#it's complex. and once she's got more of a chance to get to know goro herself she'll understand more.

[orcelito]

It's so interesting playing p5r and watching Haru's social link... in discacc, I kinda gloss over most of the social links, bc theyre largely the same as in the game, but with her... I'm gonna have to really pick apart how her friendship with Akira develops lol. Bc of how things have been set up, their friendship will be fundamentally different from how things are in the game... they CAN be friends, I just... need to smooth some things out first...

[johnnycranes]

How about Hanako, Takemura, Oda, Vik and Jackie proposing?

Hope these are fine!

HANAKO

When it comes to the people she loves, Hanako doesn't necessarily like flaunting such personal things to the public

Her brother does enough of that on his own

So it's a private affair when she proposes

Meaning inside the Arasaka complex, in her snazzy apartment. And she asks Oda to have the chefs cook the best food for dinner

On the outside she's perfectly calm and cool like she usually is.

But on the inside she's freaking out because what if you say no?

Being married to her means you'll have to deal with her crazy family and you can say goodbye to most of your private life

You're both having dinner like usual when suddenly your favorite dessert is served and the sound system plays your favorite song

You're too distracted by the smell of the dessert that you didn't notice Hanako move closer

Casually sliding a little box

That contains the most gorgeous ring you've ever seen in your life

You've been with her for a long time now (you'd have to, for her to trust you with her heart), so you know she's nervous even when she doesn't look it

She doesn't ask you the question, no

But she does explain as casually as possible how she always imagined her life would be as a married woman

Says she'll be busy a lot but she loves the idea of a family, of coming home to the people she loves after a stressful day at work

You put the ring on and squeeze her hand

Rarely does Hanako ever let her guard down, so the huge smile she gives is a pretty big deal

TAKEMURA

Ok so wanting to marry you comes out of the blue

It's so sudden like you could be watching Hideshi Hino or something and it'd just come to him

And that's also when he proposes

This man has been around long enough to know that if you want something

You grab it ASAP and don't let it go

Like his chance to leave Chiba-11

So there you are, eating good food that he cooked, watching Hideshi Hino, laughing

And he looks at you like he's just sure he knows what he wants

Says you two should get married

You laugh thinking he's not serious

But he really is

He's relieved when you say yes and he starts making some calls

His proposal may have been lackluster but dammit he loves you and you deserve a ring at least and a nice wedding

the thought of you wearing an engagement ring makes him feel so happy

Goro never imagined getting married

He thought the most he'd be married to was to his job

So seeing you wear that ring is a comforting reminder of how lucky he is

ODA

He's always out doing something for Hanako

It's really a long distance relationship so most of the time you're on the phone with him

He could be killing gangoons and casually on the phone with you at the same time like

"Oh hey sweetheart, i think i left my jacket at your place."

It's in this similar situation that he asks you

There he is, slicing and dicing while you're talking about your day and asking when you can see each other again

Oda suddenly realizes he can't imagine life without you and asks you to marry him

On the p h o n e

You're actually about to say yes when Hanako's voice chimes in

"Oda-kun, you are NOT asking them to marry you like this."

She immediately flies both you and Oda to a fancy restaurant in Tokyo, reserves it for just the two of you

She tells Oda to "get it right this time"

And so he does, down on one knee, nice engagement ring and everything

He laughs when you say you would've said yes the first time he asked too

He makes a mental note to check his calls more often

Who knows what else Hanako-sama listened in to

VIK

He shouldn't have asked Misty and Jackie to help him out with this

It's too obvious that something's up. He doesn't usually take you out to a fancy restaurant in corpo plaza

Misty thinks she's being so smart and doing it on your bday/anniversary/other special event so it wouldn't look too suspicious

But Vik still had a bad feeling about it all

And he was right

The date went horribly

Service was bad, a cyberpsycho attack took place not far from where you guys were

