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| That was the best ending out of all the other summer anime that have ended! Really good series overall. Best tennis anime. Looking forward to second season. Also, the romantic subplot was done so well! |
| That date...ahh my heart almost burst XD! See you in spring everyone :p 8/10 |
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness." "May those who defy their fate be granted glory." |
| Such a tease. |
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| Hello budget, nice to see you're still around. Training arcs are always great, so America/S2 will be something to look forward to. |
| Maybe we'll get a confession in the next season. |
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| Great ending! Loved the date, Ei-chan and Nacchan are so cute ^^ They're really well suited for each other. Nacchan had many things she wanted to do, and Ei-chan didn't where he wanted to go, but he liked going everywhere with Nacchan. And lol when everyone was anticipating a confession out of Ei-chan, but at least Nacchan was still super happy that he went out of his way just to tell her good luck and that she will definitely not lose the first match! So happy for the news of second season too. Since they just introduced Aoi last episode, I knew they couldn't just end it here. Ahh excited to see Ei-chan in America ^^ I agree with currycurry that it only gets better! |
| Season2Season2Season2Season2Season2Season2. Really enjoyed this show through and through. Between the past 2 seasons with this, Haikyuu!, and Ping-Pong, I think I've become a sports anime fan. |
| Ahhhhh yeah, season two!!! :D I'm so hyped and elated! ヽ(´∇｀)ノ This was a very fun series. Though the start was a tad slow for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it a ton, especially once it started to get to episode 7+. So onto America for some more training, eh? This sounds like it'll be very interesting. Definitely can't wait for the new season next spring! |
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NonStopRoad said: underrated, MAL rating probably will climb up like log horizon 1st season (somewhere between 8-8.5 maybe?) At this point, I doubt it'll rise sadly :( |
| Really great series. I hope next season will not be worse! |
| This sounds crazy but I'll give it 9/10, I utterly enjoyed it. Really too bad about the QUALITY but it didn't hinder me too much. Hopefully it'll get a better budget next time ..? Probably not. |
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| OMG that ending was just killer! I was like "DON'T MESS THIS UP!!!" and he did. LOL Still really funny though, and really looking forward to the next season! |
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| Watched the whole season 1 within a day... got pretty much hooked after the first 2 episodes. I really thought Ei-chan would confess to Nat-chan before he leaves. Oh well, very happy to hear there'll be a season 2! Hope he gets even more skilled and more development between him and Nat-chan! |
You can just be yourself. Do things your own way, one step at a time. You'll get there. Just be yourself, you'll be fine." ~Fruit Basket |
| Most realistic tennis anime I've ever seen.. though this is probably the only one beside Ace o Nerae! from the 80's A little biased for sure since I'm a huge tennis (Federer) fan... Anyways.. Pacing's a bit slow at times.. not to mention subpar (low budget) art/animation, but everything else makes up for it and then some.. If Nishikori keeps doing well, I can see this anime running for quite a while.. good shit.. would watch 2nd season/10 |
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| Great Episode but the thing I hoping for him to confess Nat Chan before leaving for Florida guess have to wait for next Season |
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| They sang the OP and ED during karoke that was creative and nice. That eyebrow twitching and eyes sparkling when he wanted to figure out who Ei-chan was with during the whole shenanigans. I love Ei-chan's instinct side Darn I so thought Ei-chan was going to confess, I fell for that one too easy. I hope Ei-chan can gather the courage to do it in s2. |
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| 8/10, overall a very solid anime indeed. Can't wait for season 2, damn I wanted Eiichiro to confess to Natsu but I guess that's coming in season 2 either way ;) |
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Trippwire01 said: Season2Season2Season2Season2Season2Season2. Our prayers have been answered! |
| damn they got me there thought ei was gonna confess on a side note I actually got a good life off of that though Glad I started this now though so i can watch season 2 right away |
| Well, this was a pretty satisfying anime, and a good ending to chain with season 2. In the end I liked Natsu far more than I had anticipated :) 8/10 |
