| |
|---|---|
| Kentarō Minami | |
| Kanji |
南健太郎 |
| Rōmaji |
Minami Kentarō |
| Nicknames |
Jimmies (together with Higashikata Masami) |
| Gender |
Male |
| Age |
15 |
| Height |
178cm |
| Weight |
66 kg |
| Birthday |
July 3 |
| Horoscope |
Cancer |
| Blood Type |
A |
| Family |
Father |
| Junior High |
Yamabuki (3rd year) |
| Class |
3-6 |
| Seat |
18 |
| Club Position |
Captain |
| Elementary School |
Yamabuki Third (Dai-san) Elementary School |
| Japan U-17 Camp |
Court 7 |
| Dominant Arm |
Right |
| Play Style |
Counter Puncher |
| Doubles Partner(s) | |
| Racquet(s) |
YONEX MUSCLE POWER3 |
| Shoes |
YONEX CUSHION POWER WIDE |
| Manga Debut |
Genius 92 |
| Anime Debut |
Episode 42 |
| Movies | |
| Voice Actor |
Masaki Ishikawa |
Kentarō Minami (南 健太郎, Minami Kentarō) is the captain of the Yamabuki tennis club. He is a doubles player who typically plays with the vice-captain, Masami Higashikata. Together, they are known as the Jimmies, referring to jimi (地味), the Japanese word for plain or dull.
Appearance[]
A fairly plain and average-looking player, adding to the Jimmie persona as a whole. His spiky hair that sticks out in all directions is likely the most prominent and notable feature on him. Minami is almost always seen wearing his Yamabuki uniform.
Personality[]
Minami talking to Dan during practice.
Minami, alongside his partner Higashikata, is often considered dull by most of those around him, hence his nickname. Minami does not possess an aura that most of the other school captains have which is why no one remembers who he is. He is typically a calm, kind, and considerate player, though, if often frustrated over being overlooked and forgotten.
History[]
Tokyo Prefecturals[]
Sengoku and Yamabuki power their way through to the Semifinals of the Tokyo Prefectural Tournament and meet underdogs Fudomine Junior High who had already caused an upset in the tournament. However Yamabuki did not have to go through a long match with Fudomine as four of their players suffered injuries from a car accident on their way to the match making them forfeit, meaning Yamabuki were gifted an extra win and were able to easily reach the Finals of the Tokyo Tournament where they met Seigaku in the Finals.
Kanto Regionals[]
Minami captained Yamabuki to the Kanto Regional Tournament and the team comfortably reached the Quarterfinals where they met Fudomine.
Regional Select Invitationals Camp[]
This is an anime exclusive arc. Sengoku Kiyosumi along with several other players from the Kanto Region accepts an invitation to the Junior Kanto Regional Select Camp.
Nationals[]
Yambuki get off to a good start in the nationals defeating St. Icarus. In which Sengoku plays Singles 1 throughout their tournament since Akutsu quit the club just before the Kanto Regional Tournament. Yamabuki ease their way to Round 2. Unfortunately due to the loss of Akutsu, Yamabuki couldn't win the next round against Nagoya Seitoku. Ending their run in the Nationals. Minami is present in the audience with the Yamabuki team at the Nationals Final between Seigaku and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.
U-17 Camp[]
Minami in his white jersey u-17 training camp uniform
Minami is invited to the U-17 Camp along with his Yamabuki teammates Akutsu, Sengoku and Masami and several other Middle Schoolers. Upon arrival, the middle schoolers gather together. A helicopter suddenly drops tennis balls on the floor. The head coach then announces that all players unable to obtain a ball must leave the camp.
All middle schoolers are able to obtain a ball. Several Middle schoolers are challenged for their balls by High Schoolers as some middle schoolers greedily went over the top and took several balls for themselves. Later on in the day, the Mental Coach arrives and requests all middle schoolers pair up. He then suddenly declares all pairs must play a quick tie-break game where the loser must go home.
Minami ended up getting paired with Echizen Ryoma however Ryoma went on an adventure around the camp with Tooyama Kintaro looking for the 1st Court hoping for some strong opponents. This meant Ryoma was forfeited and Minami win by default as his opponent never turned up. Leaving Minami to simply advance onto the courts of the U-17 training ground. Along with many of the middle schoolers, he defeats all his high school opponents making him reach the 7th court.
