Major Season 4 – 14 (92)

Episode 14

YAY! new ep of Major is out! (RAW not subbed)
Subbed Ep 08(86) of Major is out though

This episode’s main focus is on Keene (I think that is his name…), the catcher.

We get to learn about his past and why he is so controlling.
We get to see him learn his lesson, courtesy of Goro Shiiiiigeeeeenooooo (i like the way the announcer says his name, damn funny.)
And we get to see a baseball match, a short one, but yea, a match none the less.

Finally the whole team might start to show some teamwork.

The episode started off with the starting pitcher getting totally controlled by Keene and bossed around by him. Keene is good, you can’t deny the fact. However, he is so arrogant when he implied that the fact that they manage to shut the other team out was basically not the pitcher’s good pitching but rather his. The ass.

Anyway, naturally the pitcher started getting irritated and what not, but what can he do, they were winning so there was little he could say.

And so we have to leave it up to our dear Goro. ^-^v yay! Go Goro!

In this ep we see Goro practicing on his own etc, and I can say that this is probably one of the only episodes where I felt that Goro was not a show off. (I love the dude but you gotta admit that he is cocky.)

Ok, here are some screen caps for this episode.

Oooo, big problem for the Bats team… (i like this screen shot ^^)

I also like the way the ball looks in this shot… pretty

Alright. That’s it for the screen captures.

Anyway, back to Keene.

He reminds me of Inui from Prince of Tennis. Why? Simple

Inui – Data Tennis
Keene – Data Baseball

^^ And this episode did remind me of Prince of Tennis as well when Goro said that Keene cannot just depend on his data. Lol. It sounded like a conversational snippet between Inui and Ryoma

By the end of this episode all is well

Which is a good thing!

Personally, I feel like as though there is something missing from this season of Major. I guess it is the idea of a main focus that is missing. Previously it was all about Kaido and getting in  or beating them. At the beginning of this season it was about getting into the Major League. However, right now there does not seem to be much of a focus. I guess we are reminded that Goro does train to be better, but it is just a short few seconds to remind you. Hmmm… but it is nice this way. Relaxing and fun. Nothing to heavy going on.

-ra out!

Major Season 4 – 08 to 13

It has been forever since I blogged about Major, but that is because I myself have been waiting forever to watch the sub version. As such I have resorted to watching the RAWs instead.

Having caught up to the latest episode of Major I have to say that I am pretty much certain that this season of Major would be:

1) Focused on Goro in the Minor AAA Team

2) Flashing back and forth between America and the gang in Japan (Toshi, and the rest)

3) The battle between Goro and Gibson Jr.

(note: ultimately, this is just what I personally think. But I am 80% sure.)

Why?

It has been 13 eps, and the usual standard Major season is 26 episodes.
If there was any build up for the second half of the series we would have seen it already.

So, I can say that we probably would not see anything related to the Majors or the Baseball World Cup in this Season.
I think that it is a good move for the production companies if they want to keep Major alive for a couple more seasons (since the anime is catching up to the manga at a pretty fast rate.)

Okay, now to move on to my review on this 6 eps.

Goro is with the Bats.

We get to see Toshi and his struggles in the Pros in Japan

Komori and his issues on his baseball team

And Goro’s latest issues with his team.

Episode 08 and 09–

A good portion of both ep 08 and 09 are spent on Toshi and his team. We get to see the pressure that he is under being called the ‘Genius Rookie’ and the expectations that his team mates have of him. We see how he gets put down by his teammates at certain parts as well.
Having suddenly been made the catcher of a match he ends up screwing it up badly. He reads the players wrongly and ends up giving up runs.
Basically, he struggles and he finally snaps out of the daze that he has been in and realizes what is important.
I like Toshi so it was quite sad to see this kid under so much pressure and self-destructing.
*Sigh*(=_=)

Episode 10–

It is basically what I would like to think of as a happy ep.
We are back in Japan for the first half of the ep and life goes on, it is time for graduation and the only one who is not there is Goro. This ep basically pulls us out of the individual focus of each character and onto the overall focus of the whole cast. How their lives have changed and how different they are now.
The idea of this ep is really nice. It shows us that time has indeed passed.
The characters are growing up and we are seeing them grow up through the seasons as well.
Things change, promises are made, and all they have to look forward to is the future.
The second half of the ep is back on Goro in the States but the idea is still the same as the first half.

