Playback is currently unavailable for S2 E1 · The World and the Wall. Episode details remain available below.
Baby Steps
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:
- Taishi Murata, Minako Kotobuki, Daisuke Namikawa, Asami Seto
- Language:
- Japanese
- Country:
- Japan
- Network:
- NHK Educational TV
Episode guide
Seasons
Season 2
Episodes
E01
Episode 1
The World and the Wall
2015-04-05 · 25mEiichirō 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.
Current episode
E02
Episode 2
A Vicious Circle is Lucky
2015-04-12 · 25mEiichirō 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E03
Episode 3
Data for the Future
2015-04-19 · 25mAfter 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E04
Episode 4
Awakening to Simplicity
2015-04-26 · 25mIn his final day in Florida Alex agrees to play a best-of-3 match with Eiichirō. Alex realizes that Eiichirō's notes contain all of his weaknesses and that he will have to adjust his play style to win the match.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E05
Episode 5
Takuma's Decision
2015-05-03 · 25mEiichirō returns from Florida and is given a day off to adjust his body to the time difference. After the day off Eiichirō begins a new strict training regime to help him get ready for the Kanagawa Prefectural.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E06
Episode 6
First Encounter by Scouting
2015-05-10 · 25mCoach Aoi explains to Eiichirō that he stopped the match against Takuma because his body wasn't developed to serve like Takuma yet. If he had continued to serve that way, he would have injured himself and forced himself to give up his tennis career.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E07
Episode 7
Revenge at the Critical Moment
2015-05-17 · 25mThe Kanagawa Prefectural begins as Eiichirō faces off against Araya's new underclassman Nishimura. Araya has told Nishimura all of Eiichirō's weaknesses from the year before, making Nishimura very confident in his chances of winning.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E08
Episode 8
The Speed of Evolution
2015-05-24 · 25mEiichirō and Miyagawa face off in the second round of the tournament for their second match. If Eiichirō loses he knows he'll lose all chance of going pro. If Miyagawa loses he knows his path to become a pro will take longer and might force him to go to college first.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E09
Episode 9
★ 7.0Baffled by Intuition
2015-05-31 · 25mCoach Ryuhei Aoi decides to teach Eiichirō the importance of relying on instincts during a match instead of relying solely on data. In order to teach him how to play against a player who relies solely on instinct Eiichirō is forced to face off with Natsu.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E10
Episode 10
Start With a Roar
2015-06-07 · 25mAraya and Eiichirō begin their match in the Kanagawa Prefectural Final. At first both are holding serve and the score is at 3-3. However Coach Aoi realizes Eiichirō doesn't have the knowledge on how to deal with left handers since he's only played Araya once.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E11
Episode 11
Choices and Explosive Power
2015-06-14 · 25mEiichirō throws out a couple of unexpected dropshots in set 2 and begins to alter the speed of his game. After trailing 30-love to begin match 2 of set 2 Eiichirō is able to rally with this new strategy and pull off a break.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E12
Episode 12
Full Force Toward Adversity
2015-06-21 · 25mAraya and Eiichirō prove to be even and are both unable to break each others serve. Making things worse is there will be no tiebreaker., Instead an individual must win by 2 games.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E13
Episode 13
Gathering of Rivals
2015-06-28 · 25mThe gang begins their third and final year of high school in different classes. Eiichirō and Natsu both realize their classes seem to be moving on without them as they are getting ready for cram schools and entrance tests.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E14
Episode 14
Moonlight and the Sound of Waves
2015-07-05 · 25mThe 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E15
Episode 15
A Hero and Loud Cheers
2015-07-12 · 25mThe 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E16
Episode 16
Whish, Then Fwoom
2015-07-19 · 25mEiichiro 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E17
Episode 17
Dramatic by Nature
2015-07-26 · 25mIde'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...
Watch progress · Not tracked
E18
Episode 18
Visualize the Pressure
2015-08-02 · 25mEiichiro 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E19
Episode 19
A Rude First Meeting
2015-08-09 · 25mEitaro, 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E20
Episode 20
Psychological Warfare and Self-Control
2015-08-16 · 25mThe match against Takagi begins. Just as Yukichi warned, Takagi's style is unique.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E21
Episode 21
Good, Evil, and Rules
2015-08-23 · 25mEven 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E22
Episode 22
Existence is the Driving Force
2015-08-30 · 25mAfter 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E23
Episode 23
Aggressive is Ideal
2015-09-06 · 25mThe 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.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E24
Episode 24
Recklessness and Surprise
2015-09-13 · 25mThe match between Eiichirou and Nabae finally reaches its thrilling climax, and the former risks losing to envision his victory.
Watch progress · Not tracked
E25
Episode 25
Final Set
2015-09-20 · 25mThe game finally reaches its final stage. Eiichiro who desperately envisions a vision to win Nambae and is ready for a new strategy with the intention of losing.
Watch progress · Not trackedCast
Taishi Murata
Eiichiro Maruo (voice)
Minako Kotobuki
Natsu Takasaki (voice)
Daisuke Namikawa
Takuma Egawa (voice)
Asami Seto
Himeko Sasami (voice)
Hiro Shimono
Yukichi Fukasawa (voice)
Taiten Kusunoki
Coach Yusaku Miura (voice)
Takuma Terashima
Kojirou Kageyama (voice)
Tetsuya Kakihara
Takuya Miyagawa (voice)
Chisa Yuuki
Yuuki Tajima (voice)
Kohsuke Toriumi
Coach Ryuuhei Aoi (voice)