Eiichirō Maruo Husbando

Eiichirō Maruo, also called Ei-chan by his friends, is the main protagonist of Baby Steps. He is the son of Kazuya Maruo and Sanae Maruo who later becomes a member of Southern Tennis Club on his mother's suggestion to fulfill his lack of exercise where his current aim is to become a professional tennis player. Eiichiro has an average stature for a tennis player. He has an odd hairstyle with short hair on the sides and spiked hair in the middle. He has a superior eyesight as compared to a normal person. After training hard for becoming a professional, he has muscled up a bit and his body has become totally tennis oriented. He usually wears uniform at the school and tennis clothes at the club. Another noticeable feature is that he always carries a bundle of notes with him, be it for studying or for tennis. Eiichiro is an extremely orderly and diligent student, ranking at the top of his class due to his exceptional study habits and note taking skills. His perfectionist attitude does not just extend to his studies as he often takes meticulous notes of all the things he learns about tennis, even during matches. Despite his outstanding grades, Eiichiro admits to not having a particular reason for studying so hard, doing so out of an obligation rather than for himself. It was only when introduced to the world of tennis that Eiichiro discovered his true passion and realized he his dream to be a professional tennis player. Though initially nonathletic and naive to the fundamentals of tennis, Eiichiro made up for his inexperience through sheer determination, practicing whenever he could whilst taking notes on what he learns in one of his dozens of tennis notebooks. Outside of the tennis court, Eiichiro is a kind and helpful young man who was always willing to lend his notes to those who need them. He can sometimes come across as shy and awkward, especially in the presence of his crush, Natsu Takasaki, and was easily intimidated by the more menacing Takuma.