gomen chai
Easily distinguished by his trucker hat and seemingly unruly hair, Kai stands out among his team mates that make up the Higa Tennis Club regulars. It's hard to go indepth about a character's personality - especially if their appearance only spans about 4-6 episodes of a tournament, but nonetheless, in that span of episodes, Kai has made quite an impact and impression on fans. Negative impact, but everyone knows him enough to establish why they dislike Higa. Kai is basically the core what Higa is known for -- violence and dirty play. Out of all the members on Higa, it can be argued that he is probably the most violent (next to Kite, the captain). Since Higa doesn't have many members introduced, it's simple to seperate their personalities. One trait that could be said about Kai is that he's cocky to an unbearable extent, and too overconfident in his ability. Losing seems like it's not an answer for his kind of character.
Kai's spotlight first comes out in Higa's match versus Rokkaku from Chiba; in particular, the last game with Saeki Kojirou (the vice captain of Rokkaku). It was nothing short of a humiliating defeat for Rokkaku, and for most of the games, Rokkaku was unable to get at least one game from Higa. However, when Kai had gone up against Saeki, it seemed like Rokkaku still had much of a chance to win one from Higa, but still lose their spot in the Nationals. During the game, Saeki struggled (much like his team mates) in figuring out the secret behind why Kai could move around the court so easily without breaking a sweat. Ojii (Rokkaku's coach) explains that this is the Shukuchihou Method (will be explained below). Upon explaining the technique, Kai takes the chance to hit the poor old man with the tennis ball and send Ojii to the hospital, all Rokkaku team mates, save for Saeki, along with him.
The Shukuchihou Method is an Okinawan martial art that all Higa players must know and incorporate into their tennis. Basically, it's a method of moving around on court without having to run around. All Higa players can take one giant step and be on the other side of the court in a matter of seconds, hence why they can appear at the net to volley much earlier than their opponent had intended. And most of all - this method can be used over and over without wearing out the player.
secret revealed
In Higa's match with Seigaku (Seishun Gakuen), Kai faces off in a singles match with none other than Kikumaru Eiji, normally a doubles player. The match is more or less very brutal on Kikumaru, since Kai doesn't actually play with his right hand. In the first few games, it seems like Seigaku would've no doubt taken the win in that instant. The advantage comes to Higa when Kai reveals his secret of being a lefty with reverse grip [only used when Kai means business]. In the middle picture above, Kai is holding his racket with his reverse grip. Almost instantly, Kai begins to use his special technique called VIKING HORN. This special shot of his is a little delayed when it is hit back to the opponent, but the strength and precision of the shot makes it hard to hit. Indeed, with Viking Horn, Kai undoubtedly took the lead. In the end, Kikumaru ends up winning the match by a lucky net ball, even though he put all his efforts into trying to catch up with Kai (Kikumaru's stamina ran out rather quickly). Kai's loss is what decided Higa's fate in the Nationals; no glory for them, not this year.
| Translations of his vital statistics! | |
| Information on Higa, the team from Okinawa. | |
| The cutest member of Higa?! | |
| Yes, Kai got his own lovely single. And it's beautiful. ♥ |
To find out why I like this character in particular - check out the NETWORKED section.
