Major S3 Review

In Season 2 of Major, Goro was transformed into an unstoppable monster. Someone who could hit and pitch amazingly. Someone who could single-handedly win a game against even the best schools. Obviously, this creates a bit of a problem for the plot. The show needed a way to keep things interesting, to make it so Goro didn't have things too easy.

In order to do this, Major implements two major storylines during season 3. The first one is very similar to season 1, as Goro is forced to essentially make a team from scratch, composed of baseball rookies. The second storyline is something I will leave as a surprise.

Over the course of season 3, both these storylines are kind of hit or miss, sometimes they annoyed me, sometimes it really did lead to a more exciting show. Because of that, Season 3 definitely isn't as good as season 2.

However, don't let that discourage you from watching the show! Season 3 of Major is once again some awesome sports shounen. It's a bit unrealistic, but the baseball is always exciting. And they really have crafted a fantastic character in Shigeno Goro. It's easy to keep rooting for the good guys solely for how awesome Goro is.

The most important part of Season 3 is the inevitable clash with Kaido. This match has been built up for 2 seasons, and luckily, it lives up to the build and the hype, and the match ends up being very satisfying. It would have been a huge disappointment if after all the build up, the match sucked, but luckily, they delivered.

Basically, everything else is as it always has been. There isn't too much of a need to elaborate. If you liked the first 2 seasons of Major, there is really no reason to not watch this.

Major S2 Review

In many ways, this review is pointless. I have almost no doubt in my mind that anyone who watched all of Major Season 1 will watch Major Season 2, whether I say it's great or terrible. But, just allow me to reassure you, Major Season 2 is as good as it gets.

I rated Major Season 1 a 9/10. It was exciting, but it had a few things holding it back. The first half of the season didn't have that much in terms of baseball games, there was a lot of romance subplots that were tough to care too much about. And, it was kind of ridiculous to see little leaguers practically playing like pros.

Major Season 2 comes in and fixes just about everything that was wrong with Season 1. First off, the show has baseball games right from the start. There's only a few episodes of building up to the big games, they get right into it, which is awesome. In keeping with the theme of more baseball, all the subplots this time around revolve around baseball as well. There isn't any silly parent/kid drama like last time. No romance subplots. The entire plot revolves around what the anime is supposed to be about.

Also, the games seemed a little less ridiculous this time. I mean, there's still some crazy plays. But the fact that they are in high school now, and not a bunch of little shrimps made it so my immersion wasn't ruined by it this time around.

I think the plot is a lot more interesting and innovative this time around as well. Season 1 was your standard story of a boy wanting his team to become the best. This time around, the story revolves around high school powerhouse Kaido, and Goro's interactions with them. There are some surprisingly good plot twists, and I found the story to be a nice breath of fresh air.

The art and sound are once again great. I thought they did a good job drawing the older versions of everyone from season 1, the music is good once again.

Overall, if you watched Major Season 1, you probably liked it, and I have no doubt you will like season 2 as well.

Major S6 Review

It's impossible to describe this show with one word, but the closest would be.

Masterpiece.

And im not just talking about this season, but the show as a whole. It starts of with a bang, like these kind of animes usually do. With a tragedy that leads a talented individual to pursue his dream. In this case, to be the best baseball pitcher in the world. But most of all, just play baseball.

You follow Goro Shigeno/Honda through some rough years of his life. Battling with both injuries, tragedies and strong opponents. And they always get stronger, and the wall to climb always gets higher. And it's truly, an epic journey. There are some rough paths from little league to major league. But you quickly learn that there is no shortcut to success.

So, this anime follows a storyline pattern that is proven successful by many shows before. And then it's no suprise when i tell you, i think its brilliant. They start of with a little kid idolizing his father. But when his father falls victim to a freak accident, he starts to rely on himself. And grows to be, the very talented, hotheaded and cocky main character. With one goal, to get stronger.

The main character is very important in this series, more so than some of the other animes i have watched. Of course, all animes revolves around 1 or more main characters, but this series i feel is a little bit different. I can't put my finger on it, but they way they have done the "storytelling", makes me care more for this character than in any other anime. Maybe with the exception of Hajime no Ippo. Which is the only show i can compare it with, mainly because of the storytelling and the colorful characters.