| Tch, I've never even been to Florida. Was that a Serena and/or Venus Williams "cameo" though or someone who is supposed to be/represent them? Praise. This has been great. I definitely wouldn't mind picking up the second season. First off, a lot of sports anime just makes it seem like the MC is all on their own in the beginning; no friends to cheer them on or keep on cheering them on as they head down their path. So I actually appreciate that other characters seemed to genuinely support each other and want each other to grow instead of the usual sports cliche relationships where everyone's a rival forever until episodes later. Way later. Our MC's way about participating in tennis is usually one you see in side characters in other sports anime, but it's fun to see this type as the main character instead. Good stuff. |
| What..??!! Seriously...... Ei-chan tha's all you really have to say. tsk tsk. Alright season 2 here we go ! |
| And how exactly was Maruo cheating? Natsu asked why he was spacing out at karaoke and then Natsu says that's cheating. Hmm. Overall the date was real sweet, it felt more like a boyfriend taking his girlfriend on her vintage hobbies. Props to Maruo at the end. The guy risks his plane to America just to motivate Natsu, that's very classy. Just goes to show how much Maruo cares about Natsu. |
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| Enjoyed this show so much... on to season 2! |
| :) |
| what a great anime. the sports and romance aspect balances so well, and the relationships don't make any weird situations or conflicts. Natsu and Eiichirou are so cute and natural together, it's sooo rare to see such a wholesome romantic interactions with no misunderstandings in anime overall, i really really enjoyed this. the entertainment aspect was spot on. only thing is that the MC improved a bit too quickly for my liking, but i can let it go solid 8/10 for me |
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| The advice of finding a common ground between your instinct and reason was some of the best you could get. And I adore the fact that Aoi's training is already changing Maruo to understand what he wants. The double almost confession scenes made my heart burst! Baby Steps was the best portrayal and analysis of realistic improvement, character growth and the competitive mindset I've ever seen. The fast pacing showcases this masterfully allowing Maruo to lose and lose but constantly improve slowly rather than all at once, or by beating people he shouldn't, but it can feel odd at times. The thing is, I don't know how to emulate the amount of effort and time for realistic improvement that this anime did without doing that so it's negligible. The advice and competitive knowledge it reveals is game changing for any field, for anyone competing in anything at all I would recommend this series tenfold due to the amount it will teach them. The Takuya match in particular taught me enough to level me up, the idea of taking a disadvantaged loss to get data was so insightful! Along with that line of thought, the matches were intense! If this was a battle shounen it would have my favorite fights, meaning they each had great strategies on both players parts, development on both sides, the stronger player always won no exception, and each was surprisingly meaningful. The characters from Takuya, to Araya, to Takuma, and to the amazing Natsu(who's relationship and development with Maruo is fantastic) everyone was written delightfully! Everyone strives to improve, they have their strengths and weaknesses, and nearly every one of them develops and is characterized in a way that I hardly see in anything. Notably the Araya match where the opponent was so much more than an obstacle, he was a person with goals and ambitions who was skilled and able to acknowledge his weakness mid match to adapt and stare his weakness in the face allowing him to prevail. That kind of effort in writing opponents is rare and it's very much appreciated! As you can see I loved Baby Steps! What would have made it better? Possibly a way to make the pacing seem a little less weird at times, but I don't know how that could have been done. Perhaps the scope could have been bigger, focus on some more mental hurdles rather than the hurdles of improvement alone? We learned Takuya was going through a slump but it may have been better to analyse situations alike that, but maybe we'll get that next season. Maybe, despite the great supports, more of a focus on them? We could learn lessons that were specific to that kind of player if the camera focused on their side a little bit more than when they were dealing with Maruo. Point is, something is missing but I can't pin point it directly, what I do know is that something is keeping Baby Steps away from a 10, and possibly even a 9 as I view my 9's as better as a whole than it... But the sheer power of the competitive specialty and focus makes me want to push it up despite that to a 9. That may be what it is, the scope of this anime is smaller than my 9's and 10's, yet it perfects what it tries to leaving me in a tough spot since I view those bigger scoped shows as perfecting theirs too. So, ultimately I'll be giving Baby Steps S1 a 8 or 9/10, my final decision will come with more reflection. |
