Prince of Tennis: Eikokushiki Teikyuu Shiro Kessen!

The Seigaku tennis club regulars visit England to represent Japan in a tournament. Everything was going well until a series of attacks on other players force them and the other Japanese representatives to confront the perpetrators. Rumor has it that the attacks were orchestrated by a group of banned players. Ling Xiu, a former member, warns the other players to stay away from Keith and his gang. 

Ryoma decides he needs to test this Keith in a tennis court. He is joined by Tezuka, Fuji, Atobe, Shiraishi, Kite, Sanada, and Kirihara.

This 10th anniversary movie of Prince of Tennis is full of humor and action. With strong opponents as challengers, you'd expect nothing less than explosive tennis matches. Some might not like the lineup of Ryoma's supporting cast but keep in mind that this is a movie made for fans. I don't recommend this to viewers who haven't watched the series. The characters, humor, and exaggerated plays would not make sense at all. As for the fans, this movie is an excellent treat.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Six Centuries of Painting by Randall Davies

Based on the cardinal points of painting, Randall Davies attempted to classify, explain the origins and influences, and present the development of painting in the western hemisphere. The cardinal points he used are the following: basis of religion, development peculiar to the soil, imitation of nature, and approbation of the public.

This volume is quite helpful to art students and even to general readers because of the organization of the information. However, it is more like a list than a study of the distinct features of the schools. Some portions did give useful information about the styles and their differences but it is very rare. Only the well-known artists are given special attention as well. Moreover, the author injects biased comments about the specific artists' styles, putting aside what could have been a more useful general comparison of styles.

Nonetheless, the book has plenty of useful information and is easy to read. The ff. are the chapters included in the volume:

Tuscan Schools
Venetian Schools
Spanish School
Flemish School
Dutch School
Painters of Genre
Painters of Animals
Painters of Landscape
German Schools
The Seventeenth Century
The Eighteenth Century
The English School
Close of the Eighteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century
The Spirit of Revolt
Ruskin Against the Philistines
Manet and Whistler Against the World
The Royal Academy

Rating: 6 out of 10