Takuma Egawa (江川 逞) is a senior of Eiichiro and Natsu at their school and in STC. After he graduated in high school, he becomes a professional tennis player and known to be one of the best servers.
Appearance
Takuma has a relatively tall height of 190 cm which enables him to perform powerful fast serves. He has a black spiky sea urchin hairstyle, as well as a pair of thick eyebrows. His eyebrows and his sharp eyes create a fearsome image for his opponents.
Personality
Takuma is initially shown to be a bold young man who feels confident about his abilities. However, as time progresses he becomes more mature and slowly acknowledges other tennis players. He has a ruthless attitude when playing tennis.
Plot
Ever since his lost against Soji Ike, Takuma has lost his motivation to play tennis and has been in a slump. He regained his passion after watching Eiichiro play.
Introduction to the Tennis World Arc
Second Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit Arc
Return to Japan Arc
Kanto Junior Tennis Tournament Arc
In the anime, as Yukichi and Eiichiro are having a conversation on how to deal with Nabae's attacks, Takuma passes by at the lobby. Eiichiro learns from Takuma about Nabae's short temper when he was still a child. [1]
All-Japan Championship Preliminaries Arc
All-Japan Championship Arc
Takuma is seeded 8th for the All-Japan Championship and his first opponent is Eiichiro. During their match, a lot of people are struck with awe due to fast and powerful serves he delivers, with 241 kph being the fastest throughout the match (and most likely, throughout the tournament). After an intense close match in the three-match set, Eiichiro emerges as the winner, which surprises the audience as Takuma is known to be one of the contenders in the tournament. He encourages Eiichiro to go pro during the post match handshake. While he lost in the tournament, a lot of people are still proud of him and cheer him for an awesome match.
Skills
Takuma is a very skilled player. He is one of the top ranked players and lost to Nabae Yu in the finals of All Japan Junior Tournament. After he becomes a pro, his ranking steadily rises up.
Serve and Volley
Takuma specializes in serve and volley plays and his technique combined with his fast serve make him a very dangerous opponent.
Fast Serve
Takuma's fast serve is nearly 170 km/h and it forms a deadly combination with his special serve and volley play. A lot of his serves in All-Japan Championship reach 200s km/h, with 241 km/h as his fastest serve.[2]
Delicate ball control
Takuma drop shots are recognized by many to be delicate and impressive.
Relationships
Natsu Takasaki
It is shown that Takuma gets irritated when Natsu shows more attention to Eiichiro. Takuma has a thing for Natsu, but has never plucked up the courage to tell her, hence the reason he gets irritated with Eiichiro. He becomes depressed when he learns that Natsu also has the feeling for Eiichiro but she does not have the courage to tell him yet. [3][4]
Eiichiro Maruo
When Takuma met Eiichiro for the first time, he didn't like him at all. He sees him as a threat, not on the tennis court but in the fight for Natsu's heart. It ended up border line hate when Natsu gave Eiichiro more attention. The first indication he got that Natsu had feelings for Eiichiro is in episode 3 (season 1), she was watching Eiichiro hit balls against the wall, and he tried to deflect her attention by saying "Aren't you paying too much attention to him. What if he gets the wrong idea?". The lack of reply from this question was a good indication to him. Later he begins to admire Eiichiro for his fortitude, his "never give up" attitude, which he lacked after being annihilated by Ike Souji.
Tennis Matches
| Spoilers Warning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Results | Outcome | Competition/Match Type | Round |
| Takuya Miyagawa | 1-6 6-2 6-2 | Win | Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit Year 1 | Semi-Finals |
| Hiroshi Araya | 1-6 7-6 7-6 | Win | Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit Year 1 | Finals |
| Eiichiro Maruo | 6-0 | Win | Friendly Match | n/a |
| Hiroshi Araya | 4-6 7-5 7-5 | Win | Kanagawa Junior Tennis Circuit Year 2 | Finals |
| Yu Nabae | 4-6 7-5 3-6 | Lose | All-Japan Junior Tennis Tournament Year 2 | Finals |
| Eiichiro Maruo | 6-2 1-0 | Unfinished | Friendly Match | n/a |
| Eiichiro Maruo | 6-2 7-5 | Win | Friendly Match | n/a |
| Eiichiro Maruo | 6-4 5-7 9-11 | Lose | All-Japan Championship | 2 |
Trivia
- Has two pet hamsters named Chako (チャコ) and Shiro (シロ) [5][4]
- Likes spicy food and games [5]
- Dislikes squid and nata de coco [5]
References
- ↑ Baby Steps Anime: Season 2 Episode 22
- ↑ Baby Steps manga Chapter 330
- ↑ Baby Steps manga Chapter 315
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Baby Steps anime Episode 5 (S2)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Baby Steps Guidebook