Anime: Baby Steps

Review
Sports anime were always a mean to an end in the japanese industry. Their main reason to exist is not the entertainment in most cases, but the opportunity to show children and teens about how sports can change their routine, make them healthier, and prove that it is good to be social in school and participate in clubs.

Somewhere along those lines sports anime became entranced with the shounen genre and many, if not the vast majority, became about athletes there were basically superpowerful heroes. The idea to sell the sport and spread healthy behavior continued, but instead of simple teens playing soccer, football or baseball, most of them were about people with bizarre and unnatural qualities.

Baby Steps is one of the rare cases where it sits in the middle of those two specters. First, it is about a normal nerdy and methodical boy who finds out he may have been born to play tennis, second it is about a nerdy boy who has so many physical qualities and logical capacity it borders a superpower. As a veteran Prince of Tennis (PoT) follower, I can classify Baby Steps as the serious version of it, and as a consequence, the best tennis anime there is.

Let's get one thing clear. This is really about tennis. There are rare moments where tennis is not the focus, not a single episode where you forget you are watching a sports show about tennis, and rarely superpowers and bizarre choices that turns tennis into a shounen fantasy. Baby Steps follows Maruo Eichirou, a methodical exemplar student that is famous because of his crazy notes and high test scores. His obsession with his routine brings him to search for some physical activity. This ends up with a simple trial day at a tennis club, where he not only meets the sport he was made for, but also the vivid cute girl he just met at school and fell in love with.

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1. Not that beautiful
   The first thing you will notice about Baby Steps, besides the stupid name, is its artwork. There is a feel of childish work, a mix of laziness and uniqueness, and a nostalgic feel of old shows in it. Studio Pierrot is indeed a veteran in the industry, but although it slightly gets us back to the 90's with Baby Steps, what we most see here is an irregular job, with many shots with mismatched eyes, distorted proportions, and simple scenes.
   
   This, however, is not enough to bring down the great show behind it., especially because it offers a brilliant sound direction with a mature voice-acting backed by solid effects and music. All of it led by a great opening theme that give us a nice insight in what the show is about. There is little to argue here, except perhaps for some more dramatic themes to permeate the show.
   
   It's a crazy tale of evolution
   Basically, Baby Steps narrates how Maruo evolves while playing tennis, using his natural talents and his methodical analysis to surpass foes, understand the basics of the sport and forge his very own play style. There are time skips, there are dozens of minutes teaching about how tennis works, dramatic tournaments, an insight of how professional tennis players are formed in Japan, and so on.
   
   And as in any evolution, there are dark times
   If there's one thing Baby Steps does boldly well, it is how it deals with failures. Maruo is kinda of a genius player, yes, but that doesn't mean he always succeeds when it matters. He loses key matches, he fails to overcome his obstacles, and he learns from that. Unlike most sports shows where the protagonist suffers but always ends up winning somehow, here you are surprised by the results of many events.
   
   There is a long way to go
   Baby Steps is just the starting point in Maruo's life changer. It starts with Maruo learning about tennis and ends when he makes a serious decision about his life and must take a path he may not be able to get back from. It closes decently in this first season, but it would be far better if it simply linked with the next one without the pause, which brings down the great momentum built.
   
   Maruo
   When a show succeeds in its tale of evolution and coming of age, it is because it has decent characters to back it. Maruo leds the show nicely, portraiting both the standard and boring protagonist and also refreshing us with how the typical nerdy qualities become of use to his new endeavor. Helping him is a large group of characters.
   
   And they offer a good support
   Nat-chan and everyone else does feel quite generic at their core, but their place in the world is surprisingly convincing and works wonder to make you understand how the path to becoming a professional player is. Their hardships, questionings, love fo the sport, or simply the aid they provide to Maruo may not make them remarkable, but you will certainly remember what role they played in the bigger tale.
   
   It offers more than simple sports joy
   Baby Steps is a thrilling sports show that brings failure to the table together with all the typical lessons about a healthier life style and promoting sports to its audience. It's good that both veterans of tennis and those new to it may find a good value in it, which means it succeeds in being both of what it tries to be. This simple rarity, joined by the mature take on the path to professional tennis, makes Baby Steps one of the best sports shows of the last few years.
   

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Comments
Baby Steps is certainly one of the best shows of its season. It does a great job at being serious, being educational, delivering thrilling moments and crafting a realistic and inspiring tale of coming of age. There is a lot to happen in the next seasons, but as the starting part of it there is little to criticize.

Although it succeeds in being interesting to veteran and newcomers, this mix also brings some moments that may drag for one or another. The hard mixture of teaching and thrilling the audience turns some episodes into shores and others into insane addicting moments and that can hurt the show, especially if you watch episodes only once in a while. The coming of age tale and Maruo's evolution, however, can be a great match up for anyone looking for a great inspirational show or for some shounen level up.

You want a good show that is not about lolis and bizarre superpowers? Yes? Then give Baby Steps a chance.