Baby Steps

Oct 1, 2012

Ragix

Recommended

Preliminary (129/462 chp)

This is a review of this manga from the start to latest chapter.(Around 129)
I will re-edit it when this manga is complete or near completion.

I will also be trying to avoid spoiling as much as possible so sorry if some things may seem vague.

When it comes to sports manga it seems you either love it or hate it. Not a lot of us may have an interest in some sports whether it be football, swimming, baseball or tennis or maybe we do but just not in that specific sport. In order to win the crowd over when it comes to sports manga and ...

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Sep 27, 2014

bimbambusse

Recommended

Preliminary (232/462 chp)

This manga attracted me because the main character, like us, is a novice at tennis, or at least I am. Therefore the reader learns about tennis alongside Maruo (maincharacter), who is a beginner to tennis.

The story itself is simple. Maruo is introduced to tennis, decides to do it, and we read along, as simple as that.
The pace of the manga is nice. One does not have to read many chapters before Maruo has his first official match. While Maruo's training is present in the manga, it does not get boring to read and as mentioned we readers learn alongside Maruo there is always something ... new that happens, whether this is games or training. The manga is light-hearted. it is a simple light hearted sports manga and character backgrounds have small attention.

For the story of a sports manga to be interesting and to keep the readers attention, the execution of the games must be different from every other sports manga out there. As tennis is a one-man sport, the mangaka's decision to make this manga into a first person narration for the most part during games is obvious. The next step the mangaka next took is to make tennis, a fast paced sport, into a strategic game for the main character. (the pace do not suffer from this) The manga's approach to the games therefore needs a particular main character...

... which is what we have in Maruo. He is a simple, but likeable character. Very logical, level-headed and insanely determined in whatever he do (studies, training, etc) and otherwise a social awkward person. Nothing he does is instinct. Everything that happens in the games are thought out and written down in Maruo's notebooks. While a simple character fueled by instinct can be interesting, this would not match well with a one-man sport manga, there is other supporting characters who gets this role.
As shortly mentioned character backgrounds is almost non-existent in "Baby Steps". Almost all attention is put into Maruo. His starting point, is also the readers starting point, which focuses one the development of Maruo's tennis skills and his fight to be a great tennis player. there is absolutely no drama in this manga whatsoever, it is a easy light-hearted read to the core.

The art is good. The faces greatly differs from each other. The art is also a great help during explanation about tennis or strategic planning during matches. In the course of the manga details in the characters faces improve but I see nothing else that differs from the start of the manga to the latest chapter. My only complaint is why Maruo's hair absolutely must look like a hen's.

I can't put it into words exactly why I enjoy this manga as much as I do, but I do think alot of it can the attributed to the strategy put into the games and Maruo, a MC, very different from most. For what the manga is, it succeed extremely well in its execution. Give this manga a go, it is a easy manga to read in times of relaxing the mind.

Note: I can recommend "Haikyuu!!" if you end up liking this manga. It differs in obvious key points, but my enjoyment is the same.

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May 5, 2015

SNaG21

Recommended

Preliminary (244/462 chp)

I honestly don’t really like sports manga. A lot of them that are super popular (Kuruko’s Basketball, Haikyuu, The Prince of Tennis) just don’t intrigue me. Baby Steps subverts all of that, making it one of the best sports manga I ever took the time to read.

Good - Great protagonist: Baby Steps follows Eiichiro Maruo, nicknamed Ei-chan because he gets all “A’s” in school due to his ridiculously meticulous nature. A chance encounter with Natsu Takasaki, a girl who is aiming to become a tennis pro, coupled with a desire to engage in physical activity leads Ei-chan to join STC as an amateur tennis player, ...

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Jun 19, 2012

xxxATiON

Recommended

Preliminary (55/462 chp)

Meet Eiichirou 'E-Chan' Maruo. A straight-A honor student and the kind of guy you could get a few study pointers from. Upon entering high school he realizes that up till now his whole life has been about studying and getting good grades. Feeling a need for more exercise, he adjusts his study schedule to exercise on his own time rather than committing to a sports club. However, he is prompted by his mother to go check out the local tennis club. And that's where E-Chan's progress begins.

The manga takes care to explain tennis terminology and rules for newcomers.
It realistically shows the amount of work ...

