Kaidou Kaoru

Anime Manga
Kaidou Kaoru
Kanji	海堂薫
Kana	かいどうかおる
Gender	Male
Age	14
Birthday	May 11 (Taurus)
Height	173 cm -> 174 cm (23.5)
Weight	57 kg
Blood Type	B
Dominant Arm	Right
Eyesight (Unaided)	1.5 (both eyes)
Shoe Size	26.5 cm
Family	Kaidou Shibuki (Father) Kaidou Hozumi (Mother) Kaidou Hazue (Younger Brother)
Nicknames	Bandanna-Kun (by Konjiki Koharu Mamushi (Viper)
School
Current School	Seigaku (2nd Year)
Class	2-7
Seat	4
Committee	None
Best Subject(s)	English
Worst Subject(s)	Mathematics, Science
Tennis
Club Position	Regular
Play Style	Counter Puncher
Doubles Partner(s)	Inui Sadaharu Momoshiro Takeshi Yagyuu Hiroshi
Shoes	PUMA (Cell Factor PT06340067)
Racket(s)	HEAD (Ti.S7)
Media
Manga Debut	Genius 4/Golden Age 1
Anime Debut	Episode 3
Voice	Kohei Kiyasu (JP) David Lodge (EN)
Tenimyu Actors	Gomoto Naoya (1st) Kujirai Kousuke (2nd/3rd) Yanagishita Tomo (3rd/4th) Hirata Yuuichiro (4th) Hayashi Akihiro (5th) Ikeoka Ryosuke (6th) Kimura Tatsunari (7th) Sana Hiroki (8th)

Kaidou Kaoru (海堂薫(かいどうかおる)) is a 2nd year student at Seigaku. He is a tenacious player known for his stamina, long reach and signature Snake shots. He is mentored by Inui Sadaharu and holds a rivalry with Momoshiro Takeshi.

Kaidou Kaoru

Appearance

Kaidou is notable for the bandanna he wears, which ranges from several colors and patterns. In the Anime, he is shown to primarily wear a green bandanna with white patterns (orange in his earlier appearances), while in the manga and video games he wears a blue and black-printed bandanna. His arms and legs are stated to be unusually long, which allows him to perform his curving Snake shots.

Daily School Life

• 05:00 - Wakes up, roadwork
• 06:00 - Breakfast (handmade soba and fruits)
• 06:50 - Goes to school for morning practice
• 08:20 - Cleans the teacher's desk, etc. on his day shift
• 08:40 - 1st Period: Science II - Astronomy
• 09:40 - 2nd Period: Physical Education - Short Distance Run
• 10:30 - Runs in schoolyard during break
• 11:00 - 3rd Period: Japanese - Modern Literature
• 12:00 - 4th Period: Home Economics - Sewing (Apron)
• 12:50 - Lunch Break: Multi-tier bento (Hollandaise sauce on Ise-ebi lobster)
• 13:00 - Muscle training in weight room
• 13:20 - 5th Period: Mathematics II
• 14:20 - 5th Period: Sociology - Civics
• 16:00 - Club Activities - Basics practice
• 18:00 - Goes home, dinner, bath
• 19:00 - Cleans his room, irons his shirt
• 20:30 - Watches DVD "Arctic Continent - Ecology of the Polar Bear"
• 21:00 - After training in his room, roadwork
• 01:00 - Goes to bed after light shower

Personality

Kaidou is serious and unsociable, earning him the nickname "Mamushi" for his viper-like play style and behavior. He is often misunderstood or feared by others due to his tough appearance and unsettling nature. However, underneath his fierce exterior, he is shown to be shy, hard-working and polite.

He also holds strong sense of justice and cares for the people close to him, such as the regular members of Seigaku, and would go as far as getting hit to protect Echizen Ryoma from a flying ball or carry an injured Momoshiro Takeshi up a cliff.

Among the Seigaku regulars, Kaidou is known take great efforts in training to push himself to perform beyond his limits. This is shown in his daily training schedule, which is noted to be three times more than a regular load . This also reflects in his personality, where he holds a strong mentality of persevering even in the most dire situations and will selflessly withstand harsh conditions to bring victory to his team and friends.

Kaidou also has a soft spot for cute animals such as cats and dogs, however he is often ignored or disliked by them.