| The training in this show was really well done. At no point did it feel like he just got good out of nowhere. I wasn't entertained though and was bored a lot of the time while watching this and don't even get me started on that bullshit "confession" at the end. 5/10 |
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| All right finished, I give the season a 5/10. Art is ugly, music is minimal, MC is not cool or cool looking. The girls were ok, I think I liked glasses girl more than blonde girl. Why would blonde girl like dorky MC? |
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| This episode was good. Great to see Eiichiro and Natsu finally spending some time together. I laughed so hard when they were singing the soundtrack during karaoke! I also liked Miura's theory on the influence of reason and instinct on performance, it is really something to think about... Well it turns out Ei-chan will spend his winter break in America. Great way to conclude the first season of an awesome show. Can't wait for more! |
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 Can we please get some appreciation for the person who thought it would be necessary to have fifty unique doodles hovering above the characters for a few seconds? It's really the little things that count. Props to the person(s) who thought of and drew all this, lol. |
| So the opening stadium looks like Wimbledon, does he eventually play in Wimbledon? :o I've always wondered... but why include it as the opening lol, anyway this was a good anime overall, it was slow to begin with but got more enjoyable as the eps went by. |
If you don't like me, acquire some taste |
| Loved this episode. The date was cute and a joy to watch, and the prep for America has begun! Nice way of transitioning towards the new season where Maruo'll be really getting trained his ass off there in one of the best countries in the world when it comes to tennis. Him meeting Natsu before having to go to the airport was cute too, although a bit awkward at the same time given the crowd there surrounding them. Natsu playing well after seeing Maruo with closure for a couple weeks was nice. Overall, this was a great season and I'm glad I decided to rewatch this. I feel like with the production standards we get for most sports anime now like with Major 2nd season 2 or with Mix or Hanebado, this season would have been even better and I would give it a 10 on MAL (9.5 my actual rating). I loved the slow-burn development, the monologues Maruo goes through when in various kinds of matches, the characters, the opening song being awesome and much more. I just feel like visually, Pierrot let me down in some matches since there really isn't enough frames during sequences so it feels a bit flat at times. Still, a great season overall and I can rate it a 8.5-9/10. |
| I just completed the re-watch and it was as good as I remembered. It’s one of my favorite sports series. |
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| With the score being so high I expected this to be better. Average characters, average animation with some moments being actually bad and hit and miss episodes. I still give it a 6/10 instead of a 5 because I do like the MC quite a bit. He is the saving grace of this otherwise forgettable anime. Hoping that the 2nd season is better. |
 .Go watch Gintama boyo/grill My discord server for gaming and anime/manga: https://discord.com/invite/4mqXfNEJ9A |
| The date was so adorable >u<. Animation was very consistent on the 2nd half and I'm entertained by this. 8/10 |
"......If I told you that I was a real witch, would you believe it?"  |
| It's an interesting one for me, I'm such a fan of tennis in general, whether it be slugging it out on the courts or following the professional tour closely, this series did some things very well and other parts pretty poorly. What I enjoyed immensely was how much time went into explaining the rules, strategies, game styles, the mindset, the overall physicality of it all, the training side of things, it was rather meticulous and detailed, you can obviously tell that the author is a fan of tennis. A lot of accuracy in all this information. The little romance subplot was nice with the two MCs, not too forceful, nor was it swept too the side. This is Maruo's story and the side characters were sufficient enough, except that random glasses chick, anime would be better if she wasn't in it. What I didn't enjoy was the production value, the animation of the matches themselves were poor overall, from the overall fluid movements of the strokes (the serve looked quite good for the most part) to the player positioning on the court, to the wide shots of the court and the frigid player and ball movement. It left a lot to be desired. Also, there's only so much suspension of disbelief I can allow, Maruo's incredibly fast development and rise is a big "press X to doubt" moment throughout the series, though I kind of took all that at face value for the most part. You can be the most dedicated, diligent person on Earth, you're not improving at such a quick rate and going pro is a lol moment after a short amount of time playing. 7/10, would have probably enjoyed it more if I wasn't such a tennis nerd. |
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