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Fans of hit sports manga bury creator’s office with Valentine’s chocolate for its characters

Casey Baseel Feb 16, 2016
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The comic’s handsome men might not have such slender, athletic builds if they actually ate all those sweets.

While some guys in Japan have to employ clever strategies to get chocolate from girls on Valentine’s Day, others can simply rely on their good looks or fame as they sit back and wait for the sweets to come rolling in. As a matter of fact, if you’re handsome or famous enough, you don’t even have to be a real person.

Manga creator Takeshi Konomi’s The Prince of Tennis has been one of Japan’s most popular comics among female readers for over a decade now. Such longevity means the series now has a cast of hundreds of young men with slim, toned bodies, and finely featured faces who get sweaty on the courts week after week for the enjoyment of fans. Come Valentine’s Day, many of Prince of Tennis’ readers want to express their admiration for their favorite characters, but since they don’t have real-world addresses, all of that Valentine’s Day chocolate ends up getting shipped to the manga team’s office instead.

Boxes of gifts start coming in from early February, as we took a look at two years ago. In 2014, the Prince of Tennis cast received more than 180,000 Valentine’s Day gifts, according to a tweet sent by Konomi at the time.

皆さんへの感謝を込めたホワイトデーのつもりが苦行でしたね…σ(^_^;)゜
今回のバレンタインランキングはこの2人の一騎討ちとなりました！
チョコの総数はなんと18万個を超え♪
(#´◇｀#)
8月発売予定の13巻で詳細を発表します! pic.twitter.com/rFstybvXB3

— 許斐剛 (@konomi_takeshi) March 13, 2014

The official count for 2016 hasn’t been announced yet, but it looks to be an even higher than that, judging from Konomi’s excited tweet this year on February 11.

▼ “The first shipment of Prince of Tennis Valentine gifts have arrived ☆ ヾ(´▽｀＊)ゝ Thank you! I’ll put on my back support belt to carry them in.

いよいよテニプリバレンタイン第１便が到着☆
ヾ(´▽｀＊)ゝｱﾘｶﾞﾄ～!
膝腰ベルト着用で頑張るぞ～♪

許斐「ほら皆に続々届いてるよ♪」
「越前このチョコ旨いぜ」「そっふね！モモ先輩ﾓｸﾞﾓｸﾞ」「こんなに沢山ｸﾞﾚｲﾄ～!!」 pic.twitter.com/9sERyC5T7f

— 許斐剛 (@konomi_takeshi) February 10, 2016

Given the around-the-clock schedule under which many hit manga are produced, we’re sure Konomi and his assistants are grateful for the massive supply of workplace snacks. But while it’s hard to work on an empty stomach, it takes more than calories to turn in top-quality artwork. You also need some elbow room, something which looks to have been in precious short supply on February 15.

▼ “We’re currently in the process of receiving all of the love everyone is showing for The Prince of Tennis’ characters

バレンタイン2日前までの分が到着♪o(´▽｀)o

皆様のテニプリキャラクターへの愛情をしっかり受け止めている最中です＊゜

∑(｀･ω･´ﾉ)ﾉ{ｵｯﾄｯﾄ!) pic.twitter.com/MsGVBuqjvq

— 許斐剛 (@konomi_takeshi) February 15, 2016

Here’s hoping Konomi remembers to lift with his legs, not with his back.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: Twitter/@konomi_takeshi