Episode 11–

Problems start to appear within the Bats team.
It is a problem – solution one ep situation kind of thing.
Nothing to huge, nothing to important, but this ep does relate slightly to what is to happen in the next few eps.

Episode 12–

This episode is back in Japan once again.
We are seeing the issues in Mifune Little League and they are having a match against Yokohama Little .
Big problem for them.
I really don’t understand what this ep is for but if I were to guess it would probably to show us that there is a younger generation after all of us. That some things don’t change and everyone grows older and there will be someone to take your place.
Komori tries to prove himself in this ep and is trying to be the only freshman on his team to be a regular.
At the same time the coach for Mifune Little is ill and Komori is the stand-in coach.
The pitcher for Mifune is depressed and thinks it is hopeless to want to win against Yokohama Little.
What happens? You have to watch and see it for yourself.

Episode 13–

A new genius rookie(catcher and good batter) appears on Goro’s team and he and Goro just can’t get along.
Both of them want to do things their way (and I can understand why).
But this time though, it seems like Goro’s method is not working and the Genius is a genius afterall.
They make a bet and what is the bet, what is the outcome? Find out on your own. 😛
The genius catcher reminds me of a America version of Toshi, just that this one is really irritating and not nice.

Overview–

The anime is not moving as fast as what I had expected it to be. They keep moving between Japan and USA and I guess it is the right thing to do. They need to build the foundation for the later eps and the later situations. I guess because they have so many characters and having them have their own issues would only make it harder for the anime to move faster.

While watching this I could not help but think that the only one who is actually not improving would be Goro.

I know the dude is trying to get into the Majors and realistically, it is not that easy and so it is normal too see him have troubles. However, I don’t see him improving either.

There is just something missing in this season.

We don’t get to see the whole Team spirit thing that we were seeing in the previous seasons.
We don’t get to see much of a development in Goro.

Even though I really love Major and still do, I cannot say that I am not feeling slightly disappointed.
Perhaps disappointed might not be the right word to use, upset maybe?
The route of this season looks to be one that is slower and more focus on the human emotions behind the characters. After all, with all the reminiscing, and personal mental struggles going on one can’t help but think that way. I am happy that this is turning out to be a pretty relaxing season to watch. Nothing too gut wrenching.

– (^_^)

Just some thoughts

I just saw the raw of ep 13 for season 4 and by the way things are looking, it seems like there would most likely be another season for Major.

The previous seasons have all been 26 episodes each and right now the anime is still on the Bats arc without having gone into the Baseball World Cup arc of the manga.
My guess would be they might do what they did in Season 2 and split it up into the qualifiers for the Baseball World Cup being in Season 4 and if there is another season of Major, they would have it be about the Baseball World Cup.
If this were to happen then that would give enough time for the manga to carry on and eventually by 2010 they would be able to do another season.

Anyway,  I have no idea, this is just me guessing. While I am happy to see more of Major, I am just hoping that it does not get draggy. So far it does not seem like much of a problem. Just have to wait and see.

Ookiku Furikabutte (aka Oofuri) – Review

Oofuri on ANN

Baseball, Boys and high school.

This sounds quite like Major does it not?

But besides the words in common and the sport of baseball, those 2 anime are pretty much different in the rest of the aspects.

Oofuri VS Major

I know it is wrong to compare anime, but I can’t help myself but to compare both of the anime with each other.
While Major brings us heartache and trials as well as happiness.
Oofuri brings us a somewhat similar route as that of the prince of tennis. The main character develops and gets better and he does not lose.

One thing in common though is that both lead characters can be loser at times. haha, and while Goro from Major makes me find it adorable, Mihashi from Oofuri just makes it downright irritating.

Pace of the anime?

Oofuri goes in a much slower pace as compared to Major. Throughout the span of the anime, we see 3 matches. the final match (and the first round of the competetion only) takes up almost half of the season. However I would have to say that they do go into detail of how the match progresses and how each inning is played out. And i like this aspect of Oofuri. While the main character takes the spotlight, the rest of his team mates are not too far in the background. Actually, through this you are able to properly enjoy baseball being played as a team sport.

I am not saying that Major is not that way, but what makes Major so good is that it moves at such a fast pace that I feel that there are no wasted eps, and no match that was too brief.

Characters?

