Dear God, he really is named Luigi…
I was tempted to say something to the effect of “I didn’t know Mitsuda Takuya had a series like this in him”. Major 2nd really deals with some complex and difficult issues, both in terms of how they relate to baseball and not. But looking back on it Mitsuda took Major to some pretty dark places and tackled some pretty deep problems, so I guess this isn’t actually all that surprising. I think the main difference is tonal, largely because we’ve gone from a protagonist whose default state is cocky and brilliant to a grinder who’s humble and always wrestles with self-doubt.
Just so I get this clear – I guess Hikaru is an asshole now? I hope it doesn’t come down to that, but it’s hard to draw any other conclusion from the events of this episode. There were times in the first series when Toshiya seemed to go to a dark place for a while, so maybe it’s in the genes – even if Hikaru’s name is “Sakaguchi” now. I don’t know what’s been going on with him in the two-plus years onscreen since we last saw him, but I see his behavior towards Daigo on the field here as pretty much inexcusable. Even setting aside the personal hurt he was causing, relying on gamesmanship like that to beat a team you gave a 10-run handicap to? That’s just bush league stuff right there.
Sakaguchi is a good catcher, no question about that. Why shouldn’t he be? He’s a natural athlete and full of self-confidence. And he immediately brings Mario to heel, even after the hotheaded first-year deliberately crosses him up and throws what he assumes is going to be a wild pitch which embarrasses his catcher – and allows a run to score. Mario fully expects Hikaru to rip him a new one for that, and frankly he would have been justified. But no, Hikaru turns it into a learning experience – and a humbling one – for Mario. Million dollar arm, five cent head…
That’s all well and good, but Hikaru’s behavior towards Daigo here is utterly disgraceful. I don’t know exactly what his motivation is – maybe he’s been harboring resentment, or maybe purely trying to win the game – but frankly I don’t care because it wouldn’t mitigate the offense. Sure, Daigo should be tougher than to be so unmade by such cheap tricks. But the clear and obvious truth is, he’s never gotten over what happened to Hikaru – never forgiven himself. And that’s not surprising, given that he got next to no help from the adults in his life in dealing with that crisis. For Hikaru to use that against someone who considered him his best friend is truly reprehensible.
Be that as it may, Daigo is indeed seriously derailed by this new trauma. Forget about spacing out and seeing the game get away – honestly, Tsujidou probably would have done that anyway. The bigger problem is that being condescended to and called “mediocre” by a seemingly spiteful Hikaru has broken his bubble of quiet confidence that turns out to have been extremely fragile. Rather than double down, he seems to accept that Hikaru is right – and that Fuurin can’t realistically have lofty goals as a team. He may even be right, but they certainly don’t have much hope if the heart and soul of their team loses the will to fight.
This highlights – and rather beautifully, I might add – what’s really the elephant in the room in Major 2nd. In terms of competitiveness we see the cream rising to the top here – Sakura soldiers bravely on, trying to fill the gaping void Daigo’s detachment leaves in the club. Akira rededicates himself to proving his old coach wrong for deserting him – not necessarily because he thinks he has a chance, but because he has to try in order to feel right about himself. Anita – who’s emerged as Daigo’s biggest supporter among the first years – seethes with rage over what happened and longs to work ever harder to prevent a repeat.
But the hard truth is, Tao may just be right. Sakura didn’t get a single Tsujidou first-teamer out. They made mincemeat out of Akira’s pitches, too, and Fuurin couldn’t touch Mario once Hikaru set him straight. As painful as it is, there does come an age where a team full of girls can’t compete with a strong team of boys (“men”, as Tao calls the Tsijdous). Only a very, very exceptional female player (only Yayoi really qualifies here) can fight on that level. How does Mitsuda tackle this problem going forward? Takumi coming back into the squad is a start, but only that. Even setting aside Daigo’s crisis of confidence, this is a huge plot hurdle for Major 2nd – and while I give Mitsuda full credit for not ignoring it, I have no idea how he’s going to address it.
Rio
October 31, 2020 at 9:51 pmIn Hikaru’s defense, he was right to be disappointed when he viewed the situation as an outsider. Daigo got distracted and went back to his old ways. Hikaru probably thought that he should’ve improved already in that front. Also, Fuurin had a scandal and an all girls team at that. Hikaru was right to question why would anyone who seriously has a dream in baseball would stay in that kind of environment to play. They also promised to be the best battery so he did his best to recover quickly. Like he said, he did his best enduring his painful rehabilitation and this is where Daigo ended up.
I felt for Daigo of course (Hikaru and Toshi are the people who taught him to have confidence after all.) but Hikaru’s “anger” seems to stem deeply anyway. Probably due to his name change and him looking like Toshiya so much. Hikaru denied being friends with Daigo. He doubled down in his baseball seriousness too so I’m looking forward to know what the f happened to make him like this.
But man, they rushed this episode. There was more buildup in the manga with Hikaru-Mario battery. Hikaru’s HR and well, Tsujidou’s might as a team too. They really shouldn’t have spent too much time in the beginning if they will be running out of episodes anyway.
leongsh
October 31, 2020 at 11:40 pmThis episode ended at end of Chapter 181, which is also the end of Volume 19. Since you’re a manga reader too, are you looking forward to the last 2 episodes of the season? Expecting these last 2 episodes to cover the whole of Volume 20.
Guardian Enzo
October 31, 2020 at 11:50 pmI believe there’s only one more episode, unfortunately.
leongsh
November 1, 2020 at 3:07 pmIf only 1 episode left, then (spoilers deleted)
Setsuken
November 1, 2020 at 12:07 amI have to agree with you. I actually really understood what Hikaru was saying there. If I were him, I would be super disappointed and pissed at Daigo too. Daigo clearly wasn’t taking the promise he made with Hikaru seriously.
I admit, I was super unhappy with how Hikaru came out of nowhere, but I think this episode really sold me on why that needed to happen. Daigo HAS been taking it too easy, he’s been playing “captain” and “coach” and not actually been trying to get better at baseball so that he can eventually form a battery with Hikaru
If Hikaru pushed through his rehab and then saw, from a completely outsider’s perspective that Daigo was just part of a mediocre all girls team? Well I can see him being angry and just deciding to give up on Daigo. I would too honestly.
Is Hikaru mean? Yeah, but I think his feelings on it all are warranted. I personally really like the idea of Daigo building up a team of girls and trying to win with them, its something that his father did in High School as well. That said, I think that whole notion being challenged by someone who is much more serious about baseball, is a very powerful idea.
Some may find Hikaru to be a bit of a jerk here, but I just didn’t see it that way. HIkaru’s just being brutally honest, and I think its something Daigo needs to hear. Daigo should honestly be doing both, working on raising up the team, but also being an exceptional player as well. The fact that Daigo can barely manage one, and that his whole energy has been focused on just being Fuurin’s Captain, is certainly something Hikaru should be disappointed and angry about.
Guardian Enzo
November 1, 2020 at 7:15 amI totally disagree. Daigo has improved substantially as a player – remarkably even. He’s also saved a club from extinction and managed to cobble together a competitive side despite getting screwed over by his sempai and by his prospective coach. Who the hell is Hikaru to pass judgment on him? Hikaru doesn’t seem like a jerk – he is one, at least based on his behavior here. But he’s a kid – hopefully he matures to the point where he realizes that and tries to make amends.
Setsuken
November 1, 2020 at 8:55 amTrue on Daigo’s growth, and we as the audience know that. That said, I can relate to Hikaru’s perspective. As someone who isn’t privy to all of what Daigo has gone through, and hasn’t seen him do his best first hand, his opinions make sense.
I don’t think he’s a jerk for distancing himself from Daigo and then letting his anger get the best of him in this situation, I think he’s a kid that’s hurt and feels betrayed. Daigo and Hikaru promised to form the ultimate battery, and Hikaru made good on that promise, and not only went through rehab but also got into one of the top schools for baseball.
Daigo, as much as he’s grown, his results don’t match up. If this were a partnership, and I view the promise the two made as just that, then Daigo is lagging behind and not pulling his weight.
HIkaru being disappointed and finding a new goal? Remarkably mature given the circumstances and his age.
But again, just my two cents, and the way I read the scene. I empathize with Hikaru, and I think this run-in, while tough and painful for Daigo, will ultimately lead to his growth.
Agree to disagree. =]
Guardian Enzo
November 1, 2020 at 9:52 amI’ll fight you till a week from Tuesday on this!
Here’s yet one more flaw in your interpretation – how exactly are Hikaru and Daigo supposed to form a battery when Hikaru and Daigo are both catchers and Hikaru knows this?
elianthos80
November 1, 2020 at 1:39 amAyyyy. Ah well, from Hikaru to Kagearu, at least for the time being. There are some good points raised in the comments here, but when we come as we do from witnessing Daigo’s journey it’s still hard to watch him being stabbed like that.
And realistically speaking he has been spreading himself thin all this time for the team survival and he is at his limit and while it’s great to see his team mates stepping up they’re still kids without a real dedicated support for the task unless some new factors happen to fill the void. Talking of which… I do hope the mangaka has something up his sleeve and is going to reveal it soon. In a way seeing Kagearu like this is actually giving me hope for my Toshiya to the rescue scenario :°D, because it would bring this ying-yang feeling and ‘compensate’ the dark pat(h)c Hika and Daigo’s friendship is in atm.
Riv
November 1, 2020 at 4:19 amDaigo always makes my heart hurt. But that was a low move by Hikaru–and so different from the super-encouraging, not-obsessed with talent person he used to be. I’ll be interested to get more backstory on how he got to this point. And it was totally unfair to Daigo, who has done an amazing job coaching his team on his own and growing as a player.
Major 2 has been my favorite anime this year, and I’m sad there’s only one episode left. It has broken from so many of the sports anime standard storylines. You were talking in the last Notaku podcast about how so often female characters get relegated to the manager role. It’s been so wonderful in this series to have a co-ed team composed of interesting female and male characters, each with their own distinct personality and story. To just take two–I’ve really liked how Nishina and Anita both developed into better people and players.
My hope is that as the story continues, we don’t lose the strong cast of female characters and drop down to just Mutsuko and see her character and development as a player get shelved in favor of turning to a more typical story of Daigo and Hikaru forming a battery and playing strong teams, etc, etc. I would, in fact, love a story where Daigo never turns into a really great player who could compete at the highest high school level. I think it would allow for a refreshing and interesting storyline. Not that I would stop watching if Major 2 eventually becomes a more typical sports anime centered around a Hikaru and Daigo battery because I enjoy those sorts of stories too, but it would be cool if it went in a different direction.
Guardian Enzo
November 1, 2020 at 7:18 amITA with your first paragraph. As for the issue of what kind of series M2 is going to be, that’s a tough one. I too love the fact that it’s a very rare example of a sports anime that showcases both girls and boys. But ultimately it is Daigo’s story, and I think that requires Daigo to climb the baseball ladder. And that’s going to necessitate some very difficult choices by Mitsuda as regards how he handles the female cast.
Anchen
November 1, 2020 at 5:33 amWhile Daigo kinda needed this if he wanted to eventually become the “ultimate battery” and advance as a player, and I think it will be alright since this is a manga/anime, this is the kinda thing that I feel crushes a lot of people in real life around this age. Where you get told you aren’t good enough, where a friend you might used to have comes back seemingly a different person, etc. As you said Enzo, these are pretty deep and interesting issues that could easily apply to something outside baseball. I do like what development that Akira has had. It was also interesting to me that we got into Yayoi’s head a bit in the game about her noticing that Daigo wasn’t acting properly.
I was wondering if this move from Hikaru would eventually cause Daigo to get on the mount, and maybe he might still sometime, but I think the way this happened makes me think more that Daigo will stay behind the dish. I think their way forward is for Daigo to re-surpass Hikaru as a catcher, probably by beating him sometime. Basically telling him, there’s no room in this battery for you as a catcher. So get back on the mound.
Guardian Enzo
November 1, 2020 at 7:19 amIf I were a betting man, that would be my bet.
Stöt
November 2, 2020 at 3:58 amWomen are making strides forward in all kinds of male-dominated sports, I don’t get why a unique event with a unique team couldn’t defy the odds and create a strong enough coed team to compete with some Japanese baseball boys. We’re asked to suspend disbelief all the time in anime, and in stories in general. If that’s the elephant in the room, it’s a really fucking lame one. A rookie throwing a fastball that “curves” (glitches) in four different directions 10 mm from the plate is totally fine, but fuck me if baseball anime decides to be somewhat original and diverge from the male-player female-manager/love-interest trope for once. What is the crime?
Also, Hikaru made me sick to my stomach. It’s great storytelling, but I wish Daigo would have said “who even are you?” It wasn’t close to the person we got to know in the first season. It wasn’t warranted. It was cruel.
