Yep, this is the point of Major 2nd where things are really getting deliciously complicated.  It’s not something we see often in this world where one-cour anime overwhelmingly dominate the schedule, but the pacing is simply different with long-running series like this one.  Sports manga are the most common sources for these, and an author like Mitsuda-sensei can pretty much figure he has the green light to take as long as he cares to to tell his story.  Whether all of that will see anime is an open question, but Major is an institution in manga circles (the original easily topped 70 volumes) and Major 2nd is likewise a big seller.  It’s not going anywhere till Mitsuda has decided he’s had enough.

Developments are somehow more satisfying when they’ve had proper buildup (that’s an advantage successful shounen certainly has), and we’re at the stage now where setup is starting to become payoff.  Daigo and Hikaru, for starters, have a bond that’s been tested by genuine schoolboy hardship – for 12 year-olds, it doesn’t get much more apocalyptic for relationships than perceived betrayal and actual separation.  As much as Goro enjoys basking in the unfamiliar sensation of his teammates approval (and Hikaru enjoys seeing it), it’s with Hikaru that he really wants to share the moment.  That’s not lost on Toshiya-san, for whom the echoes of his own boyhood nascent friendship with Goro are clearly present in what’s happening with their sons.

There’s also the matter of Sakura, who’s the only member of the Dolphins not to get off the bench in the first tournament game.  She’s sensitive to her place in this team – a newbie in a group of kids that have been together for three years, and a girl to boot.  But she wants to play just the same – and Kaoru is certainly someone who recognizes that frustration.  She’s also someone who knows that girls can break the glass diamond ceiling – she caught the pitches of a future World Series champ, after all.  She gives the girl a little pep talk at the post-victory yakiniku party – one which Hikaru and Daigo have skipped in order to work on the many gaps Hikaru still has in his skills as a pitcher.

They’re not the only ones to skip the barbecue party – Urabe does too, in order to scout the next opponent.  This episode is about him as much as it is Sakura, and he too has been given enough buildup to where his evolution as a character packs some weight.  With his partner in crime Andy out for 10 days with his calf strain, Urabe knows he’s going to need a lot of help to survive in the tournament – and he’s desperate to do that, so that he can try and extract his revenge against his former team the Touto Boys.  Urabe is not an easy kid to like, that’s for sure – but his behavior after the first game reveals that he’s committed enough to winning to admit he was wrong about certain things, and that winning is more important to him than being right.

The scouting mission is a near-whiff, as Urabe only arrives for the last two outs by Nishigaoka Beetles – but they’re the last two outs of a no-hitter.  The pitcher is a giant of a boy who looks much older than a little leaguer, but his repertoire seems to be all about an Eephus pitch – an ultra-slow toss that was first used in the majors by Rip Sewell in the 1930’s (and rarely since).  That presents special challenges, and Urabe is eager to show this to Daigo – and Sakura, who happens to be at Daigo’s house helping him with bunting practice (although he accidentally ends up showing them something altogether different).  There’s something else very interesting at the Beetles’ game too that sharp observers will have picked up on, but we’ll leave that discussion until next week.

Ah, Sakura…  Her position is the most difficult here, and part of her reluctance to push to play comes from the fact that she knows she joined the team in part (maybe a big part) because of her crush on Daigo.  Daigo comes up big here by opining that Sakura is clearly good enough, and should play – as I noted earlier he’d certainly never seen his mother play baseball and until very recently, maybe not his sister either, but he’s not one to deny the evidence of his own eyes.  Urabe, too, joins the club after Sakura – who he’s asked to hit against him as he practices with Daigo in preparation for their first game as a battery – promptly strokes his first pitch for a hard liner off the neighbor’s house.  A quick trip to the batting center later Urabe is arguing vociferously for Sakura to start the next game – much to her dismay and irritation.

This is a delicate spot not just for Sakura, but the coach too – there is something to be said for guys who have paid their dues for three years not being forced to give way to a newcomer at the very end of their careers, just when things are getting good. And then there’s the matter of Hikaru, who while he’d be slated to pitch the potential third game, has to have a place in the outfield for the second.   For Urabe it’s black and white – winning is everything – but Sakura is conflicted to say the least.  So much so that she intentionally flubs shagging flies in the outfield during practice to keep herself out of the lineup.  Urabe and Daigo both realize this of course, and Urabe especially is a boy for whom discretion is not in the vocabulary.  But ultimately, it comes down to Sakura herself being willing to accept a place that she’s good enough to claim – and only she can make that final step.