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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- This almost felt like how Eiirchou first went up against Takuma earlier on in the show. Ike is seriously a powerhouse. The episode felt a bit repetitive but if Eiirchou keeps training like that, maybe he can impress the world with a match against him in the future. Maybe. The second seed seems to be underestimated a bit but I don't think he's a pushover at all. |
Stark700Aug 10, 2014 3:24 AM
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| Pro training: START! It's just as intense as I remember when I read the manga. Never pegged Nabae as someone who'd have slightly blue-tinted hair... I'm not sure how well I like that. Jet black seems so much more serious. |
| God i know that feel... Had to train intensly before some tournaments just in the same way. Its hell when you're running and your body is dead at the end x) Feel bad for Takuma and Natsu :/ They both saw Ike rise so fast, while they train every day so hard, and the same is happening for Maruo little by little ! |
| Love this anime & manga. I started reading the manga(first manga I have ever read) where the last episode left off & am up to chapter 135. It feels weird to know what's gonna happen but I'm also glad to know they are adapting it very well. They did cut some scenes but they weren't major. But man oh man Maruo's training is tough. I really like how they are developing his character. I hope they make more than 25 episodes. |
| I'm really liking the fact that Ei-chans training is so realistic. That he has to work hard and be determined to get to where he wants to be. I like his analytical skills, as well as his drive to become better. This anime does well in making you feel that you could accomplish anything you set your mind too. You just have to keep trying and never give up. I almost want to read the manga. It's going to be such a great journey ahead witnessing Ei-chans improvements. I'm quite sad this anime only has so many episodes. |
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| I predict that Ei-chan will lose big time against Ike. At least he managed to get one ball past Ike. Now that's some hard training Ei-chan has to keep repeating... LOL, what a dream xD. Ah, so that notes keeping laptop guy is the 2nd seed :o So Nabae wants to become an All-A player huh. |
| "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall." |
| Great ep :3 Really nice seeing Maruo's pro training start. Man it's tough but it will definitely make him stronger ^^ I actually read the whole manga last week and feels weird to see this again now XD Good adaption though. They skipped a few stuff but not really that important so it's all good :D Nice seeing Kanda and Nabae though ^^ Can't wait for nxt ep to see the results of his training :D I really wonder if they're gonna be going to Florida? S2 PLZ >.< This just isn't enough to reach the epic parts!! |
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| Nice to see Ei-chan's fellow, will be interesting to see how their ideals might differ. |
| Shit, so thats the training I should be expecting if I start playing now. Itd probably be much worse since im about 4 years older than ei-chan. And was that Sakurai? :D |
| Look at Ei-chan's beautiful face Why, Studio Pierrot, why? It was a nice episode nevertheless. 4/5. Next episode sounds interesting ^o^ It's already episode 19, huh. I really hope to see a season 2. |
xpaulaAug 10, 2014 6:08 AM
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| Another good episode.....i don't remember the game Ei-chan play in the preview |
xpaula said: Look at Ei-chan's beautiful face Why, Studio Pierrot, why?. Oh god, noticed the same thing. How can this be even possible.. |
| Eiirchou is going to have to do a lot of training to be able to do good at that All Junior Circuit. |
| Eiichiro getting muscle aches with a pro regiment training is quite surprising to me It's not like he hasn't been moving before Coach Miura is fortunately strict with his schedule The conversation between Nabae was very interesting besides the notebook versus laptop part |
| Animation quality was kicking my ass this episode. This series deserves better... [quote=xpaula]Look at Ei-chan's beautiful face |
| the official MAL hall of fame/cursed comments is now open for business - you are welcome to PM me any potential quotes to include |
| Good episode as always. I like how this anime is completely realistic with Ei-chan's tennis and how he's actually getting tired from training rather than getting shounen power-ups. -Resident- said: Is that Takahiro Sakurai I hear as Yu Nabae? I think so too! :) Vexper said: Animation quality was kicking my ass this episode. This series deserves better... ^ |
zakuza said: It felt like productuon went down. It was animated horibly. Maybe they had to rush this episode, but cmon to do that so bad. At one point it felt like the figure that should have represented Maruo was completely different character. I wont get started on eyes. Yeah I know. :/ A lot of blemishes. I don't notice these things that much either but the eyes... I'm just glad I have to rely on subs and don't have to look at it too much. |
| Yeah, that was some derp we got there. I'm glad, at least, that we get good animation where it counts -- the tennis, close-up stills, and Ike Souji. XD Love how they animated Nabae's tennis -- bit of a shock to see him as a blue-haired kid, but I think it's a smart choice to seperate his image from Ei-chan since they are similar in their tennis philosophy. I guess part of next episode will be anime original? |
