Baby Steps (2014)

1. The World and the Wall

2015-04-05

Eiichirō 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.

2. A Vicious Circle is Lucky

2015-04-12

Eiichirō 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.

3. Data for the Future

2015-04-19

After 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.

4. Awakening to Simplicity

2015-04-26

In 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.

5. Takuma's Decision

2015-05-03

Eiichirō 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.

6. First Encounter by Scouting

2015-05-10

Coach 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.

7. Revenge at the Critical Moment

2015-05-17

The 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.

8. The Speed of Evolution

2015-05-24

Eiichirō 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.

9. Baffled by Intuition

2015-05-31

Coach 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.

10. Start With a Roar

2015-06-07

Araya 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.

11. Choices and Explosive Power

2015-06-14

Eiichirō 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.

13. Gathering of Rivals

2015-06-28

The 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.

14. Moonlight and the Sound of Waves

2015-07-05

The 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.

15. A Hero and Loud Cheers

2015-07-12

The 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.

16. Whish, Then Fwoom

2015-07-19

Eiichiro 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.

17. Dramatic by Nature

2015-07-26

Ide'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...

18. Visualize the Pressure

2015-08-02

Eiichiro 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.

19. A Rude First Meeting

2015-08-09

Eitaro, 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.

20. Psychological Warfare and Self-Control

2015-08-16

The match against Takagi begins. Just as Yukichi warned, Takagi's style is unique.

21. Good, Evil, and Rules

2015-08-23

Even 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.

22. Existence is the Driving Force

2015-08-30

After 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.

23. Aggressive is Ideal

2015-09-06

The 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.

24. Recklessness and Surprise

2015-09-13

The match between Eiichirou and Nabae finally reaches its thrilling climax, and the former risks losing to envision his victory.

25. Final Set

2015-09-20

The 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.