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Marui
Bunta Marui
Kanji

丸井ブン太

Rōmaji

Marui Bunta

Nicknames

Tensai (self proclaimed)

Characteristics
Gender

Male

Age

15

Height

164 cm

Weight

62 kg (The Prince of Tennis)
53 kg (The New Prince of Tennis)

Birthday

April 20

Horoscope

Taurus

Blood Type

B

Family

Unnamed (Parents)
Unnamed (Grandmother)
Two Unnamed (Younger Brothers)

Education
Junior High

Rikkaidai (3rd Year)

Class

3-B

Seat

16

Club Position

Regular

Elementary School

Kanagawa Third (Dai-san) Elementary School

Japan U-17 Camp

Court 6 (Former)
No.7 World Cup Middle School Division

Tennis
Dominant Arm

Right

Play Style

Serve and Volley

Doubles Partner(s)

Jackal Kuwahara
Masaharu Niō
Eishirou Kite

Racquet(s)

Wilson Triad 3 115

Shoes

Wilson Crossfire DST 02 (S1121X)

Media
Manga Debut

Genius 192

Movies

Atobe's Gift
Battle of the British Castle

Voice Actor

Naozumi Takahashi (Japanese)

Bunta Marui (丸井 ブン太, Marui Bunta)

Background[]

Marui is a 3rd year student on the Rikkaidai team. Marui is a volley specialist and his expertise in the area far exceeds one of the field's best volleyers, Akutagawa Jirō. In fact, he was the one who inspired Jirō's tennis.

He is shown to be a very capable singles player like every other member of the Rikkaidai team. When he plays doubles, he typically partners with Jackal, but partnered with Niō for a match in the Nationals. He also played in the Newcomer's Tournament in his first year.

Despite wearing arm weights during matches, he has stamina issues, so he overdoses on sugar by always chewing bubblegum, even when he plays tennis. He also preps for each match by eating an entire cake.

Appearance[]

Marui has bright red-pink hair and grey-brown eyes. In the anime his eyes are a bright amethyst/pink. He loves chewing bubble gum and is almost always seen blowing bubble gum even whilst in the middle of a match. He is significantly shorter than most of the other 3rd Year Middle Schoolers in the series and is the shortest member of Rikkai Dai (Despite being the oldest).

Personality[]

Marui is one of the most laid-back members in Rikkai, and he tends to be playful and care-free outside of tennis court. Within the bunch of truth-seekers at Rikkai, Marui cannot break his easygoing behaviour. In fact, it is probably due to him having quite a lot of guts. 

Marui is known to have a sweet tooth as he enjoys eating cakes and sweets but most of all, Marui loves bubblegum. He is always seen chewing and blowing gum and even whilst playing matches. He has a tendency to place a burden of tasks that he appears to set for himself on close friend Jackal.

Marui hangs around with Jackal and the two appear to be best friends. As shown in the Another Story OVA, Marui and Jackal would go places together after school and then Marui accompanies Jackal on watching over the wild Kirihara Akaya. He also seems to care for Akaya, as he couldn't leave him alone in his first year and followed him all the way to the arcade and bought him ramen. 

Marui is shown to be somewhat arrogant of his abilities like some players in the series. He is proud of his volleying skill and is aware that he is perhaps the best middle schooler that focuses their play on volleys. He often calls himself a genius whenever he performs his special shots that stun spectators such as Tightrope Walking.

History[]

See: Bunta Marui/History

Tennis Record[]

2008 Official Middle School Tournaments[]

Tournament Round School Position Partner Opponent(s) Score
2008 Kanagawa Prefectural Finals Hanomiya Unknown Unknown Unknown Won
2008 Kantō Regionals Quarterfinals Nashikari Gakuen Doubles 2 Jackal Kuwahara Yokoyama/Wakabayashi Tatsumi Won (6-0)
2008 Kantō Regionals Semifinals Fudomine Singles 2 None Kyōsuke Uchimura None (NOTE-1)
2008 Kantō Regionals Finals Seigaku Doubles 2 Jackal Kuwahara Takeshi Momoshiro/Kaoru Kaidō Won (6-1)(Manga)
2008 Nationals Round 2 Murigaoka Doubles 2 Masaharu Niō Sakakibara/Suzuki Won (6-0)
2008 Nationals Quarterfinals Kabuto Singles 1 None Uyama Shinbei None (NOTE -1)
2008 Nationals Semi-Finals Nagoya Seitoku Doubles 2 Jackal Kuwahara Michael Carothers/Moulin Lost (1-6)
2008 Nationals Finals Seigaku Doubles 1 Jackal Kuwahara Kikumaru Eiji/Shūichirō Ōishi Lost (5-7)
  • NOTE-1 No result due to Rikkai already winning 3 sets.