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| Eh, well they had to allocate budget from somewhere for the little bits of well animated tennis. Episodes ain't cheap you know... (like 150,000 USD for 1 ep?) :> Real shame though, because I think the show is really starting to get interesting now as Ei-chan aims to go pro. Thinking about how strong the players at the All-Japan Tournament are makes me excited: the two opponents that Ei-chan struggled with lost in the first round, and Ei-chan has to WIN that tournament!! I think I got chills for a moment even. Loved the kindred spirit part where he meets the second seed. It was nice seeing them so awkward and interested in talking to each other but not quite willing. XD lovexLuffy said: I'm really liking the fact that Ei-chans training is so realistic. That he has to work hard and be determined to get to where he wants to be. I like his analytical skills, as well as his drive to become better. This anime does well in making you feel that you could accomplish anything you set your mind too. You just have to keep trying and never give up. I almost want to read the manga. It's going to be such a great journey ahead witnessing Ei-chans improvements. I'm quite sad this anime only has so many episodes. Got that right. It's pretty damn realistic, I mean, Ei-chan's even vomiting. Doing sports ain't easy physically and mentally, especially if you're not athletic and start exercising/playing sports later in life. Right now Ei-chan is going through hell to try and make up for all those years (like he said: he wishes he started tennis earlier). I knew this series would be great for its realism and I was right. It doesn't invoke excitement or passion like usual shounen sports I suppose, but it has the ability to make you think hard work really does take you somewhere. And in that way it is equally inspiring. I want a season 2, dammit. I'm really thinking about picking the manga up after the series ends, since I doubt that it'll get any more adaptations and I REALLY want to see Ei-chan's journey. |
| Seeing him play that pro dude was pretty cool. I noticed in one of the shots he basically jumped into the ball with his whole body, putting his whole body weight into that shot versus just arm/shoulder/torso/leg strength. =o That was a somewhat awkward point to end the episode. >.< It ended kinda fast for me. I really liked seeing him struggle when the coach first started that training. I haven't played tennis so can't really find anything to related it to but it looked tough since he was aching pretty bad the next day which I CAN relate to xD Can't wait for the next episode!!! I didn't really notice the drop in quality in animation but I wasn't really paying attention to it either this episode. =X |
Boombawks said: All this training has got to him, his muscles ain't the place where it's spazing.  "please kill me" |
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| Well hopefully Takuma wins the tournament |
| Wow, that training was so hard to even look at. :D but then again, if you want to be pro at that age ... i can understand. |
| In the ideal world this series would have gotten the budget of Haikyuu and Haikyuu would have gotten BS' budget. Then again flashy stories always sell better than the realistic ones. |
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MoeGod said: In the ideal world this series would have gotten the budget of Haikyuu and Haikyuu would have gotten BS' budget. Then again flashy stories always sell better than the realistic ones. Haikyu is pretty realistic as well. There are plenty of people who like it because of that fact, as well as the comedy and the "feel good" feelings they receive after watching it. Must you put down another anime in order to praise one? You sound really pressed. This is suppose to be a forum about Baby Steps. So let's keep it that way. |
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| Great episode, must be saving the animation budget. I just want this to adapt the whole manga. It only keeps getting better |
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lovexLuffy said: MoeGod said: In the ideal world this series would have gotten the budget of Haikyuu and Haikyuu would have gotten BS' budget. Then again flashy stories always sell better than the realistic ones. Haikyu is pretty realistic as well. There are plenty of people who like it because of that fact, as well as the comedy and the "feel good" feelings they receive after watching it. Must you put down another anime in order to praise one? You sound really pressed. This is suppose to be a forum about Baby Steps. So let's keep it that way. Haikyuu is the most cliche sports anime you can find, it's pretty much a poor copy of Slam Dunk from the characters right down to the story sequence. The comedy was forced & cringe-worthy (Hinata's stupidity, getting jealous of other team's pretty manager, etc) and the drama, oh my God the drama, you won't find high school boys acting like some insecure girls in Baby Steps like in Haikyuu. Sure Haikyuu has realistic action but everything else brought it down. Baby Steps is pretty unique in that it addresses the sport it's portraying head-on. It's not afraid to delve into technical details, no shounen-ish (often dragged out) drama, no unnecessary gloating & talking down between opponents (this is plenty in Haikyuu), while the matches are constant tactical and technical battles instead of overcoming some corny trauma. I'm within my rights to be pissed that this kind of anime doesn't get the budget it deserves while average stories masked with over-the-top content like Haikyuu or KnB got such a high budget. |
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MoeGod said: You seem to be in the minority because many people like the comedy, characters, story, plot progression and etc. from what I can tell...I'm not about to argue with you about Haikyu and whether its good or not. People have different preferences, taste and opinions. But like I said no need to put down something down in order to lift something up. It's distasteful and tactless. You can be pissed all you want it won't change a thing. This anime didn't get the budget that it deserves, I share the same sentiment, but that wasn't for us to decide. I'm sure they tried to get as much budget as they could and this is only what they could muster up. I like Haikyu and I like Baby Steps. They are both unique within their own merits. |
