Forum SettingsEpisode Information
Forums
New
What did you think of this episode?
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
May 31, 2015 1:56 AM
#1

Offline
Nov 2011
129679
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
----------------------------------------
Cute bonding between Marou and Natsu <3

I think it's a bit refreshing and fun to see him practice with her though. Some teasing aside, this episode was charming. Hiroshi is such a good role model in this series too in this series.
May 31, 2015 4:32 AM
#2

Offline
Mar 2012
1917
Sooo hyped for the next episode! The match is gonna be goood!

Neat little episode this week for Maruo and Natsu. Now to see Maruo put what he learned from their match into practice in a real match. Perhaps we'll see it as soon as against Araya next episode or so.

And whoa, Maruo was just dishing out bakery products left and right with those bagels (6-0) and breadsticks (6-1). :O He's well above the level of the competition in this tournament besides Araya.
May 31, 2015 5:16 AM
#3

Offline
Oct 2014
2761
Great episode. Fun to see a match between Natsu and Maruo even though maruou aced it :3

Damn next episode is going to be intense as fuck. Araya seems to have a lot to win for, especially after his flashback.
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
May 31, 2015 5:20 AM
#4

Offline
Aug 2010
10989
Amazing episode :D Maruo just REKT all his opponents XD

I remember this Araya vs Maruo match from the manga and it was EPIC!! ZONE INCOMING >.<

Loved the Nacchan vs Eichan so much!! Dat Sexual Romantic tension <3<3
I was grinning throughout the game :3

It was funny how confused Eichan was at the start lol
Honestly didn't expect there's that much of a difference between female and male. He REKT her score wise ^^;
May 31, 2015 6:21 AM
#5

Offline
Aug 2009
183
fun match between naru and marou, i hope they get to play doubles someday

finals now!, this is going be interesting.
May 31, 2015 6:54 AM
#6

Offline
Jun 2014
14630
Maruo just breezes through the 3 games.

May 31, 2015 6:54 AM
#7

Offline
Jun 2014
4145
this anime's pacing is absolutely brilliant
:3
May 31, 2015 8:05 AM
#8

Offline
Jul 2010
2403
Seeing how much is on the line for the two, it really helps build excitement!

Araya really is carrying a lot, with the hope of his entire club resting on his shoulders. It was somewhat sad to see how Araya's peers slowly gave up one after another. It really did help build the mood!

Also the contrast between the two styles and Maruo being all confused, that was a fun match.
May 31, 2015 8:39 AM
#9

Offline
Feb 2013
741
Cute Tennis Match!
May 31, 2015 10:39 AM

Offline
Nov 2010
1690
Oh hell yea, this is gonna be Epic. <3

I wish the match between Maruo and Natsu was a little more romantic. hehe.
May 31, 2015 11:21 AM

Offline
Jun 2014
2275
yet another really good episode
I am excited to see it continue

Maruo said he never played a female before, what about Marcia O'Brian when he was in Florida lol
May 31, 2015 12:53 PM

Offline
Oct 2011
276
Cute episode with the match Maruo-Natsu :3

Hyped for the next episode :D
May 31, 2015 2:14 PM

Offline
Jun 2013
4853
Maruo is just winning matches left and right
May 31, 2015 2:53 PM
Offline
Jul 2018
562329
Good match between Natsu and Maruo.

I'm looking forward to see final match between Araya and Maruo.
May 31, 2015 3:26 PM

Offline
Apr 2014
359
i want to see takuma vs maruo....
he will win or die vs araya? who knows...
love the macht with natsu,,he had problems to play hahhah love is like this <3

May 31, 2015 3:47 PM

Offline
Jul 2011
4449
Highlight of the tournament coming! <3

We get to see more of his improvement. It's great to see him have a match against people he lost against before. :)
May 31, 2015 5:46 PM

Offline
May 2013
76
Wow, Araya's coach is an asshole.
Jun 1, 2015 12:44 AM

Offline
Jan 2013
11047
Fantastic episode as usual, interesting to see how Eiichirou compared to Natsu.
Can't wait to see the tournament.
Jun 1, 2015 7:12 AM

Offline
Sep 2014
2454
I loved this episode! Though I sorta disappointed there was no romantic development between Maruo and Natsu, it was still great. He won, like I thought, but the match was pretty good.

