It would be hard to overstate how easy it is for me to love Major 2nd.  Really, for me this is Jerry Seinfeld’s proverbial “if my hair was on fire” anime.  It brings back so many great memories of the first season of Major, which is one of my favorite anime experiences (I watched every episode twice the week it came out – though I wasn’t writing about anime then, so had a lot more time).  What’s more, it has the nostalgia factor going for it in terms of the actual story – and that really comes out in an episode like this one.

If things went smoothly between Daigo and Hikaru we wouldn’t have much of a story, and indeed they don’t.  Hikaru (who does get called an ikemen by Izumi-neechan) goes off in a bit of a snit after Daigo rejects his proposal to become his personal catcher.  But the seed has been planted (as Hikaru knew it would be) and Daigo finds himself drawn to the idea against his better judgment.  So much so that he even asks his sister for advice about it – and recognizing the significance of the moment, she doesn’t verbally (or physically) abuse him for once.  He comes up with all sorts of obstacles, but she basically shoots them all down with one rejoinder – “you’re overthinking it” (while that wasn’t something their dad was known for, when he did get into trouble that was usually the reason).

Trouble in paradise continues when Daigo goes over to Hikaru’s apartment (“surprisingly plain for the son of a major leaguer” – hmm…) the next day, only to find that Hikaru has found a new practice partner – none other than Sakura.  Her brother was a ballplayer, and she’s pretty good – and Hikaru lets Daigo know in no uncertain terms that he’s just fine with this arrangement, thank you.  Hikaru is a clever boy, but too clever by half – his obsession with manipulation is not his finest trait.  He’s trying to play the long game with Goro, but there are more players on the field than he realizes.

Fortunately, now that Daigo has found a thread of hope to grasp he’s not easily going to let it go.  He so badly wants to be in a relationship with baseball, this kid – and he’s finally allowed himself to believe it could be possible.  He has allies – the old Dolphins coach Andou-san, who gives Kaoru a box of used catching gear when he hears Honda Gorou’s son is interested.  And of course Kaoru herself – supermom, and ex-ballplayer.  It’s a great, great moment when she slips back into baseball mode and takes charge of Daigo’s catcher training – she was among the first to catch Gorou’s fastballs, after all.

Sadly, that doesn’t end well (frozen shoulder, it’s a thing – look it up) – when 40 year-old bodies try to do things they haven’t done in 20 years, bad stuff happens.  But Kaoru does have a solid suggestion (and a couple of ¥1000’s) – head for the batting center if you want practice catching fastballs.  Which Daigo does, with pretty decent results at 110 kmh – but when he steps up to 120 (which is about what he figures Hikaru throws) his inexperience asserts itself in a big way.

What to make of the appearance of Satou Toshiya?  One need not complain of anime coincidence, because there’s no coincidence involved here – Kaoru and Gorou do talk, after all, and Dad knows what’s happening with his son.  A kid could hardly ask for a better catching coach than a former major-league star, never mind one who was his father’s closest friend in the game – and even the quick-hitting tips Toshiya gives the boy on their first meeting immediately click.  There are other questions Daigo should be asking here of course, but that’s easy for us to see with the benefit of distance and experience – Daigo is an excited 11 year-old and such things don’t occur to him quite yet.  But they will,  soon enough…