Syusuke Fuji

Syusuke Fuji 「不二 周助, Fuji Shūsuke」 is a third year student at Seigaku and a regular of their tennis team. He's given the title "genius" due to his tactical skill on the court.

Appearance
Fuji has light brown hair and bright blue eyes (brown in the manga). He's usually seen with his eyes shut closed, all the while keeping a smile on his face. He only opens his eyes once he gets either excited or provoked. He's short (being one of the shortest members of Seigaku) and slender.

In the first series, he's often seen in either his Seigaku jersey or the Seigaku school uniform. However, there are a few episodes in which he wears casual clothes.

In the sequel series, he wears his U-17 training camp jersey most of the time, and is rarely ever seen not wearing it.

Personality
Fuji generally seems very relaxed and in control, whilst his opponent is pushing himself to the limit, giving many the impression that Fuji is either a genius who knows how to save his energy during play, or that he doesn't really care about tennis itself. There are a few people that can "wake" the true player in Fuji and force him to play seriously, and these few are either nationally-ranked or extremely talented tennis players. Ryoma, Tezuka, Shiraishi, and Kirihara have been acknowledged by Fuji to be actual challenges.

Fuji usually takes the position of Singles 2, although sometimes he's paired with Kawamura or Kikumaru in Doubles. Also, he and Ryoma temporarily take turns for the position of Singles 1 when captain Tezuka is in rehabilitation.

Fuji is particularly protective of his little brother Yuta (probably to make up for former disagreements that almost brought them apart), as displayed throughout the series; he actively tries to destroy those who've defeated his younger brother or have made him go through something dangerous (as proven by how differently he treats Jiro and Mizuki. Though he holds no personal grudge towards Jiro who one fairly against Yuta, he does resent Mizuki for a long time after seeing how he treated his brother as someone expendable to ensure his team's victory).

His protective side isn't only towards Yuta though. He cares for everyone on his team, and above all, hates seeing someone being unjust towards others. This is proven when he gets upset after having learned that Kirihara was the source of Tachibana's injury, and forces his decision to destroy him.

Fuji doesn't have the motivation to win (at least in tennis). However, this changes upon seeing Tezuka's match against Atobe, and he plays seriously for the first time against Tezuka. He becomes so serious to the point where he even sheds a tear afterward, claiming the feeling of losing after trying his best was "horrible" yet the "best".

Besides tennis, Fuji seems to hate to lose in anything else he does, such as beach volleyball and winter sports. The first time his teammates have ever seen him truly disappointed was after his match against Shiraishi, where he suffers his first loss in a Singles match at an official tournament.

Fuji is possibly the only person in the entire team who is immune to most of Inui's various concoctions. His odd taste in food doesn't stop at Inui's gruesome health drinks, as he takes delight in wasabi rolls, honey mustard, and horse radishes. He loves incredibly spicy food.

Fuji has a bad habit of teasing the people he likes, especially Yuta. This is also evident in The Prince of The School Festival where he would often tease Hirose in order to see her cute reactions. This would range from flirtatious dialogue (saying she would look good in a maid costume or teasingly asking her if she'd like to be Yuta's sister-in-law) to pretending he was exchanging diaries with Tezuka (indicating an intimate relationship).

Anime Only
It appears Fuji has somewhat of a sadistic side, as revealed when Momoshiro asked him why he was trying so hard in order to avoid drinking Inui's penal tea (even though he liked it). Fuji simply answered with a smile, stating that he "enjoys seeing other people suffer more". This fact has only been mentioned in the anime.

According to what Yumiko tells Mizuki and Yuta, Fuji never gets angry about what happens to him personally, and will only lose his cool if his loved ones are in danger.

At times, Fuji tends to behave eccentrically. When a mixed club day takes place in school, Fuji plays curling, a sport which no one else plays, thus his words are "Participants: zero, the championship is mine." (And perhaps indicating that he does at times care about winning).

Fuji is fairly popular among his peers. In episode 134, he goes on a date with Kurumi (albeit he had no choice; Momoshiro and Kikumaru made the decision for him), a grade schooler who falls for him at first sight, believing him to be her "prince charming". Despite his penchant jokes and pranks off-tennis, he can be insightful and even sweet if his friends need it. During his so-called date with Kurumi, he helps her sort out her problems, as her situation with her twin sister is very similar to that of Fuji and Yuta.

