Is Major 2nd worth watching? – A Complete Review

Major 2nd (Mejā sekando) is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Takuya Mitsuda.

The series follows the story of  Daigo Shigeno who dreams of having a professional career in the sport of baseball like his father.

As he works hard to achieve this goal, the story shows the various ups and downs he faces in his journey to make his dream come true.

The anime television series aired from April to September 2018 on NHK Educational TV. A second season premiered on April 4, 2020.

1. Quick Review

The protagonist Daigo Shigeno loves baseball, mostly since his dad is a professional player.

Daigo’s father has played for the MLB, the Japanese leagues, and where the story picks up, he’s on his way to Taiwan to play there.

Everyone in Daigo’s family is a fan of the sport. His older sister Izumi is also a star player when it comes to pitching, and even their mother played back in the day when she was in school.

Currently, Daigo is in the fourth grade and is ready to join his father’s old team to follow in his dad’s footsteps.

However, Daigo begins doubting his abilities and crumbles under the expectations placed on him. He quits the sport almost as soon as he joins the team.

Two years later, he’s still hard on himself for giving up on his dream and doesn’t set his hopes on anything any longer.

The wake-up call he needs comes in the form of a transfer student and his dad’s best MLB buddy’s son, Hikaru Sato.

The plot and character’s personalities are relatable to the audience in the context of the societal pressure and expectations that we all are victims of at some point in life.

The series highlights how the baseball games act as a crucial point for character development, their relationship with each other and gives us an understanding of the sport itself.

2. Info Card

3. Is It Worth Watching?

Major 2nd is an awe-inspiring story that brings out the rush of excitement and team spirit that you feel when you’re part of a team or even rooting for one.

This sports-themed slice of life anime uses baseball as the main concept but shows so many more layers underneath in terms of character development.

The highlight of this series is undeniably the storyline, which weaves joy and tragedies into it so beautifully, you wouldn’t be surprised if it was a true story.

I. Plot

The series revolves around Daigo Shigeno who aspires to be a professional baseball player like his father. As he takes the necessary steps to achieve his dream, he crumbles under the pressure and expectations that weigh him down.

The unexpected but much-needed push for Daigo comes with the arrival of a new transfer student Hikaro Sato who also has the same goals as Daigo.

Major 2nd has a beautiful story to tell and uses incredible characters to tell it. The characters’ relationships have such an organic development and as a viewer, it is so exciting to witness.

II. Characters

i) Main characters

Daigo Shigeno is the main protagonist of the Major 2nd series.

He is the eldest son of Goro Shigeno and Kaoru Shigeno and the younger brother of Izumi Shigeno. Daigo aspires to be a professional baseball player like his father.

Daigo’s attitude is described as being sarcastic, cocky and boastful. He is also seen to have an inferiority complex because he is always compared to his father.

ii) Secondary main characters

Hikaru Sato is the deuteragonist(the secondary character) of Major 2nd. He is the son of professional baseball player Toshiya Sato. Hikaru eventually becomes Daigo Shigeno’s baseball teammate when he transfers to Mifune Elementary School.

He is eager to meet Daigo when he joins his school because he considers their fathers’ rivals on a professional scale and wants to see what Daigo is made of.

Mutsuko Sakura is Daigo Shigeno’s classmate and love interest.

Her character is also a lover of baseball and is an Outfielder in Mifune Elementary School’s team. Diago is her first love whom she admired from afar until their first interaction back in sixth grade.

III. Setting

The series is set in Mifune Elementary school where the main character Daigo Shigeno joins the “Mifune Dolphins” baseball team.

The rest of the series shows different stadiums where the Mifune Dolphins play matches against other baseball teams.

IV. Theme Songs

The opening theme songs for the first season are  “Koeteike” by Kyuso Nekokami (eps 1-13) and “Dream Catcher” by Berry Goodman (eps 14-25).

The second season’s opening themes are  “Answer” by  Leo Ieiri and “Shiroi Doro” by Mone Kamishiraishi.

The ending themes for Major 2nd’s first season are  “Pride” by Yu Takahashi (eps 1-13) and “Sairen” by Reol (eps 14-25). The second season’s ending theme music is “One” by She’s.

The theme songs narrate the story and emotions of the series’ characters through emotional lyrics and visuals displayed in the opening and ending themes.

The music itself is not very memorable but doesn’t detract anything from the series either.

4. Grade

5. Final Thoughts

Major 2nd is definitely on par with some of the best sports anime out there. The storyline and character development are the main stars of the show with prominent progression of both. The characters’ have such realistic and relatable personalities that you empathize with them.

The series also centers on how a sport can make people set aside their differences and come together for the greater good. Major 2nd is a wonderful coming-of-age story that is definitely worth the watch.