Baby Steps
Best Sports Anime
Even if you’ve never played or had any interest in tennis, there is something to be said about the sheer calculation and strategy required to dominate the sport. Baby Steps is a systematic breakdown of this, as it follows a novice introduced to tennis early on in high school.
Eiichirō Maruo, also called Ei-chan, uses his intellect and dedicated note-taking to learn the game and rise through the ranks quickly over two years.
Alongside learning more about tennis with each episode, Ei-chan finds passion and friendships he’d never known before, thanks to tennis. His growth as both a character and a player is extraordinary to watch.
The main downsides are that the anime hasn’t aired a new episode in years and that the manga it’s based on was abruptly canceled. This shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the ride, though, as Baby Steps is full of heart and intellect, and is definetly one of the most underrated sports anime around.