So, i have followed Goro though fire and ice, thick and thin, blood and sweat.
And i have to be honest, i love him. I love his sincerity, his innocence and childish but cocky behaviour. His humour, his guts, his talent, his heart and his soul. And that's basically what this show is about.

What more do you need?


STORY-10-
Pretty original, some signs of the shounen pattern, but still. It have turned it up a notch and spiced it further than anyone before them.

ART-10-
The first two seasons were decent. But from there the quality got alot better along the lines, and the last season is magnificent.

SOUND-10-
Realistic sound, alot of variation in the different scenarios. It's impressive in every way, and i can't recall that i have every noticed a flaw.

CHARACTER-10-
This show gets top score on character, but not just because of the main character. You meet alot of interesting characters when you follow Goro, and each and one of them are unique. Of course, some of them are similar to characters in other animes. But if you add all the characters up, they deserve top score. No doubt.

ENJOYMENT-10-
This show captures the nervous moment when you can decide a game, with one throw/pitch. And does it brilliantly. But the humour, the characters and the story are marvelous. I almost cried when i was finished with the last episode, and it left me with that empty hole in your heart. The feeling you usually get when you miss something and you want more.
That means i enjoyed it alot, and it deserves full score

OVERALL-10-
No suprise here.
When you get that empty feeling like i just wrote about. That's a pretty good indication that this anime was superb.


So, what can i say. It's been almost three months since i finished this anime, and the emptiness in my heart is still there.

You want any more reasons to watch this?

Major S1 Review

Story
This is actually pretty typical. Boy strives to become the best in something, which in this case is baseball. Honda Goro tries to take after his father as a pitcher who plays in the pro league in Japan. That's basically all you're gonna get. They play baseball to try to get to the next "level", fighting stronger opponents as they go on.

However there are various plot advances as well as drama thrown into the mix, so don't go in thinking this is just a tournament-after-tournament anime.

Art
Art is very solid and pleasing although the animation does get a little sloppy at certain times. However, it is well done during important parts, especially during games. I won't go so far as to say this is any ground-breaking animation, but it serves its purpose. After all, this is a baseball anime, not something that has flashy explosions.

Sound
I absolutely loved the soundtrack. Very few songs used in the background actually are able to make me find myself humming them unconsciously later onward. There are quite a few notable pieces used throughout the series and they all carry out their duty in helping to further emote scenes.

Character
This is where the series shines for me. I enjoyed the character development that Major had. As baseball is a team sport, there is also a lot of focus on developing relationships within the team, and how problems arise and are solved amongst one another. The characters are all very likable (well, with a few exceptions), and its fun to watch them interact with one another.

The show also focuses quite moderately on family relationships. There are a few issues which come up within Goro's family and it shows how he as a child, handles them. I found certain scenes to be quite touching also.

Enjoyment
Uh, I enjoyed this. A lot. It's my favorite sports anime. Although it isn't without its flaws, I found it a great watch. If you enjoy seeing a character "grow", then you will like this. Not too sure about those who are familiar with baseball though, as it helped as a device to pique my interest.

Overall
Amongst all the seasons, I found this one to be the strongest. (Though this is not to say the other seasons are vastly inferior.) You should give at least this first season a try, even if you don't like baseball, as the character relations are great to watch no matter what sport they are playing.

Major: World Series Review

I've always been a baseball fan and an anime fan but Major was what got me started on baseball anime which is a genre I really enjoy. I loved Major and its one of my favorite animes mainly because of the characters and the exciting and at times very dramatic and touching story. World Series is the perfect ending to a great anime, wrapping everything up in the best way possible. There is nothing more in the story to be explored, and nothing more for major to accomplish. this ends it so satisfyingly I would be disappointed if they attempted to continue major any further, it has been finished perfectly and let it stay that way.

Major S5 Review

 

Baseball, in my province, is infamous for being a very slow and boring sport to watch. I would usually follow a few matches on TV even though my aunt would always fall asleep in middle of the match. Indeed, baseball can be boring to watch, but it is in no way boring to play. This sport is probably one of the most exciting to take part in. While it seems slow when you're watching it, it goes really, really fast if you're actually on the field.

Major S5 makes me feel exactly like that. Being on the field, even though I'm sitting on a couch watching an anime about baseball. I could very well go outside and play myself-- but why should I when I get the same thrill without any physical effort?