Guardian Enzo
November 2, 2020 at 6:55 amIf you’re trying to maintain some semblance of baseball realism for 100 volumes, you’re kind of tossing it away by going this route now and not acknowledging reality. I guess if you’re not a baseball fan it’s not as big a deal, but it’s a significant problem to me and I’m curious to see how Mitsuda addresses it now that he’s acknowledged it.
Rio
November 2, 2020 at 10:49 amAre you actually pointing at the effect shown for Mario’s pitch? You do realize that’s a reflection on how a batter see the ball moves due to the spin, right? Baseball needs realism and we are expected to see through Daigo’s years until he enters the professional league.
KumaShock
November 2, 2020 at 5:09 pmI never liked Hikaru and episode 24 only confirms that. I found his leaving Daigo to stew in his depression after his injury defined their relationship for me. And now he has done it again. What sort of friend fails to make contact in over two years and does not inform his so-called best friend that their “ultimate battery” is merely a child’s pipe dream? Particularly when he knew Daigo had put so much investment in it. Personally, I hope we never see Hikaru again or if we do, he is either a peripheral character, or is being thoroughly humiliated. I would hate to see Daigo shred his self-respect by chasing after Hikaru and his ambitions again. Daigo has created a significant baseball world of his own and he does not need snotty Hikaru in it for it be significant to him and most importantly for his teammates.
In fact, taking that farther, I would like to see Major 2nd depart from the “famous son of a famous father makes it to the top” trope – we saw enough of that in Major I think. In this series we have seem Daigo make his own significant contribution to baseball and I would like to see the series continue down that more interesting path. I must admit that is a bit selfish on my part and I am not looking forward to losing the characters of the Fuurin Team once Daigo enters high school. And I really hope the series does not go down the torturous try out route that Major subjected Daigo too either. Just let Daigo be Daigo please!
Guardian Enzo
November 2, 2020 at 5:40 pmLet Daigo be Daigo is a great sentiment. He’s such a good boy and he’s grown so much, he should never define himself by Hikaru – he’s Daigo. But I do think it’s OK for him to be a little more selfish in how he pursues baseball. He needs to be freed from having to be a coach (though he’s good at it) and concentrate on improving himself. And once he hits his growth spurt he has the potential to be a great ballplayer, given how smart and dedicated he is.
Rio
November 3, 2020 at 3:23 amI don’t understand this sudden disregard for Hikaru’s character. We all know he was originally a good kid and it’s understandable to be disappointed with the current events but I find it unacceptable to suddenly to not want him in the story. From the beginning, we established his situation and how important he is in moving the plot forward. He just did the same here, he added the much needed drama that Major is known for and Daigo is gonna have to face their incident one way or another. We are also due for exposition on what happened in Hikaru’s side, anyway.
You may say he was extremely cruel here and I agree that there was malice in his intentions but that’s characterization 101. Knowing he’s a kid with divorced parents, we parted in good terms with them but definitely there was still some unresolved tension at the time, Major true and tested way of making a rival out of a friend, his side of the story remains untold. There’s no doubt that they will get over this and Daigo will not just abandon his best friend. They play best together and I will stand by that.
Hikaru is a staple in 2nd, he was there from the first chapter and is the other half to the theme of a second generation. Of course, they are gonna have separate developments and this codependency will have to be addressed but it’s not necessarily a bad plot point.
Guardian Enzo
November 3, 2020 at 8:45 amIn fairness, Hikaru had a few dodgy moments in S1 as well, and those were noted by some viewers (including me).
KumaShock
November 4, 2020 at 10:48 amThe “friend as rival” trope was pretty much done to death in Major I think. To repeat it again with their sons is just way too predictable and would diminish Major 2nd as a credible story in its own right. If Major 2nd turns into a thinly veiled rehashing of the Goro/Toshi story with variations, then there is probably little point in watching it. So far Major 2nd has advanced and enhanced the Major story and also the boundaries of animes about baseball overall. I hope they carry on doing that and leave the Daigo/Hikaru story line where it belongs – as a plot artifice in season one.
Janny
October 2, 2022 at 3:57 pmThanks everyone. I’ve decided to drop this anime after Season 1, episode 18. I don’t know how, but I got to spoilers and decided not to waste my time on this anime until there is more character growth.