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. Nonetheless, his skills were recognized by then-captain Yūdai Yamato, who wanted Tezuka to become Seigaku's "pillar of support", and entrusted him with the dream of going to the Nationals, which convinced Tezuka to stay.
During that same year, Shusuke Fuji defeated Tezuka in a private tennis match, but Fuji was displeased with the outcome after learning about Tezuka's injury, promising to play him again after his arm heals. Over time, Tezuka secured a regular spot on the team despite being a first-year. By his second year, he became the team's vice-captain and defeated Hyotei Academy's captain during a tournament. Despite not being at full strength due to his injury leading to chronic problems, He would often make the entire team run laps when they break the rules and one of his trademark phrases is .
Also, no matter the situation, he is shown to be rather inexpressive, never changing his stoic expression. However, when he re-injures his arm during his match against Keigo Atobe, he is shown to writhe in pain. This becomes a traumatic memory that makes him unable to lift his arm over his shoulders, fearing the thought of feeling that pain again. He learns to overcome this during his medical retreat in Kyūshū.
In the manga series, Tezuka smiles for the first time after his team becomes the National champions, though he instantly reverts when Fuji points out the fact. In the anime series, he also smiles when Oishi's uncle tells him his elbow was fully healed, and when he sees Momoshiro's potential during a match. His seriousness is compounded by having picked up some character traits from his similarly stern grandfather; ironically, Tezuka looks older than his actual age and is often mistaken as his teammates' teacher. In the anime, his unyielding attitude even prevents him from showing any reaction when he accidentally drinks Sadaharu Inui's vegetable juice, resulting in others believing he is immune to the dreaded concoction. However, he quickly and sternly declines an offer to drink it later on.
Tennis style and techniques
Portrayed as an all-rounder tennis player, otherwise known as an all-court player, Tezuka can use aspects of every tennis style depending on his needs. His dominant hand is his left hand, though in some parts of the story, he is shown to be capable of executing his techniques with his right hand as well.
right|thumb|Tezuka activating Muga no Kyōchi's first door, Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami
One of the reasons why other characters acknowledge Tezuka as a National-level tennis player is his infamous Zero-Shiki (Degree) Drop shot. This shot causes the ball to roll away from the opponent and towards the net once it drops on their side of the tennis court (usually landing a foot away from the net), preventing them from hitting the ball again since it does not bounce toward them. He later develops a variation of this technique in the form of a serve called the Zero-Shiki Serve. Another one of Tezuka's signature techniques is the , a technique which involves him putting enough spin on the ball in order to force nearly all hits to be "sucked" into his hit zone, making it unnecessary for him to move around the court. However, in order to do this, Tezuka must create an even greater spin on the ball, which can result in Tezuka re-injuring his arm or being permanently sidelined if he uses it consecutively.
Tezuka has also opened all three doors of , Tezuka's Tezuka Zone allows him to focus the effects of one of Muga's doors, , into his left arm, preventing the loss of stamina, and giving him the ability to return balls with twice the strength, or spin, that they were hit with. The is another one of Muga's doors, and it focuses the power of one's mind, giving him a form of foresight during the game. Despite being known as Seigaku's "strongest man", Though he secretly challenges and defeats Ryoma in an unofficial match, In order to receive medical treatment for his injuries, Tezuka goes to Kyūshū (he goes to Germany in the anime). He returns right before the National Tournament, where he unseals a technique that he used to use before his injury to defeat Higa Junior High's captain, Eishiro Kite, in the first match, In the semi-finals, Tezuka plays one-on-one against Shitenhoji's Senri Chitose despite it being a doubles match, and after unveiling two new techniques, Tezuka emerges victorious.
Before his match against Rikkai Junior High's Genichiro Sanada, Tezuka tells Oishi that this will be his last tournament in Japan since he plans to go to Germany in order to become a professional tennis player. During his match, Tezuka develops a variation of one of his techniques, however, the combination of this technique and a strenuous serve, damages Tezuka's arm, creating a weakness which Sanada soon uses to his advantage, and results in the latter's victory. Though he lost, Ryoma's win against Rikkai's captain results in Tezuka finally achieving his goal of turning Seigaku into the National champions. In addition, there are original events included in the anime, like Tezuka attending the Junior Senbatsu tennis training camp as a coach, and him winning an Interschool Ranking match against Fuji.
In The Prince of Tennis musicals, also known as Tenimyu, the events of the series are reenacted via various musical performances, in which the characters' traits are often parodied; the actor, in character, often has to point out in mid-performance that he is, in fact, only fourteen years of age. Tezuka is portrayed by several actors in the musical, including Eiji Takigawa, Yuu Shirota, Keisuke Minami, Daisuke Watanabe, Ryouma Baba, Takuma Wada, Hideya Tawada, and Takuma Zaiki.
As a member of the central tennis team in the series, Tezuka is featured in several of the anime's soundtracks, as well as spawning a few character CDs featuring only his character. Also, since he is one of the few characters in the series who wear glasses, he, along with Sadaharu Inui and Yuushi Oshitari, is part of the ; character CDs focusing solely on the trio have been released.
Tezuka also appears in both the animated and live-action films. In the animated film, The Prince of Tennis: Futari no Samurai, his team is invited to a cruise trip where they are forced to play in rigged tennis matches. Initially, Tezuka was supposed to play against Ryoga Echizen, but plays and wins against a different person in order to let Ryoma play against Ryoga. In The Prince of Tennis live action film, the story follows the events that lead to Seigaku playing against Hyotei, and Tezuka is portrayed by Yuu Shirota.
Reception
In every Shonen Jump character popularity poll of series, Tezuka has remained in the top five most popular characters; besides the first poll, where he came in fifth place, he has remained in the fourth spot since the second poll in 2002. In addition, in the annual Valentine Chocolate Recipient rankings Takeshi Konomi releases in the manga, Tezuka received the second largest number of chocolates in the 2001 rankings. However, since then, his rank has continued to decline; the following year, he took the fifth spot. in 2004, he slipped down a rank to sixth; and in 2005, his rank slipped to eighth place. During another one of Konomi's manga segments, in which fans were to send postcards in order to have their name listed as one of Tezuka's classmates, the replies were so overwhelming that the results had to be postponed for another volume. Also, in the Prince of Tennis Character Book 40.5, though Konomi comments that Tezuka is the character who is most unlike himself, he states that Tezuka would be the character he would pick to play doubles with, as well as want to be able to use his signature moves: Tezuka Zone and Tezuka Phantom. Various types of merchandise have been released in his likeness, including figurines, key chains, and jewelry.
In publications focused on manga and anime reviews, Tezuka's character has received mixed reviews. First off, one of his techniques is negatively reviewed, with John Sinnott of DVD Talk seeing it as one of the reasons why the story is "idiotic". Also, Chris Beveridge and Jarred Pine, reviewers from an entertainment website called Mania, both see him as unoriginal, with Chris describing him as one of the series' archetypes, more precisely as the "serious prodigy...who will change the face of tennis," and Jarred calling him a "cookie-cutter character". However, Chris also comments that since Tezuka takes his duties seriously, he is a good captain and is able to motivate the main character, Ryoma, in the right direction. In another review of volume 17, one of Mangalife's reviewers, Michael Aronson, has a more negative comment, stating that he "comes off looking more passive and stiff in contrast [to Keigo Atobe]", and despite his revealed backstory, he is held back from being a likable protagonist because he remains a mystery to readers.