Personal

• Hobbies: Marathons, Bandanna collecting
• Spends His Allowance On: Training equipment
• Most Wanted Item/Thing: New training equipment, National Tournament second consecutive victory
• Skills Outside of Tennis: Household chores
• Father's Occupation: Company Employee (Bank)
• Things he's bad at/with: Monsters, ghosts
• Daily Routine: Roadwork, Cleaning his room
• Random Fact: Distance run a day: 25km
• Routine During Tournament: Sends postcards to family

Preferences

• Food(s): Yam soba (zaru), Yogurt, 100% Fruit Juice
• Color(s): Blue
• Motto(s): "In for a penny, in for a pound​"(毒を食らわば皿まで(どくをくらわばさらまで)), "Slow but steady wins the race" (雨垂れ石を穿つ(あまだれいしをうがつ))
• Movie(s): Japanese movies
• Book(s): Japanese literature (Meiji Era)
• Music: Japanese musical instruments
• Type of Person: Someone who eats deliciously
• Date Spot: Zoo (wants to see the polar bears)
• Most Visited Spot on Campus: Weight room

Biography

Prior to the events of the main story

Upon entering Seigaku as a first year student, he was able to talk to Momoshiro Takeshi for the first time. The two later became rivals in Seigaku's tennis club, where they would often compete to surpass each other.

He also participated in the Newcomers Tournament against an unnamed opponent. Although he lost the match, he was able to hit his first Snake shot.

Intra-School Ranking Tournament

As one of Seigaku's regular members, Kaidou is the first serious opponent Echizen Ryoma faces during the Seigaku's Ranking Tournament. Kachiro Kato reveals a recording of one of Kaidou's prior matches, showing his extreme play that causes the other first years, Horio Satoshi and Mizuno Katsuo, to fear for Echizen's next match. Despite the concerns of his peers, Echizen remains unaffected and proceeds to the match against Kaidou. Early on, the match advances in favor of Kaidou due to his strategy to drain Echizen's stamina through his Snake shot, which forces Echizen to repeatedly run to both ends of the court. However, as the match continues, Kaidou is shown to become increasingly exhausted while hitting Echizen's returns that seemingly became stronger and faster to him. It is revealed by Inui Sadaharu that Echizen had aimed his returns at Kaidou's feet, resulting in Kaidou being forced to bend low to return the shot and using 2-3 times the normal strength, causing him to lose more stamina. In the end, Kaidou fell for Echizen's strategy and loses the match 6-4.

Despite losing against Echizen, Kaidou was able to retain his regular spot by beating Inui Sadaharu 7-5.

Districts

Seigaku, being favored as the first seed, advances to the finals after defeating Gyokurin in the quarterfinals and Mizu no Fuchi in the semi-finals, where Kaidou is placed in Singles 3 for both rounds and wins both matches 6-0.

In the finals, instead of facing the second seed Kakinoki as anticipated, Seigaku instead faces the unseeded Fudoumine Middle School. Kaidou is placed in Singles 3 against Kamio Akira. The match starts with Kamio provoking Kaidou by calling him "Viper," causing Kaidou to lash out at him in irritation by swinging his racket. He is quickly reprimanded by Tezuka Kunimitsu, and the match begins after the two teams apologize to one another.

Throughout the early stages of the match, Kamio shows incredible speed that allows him to catch up to Kaidou's Snake shots across the court. This counters Kaidou's methods of draining his opponent's energy as Kamio easily returns them. In addition, the power of Kaidou's Snake shot is greatly weakened due to the ball collecting rain from the previous match. Kamio takes the lead after he defeats Kaidou's Snake shots three times in a row.

With determination to regain the match, Kaidou throws his body to return the ball after slipping, causing the ball to curve around the pole. This accidental Snake shot is named Boomerang Snake by the spectators watching due to its boomerang-like curve, and the momentum changes to Kaidou. In response to Kaidou's successful shot, Kamio picks up his speed with Quick Serve and takes the lead 1-0. Kaidou then tries to hit another Boomerang Snake, however fails as the ball goes out. While losing 3-0, Kaidou becomes irritated with the low chance of succeeding his Snake shots. Despite the unfavorable conditions towards Kaidou, he manages to keep his serves and follow Kamio 5-3. At match point, Kamio uses his Quick Serve to end the match, however Kaidou persists with his Snake shots and constantly returns Kamio's advantage to deuce. It is revealed by both Inui and Echizen that Kaidou shows no sign of exhaustion due to his exceptional stamina, which was built through a rigorous practice load created by Inui and doubled by Kaidou. As the match continues to shift between advantage and deuce with Kamio's serves returned with Kaidou's consecutive Snake shots, Kamio slowly begins to feel pressure and fatigue even as he leads the game. Kaidou's ability to drain his opponent's stamina and persist to the last minute shows effect, and the match finally ends with Kaidou's victory at 7-5.

