Baby Steps (2015)

With the aim of becoming a professional tennis player, Eiichiro trains abroad at the Florida Tennis Academy for a short while. Being within an environment solely dedicated to tennis excites Eiichiro. When all of the sudden, he meets Marcia, a girl with a beautiful smile. The two have a match with each other as told by the coach. Marcia’s hits were stronger than expected, but she increasingly became irritated… Source: crunchyroll

During Eiichiro’s first day of practice, Alex, a professional player, refuses to have a match with him. However, another professional player, Ike Souji, declares that he will play a match against anyone who can beat Eiichiro. Thanks to this, Alex and many other players end up playing against Eiichiro. While dealing with the weight of ball, Eiichiro uses his special control skill but is still unable to win. Eiichiro is troubled when… Source: crunchyroll

Oda Eiichiro finally recovers from his losing streak and is able to play a match against Ike Soji. Eiichiro approaches the match having more confidence than before but he is defeated immediately in a very one-sided match against Ike. Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro versus Alex. Alex feels threatened by Eiichiro's note-taking during the match. However, Alex calmly responds to Eiichiro's method and fights back by changing his play style. Unable to use the data he collected, Eiichiro's decides to concentrate on reacting to Alex rather than thinking about strategy. Eiichiro's movements improved the moment he realized he can trust his body to move instinctively. Source: crunchyroll

After returning from his Florida Exchange Program, Eiichiro reunites with Natsu and Yukichi at STC (Southern Tennis Club). But their reunion celebration is cut short due to the strict training for the Kanagawa Prefectural Junior Tennis Championship. Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro and Aoi coach train specifically to strengthen Eiichiro's serve after learning the importance of it from his match against Takuma. The third term of school begins as Eiichiro remembers his promise to give up on becoming a professional tennis player if he doesn't win the All-Japan Junior Tournament. Source: crunchyroll

The Kanagawa Junior Tournament has just begun; this event will determine Eiichiro's entire future. The first round is against Nishimura who happens to be an underclassmen of Araya, Eiichiro's rival. Araya tells Eiichiro that he told Nishimura all about his weaknesses as the match begins. Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro’s second match is with Miyagawa whose future will also be determined by this tournament. In order to improve from his past self, he acquired a new “weapon” and puts it to the test. Source: crunchyroll

Due to Coach Sakakibara's suggestion, Eiichiro and Natsu play a practice match against each other. Eiichiro is hesitant but Coach Aoi explains that he wants Eiichiro to absorb Natsu's instinctive style of tennis by playing against her. Source: crunchyroll

Araya and Eiichiro face each other for the second time. Araya uses his overwhelming strength and speed to go for the break while Eiichiro uses his control to aim for the break. Not only has Araya's strength and speed increase from last year but his psychological weak points have also been fixed. Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro realizes why he's been struggling until now; it is due to Araya's left-handedness. With his incredible ability to analyze, Eiichiro discovers strategic ways to handle Araya's left-handed play and gradually learns to return shots. Source: crunchyroll

As their intense match continues, Eiichiro and Araya reach the final set, which will ultimately determine the winner. Araya attacks with even more heightened speed and power, and Eiichiro responds by using his control to attack. Source: crunchyroll

As the match finally ends and Eiichiro is reminded how much he truly enjoys tennis, he asks himself if he'll truly be able to give up if he should lose at the All-Japan Junior. Meanwhile, it's decided that the STC will participate in joint practices with other tennis clubs... Source: crunchyroll

The final door on the way to the All-Japan Junior, the Kanto Junior Tournament, is just around the corner. Eiichiro psyches himself up as he confirms his promise to his parents that he'll give up if he doesn't win the All-Japan Junior, and then he sets off with the other STC members for Chiba, where the Kanto Junior will be held. Source: crunchyroll

The Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament begins at last, and Eiichiro is facing Yakabe Tadanori in his first match. Although he had watched videos of Yakabe's matches from a year ago, Eiichiro is bewildered by his opponent's much taller stature and completely different play style, and all the unexpected factors lead him to consider blanking all his mental data and starting from scratch. Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro is stunned by all the cheering Ide receives as their match begins. He struggles with the unpredictable plays of the intuitive Ide, but he recalls what he learned in his match with Natsu and concentrates on watching his opponent. Meanwhile, Ide also struggles to keep up with Eiichiro's constant changes in tempo and starts to tune out the world as he tries to focus. Source: crunchyroll

Ide's remarkable ability to adapt instantly to everything has Eiichiro struggling, and reads his notes again to regain his focus. This improves his movements and leads to more impressive rallies, making the match even more exciting. Neither is willing to yield as the match comes down to which player can manage to hold serve... Source: crunchyroll

Eiichiro thought he was successfully ignoring the crowd's roaring cheers for Ide, but his body was reacting to it more than he realized. The pressure of playing in front of a dramatic, Ide-centric crowd is troubling Eiichiro. What can he do to overcome this situation? Eiichiro wrote down the pressure he felt in his notebook and tries to face the details he has been ignoring. Ide is on his game as his crowd cheers on; what will lead to Eiichiro's road to victory?! Source: crunchyroll

Eitaro, upon winning spectacularly in his fight against Ide, decides to go to the National Junior's. Coach Aoi explains that towards the end of the match, Eitaro was completely in the zone. Source: crunchyroll

The match against Takagi begins. Just as Yukichi warned, Takagi's style is unique. Source: crunchyroll

Even if it seems to lack etiquette, Takagi's play style continues to work in his favor by disupting his opponent's pace. Eiichiro struggles to deal with Takagi's tactics. He tries to use his anger to his advantage, but he isn't successful. Eiichiro tries to remain calm and rational but this leads to a time-warning issued by the referee... Source: crunchyroll

After beating Takagi, Eiichiro moves onto the semi-finals as does Natsu in the women's division. Eiichiro becomes aware of new feelings towards Natsu while watching her match. The next match is against the top tennis player, Nabae who has no physical or psychological weaknesses. While Eiichiro is troubled by what strategy to use, Takuma reveals Nabae's childhood weakness to Eiichiro. The battle against Nabae, the greatest opponent is about to begin! Source: crunchyroll

The match has just begun and Eiichiro is already close to being in the zone. His excellent condition is reminiscent of his match against Ide; Eiichiro doesn't give Nabae a chance to fight back and soon takes the lead. Nabae is surprised at Eiichiro's aggressive play but remains calm and collects data by carefully analyzing Eiichiro's moves and attack patterns. However, Eiichiro's momentum is relentless. It seemed like he would take the first set when... Source: crunchyroll

Nabae returns Eiichirou's best flat serve easily. Thinking he can't beat Nabae like this, Eiichirou decides to take the risk of playing a pushy game. Source: crunchyroll

The match between Eiichirou and Nabae finally reaches its thrilling climax, and the former risks losing to envision his victory. Source: crunchyroll