Man am I hyped for Araya and Maruo's match. It's gonna be a classic!
Jun 1, 2015 10:34 AM
Offline
Apr 2011
64
Grrrr... always such cliffhanger :/
Jun 1, 2015 11:20 PM

Offline
Jul 2010
3028
Ei-chan and Nat-chan <3
Why are they so perfect?

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this match, it looks pretty exciting. And I guess it will be divided in 2 max 3 episodes?
Jun 2, 2015 3:58 PM

Offline
Oct 2011
9163
Eichan and Nat-chan Tennis styles are very opposite from each other. They are perfect for each other <33333
Jun 3, 2015 12:30 PM

Offline
Jul 2012
100
Goooooosh, every freaking week the episodes just keep getting better and better. So hype for this week's ep!!
Jun 3, 2015 3:01 PM

Offline
Oct 2013
2433
Araya vs Ei-chan will be heated. Honestly though Ei-chan should win at least 6-3, 6-3 to have a chance at going pro. Maybe not...we'll see
Jun 3, 2015 6:57 PM

Offline
Feb 2012
301
Kitoge said:
Araya vs Ei-chan will be heated. Honestly though Ei-chan should win at least 6-3, 6-3 to have a chance at going pro. Maybe not...we'll see

Araya is a guy aiming to become pro, and a regular in the All Japan Junior.

Just being able to win against him should be good enough.
Jun 4, 2015 1:50 PM

Offline
Sep 2010
165
Wait, I just noticed MAL doesn't have an episode count for this one. Does this mean we might get more than 2 cours? *-*

For some reason, I was positive Natsu would win haha. Ei-chan is so good, the matches are getting really exciting.
Jun 7, 2015 9:42 AM

Offline
Feb 2008
5563
I've never liked the score for this match. Natsu could definitely do better. She's one of the best in the country and has been playing way longer than him, plus she's super familiar with his tennis and he's definitely not familiar with hers.

Also unhappy that they cute the cute/lovey dovey stuff from the match.
Jun 7, 2015 12:15 PM

Offline
Nov 2010
2047
Maruo has advanced so much, but the best scene was the match between him and Natsu
Jun 7, 2015 12:46 PM

Offline
Feb 2012
301
jacobpaige said:
I've never liked the score for this match. Natsu could definitely do better. She's one of the best in the country and has been playing way longer than him, plus she's super familiar with his tennis and he's definitely not familiar with hers.

From the real life:

"During the 1998 Australian Open, sisters Serena and Venus Williams boasted that they could beat any man ranked outside the world's top 200. The challenge was accepted by Karsten Braasch, a German player ranked No 203 (his highest ranking was No 38). Before the matches, Braasch played a round of golf in the morning, drank a couple of beers, smoked a few cigarettes, and then played the Williams sisters for a set each, one after the other. He defeated Serena, 6-1, and Venus, 6-2. Serena said afterwards "I didn't know it would be that hard. I hit shots that would have been winners on the women's tour and he got to them easily.""
Jul 16, 2015 7:31 PM
Offline
Jul 2018
562329
Kind of a build up episode, hopefully the game between them will be intense.
Mar 2, 2016 11:49 PM

Offline
Aug 2013
4150
oh Ei-chan and Nat-chan having a match.
This will be a good rematch hehe.
May 12, 2016 4:21 AM

Offline
Dec 2012
3006
OH beautiful match, I love how their relation progress. So, the coaches said that Natsu and Marou are complementary. Nice :)
Mar 11, 2018 4:47 AM

Offline
Jun 2016
3391
It just hit me that this is where the whole "you're good... for a girl!!!" thing came from. I never thought of it being due to the biological differences and advantages a man has over a woman. That's interesting.

Last episode I pondered how far Maruo would win forgetting that you have a huge advantage if you beat a seeded player, especially so if you're unseeded. He got the bracket projected for Miyagawa and he cruised through it. Just by the look of his face you can see he's all buisness now and I love it. How he's developed as a person and a player is incredible.