After the match, Inui offers to mentor Kaidou to perfect the Boomerang Snake after taking data of the shot, and Kaidou agrees to practice under his advice.

Relationships

Inui Sadaharu

Momoshiro Takeshi

Tennis

Play Style

Kaidou specializes in his signature Snake shots, which he can manipulate to various rotations and curves. He is also prevalent in long endurance matches that drains his opponent's mental strength, concentration and stamina.

Speed - 3

Power - 3

Stamina - 4.5

Mental - 3

Technique - 3

Snake (スネイク)

A buggy whip shot that shows a sharp change in angle, often used by Kaidou to capture the opponent's stamina by forcing them to run to both ends of the court.

Boomerang Snake (ブーメランスネイク)

A Snake shot that curves around the pole. It was a technique that succeeded by chance by slipping during the Tokyo District tournament against Kamio Akira.

Short Snake (ショートスネイク)

Curves stronger than the normal Snake, but covers less distance. It is used when both players are at the net and curves around the opponent.

Tornado Snake (トルネードスネイク)

A Snake shot that emits hundred of gyro rotations from the same motion.

Reverse Snake (リバーススネイク)

A shot that draws a reverse trajectory of a normal Snake.

Gyro Laser (ジャイロレーザー)

Derived from Yagyuu Hiroshi's Laser Beam, a quick forehand shot with a gyro rotation. Inui Sadaharu helped form this shot using the same form as the Tornado Snake after an unofficial doubles match pairing with Yagyuu.

Devil Mode (悪魔化/デビルか)

Triggered once during Nationals against Kirihara Akaya and Yanagi Renji due to anger after his partner, Inui Sadaharu, was injured by Kirihara. Although speed and power increases, it can lead to drastic consequences. He was soon stopped by Inui and returned to normal.

Tennis Bag Contents

Bandannas

In order to immediately switch bandannas when one gets dirty, he always has 2~3 bandannas.

Writing Implements

Instead of mechanical pencils, it seems he only uses ballpoint pens to take notes.

Notebook

In order to easily file away important sections, he uses the ringed-style notebook.

Bento Box

A splendid lacquer, multi-tier bento box wrapped in a furoshiki (cloth). Of course, he brings chopsticks and the chopstick rest.

Sewing Kit

Sewing tools and nail clippers are stored away here. He always keeps his nails clean so he makes an effort to practice.

Handkerchief and Tissue Paper

The hygienic Kaidoh, he carries a handkerchief and tissue without forgetting. It seems he has a methodical personality.

Pass Case

A pass case with proof that you're a Seigaku student. Is Kaidoh's picture as scary as one might expect?

Trivia

• Once, as a primary school student, he was forced to wear a skirt and cried. This fact was also brought up by Konjiki Koharu during Nationals.
• According to Konomi, Kaidou was named "Kaoru" in order to highlight the gap from having a cute name with a stern face.
• Kaidou's signature snake shot was inspired from Konomi's upperclassman, who once put a spin on a ball. This prompted him to include a similar move in the story. Additionally, as the first opponent in the story who makes Echizen Ryoma serious, he wanted to show the intensity of tennis by omitting all words when drawing the match scenes between them during the School Ranking Tournament.
• When asked what part of the character design he is fixated on, Konomi said he focuses most on the line for Kaidou's lips and the eyelashes under his eyes. He wanted to make his eyes glaring so he would have a hungry look.
• After drawing for so long, Konomi stated that he has shown Kaidou's good points, such as his love for animals and his courtesy. Over the course of New Prince of Tennis, he wants to show the same hungriness he showed during the match with Tezuka Kunimitsu in a new light.
• Konomi stated that if he switched places with Kaidou for a day, there wouldn't be any benefits except for trying out training and running 42.195km (Kaidou's record in primary school).

Common Questionnaire

When you become a third year, what kind of club do you want to make?

I'll make Seigaku, which dominated the Nationals this year, into an unbeatable team. If I can't do that much, it'd be meaningless.

What do you like to be called?

