Baby Steps

Baby Steps
Cover of first manga volume of Baby Steps published by Kodansha, featuring Eiichirō Maruo and Natsu Takasaki.
ベイビーステップ (Beibī Suteppu)
Genre	Comedy, Sports (Tennis), Romance
Manga
Written by	Hikaru Katsuki
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run	October 2007 – present
Volumes	37
Anime television series
Directed by	Masahiko Murata
Produced by	Kenji Saito
Written by	Katsuhiko Chiba
Music by	Yoichiro Yoshikawa
Studio	Pierrot
Network	NHK-E
Original run	April 6, 2014 – September 21, 2014
Episodes	25
Anime television series
Season 2
Directed by	Masahiko Murata
Written by	Katsuhiko Chiba
Music by	Kōhei Yamada Yoichiro Yoshikawa
Studio	Pierrot
Network	NHK-E
Original run	April 5, 2015 – September 20, 2015
Episodes	25

Baby Steps (ベイビーステップ, Beibī Suteppu) is a Japanese manga series by Hikaru Katsuki. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 2007. The story is centered on Eiichirō Maruo, a first year honor student who one day decides that he is lacking exercise. He then joins the Southern Tennis Club (STC) where he begins his tennis journey. An anime television series adaptation of the series began airing in Japan in April 2014 with a second season began airing April 5, 2015. It also won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Shōnen Manga category.

Story

Eiichirō Maruo, a first year honor student, one day decides he is unhappy with the way things are and lacks exercise. He finds a flyer for the Tennis Club and decides to check it out. He is instantly captivated by it. With no prior experience and poor physical conditioning, he embarks on a tennis journey using his smarts, dedication and work ethic. He uses his inherent studious nature to develop an extremely strategic approach to tennis, taking notes on the habits and tendencies of his opponents thus allowing him to predict their shots before they make them.

Characters

Southern Tennis Club

Eiichirō Maruo (丸尾 栄一郎, Maruo Eiichirō)

Voiced by: Taishi Murata

Eiichirō Maruo, also called Ei-chan (エーちゃん) by his friends, is the main protagonist of the series. He is an honor student who quickly became famous for his meticulous note-taking in class. During his first year of high school, however, he got into a rut studying all of the time and wanted to find a way to exercise. When he meets Natsu, a girl in the same year as him, her passion for tennis convinces him to try playing it. Like Natsu and their sempai Takuma, Ei-chan becomes a member of a prominent youth tennis program at Southern Tennis Club (STC). His years of experience in studying and taking notes help him in his path to become a tennis player. His aim is to become a professional tennis player. Ei-chan and Natsu's growing relationship is also a major part of the series.

Natsu Takasaki (鷹崎 奈津, Takasaki Natsu)

Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki

Natsu Takasaki, also known as Nat-chan Nat-chan (なっちゃん), is the main female protagonist. She is a member of Southern Tennis Club and has played tennis since she was very young. She studies at the same high school and in the same year as Maruo. She is aiming to become a professional player. Natsu is the exact opposite of Maruo tennis-wise. She is always very optimistic and encouraging toward Maruo, and the two become very close as the series progresses.

Takuma Egawa (江川 逞, Egawa Takuma)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa

Takuma is one year older than Ei-chan and Nat-chan and attends the same high school, where he is known as a delinquent. He and Natsu have known each other for a long time through tennis practice at STC. He showed a talent for tennis at a young age. He is one of the best junior players in Japan, and he aims to go pro. He is often antagonistic toward others, but he's also protective of Natsu.

Yukichi Fukazawa (深沢 諭吉, Fukazawa Yukichi)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono

Another high school player who practices at STC. Ei-chan impresses him so much after a certain event that he calls Ei-chan "aniki" ("big bro"). He often offers scouting info on other players to Ei-chan and supports him during his matches.

Yūsaku Miura (三浦優作, Miura Yūsaku)

Voiced by: Taiten Kusunoki

One of the boys' coaches at STC. He becomes very interested in helping Maruo after seeing his work ethic and how quickly he's able to improve.

Yūki Tajima (田島 勇樹, Tajima Yūki)

Voiced by: Yūki

An elementary school student who practices at STC. He teases Maruo a lot at first (despite Maruo being eight years older than him), but gradually becomes a friend.

