I love Baby Steps.  I haven’t mentioned that, have I? I admit I was a little puzzled by the tepid reaction to Nat-chan when Baby Steps’ anime adaptation was in its early stages.  The truth is I felt as if people weren’t really understanding her character the way I was, […] Read more

The source of Baby Steps‘ greatness is surely also its commercial curse. Every young athlete’s path to becoming a professional – especially in a physically brutal sport such as tennis – passes through places that look a lot like where we saw Maruo this week.  The difference is that most […] Read more

There’s nothing quite like the joy of seeing a faithful adaptation of a manga you love. As spectacular a crowd-pleaser as last week’s episode of Baby Steps was, this one was every bit as true a representation of what this series is, and why it’s the equal of any sports […] Read more

This was a truly great episode, in ways both expected and unexpected. When we use the term “Sakuga” in regards to anime, it’s generally in relation to the animation – those moments where fluidity and detail reflect a signifiant uptick in the budget to really drive a scene home.  For […] Read more

That was a real cracker of an episode. I’m torn about the Baby Steps anime, though not about the show itself – I love it.  But I honestly don’t know whether to feel grateful that it exists at all or cheated that it’s going to be so damn short, when […] Read more

I’d love to see what this guy could do on clay. Tennis, like all sports, has a good number of peculiarities about it.  I personally don’t think there’s another sport that so heavily centers on the battle of minds and wills that takes place in every competitive match, and I […] Read more

Tennis has its own field of dreams, of course. You’ll have to forgive me, Maruo-kun, if my tennis attention is divided today.  Specifically, much of it is on that hallowed hall in the OP, where the greatest player of all time is set to try and win his 8th Wimbledon […] Read more

Those were master strokes, indeed. I was a little surprised by how much negativity I saw from manga readers when this match arrived upon the scene in the Baby Steps anime.  Not shocked mind you, as this is one of the more unusual scenarios that plays out in the series […] Read more

In tennis, the toughest battlefield is definitely between the ears. There are times when I forget that there’s an elephant in the room – Baby Steps is only going to be 25 episodes long.  It’s easy to forget, because so far the anime has done next to nothing to remind […] Read more

“May the best man win” can be kind of a misnomer. I’m kind of waiting (though who knows, maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised) for an avalanche of criticism for this episode of Baby Steps because Maruo won his match with Miyagawa.  On one level I’d understand it, but I think […] Read more