I also love Araya, especially his interactions with Maruo in the game and outside of it. So, getting this rematch and also getting the context behind Araya's resolve is great. I say it every episode but this is partly what I wanted from a season 2. Araya is playing with his future on the line, to not miss his gifted opportunity, the hard work he put in, and most importantly the backs of everyone he's climbed over to get here. He is playing for more than himself, it's for all his friends who couldn't make it, and for the name of his people. He is quite literally their hope. Moreover, he has a rival in Takuma that is almost unmatched other than perhaps Takuma's hatred for losing to Ike. Alike season 1, Araya is a fantastic opponent and a good character.

"Watch, feel, obey". That's what Maruo had to put into work while watching Natsu and he got a grasp on getting his intuition to come out, his instinct to take control in harmony with his reason. There's so many phrases in this anime that I almost want tattoo'd on my body. "Baby steps to giant strides" is another phenomenal one. When Aoi mentioned the contrast between Natsu and Maruo it was the first time I realized it myself, mostly due to the fact that we hardly see Natsu play perhaps, but the two really are distinctly body and brain. Maruo plays with his brain, Natsu plays with her body, Maruo plays via logic, Natsu plays via instinct and intuition. To learn to pick up each others play would make them go forward tenfold.

Super excited for the Araya rematch! The respect he has for Maruo for teaching him to improve and giving him the inspiration to stay in the game is what makes their relationship so great. The way the last match ended with the incredible reads and volley and last minute change of direction only to hardly make it in losing the game for Maruo was one of the most intense moments of the anime to date and I'm hoping for some plays like that again.
Jul 29, 2019 2:25 PM
Offline
Apr 2016
13025
Just like expected, both Ei-chan and Nat-chan climbed their way up and beat every opponent without a real struggle. It was pretty interesting to see Ei-chan and Nat-chan play, I genuinely never expected to see them play against each other. Her playstyle sure was weird. However, I didn't expect Nat-chan to lose that easily.
Nov 27, 2020 5:09 PM

Offline
Jul 2017
6819
Maruo and Natsu playing each other felt really refreshing. I know both are different genders and have different levels of power/strength/physiques, but it still always surprises me seeing how much Maruo has grown as a player. He defeated Natsu 6-1, although I wouldn't say it was an easy one given how he was taken back by her intuitive and random sort of approach to her tennis, which contrasts his logical patterns that he tries to frame out against his opponents and calculate how to approach a win. His serves were even untouchable for the most part against Natsu, but she got some good experience for her own final too dealing with his speed and power for a decent amount of time. No way her opponent can be more powerful than Maruo in that final, so that helped.

In general, just seeing them bond again in this form of competitive nature was charming to say the least. Now both just have to win the finals and give it their all, although Maruo does have a pretty big roadblock in front of him with Araya being the final opponent against him. Araya showed him up once but Maruo's gotten a lot more stronger and more motivated too to challenge him so should be an exciting final to say the least.
Mar 23, 2022 12:07 AM

Offline
Jul 2021
9190
Heh I like Maruo and Natsu moment in this episode. The rematch will definitely flow through.

More topics from this board

Poll: » Baby Steps 2nd Season Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )

Stark700 - Sep 20, 2015

116 by GakutoDeathGlare »»
Sep 13, 2023 9:50 PM

Poll: » Baby Steps 2nd Season Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 )

Stark700 - Aug 16, 2015

51 by GakutoDeathGlare »»
Sep 13, 2023 4:27 PM

Poll: » Baby Steps 2nd Season Episode 11 Discussion

Stark700 - Jun 14, 2015

36 by GakutoDeathGlare »»
Sep 12, 2023 4:37 AM

Poll: » Baby Steps 2nd Season Episode 10 Discussion

Stark700 - Jun 7, 2015

33 by GakutoDeathGlare »»
Sep 12, 2023 4:01 AM

Poll: » Baby Steps 2nd Season Episode 5 Discussion

Stark700 - May 3, 2015

48 by ImmuneDark3 »»
Jun 21, 2022 5:30 AM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login