Life as a professional baseball player isn't easy. There are many obstacles a pro (and any normal person at that) can encounter -- be it injuries, lack of motivation, slumps, family issues. Goro's life has never been a straight road, he might've lost the track many times, and yet, he's never failed to find it again.

Sometimes, a series with lots of sequels will usually have its plot fall short after a few seasons due to lack of material and unecessary filler episodes. After the trainwreck season that was Major S4, I didn't know what to expect from the fifth one. It was probably going to be as boring and unevenful as S4.

I was wrong.

I personally believe that the fifth part of Major is the most meaningful as it brings a lot of character development along with a fine conclusion to an epic saga.

Being a direct continuation from season four, Goro returns to Japan after his latest baseball season in the USA. Back home, he learns from his friend and rival, that there will be a baseball World Cup organized in America a year from now.

S5 went back to its old 'match, heavy training, match, heavy training and fighting out with a rival' formula used in season 1 to 3. As much as it sounds like your typical shonen anime, what really made it special was that I could see the plot going somewhere-- it wasn't just random matches in a random tournament. It was the BASEBALL WORLD CUP for god's sake. The training was actually meaningful; winning the World Cup is a pretty big deal. What made the plot believable was that Team Japan itself didn't feel invincible (unlike other sports anime out there where the protagonist's team is made of mary sues with pratically no apparent flaws.) The only drawback is that a few matches could drag on longer-- they were hyped so much just to last an episode and a half. What a killjoy. There were also a few slice of life episodes that were actually revelant to the plot as they brought in a lot of room for character development, especially on Goro and Shimizu's side. I'll explain it later.

Having switches studios (Hibari to SynergySP) since S4, SynergySP probably had troubles adjusting to the pace of the last three seasons, as it was not their creations. In S5, though, they've managed to fix many of the glaring flaws they've made in S4 : character development, pacing and art.

Goro underwent a personality change, as he had to face his past once again with Joe Gibson and his new rival, Joe Gibson Junior, but still remained the same old cocky guy. I found very surprising that there was some romance development between Shimizu and Goro seeing how it was always hinted yet never fully confirmed. I chuckled many times because their relationship is so awkward, Goro being 18 with no real love experience, aside from baseball that is. Haha.

Not only does the story follow the manga perfectly : the artwork stays true to its original work, though the art iself is pretty normal and has nothing to be praised about. Animation is excellent-- I could see that SynergySP actually tried animating, and the matches were much easier to follow in comparison to S4 where I had to rewind a few times to actually understand what happened exactly. That was one of S4's biggest and most annoying flaw : inconsistent animation. Atleast there weren't too many ugly faces.

As for the music, I don't remember any BGMs from S5. That was probably because I was too concentrated in watching the match than listening to background music. In each episode, there is a small 2 - 3 minutes reminder of what happened in the last episode to refresh your memory. Right after that, the opening sequence 'Hey! Hey! Alright!' by SCHA DARA PARR feat plays. In my opinion, this song doesn't quite fit because it's a bit too out there for a simple baseball show. The first ending, 'Stay with me' by Hitomi Shimatani portrays pefectly the relationship between Goro and Shimizu starting from season five. The second ending, 'Jibun Color' by Yuu Nakamura gives you a breath of fresh air as you're standing on the mound as the umpire is yelling 'PLAY BALL!' The third and last ending, 'Kokoro E' by Road of Major, plays while a series of every important events from season 1 to 5 are shown in black and white as to illustrate a nostalgic past. That was a pretty clever thing to do.

Major is a simple tale about a boy with only one thing in mind : playing baseball. Some people would probably find it unexciting because there are no over the top super powers like in Prince of Tennis or Eyeshield 21.

Having no super powers is a good thing, in my opinion. Since Major's baseball is the closest to being realistic (aside from Goro being a PITCHING MONSTER), I have come to find baseball more enjoyable as I learned many things about it in this anime. Not only that, but characters actually had to train very hard to even be able to compete with lower level teams : I like the harsh reality.

In conclusion, Major S5 (and every seasons, actually) is for anyone who is interested in learning about what baseball trully is, without having to learning all these complicated rules and over the top mechanics.

Remember-- what sets Major apart from other sports anime is how much more realistic it is.