Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: (“Believe in yourself” ) by (Mao Abe)
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「世界と壁」 (Sekai to Kabe)
“The World and the Wall”
It’s just not possible to overstate how good it feels to have Baby Steps back.
If you’re not aware of how much I love Baby Steps you must not know me too well – I’ve been extolling its virtues since long before the anime was a glint in NHK’s eye. But just for the record, I love Baby Steps – love it passionately, unreservedly, love it to death. I love it as a manga and I love it as an anime, and however much of the latter we get I’ll be grateful for. It may very well be my favorite sports manga of all-time (though that’s a brutal choice, especially if you include Adachi under that umbrella). As a former competitive tennis player it holds an extra-special place in my heart, but my reasons for loving it go far beyond appreciation of just how right it gets the sport.
Getting a Baby Steps adaptation in the first place was a delightful surprise – getting a sequel (announced at the end of the first season finale) a complete shock. Like the first this season this one is scheduled to run 25 episodes, and that will take it nowhere close to the current point in the manga (it won’t even get as far as the most recently translated chapters). Once again whether there will be more in an unknown, but for now let’s just enjoy what we get. S2 starts with an excellent arc (though they pretty much all are) – Ei-chan’s trip to the Florida Tennis Academy (not to be confused in any way with the Bollettieri Tennis Academy – not even a little, now stop thinking it).
It’s startling to think how many of my favorite series of the last couple of years have come from Studio Pierrot, and the first season of Baby Steps constituted what was in many ways a “typical” modern Pierrot adaptation. It was almost obsessively faithful to the manga, and the production values were inconsistent. There were some exceptions, important match episodes that were very detailed and fluid, but generally the visuals were sub-par. I can say with certainty that the premiere of the second season is way better than that of the first in that regard, though not of course whether it will continue. The OP remains Abe Mao’s “Believe in Yourself”, with new animation – while I might otherwise be disappointed not to get a new song, this one is so perfect that I’m happy to keep it around. The ED is new, and likewise seems a good fit for the material.
This season of course is freed from the heavy lifting of setting up the story, so it can dive right into the main course, and it definitely hits the ground running. Eijun’s two-week trip to Florida is a huge step for him (“baby” or not) and indeed it’s a common rite of passage for young Japanese players to go to America and test themselves against the rest of the world. To say that Japanese kids find this experience intimidating would be an understatement – it can’t be forgotten that this remains one of the most self-contained societies in the world, one which forbade contact with the world until barely more than a century ago. And especially in the realm of athletics, where Japanese youngsters often give up a substantial size advantage, the rest of the world can seem very scary.
That context sets up the story perfectly, because among the many things that make Ei-chan a great protagonist are his self-awareness and his determination. And Florida is a big challenge for him, that’s for sure. His just-off-the-plane tennis baptism is a gentle one, a few rallies with junior player Marcia O’Brien (Han Megumi). But after Mike shows him around and introduces him to dorm-mates Taira Atsushi (Eguchi Takuya) and Ramesh Krishna (Hanae Natsuki) who give him the lay of the land and the daily routine, Day 1 brings a harsh reminder of just how big the hill is in the form of Marcia’s brother Alex (Kamiya Hiroshi). While most of the players at FTA are fellow juniors, Alex is a pro – albeit a newly-hatched one (ranked #819 in the world) – and as Atsushi laments, the pros are in a “different world” than the rest of the campers.
It so happens that our old friend Ike Souji is at the camp, too, and Alex would much rather spend his practice time against him than the newbie Maruo. There’s a lot going on here, some of it on the subtextual level. Natchan has asked Ike to help Ei-chan out however he can, and Ike decides on a kind of tough love approach to doing so – but ultimately, like everything else in Baby Steps the opportunity (in this case a chance to play every camper who wants a match against Ike) is only as good as what Ei-chan makes of it. This is the essence of the character – nothing comes easily to him. He’s not immune to being nervous at his situation, and he’s overwhelmed by the heavy ball and sheer pace he faces against Alex. But because Ei-chan is mature enough to understand his own frailties, they become opportunities – not necessarily to win, but to understand why he’s losing and win the next time. Or the time after. A journey of a thousand matches begins with a single step – a baby step, and there are no shortcuts.