And even the traffic going home was insane cuz of all the damn MaxTac AVs

Vik never got the chance to propose

You end up on the roof of Misty's shop and Vik says sorry for such a shitty day

But when you laugh and say it was still good to spend it with him

THAT'S when he realized it was the perfect time to ask you

At home, nobody to bother you

After you say yes and you're both kissing, there's a camera flash

He wants to throttle Jackie and Misty who were watching and claiming it was all cuz of them

But he can't help but feel like surrounded by the people he loves, this really was the right way to do it

JACKIE

He's been thinking about asking you for w e e k s

And it shows during jobs cuz he gets easily distracted a lot more

It's Pepe who first notices that it's a "love problem" as he put it

And Mama Welles being Mama Welles, picks up on it as well

It's her who suggests that Jackie just go and ask, buy a ring, doesn't have to be fancy

But Jackie starts ranting about how he's so nervous and doesn't know if he's really ready

But Mama Welles reassures him that he's not his father, that marriage can still be happy

And that actually helps Jackie a lot

He proposes the very next day and is reminded once again how amazing his mother is when you joke that it took him long enough

He finds out later that Vik and Pepe placed bets on how long it'd be before he finally asked

Vik won

They celebrate at his mother's bar and Jackie's next problem is his mom asking about grandkids

But first, drinks

[silverhandy]

I saw the devil (in me) - chapter 7

ao3 I chapter 1 I chapter 2 I chapter 3 I chapter 4 I chapter 5 I chapter 6

To Takemura’s surprise, it didn’t take much convincing to get Viktor to come with him to see the netrunner. At first, the ripperdoc was hesitant, gently suggesting that Takemura should just wait for his hand to heal, there was no need to jump into netrunning and that he’s free to stay at the ripperdoc’s place for as long as he needs to, but something about the other man’s tone made him yield and here they were, a few days later, walking down the slippery stairs on the edges of Charter Hill. 

The temperature has risen just enough for the ice encasing the steps to melt, making the simple ordeal of walking down that much riskier, but eventually, they managed without slipping. Viktor had already closed the clinic for the night and just as Takemura had before, they’ve decided to just walk the distance between Misty’s shop and Akiko’s basement. Despite the foul weather, Takemura found the experience rather enjoyable, the way Viktor shared his anecdotes and took in Takemura’s comments. He had to admit, he never knew small talk could be this easy. Takemura would by no means call himself awkward, taking great pride in being able to navigate a wide array of social settings, but the point of such conversations often escaped him; instead, he preferred to get straight to the point, without wasting time on chatter devoid of any clear purpose. With Viktor, it was different, he’d go as far as to say that the meaningless exchange felt almost natural - nothing needed to be reviewed, decided, or discussed, leaving them with an opportunity to just enjoy each other’s presence.

Takemura pushed the heavy door open, leading the way as they both walked into the familiar, dark corridor. Leaving muddy footsteps on the concrete floor, they walked further into the building, and eventually, they reached the bigger room. Takemura noticed that Akiko was no longer busy tinkering with her hardware, but sitting in front of one of the many monitors, face furrowed in concentration as she typed away at the keyboard. She lifted her eyes and waved at Takemura, beckoning him to come in before she got up, typing in some last commands before she finally allowed her hands to get away from the keyboard and started walking up towards Takemura to properly greet her client. Suddenly, without an apparent reason, Akiko stopped halfway, her smile dropping almost immediately.

Perplexed, Takemura turned his head just in time to see Viktor freeze. The ripperdoc was staring at the woman as if he saw a ghost, throat jumping as he swallowed heavily.

“Viktor.” she spat out his name through gritted teeth like it was some kind of a curse, her brows furrowed in a clear expression of disgust.

“Akiko,” he echoed, still standing at the door, seemingly not daring to step inside the basement. Takemura couldn’t quite make out his eyes from behind the tinted shades, but the man’s voice told him he wasn’t trying to match the amount of venom Akiko managed to put in a single word. Quite the opposite, Viktor’s tone was almost apprehensive, gone was his usual steady confidence he carried himself with on their way here, The silence that fell on the netrunner’s workshop was almost palatable, so Takemura opened his mouth to say something, anything to break it, but Akiko was faster.

“You got some nerve, showin’ up here.”

“Listen, I-” before Viktor could finish, the woman turned her piercing gaze to Takemura.

“I tell you to bring in someone you trust and that’s who you go for?” Akiko scoffed. “Bold choice.”

Takemura had to admit, he was surprised by her reaction to the other man’s presence but didn’t let it reach his face. A sudden irritation swelled up in his chest upon hearing her words and he didn’t even think before words started escaping his mouth:

“Nevertheless, I stand by it.” Takemura replied, his tone colder than intended. “He saved my life, more than once. If that isn’t enough, you still owe me. I do not think there is much room for discussion here.”

“Goro, I don’t think this is necessary.” Viktor’s voice came from behind him.

“I happen to think it is.” the other man replied, eying the netrunner, his silver optics glistering. Akiko was still standing with her arms crossed over her chest, a stern expression on her face. She refused to break eye contact, not allowing herself to be beaten in this small, meaningless game of wills, but eventually, let out a sigh.

“Fine.” she finally said. “ but afterward, you’ll never bring him here again. Wear this,” she tossed a netrunning suit at him. “and get in the damn chair.”

                                                              ***

“So what, you fry his brain? With no active cyberware, his output capacity for netrunning is-”

“Perfectly fine for a short dive like that.” she snarled, firing up one of the monitors.

“So you’ve done this before?” mockery rang in Viktor’s voice, a tone so unfitting to him it made Takemura cringe.

“There is always a risk of-” this time, Akiko was on the defensive, angrily smashing her fingers on the interface, not even looking away from the screen as she spoke.

“Then how about, for once, you actually-” Viktor started, but Takemura swiftly cut him off mid-sentence.

“Enough! Do not talk about me like I am not here. I do not know what it is between you two, but I would appreciate it if you could put it aside, just for a second.”

They both looked at him surprised, but dropped the banter, limiting themselves to exchanging glares and singular words as each set up their respective equipment. After a few more minutes, Akiko hopped onto the other chair, adjusting a few parameters on the screen above it before finally pushing it aside and plugging her personal link into the port.

“Let’s get this over with.” with that, her eyes rolled back into her skull, whites glistering. Takemura could see a soft glow that her eyelids didn’t manage to block and looked over to Viktor, netrunning cord in hand.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” the ripper said, pushing up the glasses with his free hand.

“You were not this hesitant when I first asked.” Takemura pointed out.

“I know, but-” Viktor started, but just shook his hand. “anyway, you’ve made your decision, I don’t really have a say beyond giving you advice.”

“Is it medical advice or a friendly one?”

“Between you and me, a bit of both,” Viktor said, but seeing the other man’s expression, he just handed him the cord. Takemura plugged it in without a word and allowed himself to lay back, resting his head on the leather headboard.

For a brief second, his vision glitched. Takemura turned his head to look at Viktor once more, but before he could say anything else, the image started to blur and then bleed over, warping the room into an unrecognizable array of colors and shapes before that, too, was replaced by pitch darkness. Takemura felt as if the soft leather of the chair he was lying on had melted away, replaced by pure nothingness as he felt himself fall, gaining momentum with each passing millisecond. He tried moving his hands, just to see if he could, if not to stop the fall, but before he managed to force his limbs to move, it came to an abrupt stop. When he looked down, the floor he was standing on lighted up with soft, blue light with each step he took. Takemura turned his head to look around, the illuminated structures rising right in front of his eyes. He could see them shifting, thousands of lines of code wriggling like a can of worms, a perfect military unit, moving into position.

When it finally settled, he wasn’t sure he was seeing it right.

The stairs he had been standing on were bare, no handle or barrier to stop an eventual fall. Looking behind his shoulder in search of Akiko, Takemura started walking up, passing the rigid structures of scaffolding around the construction site until finally, he reached a rooftop. Before he had a chance to take in his surroundings, his eyes landed on a figure standing on the edge, the red strings of code of her silhouette contrasting sharply with the blues and blacks surrounding them. The woman had her arms crossed over her chest and she was casually leaning on the railing. Had they been in a different place, Takemura would say she was admiring the sunset, but since there was nothing of this sort to speak of in this bottomless pit of data, only darkness beneath them, it was only a brief thought. He walked in closer, his footsteps echoing on nothing. With every step he took, he felt his stomach sink further as the women’s silhouette materialized in more and more detail. Her short, frizzy hair stood out in every possible direction, strands moving slightly with the nonexistent wind.

“V?” his voice came out coarse, but the syllable carried through the empty space between them. The woman stirred but did not turn, eyes fixed on something far in the horizon, something only she could see. He took a few more steps forward, closing the distance between them, and stood next to her, putting his arms on the railing. The area beneath them was no longer empty, the second he laid his eyes on the digital landscape, data started pouring together to form shapes, an intricate composition of buildings. It was only a draft of the real thing, devoid of any real detail, but it was more than enough. They were looking at a shadow of Arasaka Industrial Park.

Takemura turned his head to V, or rather to whatever digital footprint of her remained. She was still not acknowledging his presence, but as she stared far into the complex beneath them or at the sunset which beauty he could not see, she was smiling.

“Takemura.” it came from somewhere behind him. He turned, startled, and saw Akiko approaching him from the other side of the platform. When he looked back to where V was standing, he saw she was no longer there. A fleeting memory.

“Why are we here?” he asked, voice echoing against the nonexistent walls.

“It highly depends on what is that ‘here’ you’re speaking of.” Akiko raised her eyebrows, though something in her expression told him she knew perfectly well what he had in mind.

“So it looks different to you?”

“Yeah. What you’re seeing is just your brain’s attempt to visualize the plethora of data going through it. It fishes for a familiar place to ease the neural strain. Now come on, let’s go get what we came here for, no need to linger.”

                                                               ***

His vision still hadn't cleared by the time he and Viktor gathered up to leave, a slightly blurry notification popping up on his interface informing him of an incoming transaction. He accepted with a flicker of the eye and watched as his account balance quadrupled with the money he and Akiko recovered. It should be just enough to get him back on his feet, at least until he figures out what to do next, but first things first, he had to pay Viktor back.

“And Takemura?” Akiko shouted behind him right as they were about to leave. “We’re even.”

They walked back to Viktor’s apartment in complete silence, snow creaking beneath their boots as they turned each corner, both lost deep in their own thoughts. By the time they reached the megablock, it was well past midnight, but it didn’t mean the social hubs of the building were any more empty. They passed through them quickly and eventually found themselves back in Viktor’s place, shedding off their coats and throwing them over the desk’s chair almost in unison.

It was Viktor who finally broke the silence.

“Let me rewrap that for you.” Viktor gestured toward the other man’s arm. “Afterwards, we can sit down and talk, maybe crack a beer or two open. Reckon it’ll do both of us some good” Takemura nodded and watched the ripperdoc walk away from the table towards the bathroom. Takemura could hear the rattling of medical supplies as Viktor gathered everything he needed from a small cabinet above the sink. Still intrigued by whatever went down between Viktor and Akiko back in her lair, Takemura took a seat at the counter, quickly unbuttoning the cuffs and rolling the shirt’s sleeve up to reveal the bandaged arm. He didn’t have much time to ponder before Viktor finally emerged and put the supplies on the counter in front of them before hopping onto the chair himself.

There were more cuts than he remembered, places where Viktor went in with a scalpel to replace some of his ruined cyberware. The cuts were still angry red, but in much better condition than they had the right to be after such a short time, neat stitching pulling the broken skin together. Takemura knew they’re going to scar, but at the very least he still had an arm. He watched silently as Viktor worked, cleaning the wounds with an antiseptic before putting fresh gauze over them.

There was something about Viktor that made Takemura want to lean into the touch. He was used to doctors, having been injured countless times in the course of his service to the Arasakas, but there was a jarring difference between the way the ripperdoc was looking over the cuts, none of the impersonal, clinical touch that Takemura was accustomed to. He took a deep breath in, dismissing the thought and pushing it as far down his consciousness as it’d go. It was not the time for such indulgences.

“I apologize,” Takemura finally said. “Perhaps I should not have acted this aggressively. I should not have intervened between you two to reach my own goal, since it was clearly a personal matter.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m glad you spoke up before we had a chance to jump to each others' throats,” the ripperdoc said, not lifting his gaze, still fixed on the other man’s arm. “I guess I owe you an explanation.”

“I have to admit I am curious,” Takemura said, this time choosing his words carefully. “but you do not owe me anything. If you prefer to keep this a private matter, it is fine. I would not hold that against you.”

“Don’t worry,” Viktor replied, pinning the fresh bandage in place. “I have to warn you, though. It’s a long one, so we might as well move to the couch. Let me grab some beer from the fridge.” and with that, he hopped off the chair. Takemura followed and settled on the sofa, Viktor soon joining him and handing him a bottle before sitting down.

“By the 60s, my boxing career was coming to an end. You see, cyberware in sports wasn't strictly regulated until not even a decade ago and more than a few lads took advantage. New guys came in, with implants padding their brains, and with how expensive those things used to be back then, there was no way I could afford even the smallest piece of cyberware. Soon enough, I found myself patching the guys on ringside more often than throwing punches and that’s when someone from Trauma noticed me. You have to understand that for a guy from Heywood, this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Most of the guys there are ex-military, so I was an odd one, but I didn’t allow myself to lag behind. Most of the time I didn’t feel like socializing, but I brought enough practical skills to the table that the others respected me.

A few months into the program, they added another guy to our unit. His name was Takeshi and he moved to Night City shortly before that, from the Kyoto branch of Trauma. Still had a few months of basic training to do, so they placed him with us. Takeshi was off to a rough start, dropped into our group a few months in, everyone already a part of their own little clique. Some of them didn’t take too kindly to a newcomer and I can’t blame them, considering the way Trauma medics are trained to work like one organism. It takes trust to build this level of coordination, so Takeshi had a lot to prove” Viktor paused, taking a sip from the bottle. “and let me tell you, he delivered.”

“That is him in the photo, yes?” Takemura asked, gesturing toward the small collection of pictures to their right. Viktor nodded.

“I never quite dropped boxing, it was an excellent way to stay in shape for a job like that, so I’d always stay behind in the gym to practice after the place emptied in the evenings. One night, Takeshi stayed behind too, watching me for a good while. I didn’t make anything of it, figuring he’ll eventually get bored and leave, but instead he asked me for a sparring.” Viktor chuckled at the memory. “my first thought was that he was joking. The guy was way smaller than me and the insinuation that he’d be able to take me on was laughable and that’s what I did. Presumptuous, I know.” he added, noticing Takemura’s expression. “but I didn’t know any better back then. I thought we’d be done in seconds.”

“And were you?” Takemura asked, taking a sip from his own bottle. The beer had a rich, somewhat spicy taste that lingered after. He could feel his lips smirking against the cold glass, already knowing where Viktor’s story was going.

“Oh, we were. With me sprawled on the ground.” the ripperdoc let out a short laugh. “As you see, I made the mistake of underappreciating him. After that, we’d often stay behind together practicing. Soon enough, we started to meet outside of it too, often spending weekends going from bar to bar. As it turned out, he wasn’t the quiet guy I took him for, turning out to be quite chatty. He’d tell me all about his life back in Kyoto, not to mention he was quite opinionated about Night City, especially the local food, just as you are.” Takemura opened his mouth to ask how Viktor could possibly know that, but then it hit him. V must’ve told him all about the time they spent together.

“Doing a gig for Trauma was the fastest way for him to get a medical license and stay in the US for good, but he was probably the least trigger happy person I’ve ever known. Would make a great hospital doctor, with his bedside manner, but bureaucracy made it impossible for him to just hop positions like that. Months went by and we graduated, by dumb luck ending up in the same unit. Two years down the line and he comes to me, the stupidest grin on his face, telling me he met a girl.”

“Akiko?”

“Yeah. She was starting at Arasaka back then, climbing her way up the information security department. She never really liked me, but they hit it right off, another two years pass and he invites me to their wedding, even asked me to be his best man. Best party I’ve ever been to. It all seemed to be working out for us, he was happily married and we both landed great jobs. That is, before corporate started rubbing their hands all over it.”

“Isn’t Trauma a private corporation in and on itself?

“It is, but bear with me. When you’re a regular armed medic, you don’t really feel all the pressure coming from above, but the higher up you go, the more entangled you get. I’m sure you know what I mean.

“You might say so.”

“Then I’m sure you know, most likely better than anyone else, that it’s just a matter of time before those things start to get complicated. But that’s a whole different story, a less happy one, but it explains why Akiko reacted the way she did when she saw me this evening.” Viktor said, leaning back on the sofa and taking another swing from the bottle. “but I guess neither of us has anywhere else to be right now.”

“I believe so,” Takemura replied, placing his beer on the small coffee table in front of them.

“Alright then. You know, I’m not superstitious, but that day, I knew something bad would happen. I just didn’t think it'd be like this.”

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: MAJOR SECOND's Natsumi Fujiwara and Kana Hanazawa Talk About Their Baseball Fandom!

  With the Major League playoffs now in full swing, there’s no better time for sports anime fans to be getting into MAJOR 2nd. Picking up after the events of the award-winning, decade-spanning MAJOR series, middle school student Daigo Shigeno seeks to follow in the footsteps of his father and someday earn a spot in the Major Leagues along with his rival Sato Hikaru, close friend Mutsuko Sakura, and the myriad of teammates he’ll get to know along the way!

  With its second season currently underway, we got a chance to talk to Natsumi Fujiwara, who plays the role of Daigo Shigeno, and Kana Hanazawa, who plays the role of Mutsuko Sakura. Read on below to find out what they had to say about voice acting, baseball, and what you should be looking forward to from MAJOR 2nd this season!

    How did you both get your starts in voice acting? 

  Natsumi Fujiwara: I have liked games and anime since I was little. When I realized that the energetic and cute character from one show, and the pretty, mature, and cool character from another show were all played by a single actor, I thought, “That’s so cool! I want to do that!” And I decided to become a voice actor.

  Kana Hanazawa: I discovered anime voice acting during my second year of middle school, when I was a child actor.

  How do each of you prepare for a voice acting role?

  Fujiwara: I try to experience the same things my character is experiencing. For MAJOR 2nd, I went to batting centers, played catch, and did everything I possibly could in the real world to get feel for distance and pitching, just so I could get a bit closer to the character.

  Hanazawa: I gather from the script as many aspects I need to play the role. If there’s a manga or anime I read or watch it first before I begin. However, if it’s a role where it’s better not to know what will happen, I will deliberately not read it. If I need to act out something I never experienced mentally and physically, I look for a similar experience within my own life.

    Natsumi Fujiwara

  In MAJOR 2nd, you voice Daigo Shigeno, son of Goro Shigeno from the longrunning MAJOR series chronicling his journey all the way from little league baseball to the American majors. What similarities or differences do you see between Daigo and his father?

  Fujiwara: Daigo is different from his father in that he has a delicate side, but he’s just as passionate for baseball and tenacious as his father. He is dense around girls, so he does take after his father a bit there! [Laughs]  

I understand that performing the role of a young boy takes much more than simply altering your voice. Could you tell us more about that? 

