Ace of the Diamond Season 2: Episodes 37-39 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2022-02-09 14:01:02 +0000 UTC**HEADPHONE WARNINGS THROUGHOUT**
There's something so fun about seeing other teams face each other, and I think this set of episodes cemented my love of Raichi and Sanada. SERIOUSLY, these two and this team. It's going to be hard rooting for both Seido and Yakushi in the final, but I'm up to the challenge!
I have many thoughts about the Ochiai-Kataoka dynamic, Miyuki's probably-injury, Todoroki's coaching strategy, the "what-if's" of Kosei's decision, and Yakushi in general, but one this is for certain: I am HYPED for this showdown and rematch in the Finals!
LINK: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/TettzzSTLVPNDM2pWyhjuC?
Thanks for watching with me and for the support!
Comments
Hahaha, RIGHT – as soon as the focus is placed on another team, it’s like a layer of sweat melts away – I relate a LOT to that comment! And YES, poetic justice for Amahisa, here; yeah, he was an odd character but he was trying to do right by his team and DID give off the “ace” aura well during the game. But he does collapse and wow, yeah, I could have seen him leaving altogether – especially considering his history! I’m glad he didn’t leave, though. Now that you mention it, Seidou does have some pretty resilient catchers in Chris and Miyuki. No wonder Mei wanted Miyuki to join him. I love that Sawamura looks up to Sanada as an example – I mean, Sanada is a good person to model after, and I can’t speak ill of Chris, so, hahaha! But yes, that would have been a good pitch for him to have learned. 😊 But YES, Sawamura IS smart and perceptive – he just gets ahead of himself and his energy output goes into overload before he can show that, sometimes. ^^ And it IS interesting to see Ochiai switching gears…where was this twelve episodes ago? Not that I’m complaining, though. I love the ”players are not heartless chess pieces” line, but it’s also why I like Ochiai and Kataoka working together more than one over the other…there’s a good balance between them. But seriously, what DID possess him in these episodes? Honestly, I think Todoroki is almost the mixture of Ochiai’s actual logical perception and Kataoka’s “heart” and care for his players. I agree, I think he’s my favorite coach, too. They DEFINITELY are a family as a team and they’re my favorite rival team, too. It’s funny, they’re practically the antithesis of Inashiro, the other major rival school in terms of team dynamics and strengths. I’m not happy that Miyuki is hiding his injury, but at least Furuya and Kuramochi have figured it out, so it’s just a matter of time until things hit the fan, eh? And yes…why….why does Seido have SO many injuries, haha?! And honestly, getting Raichi pitching was something I was SO hyped for in this series!! And yeah, Sawamura striking out Raichi is something I’ve wanted since season one…cheers to the next set! Thank you for the comment!
Romaniablack
2022-03-07 02:49:53 +0000 UTCAs far as "rest" episodes go, these are pretty good. Even though we're watching a match for part of it, because Seido isn't involved, I'm not feeling any stress. :D I guess Amahisa learned the answer to the question he asked Ogawa about being responsible for the team's loss. I'm always up for poetic justice. But I actually liked him a little more over the course of the game. Even being arrogant, airheaded, and more than a little weird, his heart was in the right place in regard to his team; and he definitely gave off the aura of an ace. That makes his collapse at the end all the more disappointing. When I first saw him walk away from the mound and into the back of the dugout, I honestly believed he was going to keep walking and leave the team again. So even if he stayed in there until the game was over, it was a pleasant surprise that he stayed at all. (Is that low expectations?). And we see yet again another instance of the catcher choosing to indulge the pitcher leading to their team's loss. It's practically a staple in this series. Whatever else can be said about them, thanks to Miyuki, no Seido pitcher makes such an arrogant demand. Compare Amahisa to Sanada, who may be the quintessential example of an ace that we've seen thus far, and who justifiably now has the #1. Way back when we first met him, it was said that Sanada is Sawamura 2.0 as a fellow moving fastball pitcher, so if there's anyone Sawamura needs to role model, it's Sanada. And as Sawamura does, he immediately wants Sanada's two-seam fastball (which, ironically, is the most basic fastball after the four-seam fastball, yet it's made to be this devastatingly special pitch; honestly, Chris /should/ have taught Sawamura both). Sawamura is also using his brain while watching the game (he has one, and I challenge anyone who says otherwise; he just lives a bit too much in the moment to be deliberative most of the time), wanting to see how Amahisa handles Raichi in the hope that he might be able to strike Raichi out as well. But trying to figure out how to deal with Raichi also occupies the thoughts of Seido's not-quite-co-coaches. In the conversation between Kataoka and Ochiai, yet again I find myself agreeing with Ochiai (even though it is a complete 180 degrees from what he said he'd do before) about avoiding Raichi whenever he's at bat. He's just too dangerous. Even with Sanada behind him, the odds are better against Sanada than Raichi. It just happened to work out/not work out for Ichidai this one time. And while Kataoka is correct in saying that the players are not chess pieces, as their coach, he should make the rational decisions that the players' adrenaline won't allow. However, as coaches go, I like Todoroki the best. The way he coaches the team is more like an uncle or much older brother; and it helps to make Yakushi kind of like Ugumori, albeit in a different way, a family. Raichi is the kid brother of the team, and his shyness is so adorable (I just don't understand how anyone can /not/ root for him; it's impossible). Sanada has the (preppy) older brother thing going for him. And then you have a mess of other brothers. It's kind of hard to choose between them and Ugumori, but because we get so much more depth with Yakushi, I think that they're my favorite rival team. As for Seido, Furuya rightly went to the hospital to get checked out - and is rightly benched-but-not-benched - and at least won't be starting. Even Ochiai approves, making me question what has possessed him. But Miyuki is hiding his injury to the best of his abilities. And it's bad enough that he's starting down the same path as Chris, but he's hiding it while speaking with Chris? Shameful. And it's still escaping Sawamura's notice, but Kuramochi has figured it out as well, poor guy. Is he going to confront Miyuki? Is he just going to let it slide? Why does it always have to be him? Kawakami starting, of course, also has me worried. And I really want to see Raichi as a pitcher. Out of a manga, indeed! :D But what we really need to bring Sawamura's development full circle is for him to strike out Raichi. I want it!
