Baby Steps Review: A Straight-A Student Applies Academic Discipline to Tennis and Goes Further Than Anyone Expected
by Hikaru Katsuki
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Quick Take
- A studious boy without natural athletic talent applies rigorous analysis to tennis and the manga follows him all the way to the top of the professional circuit
- Katsuki's most distinctive achievement: actual tennis mechanics depicted with enough accuracy to be educational
- 47 volumes, complete; one of the longest sports manga fully available in English
Who Is This Manga For?
- Readers who want sports manga where the protagonist's path is analytical rather than instinctual
- Tennis players who want manga that depicts their sport with technical accuracy
- Anyone who wants a completed ultra-long-form sports manga with a full professional arc
- Readers who enjoy the underdog-through-intelligence story
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: T (Teen) Content Warnings: Competitive pressure; injury sequences realistic to the sport
Standard T-rated sports manga.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★★☆ |
| Art Style | ★★★★☆ |
| Character Development | ★★★★★ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★☆ |
| Reread Value | ★★★★☆ |
Story Overview
Eiichiro Maruo takes notes on everything. He has notebooks full of data, schedules, and analysis for every class. He has never done anything athletic. He wanders into the Southern Tennis Club when it is recruiting.
He discovers that he can apply his note-taking discipline to tennis. He analyzes opponents, breaks down technique, identifies exactly what a top-level player does that he cannot do yet, and works backward from the gap. He is not talented. He is systematic.
The 47 volumes follow his development from beginner through the professional circuit — one of the few sports manga that actually depicts the professional level with sustained attention.
Characters
Eiichiro Maruo (Ei-chan) — His specific mode of learning — data, analysis, deliberate practice — is unusual in shonen sports manga, where natural talent is typically the protagonist's asset. His specific limitation and his specific method make him a genuinely original sports manga protagonist.
Natsu Takasaki — A naturally talented tennis player whose relationship with Ei-chan begins as recruitment and develops into the series' central romance.
Takuma Egawa — A rival and eventual complicated ally whose natural talent is the contrast against which Ei-chan's analytical approach is measured.
Art Style
Katsuki's art handles tennis sequences with genuine technical accuracy — the serve mechanics, the court positioning, the different shot types — depicted with clarity that rewards tennis players and remains comprehensible to readers who have never played. The character design is clean and consistent across 47 volumes.
Cultural Context
Japanese high school and college tennis — the club system, the progression to professional ranking events — is depicted with accuracy. The series eventually reaches the international circuit, which provides Western readers with familiar tournament names (US Open, Wimbledon) as reference points.
What I Love About It
Ei-chan's notebook. Every new opponent, every match, every technique he encounters gets analyzed and written down. The series shows the notebooks — the actual analytical work he does — as part of the narrative. A sports manga that shows the mental work, not just the athletic results, is genuinely rare.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Western readers who are tennis players describe Baby Steps as the most accurate sports depiction in any tennis manga. Non-tennis readers describe the protagonist's analytical approach as the series' most distinctive quality — different from any other sports protagonist they had read. The 47-volume length is cited as the primary barrier.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
Ei-chan's first professional match — where everything he has analyzed and prepared meets an opponent who plays at a level where preparation alone is not enough — is the series' most complete statement of what his method does and does not guarantee.
Similar Manga
- Haikyu!! — Team sports, similar enthusiasm for the sport's mechanics
- Chihayafuru — Non-athletic protagonist succeeds through dedication
- Blue Period — Academic mind applied to an unexpected discipline
- Prince of Tennis — Tennis, different (more fantastical) approach
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1 — Ei-chan's introduction to tennis is straightforward.
Official English Translation Status
Kodansha USA published the complete 47-volume series. All volumes available.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 47 volumes, complete — the entire story from beginner to professional
- Tennis mechanics are genuinely accurate
- Ei-chan is a unique sports protagonist
- The professional arc is handled with sustained care
Cons
- 47 volumes is the longest commitment on this list
- The analytical approach can feel methodical in slower arcs
- The romance subplot develops very slowly
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Individual Volumes | Kodansha USA; standard |
| Digital | Available |
Where to Buy
Get Baby Steps Vol. 1 on Amazon →
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*Affiliate link — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.