Ōsugi High School

Kojirō Kageyama (影山 小次郎, Kageyama Kojirō)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

Maruo's best friend from school. He's a member of the shogi club at school. He often comes to tennis matches to support him.

Himeko Sasaki (佐々木姫子, Sasaki Himeko)

Voiced by: Asami Seto

An honor student who is in the same class as Maruo and Kageyama (and later Natsu). She develops a crush on Maruo as tennis begins to change him for the better, but Maruo is unaware of it. She often watches his tennis matches with Kageyama.

Kanagawa Prefecture Junior Players

Hiroshi Araya (荒谷 寛, Araya Hiroshi)

Voiced by: Wataru Hatano

The top player in Kanagawa Prefecture after Egawa (and as a result, Egawa's rival). He trains at GITC and is the same age as Maruo. He's left-handed baseline player with explosive power. He often yells loudly after winning points in his matches.

Takuya Miyagawa (宮川 卓也, Miyagawa Takuya)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

One of the top players in Kanagawa Prefecture. He trains at Miyagawa Tennis Academy. He is a year younger than Maruo but very tall like Egawa. Like Maruo, he has a strange quirk during matches: he drinks hot kobucha (kelp tea) and eats umeboshi (pickled plums).

Ryō Ōbayashi (大林 良, Ōbayashi Ryō)

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno

The first seeded player Maruo ever plays against in a tournament. He's a year older than Maruo and is a serve-and-volley player. He becomes Miyagawa's sempai when the younger player enters the same high school.

All-Japan National Junior Players

Yū Nabae (難波江 優, Nabae Yū)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai

Nationally famous junior player who lives in Tokyo. Like Maruo, he has a habit of taking notes, but he does it on a laptop.

Media

Manga

Volume list

As of October 16, 2015, 37 volumes have been released.

No.	Release date	ISBN
01	February 15, 2008	ISBN 978-4-06-363957-5
02	March 17, 2008	ISBN 978-4-06-363968-1
03	May 16, 2008	ISBN 978-4-06-363991-9
04	August 12, 2008	ISBN 978-4-06-384027-8
05	October 17, 2008	ISBN 978-4-06-384052-0
06	January 16, 2009	ISBN 978-4-06-384089-6
07	April 17, 2009	ISBN 978-4-06-384124-4
08	June 17, 2009	ISBN 978-4-06-384149-7
09	September 17, 2009	ISBN 978-4-06-384188-6
10	November 17, 2009	ISBN 978-4-06-384214-2
11	February 17, 2010	ISBN 978-4-06-384248-7
12	April 16, 2010	ISBN 978-4-06-384283-8
13	July 16, 2010	ISBN 978-4-06-384329-3
14	October 15, 2010	ISBN 978-4-06-384381-1
15	January 17, 2011	ISBN 978-4-06-384428-3
16	April 15, 2011	ISBN 978-4-06-384459-7
17	June 17, 2011	ISBN 978-4-06-384506-8
18	September 16, 2011	ISBN 978-4-06-384558-7
19	November 17, 2011	ISBN 978-4-06-384580-8
20	February 17, 2012	ISBN 978-4-06-384631-7
21	April 17, 2012	ISBN 978-4-06-384655-3
22	July 17, 2012	ISBN 978-4-06-384706-2
23	September 14, 2012	ISBN 978-4-06-384735-2
24	December 17, 2012	ISBN 978-4-06-384782-6
25	February 15, 2013	ISBN 978-4-06-384812-0
26	May 17, 2013	ISBN 978-4-06-384865-6
27	August 16, 2013	ISBN 978-4-06-394911-7
28	November 15, 2013	ISBN 978-4-06-394964-3
29	January 17, 2014	ISBN 978-4-06-394994-0
30	March 17, 2014	ISBN 978-4-06-395028-1
31	June 17, 2014	ISBN 978-4-06-395105-9
32	August 16, 2014	ISBN 978-4-06-395160-8
33	November 17, 2014	ISBN 978-4-06-395244-5
34	March 17, 2015	ISBN 978-4-06-395346-6
35	May 15, 2015	ISBN 978-4-06-395399-2
36	August 17, 2015	ISBN 978-4-06-395461-6
37	October 16, 2015	ISBN 978-4-06-395520-0

Anime

Main article: List of Baby Steps episodes

Reception

In 2014, Baby Steps won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award in the Best Shōnen Manga category.

External links

• Official anime website (Japanese)
• Baby Steps (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia