This review will have the first 3 seasons mainly.
Firstly, Major is essentially one of the most complete anime you can find, I will give a list of who can enjoy this anime, and you will see it really does cover a very broad spectrum of watchers.
The first episode of major was incredible, so incredible that I was literally hooked into a marathon. While one of the more well know drama VN/anime maker Jun Maeda requires at least 10 episodes to start the drama, this anime gets you into the drama in the first episode itself. By fifth episode you are literally reeling in shock about what happened, trying to digest everything thats going on and by eighth episode you have seen stuff that literally a 26 episode anime shows for its full length.
And no the pace isnt rushed at all. While it would be far fetched to say this anime has yuwasa level genius compact presentation, it will not be very wrong to say 8 episodes of the first season can rival few of the "popular" drama anime out there and beat it in its own backyard.
After you reach this point do you realize what the story is about. the drama lessens considerably and sports takes a front seat. Yeah the matches in the first season lack tension, but I would say they are extremely well thought out. thats because the baseball matches are of little league, league of 10 year olds. if you put matches of the nature of Diamond no Ace /One outs in that age it is absolute bollocks, but the author does not falter in that. yeah things are slightly simplified and sometimes matches are overdramatized but cmon, this is an anime, you have to keep people hooked. There are quite a few shounen tropes here and there and some "unreal" powerups, but they never reach levels that damage the slice of life nature in the anime. In fact you will see that these "unreal" power is not without consequences, the consequences are severe and the author seamlessly blends this to form the "drama" background of the anime to make us feel this can happen in real life.
The transition between season 1 and season 2 is slightly abrupt and this you will find in all the cases. the last episode of each season always felt a bit rushed with too many things happening and it felt more like a prologue to next season than a season finale. While that isnt very bad, but that hurts the enjoyment a bit. Season 2 is probably the weakest of all seasons but the games get noticeably tougher and more interesting. Since our boy has grown and so are his side characters, the conflicts attain a much more mature tone, with teenage hatred and malice thrown in in good proportions. But of course things always turn out for the better after the baseball game.
The protagonist is Overpowered, sure, but not so overpowered that he KOs everybody, he loses pretty badly at times and uses it as stepping stones to become better and better. In other words this protagonist is like Lionel Messi/ federer, no one in regional level can hold a candle to them but at the national level or international level everything aint a cakewalk. So for those who get irritated by Overpowered characters bear with it, its not like No game no life or One outs this one, this anime shows proper reasoning and growth of the protagonist to be overpowered, he suffers a lot like you and me and only through diligence has he received his power.
The technical aspects of baseball are extremely accurate as well, but this anime isnt about "only" baseball like its counterparts I have mentioned before. like Cross Game its more about slice of life. And honestly cross game just showed 3 years worth of stuff, while here we stay with the protagonist from when he was a kid. We see his sufferings, his undying love for baseball, his habit of not giving up and literally fighting for his life on baseball mound and then how he deals with the consequences. Even when he is overpowered he is incredibly unlucky in life initially and we see how gradually the people around him gives him happiness. The romance between the two main characters starts blossoming little by little in the second and third season and that romance is realistic. It is obvious that a guy who lives for baseball will not fall in love easily and so thats how it is here. the romance reminded me a nit of my own though.
So overall the first 3 seasons are good, but they are kind of a set up to the brilliant next three seasons. These three are much like the appetizer. Its almost telling the viewers, look baseball in schools are kids stufff, the professional world is a whole different ballgame dont confuse them. but if you love the sport you are going to go the distance. There will be obstacles but only through hard work you can overcome them, talent isnt everything. And that is the absolute truth in this world.
Decent animation, good opening songs that stick to you after it was over, decent games, good drama and some slice of life lessons. thats what sums up the first 3 seasons. Wait for the review of next 3 though, because they are at a whole new level.
rating:-Animation, Music, Story, Characters, Enjoyment
S1-7,7,8,7,8(37/50)
S2-7,7,7,7,7(35/50)
S3-8,8,7,7,9(39/50)
people who can enjoy this anime
people who liked:-
1. naruto, dragonballz, fairy tail
2. Cross game, H2, Touch, Diamond no Ace, Giant Killing and the likes
3. Bakuman, Shokugeki no Souma
4. Any shounen romance
5. Inazuma eleven and all the kids cartoons
6. Anohana and even Full metal alchemist brotherhood.