U-17 Camp Results[]

Type of Match Partner Opponent Score
Tiebreaker-Style Elimination Match None Jackal Kuwahara Won (10-8)
U-17 Representatives VS. 2nd Stringers Player Shuffle 1st Set Eishirō Kite Kimijima Ikuto/Atsukyō Tōno Lost (3-6, 2-6)

Playing Style and Techniques[]

Marui is widely viewed as the best Serve and Volley style player in Middle School Japan. His wide range of volleys always seem to shock both opponents and spectators.

Tightrope Walking (Tsunawatari)

Tightrope Walking

Marui using Tightrope Walking.

A volley where the ball hits the cord and neatly rolls along the top of the net away from the opponent before dropping to the ground.

Iron Pole Strike (Tetchuu-Ate) A similar volley to Tightrope Walking, where the ball bounces off the iron pole at the end of the net into the opponent's side of the court.

Temporal Difference Hell (Myougi Jikansa Jigoku)

Marui using Temporal Difference Hell

Marui using Temporal Difference Hell.

A fake smash where he changes the angle of collision at the last second, to make it impossible to predict its direction. He allows the ball to go past his head, and swings his arm backwards up into the air behind and returns the ball making the course nearly impossible to predict.

Super Rising (Anime only)

Marui returns the ball before it bounces to the highest point. As a result, his opponents have less time to react. He used this move against Takeshi Momoshiro's Dunk Smash.

Wonder Castle

A defensive move. This move involves the use of Marui's advanced net play as he uses his amazing reflexes to hit catch all shots that come to him by the net. The only way to avoid Wonder Castle is to lob Marui. This move was created by Marui when he and Kite decide to train together. It was first seen and used however against Kimijima and Tohno in the match to decide the No.s 7 & 8 of U-17 Japan.

U-17 Stats[]

A mood maker who describes his own play as genius-like. He's famous for his impressive techniques.

Speed – 4: While his normal style doesn't require him to use his full speed, during critical moments he can go all-out.

Power – 2: Despite his aggressive style, he relies on technique rather than power.

Stamina – 3: He doesn't like drawn-out matches and hates getting tired. However, as a Rikkai regular he has a decent amount of stamina.

Mental – 3: Being one of the genius level players, he does not abandon his position. This must be because of his unwavering mental strength even in a pinch.

Technique – 5: His volleys are definitely genius-like. Reaching that level is impossible without natural talent.

Kurobe Memo: He is capable of plays a normal person cannot even imagine. Furthermore, he is able to put the team ahead of his own desires and stay committed to his role in doubles. However, I recommend that he stops eating so much candy, so that he doesn't get out of shape.

Personal Information[1][]

  • Hobby: Going to hotel buffets
  • Family Composition: Father, Mother, Younger Brother, Younger Brother
  • Father's occupation: Employee at a manufacturing company
  • Spends Allowance On: Mainly on sweets
  • Favorite Motto: Eat. Sleep. Play.
  • Elementary School: Kanagawa Dai-san (Third) Elementary School
  • Best Subjects: Japanese, Music
  • Worst Subjects: Science, Mathematics
  • Places often visited in school: Home Economics Room
  • Favorite Color: Red
  • Favorite Food: I like everything!
  • Favorite Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Favorite Book: Manga, current trending novels
  • Favorite Music: ORANGE RANGE
  • Favorite Type: Girls who are sweet, quiet and innocent. And those who give him food and presents. Someone who wears ribbons and feel fashionable is cute!
  • Place you want to go for dates: Amusement Park
  • Thing you want most now: Cotton candy machine
  • Routine duties: Playing with younger brothers
  • Dislikes / bad at: Physical labour
  • Skills outside of tennis: Baking cakes, Bowling

Daily School Life[1][]

  • 05:50 - Rises from bed, makes a bento
  • 06:30 - Wakes up his little brothers and has breakfast together with them
  • 07:00 - Goes to school, eats sweets after morning practice
  • 08:30 - First Period: Social Studies - Economics
  • 09:30 - Second Period: Classical Literature (forgets his dictionary and borrows from Yanagi)
  • 10:20 - Eats the donuts (seasonal strawberry chocolate) he bought during break time
  • 10:40 - Third Period: Cooking Practice - Cookies
  • 11:40 - Fourth Period: Physical Education - Basketball with Class A
  • 12:30 - Lunch Break: Has his bento, some purchased bread, and pudding in the classroom
  • 12:50 - Does light [tennis] strokes with the first-year students as exercise to help with digestion
  • 13:30 - Fifth Period: English
  • 14:30 - Sixth Period: Science - Experiment
  • 15:30 - Secretly goes to a cheap sweets shop with Jackal
  • 15:50 - Club Activities: Net play practice
  • 18:00 - Drops by a cake shop along the way
  • 19:00 - Returns home after visiting a convenience store, dinner
  • 19:30 - Plays pro wrestling with his little brothers
  • 20:30 - After bathing, reads the manga he borrowed from Kirihara
  • 23:00 - Goes to bed

Note from Nio: He really eats often. He should pay attention to his weight. He ate the sweets that he got from some girls too ... how scary.

