Tennis Manga 'Baby Steps' to Receive Anime Adaptation

by Wind_Sr
Nov 8, 2013 6:37 AM | 79 Comments

In the 50th issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine, an announcement will be made that manga "Baby Steps" will be receiving an anime adaptation that will air spring 2014 on NHK E. The series will be produced by Kenji Saito, most known for his role as executive producer for the first and second seasons of "Bakuman."

Manga Synopsis:

"Maruo Eiitirou (E-Chan), a first year honor student, one day decides he's unhappy with the way things are and lacks exercise. He finds a flyer for the Tennis Club and decides to check it out. He's instantly captivated by it. With no prior experience and poor physical conditioning, join E-Chan as he embarks on a tennis journey using his smarts, dedication, and work ethic."

(Source: One Manga)

Source: Scan via ANN, Clearer Scan via otanews

Baby Steps on MAL

20 of 79 Comments Recent Comments

Lylaaz said:

Stark700 said:
Some new info on the upcoming anime:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-11-12/pierrot-animates-25-episode-baby-steps-with-new-plots

- 25 episodes
- there will be original stories not from the manga (anime only material)

Pffft.. the manga has almost 200 chapters and they still decide to go with fillers?
Why.. why D':

Deep in my heart i wish they make the art more detailed. Also, this will be a good series if they don't screw it up with fillers.

It will probably be screwed.

But hey that means what? We can read the manga and watch the anime and still see different things, probably.

Nov 26, 2013 12:43 AM by ToG25thBaam

heck yea

Nov 24, 2013 3:54 PM by ultimateninjax

Well seeing how great sports anime are this season, can't wait for more!!

Nov 18, 2013 6:41 AM by KneelBeforeMe

KurizenT said:
Does all NHK anime are always 2 or more cour?

Not always, but chances are higher. And chances for 2nd season are also higher even if its BD/DVD do not sell well - examples include Letter Bee, Phi Brain.

Nov 17, 2013 8:08 PM by symbv

sounds fun. i can't say i am quite ready to tackle prince of tennis quite yet, but if i can get into this maybe it baby steps will give me the motivation to dedicate myself to it eventually. :P

Nov 17, 2013 5:55 AM by femalegoblin

symbv said:
So the rumor was true after all.

And the most important thing to note is that it is a NHK ANIME. This could mean that the anime getting 2 or more cour.

Does all NHK anime are always 2 or more cour?

Nov 17, 2013 4:50 AM by ExoticNeeds

Looking forward to it. Just toned down the romance aspect.

Nov 16, 2013 4:20 PM by Meruru_Arls

Hmm I was full out excited hearing it was getting an anime, but uneasy with the original plot stuff. There is a ridiculous amount of material in the manga so not like they need to do that. I suppose it's less worrisome of the writer is involved in this, I just wonder what the plan is? They plan to go off the rails with a self-contained series?

Oh well will cross fingers that they don't screw this up. I really enjoyed the manga and was hoping it'd get its anime chance at some point.

So "yeah!" on the news, "eh" on the original stuff.

Nov 16, 2013 1:36 PM by FlarisKnight

Oh, yay! I quite like the manga so hoping the anime will turn out good. Also, it'd be nice to see what a more realistic tennis anime would look like.

Nov 15, 2013 1:29 AM by removed-user

BODY IS READY... although it is a real shame that it's mostly going to be filler content. It still would have been better to follow the manga faithfully singing as it has 200+ chapters. Ah well, nevertheless I'm still excited for a Baby Steps anime. :D

Nov 14, 2013 1:50 AM by LucarioDude

phoenixalia said:
I don't read the manga but I don't understand....

When you have so many chapters to adapt why go with anime original material?

New content is a selling point for many people (hardcore purists only make up a certain segment of the potential audience). It gives manga readers a reason to try the anime.

Occasionally, original material has been strategically employed to expand readership. For instance, the extra romance scenes in Bakuman Season 1 were intended to draw in teenage girls. This proved to be successful.

Nov 13, 2013 10:22 AM by Yause

I don't read the manga but I don't understand....

When you have so many chapters to adapt why go with anime original material?

Nov 13, 2013 9:26 AM by phoenixalia

Nov 13, 2013 9:01 AM by Lylaaz

Some new info on the upcoming anime:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-11-12/pierrot-animates-25-episode-baby-steps-with-new-plots

- 25 episodes
- there will be original stories not from the manga (anime only material)

Nov 13, 2013 8:47 AM by Stark700

I guess it is the kind of sakuga we should expect from a NHK anime...

Nov 12, 2013 9:05 PM by symbv

His eyes looks weird. The manga has the better art for now.

Nov 12, 2013 9:02 PM by tsudecimo

Key visual from a mag pic

http://blog-imgs-57.fc2.com/y/a/r/yaraon/321.png

Nov 12, 2013 7:53 PM by symbv

Ah, I really enjoy sports anime.

I haven't read the manga yet but I probably will in the future.
I'm anticipating the anime adaptation!

Nov 10, 2013 7:54 PM by Zeppen

The romance is sweet and natural. In terms of sports, it's very technical, those who like realistic sports anime will enjoy it.

Nov 10, 2013 4:25 PM by Roy_28

Neteyes said:
Honestly it's one of my favorite manga, but I can't really see it doing good as an anime. First off, it starts off way too slow, and at best they'd manage to get in some romance in the last episode, assuming it gets 20+ episodes.

A slow start is only a problem if the anime could end before it starts to get good and

symbv said:
So the rumor was true after all.

And the most important thing to note is that it is a NHK ANIME. This could mean that the anime getting 2 or more cour.

Nov 9, 2013 3:13 PM by IntroverTurtle

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