Baby Steps | Episodes 14-25 (Selected Round Up)
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Episode 14 | TFP Review
stardf29: Okay, this thread has gone unnoticed for too long. …
Anyway, this show has been fantastic lately. The match against Iwasa was brilliant, even with the anticlimactic end; I guess Ei-chan just can’t end a tennis match in a conventional way. Still, I really like how the show shows how Ei-chan is growing as a tennis player over the course of these matches.
It’s particularly interesting contrasting this with the other currently-airing sports show I’m following (and enjoying): Haikyuu!!. Whereas that one, being about the team sport of volleyball, is focused more on teamwork and thus focuses more on character interaction, this show, being about a one-on-one sport, is focused more on personal development. Both shows do what their sport focuses on really well, which is great.
Not that Baby Steps is particularly lacking in character interaction, either; it’s just that, because of the nature of the sport, that interaction is mainly reserved for the off-court time. Thankfully, we get plenty of that here in this episode, as Ei-chan gets confronted with the question of whether or not he wants to go pro, as well as how he should play against Araya, who seems to be a very menacing and tough opponent. I can understand why he might seem a bit uncomfortable with the whole “find and prey on the opponent’s weakness” approach to tennis, but Miura is right in that it is not only a way to win, but also beneficial for the loser.
Anyway, this next match is going to be quite something, especially being a three-set match and against an opponent like Araya. Though it looks like Takuma will provide Ei-chan a hint on how to defeat him, at least…
Episode 18 | TFP Review
stardf29: And there it is. Eichiro has decided to go pro. He’s going to need to produce results first to convince his mother, but the STC is on his side, and now he has nowhere to go but up.
So yeah, this should be an even more interesting show going forward.
EmperorBrandon: I loved the joke with Eiichirou taking notes from a website when he could have printed out. And later on when he actually gets to printing something out… it’s like he’s done an essay assignment to convince his parents on his desire to go pro. I like the irony there: using his own studiousness for the aim of shifting his time from his studies to tennis.
Episode 20 | TFP Review
stardf29: Baby Steps has been great with the personal sports growth, but it’s nice to see more in the relational (and romantic) growth.
Of course, the sports growth is there, literally, as Eiichiro’s intense training has allowed him to become much stronger, allowing him to easily win a tournament, albeit one lacking in especially strong opponents. Still, it is his first tournament victory, and a well-deserved one.
Then comes the school sports festival, and here, we see more of him and Natsu getting along with each other somewhat awkwardly but quite sweetly. Unfortunately for Sasaki, she starts to realize that, with her not being part of his world anymore, her chances of being with him are pretty much nil. (And Kageyama sure isn’t helping. Funny how there’s a Kageyama in both of the two-cour sports shows this season.)
While I’d definitely be interested to see where the romance goes, it does look like, for now, the focus is on the tennis. There’s only five more episodes left here with little sign of a second season in the works, so let’s just hope the anime gives Ei-chan a good send-off before we have to go to the manga.
Episode 21 | TFP Review
stardf29: As Baby Steps heads to its anime endgame, things get exciting as Eiichiro has to face his strongest official opponent yet: Nabae, the fellow note-taker and the top seed in the Kanto tournament.
He does manage to get an early advantage in, though, thanks to the element of surprise, though he knows he can only have that advantage for so long. And now, with Nabae realizing that Eiichiro is very similar to him, he now has the upper hand; after all, the easiest opponent to defeat is yourself.
How Eiichiro will overcome this, and how the match will play out will certainly make for an interesting final run of episodes.
Episode 24 | TFP Review
stardf29: Coach Aoi at first seems like a bit of a weirdo, but he seems to know what’s best for Eiichiro, forcing him to not push himself too much and take some time to do something for himself. Of course, with Eiichiro, he doesn’t really know what he wants to do outside of what he “needs” to do… so of course, Kageyama sets him up on a date with Natsu. Such a bro, even when it’s pretty clear he has his own reasons for wanting to pair the two up.
For a series, though, that has so far focused more on Eiichiro’s tennis than his slowly-deepening relationship with Natsu, it feels strangely fitting for the final episode to focus pretty much entirely on those two. It’s going to be sad to see this show go, though…
Episode 25 (Finale) | TFP Review
stardf29: Eiichiro and Natsu’s date goes by pretty quickly, although not without Eiichiro asking Natsu how she feels about him rather nonchalantly. It does seem to shake Natsu a bit, which does not go unnoticed by him.
Meanwhile, Coach Aoi uses the whole experience to teach Eiichiro to be more in tune with his instinctual side. Then, he gives him an opportunity to learn some tennis overseas in America.
It’s a simple but fitting end to this season… and I say this season because we already have a second season confirmed! With this show being as good as it is, I’m definitely looking forward to that; it’s a good thing that being aired on NHK, as shows there don’t rely on disc sales as much (which is good, as this show’s disc sales are non-existent as far as Oricon is concerned).
This show is in many ways different from normal sports anime, in ways that really help make it something special. Its focus on the personal growth of its main character is its key point, and it does so by taking him through the entire process of learning a sport, including all of the more arduous moments, as well as several exciting matches against various, interesting opponents. And all this is against a relationship developing between him and female lead Natsu that is moving slowly but surely. All this adds up to a show that is a very rewarding experience, and one for which a second season announcement right at the end is very welcome news.