I don't mind being called by my family name like usual. Aside from Ma...shi, it doesn't really matter, anything's fine. As long as it's not Mamu....

What was your Christmas present last year?

I didn't really get anything special, from my parents. I'm in 2nd year middle school, I don't need to get anything anymore. I didn't ask for anything to begin with.

If you could only bring one item with you on a deserted island?

Hm? ...... you thought that I would say ...... my bandana? Please get a life. What kind of question is this?

Messages From and To Others

Others about Kaidou

• "The reason I'm not popular with girls across the nation is probably because I lost a match against Kaidou-san." - Aoi Kentarou
• "Both of them have some good daredevil eyes. If you're prepared to die, I can be your opponent." - Akutsu Jin
• "Kaidou-kun, I heard you like cats. I have a pet rabbit as well. Animals can really be soothing." - Aragaki Koichi
• "Kaidou, I have developed a lot of new Inui Juices for you to try. Next time, come to my house" - Inui Sadaharu
• "You keep on making me worried over you. If you're hurt, come to my uncle's hospital any time!" - Ooishi Shuuichirou
• "When I become a middle-school student like Kaoru-niisan, I would also like to become fired up in my youth with club activities." - Kaidou Hazue
• "Hey, Mamushi. The time has finally come for second years. I'm not going to lose next time, so be ready!" - Kamio Akira
• "My dad praised you, Kaidou. He said your dignified way of eating is rare among today's middle school students." - Kawamura Takashi
• "Kaidou~! The foundation of doubles is trust between partners-nya~! Right, Oishi!" - Kikumaru Eiji
• "Mamushi? Wakame? What, neither sounds yummy~! Eh? They're not food?" - Tooyama Kintarou
• "Bandanna-kun, give me that bandanna.♥ Ah~n, don't be so rou~gh!" - Konjiki Koharu
• "Even though they're both the same year as me, they're so childish. Whatever, next year Shitenhouji will be the one to claim the championship." - Zaizen Hikaru
• "So he's the one who carried his companion up the cliff. Kids like him are the type to improve." - Saito Itaru
• "If you come to Okinawa, I'll challenge you to skin-diving. If you have greater stamina than mine, you should be able to do it." - Shiranui Tomoya
• "Kaidou-kun, look, you need to smile more, smile more!" - Sengoku Kiyosumi
• "Kaidou, that is not the limit to your tennis. I will leave Seigaku's second consecutive victory to you." - Tezuka Kunimitsu
• "It looks like Koharu is aiming for you, but I won't hand Koharu, who has synchronized with me in shoujo glory, over~!" - Hitouji Yuuji
• "Kaidou. It seems that you're weak against ghosts, but tell me where you saw them. My journalist spirit had been kindled." - Hiyoshi Wakashi
• "Kaidou, remember your match with Tezuka. You should already be able to draw out your strength." - Fuji Shuusuke
• "When I first saw Kaidou-senpai, I thought I was gonna get killed. N-Now, of course I respect him!" - Horio Satoshi
• "Hey Mamushi. Sorry about that time with the cliff. I'll definitely pay back this debt during the training camp!" - Momoshiro Takeshi
• "With his courteousness, Kaidou-kun leaves a favorable impression. It's something our Kirihara-kun should learn." - Yagyuu Hiroshi
• "Boomerang Snake is so against the rules, da~ne. Because of you, I can't stand snakes anymore, da~ne. They're scary, da~ne." - Yanagisawa Shinya
• "Kaidou-kun...take care of what Tezuka-kun entrusted to you. Seigaku is now in your care." - Yamato Yuudai
• "We should play beach volleyball again in the summer. Hey, hey, what are you getting red for, Kaidou?" - Ryuuzaki Sumire
• "I accidentally saw Kaidou-senpai getting ignored by Karupin while strolling... this was actually the fifth time." - Echizen Ryoma

Kaidou about others

• About Kirihara Akaya: "I recognize that you were chosen to be a representative because of your abilities, but if you lose focus for even a second, I’m gonna snatch that spot right out from under you. You better be prepared."
• About Character: "Quote goes here"
• About Character: "Quote goes here"

Music

• Song name
• Song name feat. other characters

Gallery

• 

  Kaidou upon his arrival in the U-17 Camp.

• 

  Kaidou introduced sitting under a tree, saying "Senpai, are you trying to irritate me?"

• 

  Seigaku's School Flag

Quotes

• "Don't underestimate Kaidou Kaoru!"