Series synopsis
Baby Steps, also known as ベイビーステップ is a Japanese animation comedy television series that premiered on NHK Educational TV on April 6, 2014. It ended on September 20, 2015. It stars Taishi Murata, Minako Kotobuki, Daisuke Namikawa and Asami Seto.
Eiichirō Maruo (nicknamed "Ei-chan" for his grades being straight "A") is an honor student, bookworm, and is not interested in anything other than studying. In order to solve his problem of lacking physical strength, he enrolled a tennis school and soon found the fascinating side of tennis. Being a tennis newbie lacking physical strength, he supplement his shortcomings with his excellent observing and analyzing skills.
Premise
Eiichirō Maruo (nicknamed "Ei-chan" for his grades being straight "A") is an honor student, bookworm, and is not interested in anything other than studying. In order to solve his problem of lacking physical strength, he enrolled a tennis school and soon found the fascinating side of tennis. Being a tennis newbie lacking physical strength, he supplement his shortcomings with his excellent observing and analyzing skills.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Taishi Murata as Eiichiro Maruo (voice)
- Minako Kotobuki as Natsu Takasaki (voice)
- Daisuke Namikawa as Takuma Egawa (voice)
- Asami Seto as Himeko Sasami (voice)
- Hiro Shimono as Yukichi Fukasawa (voice)
- Taiten Kusunoki as Coach Yusaku Miura (voice)
- Takuma Terashima as Kojirou Kageyama (voice)
- Tetsuya Kakihara as Takuya Miyagawa (voice)
Supporting cast
- Chisa Yuuki as Yuuki Tajima (voice)
- Kohsuke Toriumi as Coach Ryuuhei Aoi (voice)
- KENN as Yoshiaki Ide (voice)
- Yoshimasa Hosoya as Souji Ike (voice)
- Shintaro Asanuma as Hiromi Iwasa (voice)
- Yoshiyuki Shimozuma as Nariyuki Koshimizu (voice)
- Kenyu Horiuchi as Magure Mike (voice)
- Takahiro Sakurai as Yuu Nabae (voice)
- Hiroshi Kamiya as Alex O' Brien (voice)
- Megumi Han as Marsha O'Brien (voice)
- Natsuki Hanae as Krishna Rames (voice)
- Kaori Ishihara as Shimizu Aki (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 50 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 25 | April 6, 2014 | September 21, 2014 |
| Season 2 | 25 | April 5, 2015 | September 20, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Tennis and Notes Maruo Eiichiro is an honor student in his first year of high school. He's a very methodical person who keeps two sets of notes for class and focuses entirely on his studies. One day, Eiichiro decides to participate in a free trial at South Tennis Club (STC) because he needs some exercise. There, he meets school idol and sweetheart Takasaki Natsu. Eiichiro has taken his first step into the world of tennis |
April 6, 2014 |
| 2 |
Methodical and Unorganized Eiichiro is unable to answer Natsu when she asks him what he enjoys doing most. He becomes interested in tennis and returns to STC for another free trial. |
April 13, 2014 |
| 3 |
The Contest Is a Fight Eiichiro is unable to forget how good it felt when he successfully returned Takuma's serve, and he spends all of his time practicing against the wall. After seeing Eiichiro practice against the wall non-stop for six hours on a Sunday, Natsu predicts that he will quickly improve. |
April 20, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The World and the Wall Eiichirō arrives in Florida, and Coach Mike introduces him to Marcia, an upcoming junior whose older brother just made the Pro's. Marcia and Eiichirō play a match, and Marcia decides Eiichirō must be training for the French Open because of his slow play style. |
April 5, 2015 |
| 2 |
A Vicious Circle is Lucky Eiichirō begins closing the gap on the others at the Florida Academy, but during everyone of his matches he has one moment where he presses too hard, costing him a set and eventually costing him the match. |
April 12, 2015 |
| 3 |
Data for the Future After winning his first match in America, Eiichirō finally gets to play Ike in a one set match. Ike gets it approved at the New Years party where many of Eiichirō's new friends first learn of Natsu. |
April 19, 2015 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | NHK Educational TV |
|---|---|
| First aired | April 6, 2014 |
| Last aired | September 20, 2015 |
| Runtime | 25 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Sunday at 17:30:00 |