  Fujiwara: When I take on young boy roles, first I try to be relaxed. Then, depending on what kind of boy I’m playing, be they energetic, shy, or mature, I imagine how they would speak, and add these various aspects to my performance.

  Kana Hanazawa

  Do you feel that your work changed since you’ve gotten married?

  Hanazawa: I don’t feel anything changed right now. As my personal feelings and lifestyle changes from having a larger family that’s dear to me, my own acting may change.

  You’ve had an incredible career as a voice actress. Is there a role you would like to try someday?

  Hanazawa: If you let me I’ll try any kind of role! If I must pick, I want to try roles I don’t get a lot of, like boys or female villains!

    How does Daigo’s and Mutsuko’s relationship with one another affect their growth as baseball players?

  Hanazawa: The two are very attentive to those around them (even though Daigo is clueless about love…) so they’re able to emphasize and help with each other’s and the team's problems. Daigo sees Mutsuko’s mental strength and selects her for pitcher, and later gives hints when she’s talking about her worries. Mutsuko keenly senses the changes Daigo is going through, and is always thinking about how to help him.

What aspects of MAJOR 2nd highlight it within the baseball anime genre?

  Fujiwara: Since a lot of girls join all at once in season 2, “Girl’s Baseball” becomes a major keyword as the story progresses. I hope fans will be excited to see how everyone at Furin Middle School plays baseball, and how Daigo’s friends from season 1 will get involved in season 2.

  Hanzawa: I think it’s an excellent story of Daigo’s growth as a human, and how it follows his path in baseball. Since little league, Daigo faced highly skilled and athletic star players, which forced him to deal with his own complexes. During middle school baseball there are a lot of fascinating teamplay scenes that show how he supports his team as a catcher. It’s impressive how he fights in his own unique way.

  Are either of you big baseball fans? Did you ever play?

  Fujiwara: Since I had my first ever pitching ceremony at Seibu Stadium, I’m cheering for the Seibu Lions! I played a little baseball as a student during PE classes. I remember how disappointed I was when I came short of catching a fly ball one of the baseball team members hit. When I joined MAJOR 2nd, I wanted to join a softball team! I really love playing catch and still do so now!

  Hanazawa: Since I was little, I’ve been watching games with my dad who’s a Giants fan, and I’ve played catch at the park. I’m a fan of Yoshinobu Takahashi, and I used to have his baseball card tucked away in my student ID book.

    Are there any moments from the latest season of Major 2nd that you’re most excited for fans to see? 

  Fujiwara: Wow, there’s so many! [Laughs] There’s the scene where you think the team finally came together, only to be separated due a certain thing happening, but everyone still thinks of the team, and their bond grows stronger. Then there’s the scene that touches on everyone’s love of baseball…

  I want the fans to watch them all!! [Laughs]

  Hanzawa: The scene where Daigo’s trauma from Season 1 comes back. Also look out for times when Daigo acts differently, and how the other team members act.

Are there any final messages you’d like to leave for overseas readers?

  Fujiwara: I’m very happy that overseas fans are enjoying both MAJOR and MAJOR 2nd. Thank you so much! I hope everyone can enjoy both the manga and anime. It spotlights how Daigo engages with baseball in a way that’s different from his father and unique to him, and how each team member personally feels about baseball. Thank you for your continued support!

  Hanazawa: Furin Middle School’s baseball team gets frustrated a lot because opponents see all their girl members and ridicule or go easy on them, even though the girls can play baseball just as well. Even then they grow as they fight back using their strengths. Please watch this amazing team do their best!

  MAJOR 2nd is available to stream on Crunchyroll and VRV with new episodes premiering Saturdays at 7:00am EDT.

Have a favorite Natsumi Fujiwara or Kana Hanazawa role? Enjoying the latest season of MAJOR 2nd? Let us know in the comments below!

      Danni Wilmoth is a Features writer for Crunchyroll and co-host of the video game podcast Indiecent. You can find more words from her on Twitter @NanamisEgg.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com