Baby Steps Episode 5: Go with the Flow

I will be filling in for Sidekick this week! :3
Impression
Oobayashi VS Ei-Chan: Present Score: 5 – 1
I was having so much fun watching this match that I was so bummed out when the episode ended! WE’RE JUST GETTING TO THE GOOD PART!
The reason why Ei-Chan had started off on a relatively strong note was because Oobayashi’s serves were fast. For novice players, faster serves are usually easier for them to deliver a strong hit. However, once Oobayashi realized that Ei-Chan was a novice, he deliberately made his serves slower so it ends up exploiting Ei-Chan’s lack of experience because his return wounded up sloppy and weak. As result, this shifted the game and Oobayashi gained the upper-hand. But with that in mind, I don’t think Ei-Chan would have responded to Oobayashi’s strong serves as well as he had if he hadn’t had the opportunity to face off against Takuma’s serves (after all, Oobayashi is the fifth best player). It has proven to be a valuable experience for Ei-Chan because Takuma’s serves are ridiculously powerful and fast. Facing off a strong opponent is the best way to improve, and now, here we have Ei-Chan facing off Oobayashi who is drawing out that passion that has been developing over the past four months since he had started, challenging him in a positive way, which made him change the way he was playing his game. This is why I am so proud of Ei-Chan! He started off on a good note (because he had the advantage at the time of concealing his skill level), but wounded up in a pinch as soon as Oobayashi had figured out that he lacks experience. From there, Ei-Chan’s chances of winning started to look grim. However, with thanks to his desire of wanting to play longer, Ei-Chan changes up his own game to adapt to the present situation.
Up till now, we been shown that Ei-Chan has always struggled when it comes down to having to adapting to new or different situations. This match was a huge step for him as for the first time, he is being put into a situation where he needs to adapt and Oobayashi way of play and change his game if he wants to continuing playing a bit longer. Ei-Chan does just that by choosing to cast aside his basic stroke, and embracing his dynamic vision to turn the tables for a fighting chance. His eyes are so sharp, that he can see the slightest sign of Oobayashi shifting his racket to do a cross-court, and reacts before he does, giving him a chance to get into position and project his grounds. If anything, I think Ei-Chan is sort of in the zone right now- though not entirely, but he is definitely getting there. Once he is in the zone, along with his remarkable vision, he can potentially be quite an intimidating novice that experienced players will need to be on guard since it turns him into a wild card.
One of the most beautiful things about this match is that Ei-Chan finally experienced his body moving instinctively to the ball despite the fact his mind was blank. He had no idea how he did it until he later realized that, Oh, my body remembers the pattern and rhythm. This is another HUGE step for Ei-Chan because he is usually the type of over-think everything, and has always thrown him out of the loop.
It was so much fun to see how freaked out Ei-Chan was before the match, though poor guy- because he arrived early (along with his opponent) his game was going to start sooner than initially scheduled. It was also extremely amusing to see how everyone was like wonder who he was, and just how good he is because he is hanging out with the best players of STC, as well as being part of that particular tennis club. Well it did work to his advantage since Oobayashi ended up wary about just how good Ei-Chan is, and overestimated him during the first game (which allowed Ei-Chan to win).
Ahhh, can’t wait for the next episode!
PREVIEW