I won’t bother to pretend at impartiality when it comes to Major 2nd – I’m unabashedly a fan. I love baseball, I love baseball anime, and I love sports anime about kids. When they’re really good – which this one is, but which is unfortunately quite rare. When you get a great one – Major 2nd, the first season of the original Major, Ginga e Kickoff – I find there’s a rooting interest that series about older athletes just can’t match. Maybe it’s just me but I feel so protective above the heroes of shows like this – I live and die with every success and setback, and incredibly proud when they level up.
Mind you, two things make that especially easy with Major 2nd. One is Daigo, who’s such a wonderful kid that he’s impossible not to root for. The reasons are quite different after the time skip – in the first season he was so vulnerable, so desperately in need of the adult support he wasn’t getting from his father. Now it’s because he’s overcome the obstacles in his path (namely a lack of overwhelming physical ability and having an AWOL dad) to become the sort of son that any parent with the sense to be around would be proud to have.
The second big reason it’s easy to love Major 2nd is Watanabe Ayumu, who’s one of the best directors in anime, genre be damned. Major had Kasai Kenichi for its first two seasons, and the presence of such skilled hands at the tiller makes a big difference even with outstanding source material. Watching the episodes directed by these two you see no drift, no bursts of activity followed by dead patches – every episode is a perfectly-paced 22 minute whole, and that’s very rare in sports anime. Balancing what happens on the field and off it is crucial in these sorts of series, and Watanabe – like Kasai – gets it right pretty much every time out.
Because Mitsuda Takuya built Major 2nd as an unconventional sports manga from the ground up, starting with Daigo, the anime doesn’t follow predictable genre patterns. When I first heard about the scholarship boys’ coach following them from Nanyou, my first thought was that it sounded more like an Adachi thing. And indeed, it turns out to have been a feint, as the coach bails on his ex-players for “urgent reasons”. That leaves the baseball club with a different set of problems – no coach and an advisor (Yamaguchi-sensei) who knows nothing about baseball and doesn’t even remember Daigo’s name for starters – but the expected battle for justice against favoritism doesn’t materialize.
While they didn’t exactly make a positive first impression, I do feel for this quintet. They came to Fuurin specifically to follow that coach, and he screwed them over. Four of them in fact decide to quit the team to play in the senior leagues – like pony leagues in the U.S. a “private” rival to middle school baseball – but Nishina-kun is the one who’s really screwed. His grades and test results aren’t good enough to keep him at the school without baseball (whether the others will lose their scholarships isn’t revealed, but they can at least stay enrolled). So he’s a member of the baseball club whether he wants to be or not. And a good thing for them, too.
Help is on the way, though – two former Yokohama Little teammates Sawa-san (Kawase Maki) has invited to follow her to Fuurin. Fujii Chisato (Uesaka Sumire) is a soft-spoken center fielder, but the one who makes the biggest splash is Kabashima Anita (Murakawa Rie). She’s half-Brazilian/half-Osakan – with the screwy accent to match – and a catcher, which sets her off on a collision course with Daigo. She more or less demands to be named the starting catcher sight unseen, and Daigo surprisingly agrees – citing the demands of being a captain in the absence of a coach. Sakura is considerably disappointed in him, but as we’ve seen Daigo is the sort of leader who tends to play the long game and take the indirect approach when challenges arise.
That’s only eight, if you’re counting – but then there’s that tall fellow Tanba Hiromu (Sugita Tomokazu, upping the ridiculousness ante from still playing high schoolers). The first baseman, he rounds out the nine. As for pitchers, that leaves Sakura and Akira-kun – and Daigo leaves it to Anita to handle their side sessions. Anita proves just as much an irritant with them as she did with Daigo, especially with Sakura. She eventually gets so fed up that she storms off the field and goes home. Her insecurity about her pitching ability has been obvious, but it never feels good to be reminded of the reasons why (especially by a kouhai).