Background
Fuji grew up in Chiba where he became friends with Saeki. Later on, he moved to Tokyo and entered Seigaku.

Play Style & Techniques
Fuji is a counter puncher, playing a steady game and attacking at the right time. Most of his techniques are designed to specifically counter an opponent's strength, which gives him the title "Genius". Throughout the series, he has been shown to utilize his counters in creative ways, as shown in the anime matches against Rokkaku and Tezuka, and against Shiraishi with his upgraded counters.

Fuji's tennis senses are extremely amazing, which adds to the title. His ball control is amazing enough to keep an amazing serve-and-volley player like Jiro chained at the baseline even without Hakugei and can hit cord balls despite having his eyes closed. His control is emphasized more in the anime, where he has been shown to force an opponent to hit a cord ball. His senses are sharpened to the point that he can read the wind, allowing him to create amazing counters.

His body is noted to be very flexible, evidenced by his play style which utilizes many amazing moves and beautiful shots, although Shiraishi has noted that Fuji doesn't move very efficiently. Fuji's power is somewhat lacking compared to others, as Ishida assumed that he would be able to return his Hadokyu in their Doubles match. In a match against Tachibana, Fuji was overwhelmed by Tachibana's raw power in his Wild Beast Mode.

Serve and Volley
After facing Jiro in the Hyotei arc, Fuji sometimes during matches might change his play style to serve-and-volley. Though he's not nearly as good as a regular serve-and-volley player, he can still do it.

Counters
Sometimes called the Triple Counters. Game sealing returns, the counters are techniques that can only be pulled off by someone of Fuji's caliber. Each counter has a very low chance of being returned. Later on in the series, during the Nationals, Fuji upgrades his Triple Counters and reveals more counters.

Although Fuji develops six counters, his set of counters is still called "Triple Counters". His counters are named after animals and mythical creatures.
 * Tsubame Gaeshi 「つばめ返し, lit. Swallow Return」: The first of Fuji's counters to be shown and the one he's most often associated with. Fuji utilizes his opponent's topspin by returning the ball with an extreme slice that doubles the amount of spin. The slice combines with the topspin and causes the ball to tip toward the ground and continues rolling across the court without a bounce.
 * Higuma Otoshi 「羆落とし, lit. Bear Drop」: By quickly rotating his body, Fuji uses centripetal force to absorb the force of any overhead smash; he then returns the ball with a lob that almost always lands on the opponent's baseline.
 * Hakugei 「白鯨, lit. White Whale」: Fuji's third counter, Hakugei, is a super slice lob with such extreme backspin that as soon as it passes over the net onto the opposite side of the court, it curves upward out of sight, then it falls straight down (usually on the baseline), and it flies back to Fuji's hand. However, Fuji needs wind in order to use Hakugei.
 * Kagero Zutsumi 「蜉蝣包み, lit. Dragonfly Illusion」: Fuji's fourth counter, Kagero Zutsumi, uses both hands as he brings his racket down in an overhead swing that both contains and nullifies all spin on the ball. The ball is then returned devoid of spin, and gives the other player the illusion that the ball is farther than it actually is.
 * Hoo Gaeshi 「鳳凰返し, lit. Phoenix Return」: The upgraded version of Tsubame Gaeshi. Unlike Tsubame Gaeshi, Hoo Gaeshi sinks at a higher rate and is closer to the net, thus making is much harder to return before it lands.
 * Kirin Otoshi 「麒麟落とし, lit. Qilin Drop」: The upgraded version of Higuma Otoshi. The only visible difference is this technique is that Fuji uses both hands in order to repel Shiraishi's smash.
 * Hakuryu 「白龍, lit. White Dragon」: The upgraded version of Hakugei. Unlike Hakugei, this technique raises much higher. Instead of spinning backwards to Fuji, the ball will bounce towards the sides.
 * Hecatoncheires no Monban 「百腕巨人の門番, lit. Gate Keeper of Hecatoncheires」: Fuji's fifth counter (first stated to be his "final" counter) can be used by using the reverse side of the racket. Fuji uses the slide of the oncoming ball over the gut and forcing a super spin to the ball. Then, by instantaneously reversing his wrist and using the other side of his racket, he doubles the spin yet again. The ball sinks before passing the net.
 * Hoshi Hanabi 「星花火, lit. Star Fireworks」: Fuji's sixth counter. When the opponent hits a cord ball as a result of returning the Hecatoncheires no Monban, Fuji responds by launching the ball straight into the sky, out of anyone's field of vision. Due to a certain wind, the ball will then crash land at a very high speed with an irregular spin and it will bounce to any side.

