It’s sometimes hard with Major 2nd to come up with much to say beyond “it’s great”. Because it is. This is how you do sports anime, basically, and while this show is mostly a 100 MPH fastball, it definitely throws a few breaking pitches as well. There’s such a unique sort of satisfaction I get from really good sports series – they’re a comfort food in the best sense of the word. When you have a legendary mangaka’s work being adapted by a brilliant director (which also describes the first couple seasons of the original Major) it’s hardly surprising that the result is impeccable.
Measuring spin rate for pitchers is all the rage in baseball analytics, and Major 2nd scores well in this area as well. There just aren’t a lot of sports manga heroes like Daigo, who takes “unassuming” to the Platonic ideal. Since his father and sister are such alphas to the max, it’s interesting to speculate on where this came from. As I noted last week I think this was always who Daigo was, even as he struggled in the first season – all that changed is that he became comfortable with that. Still, it’d be interesting to see the intervening stages in those two missing years.
Especially considering what a beast his father was (he also worked his ass off to be great, but there’s no denying his raw talent) Daigo’s journey really sends a wonderful message I think. Anita presents a challenge, there’s no question about it. But then, so did Nishina – and Daigo managed to beat him without trying to be something he’s not. I’ve always believed that a major (no pun intended) difference between a manager and a leader is that while a manager can force someone to do something, it takes a leader to make them want to do it.
What makes this possible for Daigo is a total absence of ego. He doesn’t care how he looks to others, he doesn’t care about being praised – he gets the results he wants by gently manipulating his team without them even knowing it. This extends to his take on the tournament – he professes no ambition to go far in it, but hails it (correctly) as a great opportunity to gain experience. But Anita totally misreads his intent – he’s simply trying to shield his inexperienced team from the pressure. Now, it’s a valid question whether someone like this can ever achieve individual greatness in sports – it certainly doesn’t fit the personality profile of most who do. But I expect that’s a theme Mitsuda Takuya is going to use this series to explore in due course.
Anita is indeed the sternest test for Daigo’s approach that we’ve seen so far. Sawa reveals that she lied about being Yokohama’s starting catcher (though I assume Daigo doesn’t know), and she continues to push back at every direction he gives. That includes pushing Chisato to take the mound when he’s already declared Sakura would be the pitcher for their first game. Daigo brings Anita along on a mission to scout Itsuki Junior High, the first opponent (Itsuki returns the favor with somewhat less subtlety), but she still chafes at following the chain of command. This leads to that very un-Daigo event – a confrontation – where he tells Anita in no uncertain terms that he’s testing her fitness to be a starting catcher.
It remains to be seen just what Daigo had in mind when he ceded the catching role to Anita (if indeed that’s what he did) but if we’ve learned anything about him, it’s that this boy plays the long game. His decisions can be inscrutable – like putting himself 9th in the batting order despite clearly being the best Fuurin has against the 120 KMH fastballs Itsuki will be throwing at them. But he always has a plan, even if it isn’t always obvious what that plan is. And in his house full of baseball nerds, he clearly has a chance to set all the permutations of leadership aside and obsess over the fundamentals of the game like any other baseball nerd.
It seems as if Goro and Toshiya will be re-entering the picture next week, which has some interesting narrative potential. In point of fact Daigo is much closer to Satou-san in personality than his father, and it shouldn’t be forgotten that when they were kids, Toshiya had a rather timid demeanor. How would (or does) Goro feel about Daigo’s unabashedly self-effacing leadership style, which is diametrically opposed to his own? In answer to that question about individual greatness and personality, if Daigo is indeed destined to become a baseball standout, Toshiya is the sort of man I could see him growing to become.
Proto
April 19, 2020 at 3:00 amFun episode. I really appreciate when a series takes it time for the buildup. Full speed no stops sports series like Haikyuu are also fun, but I’m more into slow burn types like this one.
leongsh
April 19, 2020 at 11:00 amFor me, the next episode preview with the episode’s title gave the game away (no pun intended).
Realistically, at this moment of the anime so far, the team needs to get a coach post haste as it puts too much responsibility on the slender shoulders of Daigo who is still around late 13 or early 14 years of age. Considering that the Furin baseball team has a batting machine from when they were doing well (i.e. his elder sister’s time), the school would be remiss in not finding a replacement. For now, I’ll just leave it at that.
Guardian Enzo
April 19, 2020 at 11:09 amIt’s easy to speculate on who it might be but let’s wait and see what was a tease and what was a spoiler.
leongsh
April 19, 2020 at 2:12 pmAh.. there is a misunderstanding of what I posted but let’s just say I’ll clarify what I meant in the first sentence after next week’s episode is shown. The second paragraph is just a general observation for the part the anime has reached in the manga. As to what the future holds, we will cross the bridge when we come to it. It’s hard for me to post comments without spoiling anything.
BlueBlue
April 19, 2020 at 6:19 pmRalala (French onomatopoeia for frustration)! Dear Major 2nd, how long will last the foreplay? :D. I mean, at that stage, I can’t be the only one seeing how blatant it is that something happened to that team in the last 2 years. And that next episode preview strengthens that once again. I hope that “captain Daigo” will finally bring my answers. Sorry to come back every week with that, but even though late flashbacks are great classic of series, when it is rubbed to your face every time like that, it is as frustrating that…teasing foreplay (especially if nothing will come out XD ).
Anita sums up very well my mind state in that episode. I have myself one and a million questions for Daigo and Sakura. The big difference being that, I already know them from two years ago, so this is more frustrating (for instance, I don’t know Anita so “teasing” about her past does not frustrate me). Anyway, talking about Anita, I may be in the minority but I adore her. I am always a sucker for brash sport character who tries to back it up and wants to do well (as long as they do not humiliate the others). I don’t know for the manga, but I have the feeling that this season flirts (too much?) with “cute girls wanna do cute baseball things” sometimes. But no problem, bring it on!
P.S.: BTW, is it for emphasizing her Brazilian roots that they make Anita talk like that? Because I mean, even proud Kansai-men Heiji Hattori (Detective Conan) do not sound like that.
elianthos
April 22, 2020 at 7:25 amAaaah finally I could catch up with the new Major season. And well I was grinning from ear to ear (also… my my the OP is giving me some strong shippy vibes. Huzzah), admittedly part of that is also schadenfreude because… for all its episode #1 bravado Nishina gotta suck it up now X°D – it’s all for the best, laddie -. And yay for Yayoi >).
Way to lead a team so far Shigeno-kun. Big Five gets a 8 out of 10 >).
In the absence (for now? for how long? dun dun dun dunn) of Hikaru I could do with some Toshi mentorship though. #prayforacoach tangently: I am rather fuzzy about Komori atm. Would he be totally out of the question as coach for Fuurin?
Guardian Enzo
April 22, 2020 at 9:19 amI’ve always loved Komori and as I stated a few weeks ago, he’d be a coach very simpatico with Daigo. But presumably he has a real job. Being a little league manager is something one can do part-time for free, but a middle school coach is either a teacher at the school or – if it’s a sports power school – paid specifically to coach the team.