Each of these first two episodes has given us a scene where Daigo quietly demonstrates what a skilled leader he is, and this time it’s his visit to Sakura’s house to repair the damage Anita has caused. In his way he dresses her down for her actions – indeed, that was not sempai-like behavior. But implicit in his observation that Anita “hasn’t seen your good side” is the fact that Daigo does see it, and that’s very important to Sakura-san – these two have developed a very strong bond over the past two years, thats’s clear. There’s not much time to ease into the story – the “oh, by the way” notification from Yamaguchi-sensei that the team is enrolled in the Kanagawa Spring Preliminaries starting in two weeks sees to that. But Major 2nd, like its protagonist, is a series that plays the long game – and we’re just getting warmed up.
leongsh
April 11, 2020 at 11:29 pmOut of curiosity, are you up-to-date with the manga?
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 12:04 amI’m just slightly ahead of the anime but I’m going to stop until after the season airs.
leongsh
April 12, 2020 at 2:34 amSlightly ahead of the anime as it it stands? This episode ended where Chapter 99 ended. Okay.
At this moment, the manga has reached Chapter 194 (the most recent weekly chapter published). Based on number of chapters the first season covered (up to end of Chapter 90), this 2nd season started with Chapter 91 and is going to end around Chapter 180-ish. Interesting season cut-off area. That’s all I can say to avoid spoiling anything.
BlueBlue
April 12, 2020 at 1:13 amI burst out laughing when I read the firs sentence as it was exactly what I was (negatively) thinking ahaha. That’s fair to admit it Enzo. Otherwise, I would have thought that you had been abducted.
From my side, I should say that this is a mixed bag this time. First of all, as I said last time, I am sorry but that shiny shiny sunny raylight background bothered me. If it will be still present in games, that will be tough…
But I appreciate the characters and I will make a confession, I am for unknown reason almost in love with Sawa since episode 1. But, I am really bothered by the fact to ignore what happened since the timeskip. I mean, at least in the first Major, if my memory is not wrong, we have an explanation by Komori and Kaoru of what was going on (but I admit not remembering at which episode). Here, I am bit lost and paradoxically, I think that I would have felt better if I did not know Daigo and Sakura before. But as the next episode will be centered on Daigo, maybe that will be solved.
I have zero issues with long and slow paced series, especially if I trust the author (*cough* Ahiru no sora *cough*) so I will stay on board. But I hope that it will not be too much centered on “power of love feelings” (if that new catcher adds to a love triangle…). Also, I was a great fan of Izumi in the 1st season so was hoping maybe also a little talk on her path…(but there again, I don’t know what’s coming next. So…)
But something that I think we can agree on, a lot of “Goro mentality fans” will be confused even more regarding that 2nd season. That would be a pity, but well, this is the burden of the 2nds…
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 9:42 amI’m a bit confused as to what you’re looking for but not getting. More exposition on Daigo and Sakura’s relationship during the timeskip?
BlueBlue
April 12, 2020 at 11:44 amNot really their relashionship but their evolution. I mean, they look almost like strangers to me now as they are different (e.g.: Daigo was lacking confidence even though he was doing better after season 1 while Sakura was a “late bloomer” with potential). So I am curious to know what happened these last years. Not all the details but why should I invest myself into this team apart for cute boys and girls? (I am exaggerating on purpose of course).
I mean, I should rerun the episode so maybe what I will say is wrong, but it seems that Izumi said something like she was afraid “after what happened last (something)” when she speaked with Daigo at the beginning. But I don’t know. Maybe I am the one speculating too much and also as there is no obvious “foreshadowing”, I don’t know if it will really come up. But anyway, that is also the challenge with weekly anime when you don’t read the manga material.
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 12:07 pmInteresting. I don’t think there’s been much of anything left out in the adaptation, really, so that’s not the issue.
As to whether we’re going to see those gaps filled in, I haven’t read far enough ahead in the manga to say. And while I do see where you’re coming from, my counterpoint would be that even if both Daigo and Sakura have come a long way, I feel like the seeds of where they are now were very much planted by the end of the first season. This is the person Daigo always was – it’s just that now he’s comfortable with that, whereas before he was always trying to be someone else (his dad).
Blueblue
April 12, 2020 at 8:44 pmSo, rewatching the beginning of the episode, if my subtitles are not wrong, I confirm that Izumi said something like “worried after what happened (…)school hasn’t forgotten about baseball team”. But maybe I am reading too much into it.