Note from Yuuta: I never thought that I'd run into him in a place like this... It's a famous shop, but I wonder if Marui-san is a regular customer?

Trivia[]

Character Trivia[]

  • When playing soccer, he plays the striker position. [1]
  • He is the shortest regular of Rikkaidai, even though he's the oldest.
  • In the New Prince of Tennis he has lost weight; from 62 kg to 53kg.[2]

Other Trivia[]

  • He placed 11th in the third character polls, and 18th in the fourth. However his highest ranking is 5th in the first New Prince of Tennis popularity poll.

A Word for the Two[1][]

  • Aoi: I also aim for cord balls, so I want to become a volleyer like Marui-san and Akutagawa-san and be popular!
  • Akutsu: Do you think you can survive with just volleys? The path ahead isn't that easy.
  • Amane: Amane― Akutagawa-san and Marui-san are both volleyers who hit charming volleys..... pfft.
    Note: The pun is horebore (charming/impressive) no boree (volleys)
  • Gin: Akutagawa-han and Marui-han both live for the moment. Perhaps this is also the way humans should be.
  • Inui: The flexibility of Akutagawa's wrists and Marui's finesse are both illogical. I suppose that's what you call the gift of nature.
  • Ibu: Occasionally, I can smell the sweet odour of candy coming from someone's bag. I wonder whose it is...
  • Irie: or middle schoolers, the two of them are quite something. But that's still not enough, you need to develop more synthesis.
  • Ōtori: Both Marui-san and Jackal-san are very strong doubles players, aren't they? I want to play against them someday!
  • Oni: Watching them play so cheerfully, it just makes me remember my days as a kid.
  • Ōishi: Marui-kun and Jackal-kun are the ideal doubles combination. That kind of pair is very formidable.
  • Kaidō: That "tightrope-walking" and "iron-pole strike" are troublesome indeed. But next time, I will push through with my perfected "Snake"!
  • Carothers: We won that match, but to think that it was all a trick.... Japanese people are good at acting!
    Note: Carothers is one of the foreign exchange students of Nagoya Seitoku
  • Kawamura: Marui-kun and Akutagawa-kun are both full of confidence, it's enviable! I will have confidence in my power and do my best too!
  • Kikumaru: The National finals match was crazy nya~ If we weren't in "synchro", it would have been a tough match!
  • Kirihara: Marui-senpai has watched over me ever since I joined the club. But when he spontaneously eats sweets, it's seriously freaky!
  • Kintarō: Whether it's "magic volley" or "tightrope-walking", both are cool~! I want to try it too!
  • Krauser: The both of them hit volleys like magic, don't they. Niou-san said the two of them were magicians.
  • Kurobe: For what they lack in height, they make up for it in the technique area. There are many challenges, but I anticipate their growth.
  • Koharu: Marui-kun is kind of my type, being handsome as he is ♥ That strong look, brimming with confidence, is hot~!
  • Yukimura: During my stay in the hospital, I was saved considerably through Bunta and Akaya's cheerfulness. I extend my gratitude once more, thank you.
  • Yanagi: I believe he has a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old younger brother. Marui helps out even during club activities because he takes good care of people.
  • Yagyū: Marui-kun's play is magnificent. However, you shouldn't chew gum on the courts.
  • Momoshiro: Is it true that Marui-san is good at pigging out!? I can't lose either, I just can't!
  • Shīta: Marui-senpai is awesome, and he often watches over my training. I admire him very much~ (de yansu)!
  • Sanada: Marui!! How could you have brought confectionery into the training camp! Tarundoru! Bring your bag to me!
  • Jackal: Saying a word to you now after all this time is kind of embarrassing. Well, thank you for everything, Partner. Please watch over me from here on too!
  • Sengoku: Last year, the "RIKKAI Special" I ate at the Rikkai School Festival was delicious~ Were you the one who made it?
  • Tachibana: I heard that baking cakes is Marui's hobby. I also like cooking. Next time, shall we cook together?
  • Chitose: I automatically used "tightrope-walking" in a match once. I must thank you next time.
  • Chinen: Ah, you were here? You're so short, I couldn't see you properly. It will be good if you grew taller during this training camp!
  • Tsuge: It is true you two have talent. But if you're content with that, then there is little to no growth for you from here on.
  • Niō: We are in the same club and the same class, aren't we. Perhaps, we may even be together until high school and university~
  • Hitouji: If I have to keep hearing that way of speaking, even without imitating, it seems like it will become my verbal tic!
  • Tezuka: You cannot be an athlete with just talent. The present them are most likely the results of the build-up of their efforts.
  • Hirakoba: I want to test whether or not that finesse will appear when up against my Habu!
  • Mukahi: I'm in the same room as Jirou and Marui. But when they start their volley talks, you just can't stop them, even until late into the night!
  • Ryoma: Come to think of it, I have yet to have a match with Marui-san or Jirou-san, right. Shall we play? In singles.

Gallery[]

References[]

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