From Musical Tezuka to Anime Romeo
Yu Shirota is not a new name to Prince of Tennis fans, but this is a side of the franchise he has never worked in. The actor played Seigaku captain Kunimitsu Tezuka in the Prince of Tennis stage musicals earlier in his career. Now he crosses to the other side of the net entirely, voicing Romeo Fernandez of Team Spain, the squad waiting for Japan in the U-17 World Cup final.
In a comment published with the Anime Anime report from the Japanese anime news site, Shirota called this his first time joining the anime and said he hopes to deliver "the appeal of this role and the passion of Team Spain" through his voice.
The casting landed as part of a triple announcement for the Fall 2026 series, formally titled The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup Kesshō Member Ketteisen (roughly, the finals member selection match). A third teaser visual and both theme songs dropped at the same time.
Character Units Take Both Theme Songs
The opening theme is "Walls And Bridges," performed by Aozu, a four-member unit made up of the characters Ryoma Echizen, Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shuichiro Oishi, and Shusuke Fuji. UZA wrote and composed the song, and Yasunari Nakamura handled the arrangement.
The ending theme goes to a duo. "Kinkanshoku phenomenal" is sung by Keigo Atobe and Yushi Oshitari, with lyrics by Nagae Kuwahara and composition and arrangement by Yosuke Kurokawa. Kinkanshoku means "annular eclipse" in Japanese.
That same duo fronts the new third teaser visual. Atobe and Oshitari are teammates on Hyotei Academy's middle school tennis team, but the artwork shows them squaring off, since a spot in the World Cup final roster is on the line between them.
A Roster Battle Before the Spain Final
The new season picks up with Team Japan's internal selection matches, the fights that decide which players actually take the court in the U-17 World Cup final against Spain. It follows The Prince of Tennis II: U-17 World Cup and its Semifinal season, which aired in Fall 2024.
The franchise began as Takeshi Konomi's manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. It follows middle school tennis prodigy Ryoma Echizen, who joins Seishun Academy's tennis club and works his way through a parade of gifted teammates and rivals, mixing heated matches with comedy along the way. The Prince of Tennis II continues that story into the national U-17 program.
Looking Ahead
The series starts broadcasting in Japan in Fall 2026. No exact premiere date, network, or time slot has been announced yet.
There is no word on international streaming for the new season so far. Anime News Network notes that Crunchyroll streamed the earlier U-17 World Cup series as it aired and produced an English dub, so the franchise already has a streaming home in the West, but nothing is confirmed for this season.
A teaser video for the new series is up on the franchise's official YouTube channel, and with the Spain match now casting its players, more Team Spain reveals seem like the next thing to watch for.