Tennis Record[]
Official Middle School Tournaments[]
| Tournament | Round | School | Position | Partner | Opponent(s) | Score |
| 2007 Tokyo Prefectural | Quarterfinal | Seishun Academy | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Ōishi Shūichirō/Seigaku OB | Won (Unknown) |
| 2008 Tokyo Prefectural | Round 2 | Takaoka Nishi | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Katagiri/Shinooka | Won (6-0) |
| 2008 Tokyo Prefectural | Round 4 | Seidai Koizumi | Doubles 2 | Higashikata Masami | Urayama/Okayama | Won (6-0) |
| 2008 Tokyo Prefectural | Semifinal | Fudomine Junior High | Doubles 2 | Higashikata Masami | Uchimura Kyōsuke/Mori Tatsunori | Won (4-1) |
| 2008 Tokyo Prefectural | Final | Seishun Academy | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Ōishi Shūichirō/Kikumaru Eiji | Lost (5-7) |
| 2008 Kantō Prefectual | Round 1 | Ikari | Doubles 2 | Higashikata Masami | Nagayama/Yoshida | Won (6-1) |
| 2008 Kantō Prefectual | Quarterfinal | Fudomine Junior High | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Ishida Tetsu/Masaya Sakurai | Won (6-4) |
| 2008 Nationals | Round 1 | Saint Icarus | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Takahashi/Hoshikawa | Won (6-3) |
| 2008 Nationals | Round 2 | Nagoya Seitoku | Doubles 1 | Higashikata Masami | Katou/Isogai | Lost (4-6) |
Playing Style and Techniques[]
Minami is a Counterpuncher and an extremely skilled doubles player. He is noted by Banjii to have completely mastered the basics and Oishi has noted that Minami and Higashikata has no true weaknesses as a doubles pair. He was able to hit a straight shot from a short cross, despite the physical difficulty in doing so, and is able to communicate with his partner well to set up for easy poaches. His doubles skill was noted to be good enough to have been scouted for the U-17 camp.
Sign Play
A standard doubles tactic where you communicate with your teammate without words and using hand signs instead, Minami has perfected this to the point where he can communicate with Higashikata perfectly for various tactics.
U-17 Camp Stats[]
- Speed: 3
- Technique: 3
- Mental: 2
- Stamina: 3
- Power: 3
Personal Information[]
- Favorite Food: Onigiri, Koroshike on the way home after practice
- Father's Occupation: Government Worker
- Favorite Subject: Physical Education, Geography
- Worst Subject: Music
- Favorite Color: Brown
- Favorite Movie: "Patch Adams"
- Favorite Book: Guide books on how to keep fit using dumbbells
- School Committee: N/A
- Most Visited Place at School: Clubhouse
- Favorite Motto: Perseverance prevails
- Preferred Type: Girls with cute smiles
- Favorite Date Spot: A park with beautiful scenery
- Thing He Wants Most: Photobook of his favorite idol
- Daily Routine: He cleans every room of his house and changes the water in the goldfish tank
- Things He's Bad At/With: Arguing
- Things He Spends His Allowance On: Tissues, stamps
- Hobby: Stamp collecting
- Skills Outside of Tennis: Hide and seek, abacus
Etymology[]
- The name Kentarō means "healthy, strong" (健) (ken), "thick, big, great" (太) (ta) and "son" (郎) (rō).
- Kentarō's surname Minami means "south" (南).
Trivia[]
- Has been weightlifting with dumbbells for six years
Quote[]
- "Ya."
- (Anime Only) "Ya, Oishi-kun. Long time no see." ("Ya, Oishi-kun. Hisashiburi.")
- "I see. Looks like we can have some fun." ("Naruhodo. Sugoshi wa tanoshi me sou dana.")
- (When Sengoku calls him Jimmies) “Cut it out with that nickname!” (“Yamero te sono yobi nawa.”)
- "Oi, Higashikata! It’s a fake! Don’t get confused by it!" ("Oi, Higashikata! Hattari da! Madou sareru na!")
- (When hitting his straight shot) “Oops!” (“Ooto!”)