But anyway, the thing is also that contrary to you (if I read correctly), I have no soft spot for Daigo. While I learned his evolution during season and can understand his struggles, I despise people being impolite through throwing ther frustration to other people. And this is what he was at the beginning. So for me, that was awful, especially because as pointing out by his mother, this was the same selfish stubborness of his father (which was a trait that I disliked in Goro). But this is personnal perception (and yes I understood the logic of that initial behavior, but in real life I don’t like it either. I even prefer people who silently sulk).
An yes, the seeds were planted but that’s part of my point: I am not able to perceive the shape of the blooming now. But anyway, for Daigo, this is obvious that next episode will help me. My issue is Sakura who was mid-tough, driving force in season 1 and now I don’t get what she wants. They look as if they just wan tto have fun with baseball now. That is not a bad thing, but if that is the case, that message is not clear too me. But anyway, I am trying to read too much into it after two episodes. That is not fair.
Jindujun93
April 12, 2020 at 1:56 pmPart of me is hoping that the new coach is going to end up being one particular character from the original series who’s still been strangely absent from Major 2nd so far, Kaoru’s brother Taiga – but then again that might just be me projecting here, since just like Komori, he’s been one of my favorites among Goro’s former teammates, haha. Since this week had the last bit of content that I actually knew (the whole coach reveal was still scanslated last time I checked, but the scene where they tried to call him wasn’t anymore), so everything is fresh from now on. Judgement is still out on the new members, so I’ll look forward to how they will integrate themselves into the team (and especially how the development of the two pitchers and catchers goes).
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 2:19 pmI liked Taiga a lot too, and it does seem odd that we never see him given that he’s Daigo’s uncle. I confess, though, that the idea of him being the Nanyou Lions’ coach never even occurred to me. That’d have been a hell of a twist.
Jindujun93
April 12, 2020 at 3:48 pmOh, I didn’t mean as in ‘the Nanjou lions coach’ (though that could make sense too, if he didn’t want to teach a family member because of preferential treatment it’d seem possible he quit – though I assumed the Nanjou coach retreated because he couldn’t deal with the members being a bit on the bratty side anymore), but rather as the replacement coach now that the one from Nanjou can’t come. I’m more or less grasping at straws though, and those comments were made more in jest – except for the one that it’s odd Taiga didn’t appear yet, because him being a family member would give him some importance.
Guardian Enzo
April 12, 2020 at 3:57 pmOh, gotcha! Well, that’d be a fun twist. Komori would also be a fun twist, because we know he’s been coaching little league and maybe he’s ready to step up. Daigo’s baseball intellect is much more closely modeled on Komori’s than his father’s anyway, so I think those two would mesh really well.
A_random_weeb
April 13, 2020 at 3:32 amSo, I just finished the first season, but when I started watching the second season, Daigo and Sakura are suddenly second years with a completely new team and it seems that the show thinks that you know who everyone is. Am I missing an ova or something?
(For reference, the season I watched was when daigo was playing for the mifuni dolphins.)
Guardian Enzo
April 13, 2020 at 6:29 amNo, there was a timeskip. You have to kind of fill in the blanks with your imagination.
Which, for the record, is pretty much what happened with the original Major at this point too. Eventually an original movie came out which covered some of that missing period.
Setsuken
April 13, 2020 at 8:05 pmI actually watched Major’s first Series based on your recommendation and loved it. And then of course, went on to watch Major second and loved that as well. This season? I’m honestly getting Harem anime vibes with the OP/ED and the fact that there’s Daigo and a bunch of girls (Where Mutsko is definitely interested in Diago, but I’m worried the other girls will be as well).
I have no problem with the “All girls Baseball team” in middle school, In fact, I think its a really awesome premise. The issue I have, is that my Anime watching senses are screaming that this is going to devolve into some weird harem anime sports anime 50/50 split. That, after watching Major Second’s First season, sounds extremely unappealing….
I hope I’m extremely off base here.
Guardian Enzo
April 13, 2020 at 8:09 pmThat would be an extremely un-Mitsuda like move. I can’t say for certain not having read that far ahead (and wouldn’t say even if I could) but I would adjudge that to be very unlikely.