I cannot stand the whiny and back-boneless Mihashi. He lacks self confidence, and we know why that is from the first arc of the series. Mihashi splits his grids up into 9 sections and is able to have precise control over where the ball lands up. However, his pitches are really slow.
Why is he able to win the matches with slow pitches? After all i am sure that if the pitch is slow, no matter what sort of control he has it would still get hit.
Well, i definitely thought about that when i first saw them winning against the other team in their first match. However, this is where you get to see the importance of the catcher and his signs. You are able to carefully observe the workings of a good battery in play. Mishashi’s success is practically owed to the catcher(Takaya Abe). I like the interaction and the way we get to observe the whole play. And while in Major we know that the catcher is important (observe Goro and Toshi) we don’t really know how important it really is.

Eck!

While many fan girls would love this(oofuri) anime for the non stop hints of BL (boylove(yaoi)) stuff. Guys might feel a tad bit uneasy. But it can’t be help. It is a baseball team where you only have guys on it (‘cept for the manager and coach).

But if you love baseball or have an interest in it. Give this anime a shot. It is not too shabby and it might help you understand the game better. I know it did for me.

I just dont believe the fact that Mihashi’s (no matter how good and intuitive the catcher is) slow pitches were that effective

Rating? 7.5/10

There are a few filler eps here and there, I don’t like the way the anime ended with only the first round of the competetion over.
Futher more, we never got to really see the interaction of Abe’s previous pitcher and what happened between them.
I hope for a second season. Afterall, all the characters (cept for Mihashi) are lovable.

An image of our dear pitcher crying. He does that ALOT. haha.

-ra out!

Do you think that Mihashi’s pitches were realistic? As in effectiveness wise.

Major Season 4 – 07

Finally ep 07 subbed by MJN is out! and so here is the review of this ep!

It is a nice ep.

Goro has finally found a team that he can stay on and i am looking forward to seeing what this team can do. They sound quite….

Spoilers ahead…

This team is a pure batting team. You first see them playing defense when Goro has to be the closer for an exhibition game as his tryout for the team. And honestly? Their defense suck! lol. Why? Cos they are batters! One point after another scoring non stop. lol.

The spoken english in this ep is quite hillarious, cos of the japanese accent, it sounds quite funny when the guys are suppose to be American.

Ok, so here it is. Goro Shigeno is officially in a Triple A team and will be the pitcher for the Memphis Bats!

As usual, our dear Goro is so cute. And while he is still his arrogant self, he has learn some self control.

Lets wait and see what ep 08 has in store for us! ^^

Rating? well, i don’t really have a rating for this ep. =P

Cheers!

-ra out!

Major Season 4 – 06

After skipping reviewing a few eps i am back here with a new review on the latest ep of Major.

Ok, it is not the quickest review, but hey, considering that i slept the whole of yesterday away this was pretty much the earliest i could get down to doing this review. heh.. ^^v

Here it is. Goro (that adorable fool) is back to being in the Minors. Why? Cos he was not good enough for the Majors and got hit continuously. After a mini duel with Sanchez(a major league pitcher) he saw their difference in skill and decided to work hard. Kinda, then he got hit so many time during his Major league debut that they threw him back to the Minors and wanted him to work from there.

My favourite part of the Major league game was the last pitch  -the change up. It was so cute seeing a flashback on little Goro and seeing how similar Goro is to when he was a kid.  Then he decided to learn how to throw curve balls and it kinda did not work for him in the second half of the match.
I shall continue the explanation of the minor league match now.

Screen shot of Goro in his Minor league uniform.
And he still has that smirk on his face. The smirk that says he has a secret. (well, dont worry, his secret this time is not a big one)

Anyway, guess who hit against Goro?

Gibson Junior. No kidding. And he looks good also. But he is an irritating character that is snobbish. However, he is talented and is expected to enter the majors next season at the age of 19.

Anyway, after hitting goro’s pitch all the way to the backscreen they got into an arguement.
The young lad was saying blaming Goro’s dad for his misfortunes and was acting highly disrespectful to the dead by insulting Goro’s dad non-stop.
And as you expect out of our hot headed lead character. He lost his cool and got into a fight. This led to him getting kicked out.

As he was leaving he met Sanchez and sanchez was nice and all telling Goro that he was not an old man and he should stop trying to throw old man pitches(curve ball) and just concentrate on his fastballs – The gyroball.