Again, it’s hard for me to overstate how much I love this series – and it’s hard to overstate just how brilliant its take on athletics and personal growth is. Baby Steps, like its hero, never stands still, never repeats itself – there are always new challenges, new chances, new experiences and feelings, and we get to experience them right along with Ei-chan. For a boy so gifted at self-analysis, the chance to be at a place like FTA – where every stroke is filmed, awareness of physical and mental fitness obsessively mandated, and a coach for every skill-set is on-staff – is priceless. Because Eijun is who he is, he can get more from two weeks there than most kids could in six months – and that’s why he’s managed to get where he is in only two years. It’s remarkable, but only because Ei-chan himself is remarkable – and it’s mangaka Katsuki Hikaru’s great gift to be able to patiently and slowly, with baby steps, show us just how remarkable he is. For any lover of sports or of great characters, Baby Steps is manna from Heaven – there’s no other sports manga like it, and Pierrot is doing it justice in its transition to the screen.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「ベイビーステップ 第2シリーズ」 (Yume no Tsuzuki) by (Ganbare! Victory)
Preview
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Gotta finish Season 1. And FAST.
Now if only there would be a Haikyuu Season 2 and I can die a happy man.
Second season for Haikyuu!! has already been confirmed~ ^o^
I concur Guardian Enzo.
I have to say that few anime make me feel this positive.
I couldn’t wait for the anime…so I binged on the manga…I regret nothing!
But in all seriousness I feel like I like this manga and anime for more or less the same reason you do enzo (granted I wasn’t a competitive tennis player, just for fun). I just love that it shows him working really hard and always trying to learn from the smallest moments. You just can’t hate Ei-chan he’s just so damn likeable, always earnest in his pursuit of tennis and being the occasional goofball.
(I’m looking forward to more developments with Natsu as well!)
For my money it’s the most realistic and detailed sports manga ever. Which wouldn’t matter much if Ei-chan weren’t also an extremely likeable M.C., but thankfully he is.
I’m also a former tennis player like you two 🙂
I must thank Guardian Enzo for showing his unconditional love for this series, it got me curious and now I’m a big fan, although this is the only sport anime I ever watched (apart from Captain Tsubasa when I was a kid), as I don’t like super powers or even super mental strength, when it comes to sport. Sport is a matter of talent, determination, hard work, and most of all the right attitude: be self-critical and strive to improve yourself. That positive thinking will help you a lot in your life.
This is the core of Baby Steps for me. It feels good watching it.
I don’t mind “Believe in Yourself” as the OP. It’s wonderful and hearing it again just sent shivers down my spine. Happiness.
Yay! I don’t have to change my phone ringtone!
I guess my only gripe with the episode is that everyone is speaking Japanese in America. Aside from Taira and Souji, everyone else is a foreigner. I remember in the manga, Maruo was barely scraping through with his English and he had a hard time communicating with Marcia. I guess I should have seen it coming when they casted those big name seiyuus to these guys. Would have been nice to hear Kamiyan speak English coz I don’t think I’ve heard him speak full English sentences. On the other hand though, I remember Han Megumi’s Engrish in Zankyou no Terror.
Definitely good to have this show back again. I have slightly high hopes with some improved animation given the OP but it’s probably best not to hope a lot. Baby Steps’ strength is with its characters and how they move along with the story.
I think the industry tries to get away with not using english wherever possible because they know how silly it looks
Hello 2nd season, I’ve been waiting for you. I loved this arc, it showed you how Ei-chan would improve exponentially as a tennis player when he’s given a dedicates himself fully, day and night, to tennis alone.
And from knowing from the manga what are all the scenes shown from the OP/ED will be, it will be a very exciting season. I can’t miss an episode at all!
Marcia’s cute. And she’s voiced by Megumi Han? Awesome.
I’m okay with the same OP, especially since it’s such a good OP. I missed it.
Anyway, 2nd season’s off to a good start.
Really glad to see Baby Steps have a great adaptation, I was immensely hooked to the manga. It’s fun and relatable, and very rewarding to watch Ei-chan mature as a player. It manages to be interesting without super fancy special skills. Not to say special skills are not fun to watch (kuroko no basket, haikyuu, etc are great fun), but it’s nice to see realism in a sports anime. One of the shows that’s out of radar for most people, but is consistently enjoyable. It also helps that I’m a tennis player as well and it motivates me to play more often.
It’s nice to see this back again. Prince of Tennis may have been my intro to sports anime, but as I got older, I became really disappointed by how the most popular titles in the niche seemed to be entirely unrealistic, or somewhat realistic but only explored the surface of the sport. Baby Steps understands tennis so well, and it’s always so grounded, consistent, and uplifting that it’s hard to believe there aren’t more works like it. Despite the less than stellar production values, it was easily my favorite anime last year. Here’s hoping for a well-paced, faithful S2.
As someone who plays tennis, the animations in this, especially in the OP, is very accurate with especially with the postures and movements.
homoshit
After this Post, please go and Wash your hands and Mouth.