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Apr 16, 2023

pbbuiter

Recommended

I think it's finally time for me to put my thoughts about this manga into words. Baby Steps is, in my opinion, the best manga ever made. It has loads of qualities, but if I had to highlight one aspect that this manga absolutely nails it's grit. Tennis, especially at a higher level, gets extremely grindy. I'm no athlete and definitely no better than basic club level, but this manga understands the core elements of tennis better than any other manga I've ever read. Tennis matches are long. When it's 30 degrees out and you're playing an extensive three setter on a steaming hot clay ... court, all that keeps you going is your desire not to lose. Baby Steps really does everything it can to show just how much that holds true in Maruo's matches. The art shows dark circles under Maruo's eyes and his movement getting sloppier as the match gets on, he keeps rambling on and on and the momentum of the match is all over the place. At its core, that's what a close tennis match is like.

Grit is also what I'd use to describe Maruo's character. Maruo is more or less a machine. Not in the sense that he has no human emotion, but more so in the sense that his determination or his "sense of duty" so to say is out of this world. It's inspiring to see someone achieve the heights that Maruo does by throwing his entire life at tennis and when you consider how much he works it does kind of make sense. A problem i have with a lot (and i mean a lot) of manga and anime is the disconnect the readers feel from the characters, which make it hard to understand their emotions. Baby Steps' pacing makes the readers relate to Maruo. When he loses we can feel his frustation, because we were there for the entire journey. We saw every step of the way, which makes the scarce emotional parts of this manga so much more impactful.

As said in the previous paragraph, the pacing of this manga is very slow. The matches sometimes span 20-30 chapters, so if you are not here for the matches themselves and instead here to see Maruo become a professional at unrealistic speeds, don't bother trying this manga. It will eventually burn you out. In my eyes, the matches themselves are the highlight of this manga. The characters and the romance, they're not bad. However, I love seeing Maruo duke it out with someone on the court and seeing him discover new parts about his tennis.

Is this manga perfect? Definitely not, far from it. One main issue I can think of is that the author definitely leans into the shounen part of the manga too much at times, especially during certain arcs. A jump shot and an egg ball are not real things in tennis. Strategically tennis is pretty simple. Hit with spin, hit deep and/or make your opponent run. If you're in a tough spot, hit a shot that gives you time to recover. That's more or less it. Obviously there's nuance here and there, but a lot of the players in this manga have a certain "trump card" that doesn't make sense in the real world where most of the time your opponent just has a super good forehand. However, there are other times where the manga actually does seem to be highly educated on tennis. One example I can give is that the manga stresses the necessity of a strong serve. Another thing I did miss is the mention of different surfaces. Maruo plays at plenty of different venues, so it's very hard for me to imagine all of them are the same surface. The difference between a clay court, a hardcourt and a grass court is huge. Takuma (one of Maruo's main rivals) has a playstyle that is much better suited for grass than it is for clay. I find it odd that for all the detail this manga went into, surfaces never came to light. Maybe it's because Japan almost exclusively has hardcourts?

In terms of art, I think the artstyle is appealing and definitely a lot better than season 1 of the anime (which is a little too cheerful in my opinion) but I do kind of miss variation in technique from Maruo's opponents. Maruo having textbook technique makes perfect sense because of the person he is, but in the tennis world you don't typically find players with the same strokes. There are certain parts of a forehand that are always the same, but there's variance beyond that point for everyone. I think the author could have used more footage from real life pros to give Maruo's opponents a bit more of a unique playstyle. Visuals come a long way with that sort of thing.

Overall, I stand by what I said. Baby Steps is the best manga ever made. Maruo's gritty journey is amazing and while definitely not perfect I can't think of a manga I love more than this. It's highly unfortunate that it got axed and I had to read fan translations for the last few chapters, but the manga itself is highly polished and is an amazing journey about Maruo's tennis career.

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Nov 10, 2021

green_tea515

Recommended

This is my first review of a show, but it is very fitting that I write one about this manga. So I originally watched the anime first, but it was good so I kept reading the manga for about 200 chapters. I had no prior knowledge about tennis before watching/reading this manga and left it feeling so much more understanding about how the sport actually works and the intensity and skill it takes to be able to play.

This is easily one of my all time favorite mangas/stories. Now, for the actual review.

