Baby Steps in 200 words

Baby Steps details the journey of Maruo Eiichiro, a straight-A student, growing a passion for tennis, employing his impeccable studying skills to make up for his relative experience. Maruo Eiichiro starts out as an exemplary student who is somewhat unsatisfied with life. He starts getting into tennis on a whim, but he soon learns to appreciate tennis and devote himself sincerely to becoming better at it. The main draw is watching a more grounded main character strive to improve through pure skill and analysis, unlike many sports heroes who have incredibly strong talent. Eiichiro's rivals all embody different ideals of high-level tennis, from being an all-rounder to focusing on pure strength. Takumi is the main rival overall, but there are plenty of engaging characters that Eiichiro must face in order to become a pro. Eiichiro's journey is based primarily on gaining a greater skill basis, so the reader can more easily understand how strong he's getting over time. The relationship between Eiichiro and his love interest, Natsu Takasaki, grows and develops over the course of the story as they both endeavor to fulfill their tennis dreams. The series was unfortunately cancelled, but Baby Steps is still an incredible sports series.

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