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| Well, derp faces aside this was a very good episode. Souji is awesome. I like his playful attitude and his passion for tennis, you could tell he loves the game so much from how many games he played yet was still unsatisfied/disappointed when he was told to call it a day. I'm guessing he is the big boss that Eiiciro will surpass by the end? That will be interesting (and very entertaining) to see if it happens (it seems like this will have an anime original ending which is a shame). Eiichiro's training is rather ruthless, which makes sense considering what he wants to become and his current level. Takuma was affected by Note-kun's perseverance and now he is fired up and could possibly win the tournament. I wish we could see some matches for both Takuma and Araya and get some insight on what they are thinking of after their development and renewed determination to go pro. But sadly it doesn't look like that will happen judging by the preview, but hey, watching Eiichiro's rigorous training isn't too bad either :) I was already thinking that the cast is a little big for a 25 episode series, and today they introduced even MORE characters, which was confusing but then I discovered that the manga is around 300 chapters and still ongoing O_O In any case, all the characters have been fun to watch and none of them really got on my nerves at all. I just hope Kageyama does something in the next episodes other than being a tool through which the author gives advice to our main character, he's cool as he is but still. Also this new Nabae guy seems interesting. Definitely sounds like a good rival of sorts for Eiichiro if they happen to play against each other in the next tournament. Overall a pretty darn good episode, 5/5 |
BotatoAug 12, 2014 2:53 PM
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| Baby steps never fails to deliver... and man, I just love the ED song, so much feels I pretty much agree with MoeGod in regards to Haikyuu. Only watching it for Oikawa now, really can't stand the MC |
| Oh god that training regiment was so intense. Ive done something similar for track, but he has to keep his eye on the ball, which is 2x harder! #Much respect |
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| Note taker meets laptop note taker a fated rivalry begins !! |
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| Good episode, cool to see a new tournament so that the anime widens you're sight on how good of tennis players there actually are. Damn Arya is the 16th seed and Maruo had a very difficult time against him. I wonder who the first seed is. |
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| Fight fight.. I wanna time skip to the next tournament badly. |
| I'm calling it now! Ei-chan will be an " ALL-A" player..thus he'll still be called Ei-chan ( A-chan ) No joke. |
| I know that feeling. First time you do crunches or ab workouts, your ab area feels like it got hit so hard. I've had my fair share of exercise routines, it ain't fun at first. And it's true about what they say, once your body is broken down, eventually you'll get used to the exercises and the pain will lessen. 2nd half of the episode was ok. Surprisingly Oobayashi and the other guy lost in the first round. The awkward moment when you meet your other half lol That electronic note taker xD |
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| In the words of Lord Aris "If you try to beat the good guys you never will, but if you try to beat them in small ways you'll get there", or something like that. The first match was a really cool example of this. Maruo recognized he couldn't remotely win, so what he did was he put in his all to crack the great wall of Soji and score one point. And alike the god Armada, Soji's strength partially comes from his ability to treat every match like it's grand finals and never let up his concentration or skill. And the way Maruo broke the wall by switching up his play and baiting Soji with a fake run was fantastic. He honestly used his weakness as a player physically and technically to his advantage by hitting Soji a ball he would never expect while learning from the last few balls. Whenever I see training regimens like this... or even much smaller ones I'm always inspired to start one myself, but I shouldn't kid myself. At best I'll work out for a month and then stop. But, I'll still try again because Baby Steps has inspired me yet again. Maruo and Nabae awkwardly watching each other take notes was absolutely hilarious and adorable. I also loved the way Takuma karate chopped his greeting and revealed that Maruo wanted to go pro like it was nothing. I'm really excited to watch Nabae more, and see him more. His way of play is a really consistently good one and he seems adorable, if not a bit pretentious. So, he should be real fun to watch and I'm curious how he'll be beaten by Takuma or whatever, if he does play him and lose to him that is. I suppose he could lose to someone else first, or happen to beat them, like Araya, and in any case he's another one I want to watch play. Araya is my husbando. |
I thought I was going to be the only one to mention it in the forum, but it seems three or four users already beat me to the punch. Nonetheless, I'll leave these screencaps here:  |
| This show deserves better visuals, the derp faces at times in this episode frustrated me. Still, at least the meat of the show is still fantastic, and that's the writing. Now that Maruo's focused on becoming a pro, he has to train like one and catch up to the standard where the others are. Given how he hasn't played tennis since he was a kid, he couldn't naturally develop his body and his skills from a young age at a slow, steady rate so the accelerated and more intense training regiment would suck for him to go through. But that's his only option sadly. He also witnesses some players in the tournament and realizes how difficult the tournament and the level of pro tennis could potentially be when playing Ike for a bit too. Guy's like an ant in comparison. Still a long way to go for him but he's definitely determined to work his ass off to get to that stage next year. Nabae was also introduced now as the 2nd seed of the All-Japan Junior tournament, and he seems interesting, kind of similar to Maruo. He isn't flashy but he's definitely a great player and an analytical one too given his system of breaking down what makes the perfect tennis player (or All-A in his case). |
| Ei-chan is almost overworking, better do Pomodoro method for once |
"......If I told you that I was a real witch, would you believe it?"  |
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