The story follows a pretty typical shounen trope in that young boy has ... a dream that he wants become the best at. But what differs in this show from many other shounens is that he has no real advantage or plot. The author does a phenomenal job at accurately depicting progress in real time. He gradually gets better over time and loses a lot more than a typical male protagonist in a shounen would. He has no experience playing the sport, so the reader knows just about as much as he does. Over time you start to see how his specific style of play allows him to bring his rigid nature into one of more enjoying the moment and play by play: something we all could learn. His personal development through his losses and successes feel triumphant and heartbreaking all the same.

There's also a sweet touch of romance as a subtheme and a subtle driver into how he achieves his goals. It gives a warm feeling to see how him and his interest chase their goals at the same time and how their strong beliefs in each other fuel their motivation. It's mainly about tennis, which is how it should be, but it added an extra touch that you didn't realize was needed.

Now, some people would like more attention on the side characters development, which are usually used to forward Ei-Chan's progress, but then some people complain that certain shows focus too much on side characters. You can't satisfy everyone. I think he is interesting enough as a main to carry the show and he does for over 400+ chapters. I'd suggest reading over watching, the art in the show is not even close to as good in the manga. The backgrounds of some the courts and famous spots are unbelievable. The intensity is felt through the games and I found it highly intense and never knowing who is going to win. It does a great job showing the motivations of each characters in the game and these stakes create a sense of ambivalence. or mixed feelings on the outcome of the match. You want Ei-Chan to win for his reasons, but his opponent has just as good if not better reasons or higher stakes to bet on. The story is his own path to figuring out his goals and finding deep passion for something you didn't know you had. It is very realistic in his attempts to become a great tennis player. It's also great because it is not based in high school, but a pro tennis club so you get to see the more competitive side of tennis as well as good world building as it progresses.

I highly enjoy this show as a story. There's competition, skill/intensity, romance, failure, success. world building, good art, and decent characters. There could've been more development on other characters, especially, Natsu, who also plays tennis and is really good. I wish it showed the perspective of women's tennis a bit more, and some other characters tennis path. Ei-Chan is a great main character with strong motivations and morals with a hard working nature and quirky side as well. Totally recommend to anyone wanting to watch a action packed sport anime with realistic progress and feel good romance.

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Feb 22, 2012

hopeflow

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/462 chp)

It's very surprising no one had written a review for this manga...anyway, I really recomend this manga for all sports or tennis lovers. Even though the main character is not like the typical cool, handsome and strong guy (eg Echizen Ryoma in Prince of Tennis), it's still have its own kind of enjoyment in it. The main character is like a caterpillar in process of being a butterfly, as the manga goes on, you'll find that *spoilers* (Sorry, cannot tell you anymore than that ^_^) If you wanna know what happens, READ IT!
I, Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to read it! (hahaha~)

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Jan 9, 2021

Hawk133

Recommended

Preliminary (350/462 chp)

Out of about 100 different manga, this is close to my favourite. The thing I think it does best is how well it fleshes out characters. All of them touch on different aspects of view on life and sport, and what their goals and priorities are, and how they have grown as an individual. If you enjoy a relatively realistic story that still manages to get you invested in relatable problems the main character faces, then I am sure you will enjoy this story.

Personally I love sport, and I enjoy romance too, and this really touches the sweet spot for the sport and personal growth ...

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Oct 19, 2014

WiruSenpai

Recommended

Preliminary (236/462 chp)

Sports manga is not for everyone, but what makes Baby Steps stand out from others is that the lead character Ei-chan knows nothing about tennis so we, the readers learn as he is learning and so all the needed exposition that's required in sport mangas does not feel cheap or forced.
The secondary characters get very little development, but that is ok because most of the story is about the tennis matches, which are beautifully drawn.
The romance is almost an after thought and feels a little forced at times, but it works for the most part. Natsu is very underdeveloped and that is the most ...

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May 26, 2023

Ohda

Mixed Feelings

Raw review right after completing my read.

I have never been this disappointed with a manga in my whole life. I am more disappointed with the ending of this manga than I am with the adaptation of the second season of The Promised Neverland, the manga has a very interesting premise and a well written goal and story. Good continuation after many developments going on throughout our MC's life though there may be many plotholes. This was certainly going to be a full recommendation of a 8 if it kept up with it's same quality until chapter 410, the plotholes started to become more obvious and ...

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