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash) is once again playing Keigo Atobe. Joining them are Hiroki Yasumoto (Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, The Rising of the Shield Hero), Mamoru Miyano (Haikyu!! To The Top, The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of the Commandments) and Yoshimasa Hosoya (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, My Hero Academia).
Takeshi Konomi's The Princes of Tennis manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 1999 to March 2008, producing forty-two volumes worth of content. The story follows teen tennis prodigy Ryoma Echizen as he and the other members of Seishun Academy's tennis club pursue the ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship. Currently, it is unclear if The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup will be following the events of the manga and picking up where the first anime series ended or telling an original story.
M.S.C., which has produced many of the franchise's OVAs and movies, and Studio Kai (7SEEDS, Super Club) are working together to produce The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup. Keiichiro Kawaguchi (Hunter x Hunter -The Last Mission-, Cross Game) is directing the anime with Mitsutaka Hirota (Persona 4: The Animation, Edens Zero) overseeing series composition and Akiharu Ishii (Noblesse, Kuroko's Basketball) designing the characters.
The Princes of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup is expected to debut sometime in 2022. Other anime series that are scheduled to premiere next year include Orient, Deaimon, Love After World Domination, Made in Abyss: The Sun Blazes Upon the Golden City, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury and The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt.
Source: Twitter
