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I’ve heard all sorts of bad things about Major, a series that many people seem to think epitomizes the worst aspects of shonen sports.  And who knows, maybe further along the series will indeed take a downturn, but after watching the first six episodes, I must say that even if you refuse to watch the rest of the series, this first “prologue” batch is worth seeing even standalone.  And not as a sports series, but just as a generally endearing slice-of-life story about the young ambitious boy, Goro, his widowed father and the nursery teacher who has grown attached to her student.

WIth Goro being five years old, there isn’t much opportunity for actual baseball matches, so I suppose that the faults that so many others pile onto this series may be apparent later.  But after watching this introduction arc, I have to say that Major did manage to evoke some emotion from me at various points which is always a good sign.  It isn’t a typical happy-go-lucky shounen introduction either, there are some very heartbreaking moments.

Final Thoughts? I like it.  So far it’s been excellent in drawing me to the characters and making me care about what happens to do them.  Will it be as good when the “meat” of the story begins?  Maybe, maybe not, depending on the reviews I’ve read.  But that won’t change the fact that the first six episodes are really something worth checking out.  If I were to review them standalone as OVAs or something of that sort, they would probably earn four stars.