Attack Techniques of Wind
These are offensive techniques created by Fuji during the Pre-World Cup doubles match with Duke. They utilize the wind.
 * Aoi Fubuki 「葵吹雪, lit. Hollyhock Blizzard」: This is the first shown new technique from Fuji. When the opponent smashes the ball, Fuji runs towards the net, jumps in the air, twists his body, and directly smashes the opponent's smash right back into the opponent's side of the court. According to M. Bismarck, using a high-stakes smash against a smash is an astonishing risk that only a genius can pull off.

Serves

 * Kieru Serves 「消えるサーブ, lit. Disappearing Serves」: Otherwise known as the "cut-serve", but because Fuji spins the ball as he drops it, this particular underhand serve makes the ball disappear. While not as fast or as powerful as most serves, many players are caught off guard by the way the ball abruptly "cuts" to the left (the returner's right) and in a sense "disappears".

Others

 * Kokoro no Hitomi 「心の瞳, lit. Closed Eyes」: A state that sharpens Fuji's abilities greatly.

Trivia

 * On the first series popularity polls, Fuji ranked 2nd in every poll except the second poll in which he ranked 1st. On the sequel series popularity polls, Fuji ranked 1st on the first poll (tied with Ryoma) and the second poll.
 * According to the official fanbook(s):
 * Fuji's worst subject is science.
 * His most visited place in school is the photography room.
 * He spends his allowance on cacti care supplies.
 * His motto is "What's precious is invisible to the eye".
 * His favorite movies are musicals.
 * His favorite books are interior design magazines.
 * His favorite music is celtic music.
 * His ideal date spot is the planetarium.
 * He wants antique interior furnishings or tableware.
 * His daily routine is taking care of his cacti and drinking coffee in the morning.
 * He dislikes sour things.
 * His other specialty besides tennis is skiing and other winter sports.
 * His ideal type is someone who's elegant with nice manners and beautiful fingers.
 * The kanji for Fuji 「不二」 stands for "not second", "unparalleled", or "peerless". His name can also be seen as a bit of a pun when his hobbies and favorite foods are taken into account; Fujifilm is the world's largest photographic and imaging company, and one of Fuji's hobbies is photography.
 * Fuji is shown to possess skills on the piano (as shown in Another Story 2) as well as horse-riding and curling.
 * Fuji's eyes are blue in the anime, but brown in the manga.
 * Fuji is the youngest of the third years in the Seigaku tennis club.
 * Fuji is one of the few male characters in the anime who is voiced by a female voice actor.
 * Both Fuji and his sister are voiced by Yuki Kaida.

Quotes

 * "Let's go on more time before the wind dies down..." — Fuji to Jiro during their match, The Prince of Tennis Genius 142, "Hakugei"
 * "Kirihara, is it? If you're in a hurry, I'll be happy to oblige. However, you might not be the winner." — Fuji to Kirihara before their match, The Prince of Tennis Genius 215, "The Champions Who Do Not Permit Losing"
 * "Your brother... will be fine." — Fuji to An regarding Tachibana, The Prince of Tennis Chapter 244, "A Place Where The Top Gather Once Every 10 Years"
 * "No matter where you are, you always seem to be one step ahead of me..." — Fuji after losing his match against Tezuka, The New Prince of Tennis Genius 38, "One Step Ahead"
 * "Even if we're far apart, we'll always be united by tennis." — Fuji to Seigaku, The New Prince of Tennis Episode 13, "Towards Your New Brilliant Selves"
 * "Up until now, you've always been my guidepost. Because you were there, I've been able to grow as much as I have. You always exemplified the path I should continue walking down. But now, you have left for Germany to pursue becoming a pro. Although I've never found any meaning in playing tennis... Now I even lack a guidepost to follow!" — Fuji to Tezuka, The New Prince of Tennis Genius 144, "My Guidepost"