Anyway, it is ep 6 and the plot has been progressing at a steady rate. My only fear for this season is that they will drag it out and not include the world championships into this season. That would destroy a good anime. But if they are looking to earn more cash then they just might do that so as to have themselves another season. But if they do add in the world championship game (crosses fingers) this might be the last season of Major for quite some time as the anime would have caught up to the manga.

Whatever path they choose. I pray that they would cut poor Goro some break. Putting in a little bit of prince of tennis style into Goro’s luck might be good. The poor lad keeps on losing and suffering. His dad dies, and then he gets injured, and then he gets trashed by an arrogant ass and the list will continue i assure you. It is a good anime. But maybe having the lead be happy once in awhile might not be that bad of an idea. What do you all think?

7.5/10

all in all a good ep, just dont like seeing our hero getting tortured so much.

-ra out!- ^^

Major Season 4 – 02

note- this post contains ep 1 spoilers

Yup! Ep 2 is out!

Following the ending of ep 1 with Goro’s shocked face (after getting trashed), this ep starts off with them passing the first round of the try outs and….. yup, it is time for second round.

7 people passed and they are now made to compete against the Single A team – the Red Rocks. You think that is bad? Apart from that, they have to beat them to get into the next round. Mind you, there is a *major* setback for this team. Firstly, there is a racist in the team and it is spoiling the teamwork which they so badly need since they were made to start 10 runs behind!

Yes! I am not joking. 10 rounds! Goodness right? Is it even possible? Can they ever pull it off?

What can you expect from this ep?
Typical Major stuff, baseball, baseball and more baseball! Comedy, baseball, and setbacks. It is a very typical Major ep only the scene is now in USA. You get to hear the new OP for this season of Major– Rise by Ootomo Kouhei.
Opening Song –
Makes me wanna giggle. It is weird, bad but not bad. lol, it just a nice song with a weird voice behind it. ^^
Ending Song –
I like the way that they showed the baseball field empty and peaceful under the evening sky. So serene.

Pros
Clean and clear animation style
It is a really funny ep, and Goro is just so funny (though irritating with his cockiness at times). He can’t understand the people around him and he gets riled up over misunderstandings.
An improvement in his teamwork (very slight)
He just rocks the house with his pitches
Baseball every second. What’s not to love?
Horrible “english” speaking people are no longer present! (well, maybe a few secs only)
Makes me crave for the next ep!

Cons
A liiiiiiiiittle bit slower than the previous episode, pace wise that is.
Goro’s hair looks weird
It can get confusing when they speak in Jap and Goro can’t understand it cos it is suppose to be english just that they cant have the whole show in english so they speak in Jap… get it??^^” (even i am getting confuse trying to explain it)
Makes me crave for the next ep!

7.5/10 – it is very typical major so it is nothing fresh, BUT, it is still just as highly entertaining as ever.

Lets wait and see what happens next episode!

-ra out! take care!

Major Season 4 – 01

After great anticipation the new Season of Major is out.

It is the anime that i have been anticipating the most out of this season’s batch!

Goro is now in the USA, he is penniless and only has the clothes that he is wearing on his back.
Determined to try out for the minor league he meets a new buddy and heads out.
He goes for the try outs and…. watch and you will find out! XP

It is a nice fun episodes with some exciting moments, and it is really nice to see my fav characters once again! Go GORO!!!!! I support you!

Battle of this ep
A baseball player with only fastballs. 99mph – 159km/h. No breaking balls. And a major league batter in the batting box.

Which is better? Who will win this small challenge?

Damn! The hair on my arms are standing from the excitement. Major never ceases to please and it does not fall into the typical shounen category where the leading character always wins.
Since the first season of heartbreaking story lines, this season is starting out to continue the Major story where your hopes, beliefs, dreams and desires are all out in the field.

Sit down, relax, and watch some Major if you want an anime to love.

The raw emotions in the characters is enough to make you want more!

7.5/10 -it’s just the beginning!

I think that the way goro stands up for what he believes in is really brave! Ganbatte Goro-kun!!

-ra out!

p.s. this is the only anime that i am so exicited about that i actually watch the RAWs and then the Subbed. I actually get both copies. lol… i want the Japanese set for Major! ^^ As what the Goro says….

Run towards the stage of your dreams!