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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Sigh, more mind games this episode. I think Maruo is feeling the pressure now... I loved the intense pacing of this episode. To Maruo, I think this is his biggest mental challenge yet. A good amount of strategy mechanics this episode too. I liked the swift between that a bit. A well deserved win for Maruo though imo. He earned that. |
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| Maruo got frustrated and hit the audience with the ball lol |
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| Awesome how REKT Takagi got 6-2 lol Maruo using Pressure is too OP :D Loved how they explained why Takagi isn't that strong even though he trains more than Nabae. Explaining that every person should have specific training for their body was nice. It was cool seeing that Maruo actually trained the between legs shot too. Nabae vs Maruo is gonna be hype!! |
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| Nice episode to conclude that game and it was great they added scene for the anime showing that Maruo trains that shot between the legs in the previous game.Too bad they cut the scene that shows the power of love in Natsu game... |
| Was cool to see how Maruo dealt with the anger and turned it into focused pressure that we saw a couple weeks ago. More hype for next week. |
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| I wonder what Nabae weakness was? |
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| If Takagi does the same tricks to Takuma or Araya he'll be going home crawling lol. Well its time for Marou to face Nabae. Im getting the feeling Marou will lose again. So is this going to be 2-cuor? because if it is then Marou will definitely lose to Nabae. Its like the perfect number of episodes. And that sport anime cliché where they always lose in the last match. |
"I have been wielding a blade since before your were swimming around your father's scrotum." - Kurou |
| There's easily enough material to make it a three cour considering where we are in the manga. Remember that the important tournament for his future is the All-Japan which he has qualified for. Right now he's playing to become seeded in that tournament. Hopefully we'll see more of Natsu in the next tournament, perhaps even catching up on her play. |
Please don't feed the trolls! In my next life I want to collide at the corner with the cute transfer student carrying a piece of toast in her mouth...rodac |
| Great episode as always. Just enough time in this season to cover Eii-chan vs Nabae |
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| Takagi was likable by the end, though I have to say that I enjoyed his frustrations with a smile. The between-the-legs shot... I want to see it in actual practice. Interested to see how much has Maruo grown as an athlete against such a strong player. But seeing that 6-1 and 6-0 is pretty daunting. |
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| It's interesting to see that Takagi changed his character that much after the match. i have new view of him now. |
| Loved that Takagi got shit on. Damn, I would have soon so pissed if he would have won with such cheap tricks. Nice to see that he understood later which path he should take. Nabae vs Maruo now, interesting indeed ;D |
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| LOL at that serve at 10:35, it went past the serve zone and it was fine with everyone... https://www.dropbox.com/s/2x7iw2v7igf2wi7/Zrzut%20ekranu%202015-08-23%2022.55.21.png?dl=0 |
| I'm interested in Nabae's weakness during his childhood. Honestly though, it's going to be a complete mind battle between Ei-chan and Nabae. Both of them utilize reasoning to adjust their playing styles. It's like fighting yourself |
| I like the scene when Takagi's ball was on the line and the ref said it was a out. I know ref's have to be objective but pour sportsmanship can influence anybody and take sides. |
| A good ending to an otherwise so-so match. Though it helped Maruo grow as a Tennis player. I can't wait for Nabae's match. I'm guessing Maruo will lose. |
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| Damn, 6-2 in the second set -- two breaks (given, one was gifted as a result of an incorrect call by the line judge. Maruo probably would've still broken anyway though in the end)! Great tennis by Maruo! Next up is Nabae; sooo hyped! Furine said: LOL at that serve at 10:35, it went past the serve zone and it was fine with everyone... https://www.dropbox.com/s/2x7iw2v7igf2wi7/Zrzut%20ekranu%202015-08-23%2022.55.21.png?dl=0 Haha, so I didn't see that wrong. xD I just thought that perhaps it was on its upward flight already and didn't care much past that. FatefulLove said: The between-the-legs shot... I want to see it in actual practice. Maruo did use it on a vital point in his match against Ide. As for real life, here's an example that happened about a week and a half ago. Not quite the same since it was a lob tweener, but it was still a legit tweener. |
AceDvazzAug 31, 2015 11:07 PM
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| That ref wanted his d. |
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| I feel l relieved Eiichiro managed bring his mind to peace in order to win the match even when he was provoked that much |
| I have come to like Takagi so much more. His unmatched desire to win and improve impress me. I hope that we get to see him more in the future. I have just come to notice that I really like a lot of side characters in Baby Steps, and I want more screen time for most of them, but then I know if Baby Steps has to cover every one of them, the series will go on for a very long time, which seems kind of impossible. Not that I mind, I would love to have a 1000 chapters of Baby Steps if possible. XD Major was around 700 chapters. :) |
| Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
| Takagi impressed me in the end tbh. I want to see him grow. Four more episodes to go. |
| Takagi ain't half bad after all.. But what the hell ?! I thought Nabae-kun left already.. His stalking mode is scary. |
| "It's the rules on the court that define good and evil". I've never heard it said better than that. Like I alluded to last episode's thread, the best way to deal with something dirty but in the rules is to accept it as a part of their style, to see it as it is, and counter it as if it's any other strategy. Complaining about it, or getting angry will only make it harder to deal with. Maruo realized the same lesson Araya learned when they first played each other if I recall correctly, that being angry and letting your emotions go wild is never the correct method of play. I was almost surprised that Maruo didn't punch himself in the face or scream to the heavens to let that anger out. When he decided to bend the rules to calm himself in a similar way that Takagi does to irritate the opponent and came back with a smirk I got hype. The new found mentality got Takagi by surprise. Somewhat unpredictably Maruo dominated in the second set. This is what I mean by Baby Steps being unpredictable in terms of losses, and how wins occur. And I honestly think the ref may have seen it was in, or had been slightly unsure but decided to give Takagi some of his own medicine since she clearly saw how bad mannered he was being. That's karma my dude, use your style all you want but sometimes it may bite you. What wasn't unpredictable however is the fact that Takagi had a realization after losing and decided on the spot, then and there to change his playstyle and confront his weaknesses head on! This is cool but I think it's occured after every single match Maruo has played win or loss- maybe minus the absolute losses like Ike or Nabae or the first Takuma match. I wish we could occasionally see a player refuse to admit their mistakes and blame the other person, something which has to happen sometimes even if not openly. What I do appreciate is the fact that we saw another players mental game come crashing down around them. I'm speaking about when Takagi saw Maruo as Nabae and gave up. We saw this briefly with Miyagawa and we saw a complete collapse this time. It's exactly what I wanted when I mentioned I wanted a 'broader scope' in the past when critiquing Baby Steps. Irritation never gets you anywhere. Pressure comes from your desire to win and so it helps. Anger comes from somewhere else and should be avoided. That's some good advice. Another brief but important one was at the end where Aoi told Takagi that you cannot copy another players training regimen, you must find your own style. I wish we saw the between the legs practice since this season has been a bit lacking on down time and practice time, it's had many matches without as many breaks as last season understandably so- or so I feel at least. I think by seeing it occur and seeing it pay off, similar to the Natsu match, it would eliminate this feeling somewhat. Lastly, thinking of all the rival type characters like Nabae, Ike, and Takuma, I realized the vast amount of believable and different characters who exist in this world yet are constantly changing. That's a big compliment, I hardly see this in any other anime. |
| Fantastic episode, and I love how the show went about this situation, talking about how on the court, the rules truly define good and evil. While I wouldn't say it was fair play, since everything Takagi was doing was legal when it comes to the rules, the best way to defeat an opponent like that is to stop thinking about the wrong that they're doing, and try to find a way to either ignore that and play to the best of your abilities and shut them up with your skills, or find a way to just counter them back so that despite their efforts, they can't defeat you with party tricks. And that's what Maruo did. Beat him till Takagi realized how his methods can't work in the long run, and how he has to change himself to truly develop as a player and a person. Maruo dominated that second set after calming down and dominated the game as a whole 7-6, 6-2 against the 4th seed. Takagi playing head on with his talents and less of the bullshit tricks near the end was good too, truly showed how far the gap is between the both of them but also showed that Takagi is willing to grow up so that he can develop his own style with dignity to catch up to Maruo and Nabae too. Yukichi even offering a bit of background to how much Maruo was training to get to where he was in the span of 2 years was cool too. Guy focused all his energy on tennis in the right way, developing gradually and naturally when it comes to his strokes, serves, physical build, stamina, mental fortitude, etc. To be someone who could barely run in the first trial when he stepped in STC for the first time, to beating legitimate opponents with his skill is really impressive and inspirational too. Now it's time for him to face off with Nabae in the semifinals, the first seed of the tournament and someone who Maruo wants to conquer before reaching the All-Japan Junior tournament a few months down the line. God I love the characters and writing in this anime. |
| This match was still very predictable, but I still do commend the tactics involved, nonetheless. I still don’t find anything particularly compelling with the writing besides the whole “baby steps” approach with Maruo’s development in his tennis skills, though I can’t really feel good about someone like him being able to compete on par with ranked players after just a year or two. |
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| Good that Maruo beat him nicely in the end, and also good the guy finally realised he was being a cunt and started to be a decent person lol... alrightt next match should be good! |
If you don't like me, acquire some taste |
| Eiichiro is very peaceful for a match preparation lol |
"......If I told you that I was a real witch, would you believe it?"  |
| So Takagi sees his match with Nabae not an actual win. He does think it's a win, but he never told anyone else and be proud of it and only keep it to himself thinking he won. Which means the rumour comes from who knows where. Well at least that's a good thing since he doesn't boast about it at all, instead the rumour only comes from someone else. Thank goodness he DOES apologise in the end. Surely he will become a better person and redo his way of playing. I'm not forgiving him entirely but we can see that Takagi will change. |
  𝑇𝐼𝑃𝑆 𝐼𝑁 𝐺𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐴𝑀𝐴 - NOT your usual shounen anime - Pure comedy? DEAD WRONG - Treat Gintama as SoL/weekly sitcom especially earlier seasons - Ep 1 & 2 are for manga readers - BIG patience for its 'slow' start |
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