zeroantizero
2022-03-03 05:25:01 +0000 UTCI agree that it may be his best scene so far – hiding behind vending machines to pounce on adolescent boys? No. Hiding behind Seido’s biggest power couple until they let him third wheel? Hilarious! And that one-liner…suuuuuch a good moment! I love the theme that players are more than chess pieces so much! And yeah, that’s interesting – Amahisa seems to get laser-focused on a specific thing and because of that, he lets everything else around him fall away a bit. And yeah, a little greediness is to blame, too! I guess that helps keep him from being too OP, eh? 😊 He’s a very unique pitcher and character in this show and for that, I really like him. I hope we get to see more of him in the future! Because I did feel really bad for him at the end of this game! That “yare yare” gets us all – Sanada, especially with Levi’s VA, did not need to grace us with that, but here we are! ^^ But YEAH, how has no one made note of Sanada’s good looks?! I’m not sure how that hasn’t happened when like you said, Miyuki is recognized as a pretty boy catcher. Is Mei a pretty boy pitcher? :P I can’t remember. But yeah, Sanada as an ace is so great; he’s not cocky or condescending either – there’s a moment in the next set of episodes with him that I LOVE that proves that. He’s just a good player that’s having fun. In the same vein, Raichi’s batting is seriously some of my favorite things in the show! It’s so pure and fun to watch him just give his all with really no ulterior motive than to face down the pitcher. And I remember them saying he was a pitcher in Nabe’s recap! I just didn’t think they’d switch to him so soon! And him being the shyest boy in an anime was SUCH a surprise and I love it. And how the 3rd years support him? ADORABLE. Yesss, Chris giving Miyuki a slight guilt trip? Hm. I do love scenes with them together, though! And yesssss, Raichi and Hinata are similar characters to me (both I love), but Sawamura has that factor of actively wanting to get better that I really like – this set of episodes has made me really want to see another showdown with him and Raichi, especially now that he has a change-up to use! Next week will be fun! Thank you so much for the comment!
Romaniablack
2022-02-11 20:57:01 +0000 UTCThat scene of Ochiai behind Rei and Kataoka waiting for them to notice him is probably the funniest scene he's in during the whole show to me lol. I dont like that dude but him acting like a briefly neglected toddler while they don't notice him is hilarious. It's also funny how little Rei and Kataoka like him lol. During the whole game they were so not impressed by his commentary or his presence until the very end. Get served that one liner old man. This game really highlights Amahisas major weakness honestly and it's his focus problem. He was so focused on Raichi he didn't pay any attention to Sanada and what kind of batter he is. He looked down on every batter other than Raichi and got burned. He needs to work on it honestly. His singular focus as opposed to having a spread focus on an entire team or an inward focus where he can focus on himself as opposed to anyone else. He felt so unsatisfied by the fact that Sanada had hit his fastball twice before that at bat that even if throwing a fastball there didn't make sense, it was the only way he could chase that high of victory from striking out Raichi again. His greediness knows no bounds lol. If he could fix that he'd be such a crazy pitcher to face. That slider of his is nasty, even in real world standards. I have such a weak spot for hot anime characters saying "yare yare" in that deep, under the breath tone. Sanada didn't need to do that to me lol. Miyuki is canonically known as "pretty boy catcher" and I'm honestly shocked Sanada isn't known as a pretty boy pitcher. I dunno if he's just more rough and rugged than Miyuki so people don't see him like that but that boy is very handsome and deserves more respect for how pretty his face is. I love the line "players aren't heartless chess pieces" so much. Because its something I have screamed to people about Ochiai. This whole season he's talked about these players like they're just pawns to be moved and shifted and molded like he wants them to be without taking into consideration that they're real people with goals and dreams and passions. He can say all day that Mochi should give up switch hitting but that's still a choice of Mochis to make as a player on the field. Same with Haruichi. You can say he'd hit better with a metal bat but thats his choice, his goal and his motivation so why would you take it away. I'm glad someone actually said it to his face. Amahisas confidence is such a funny thing because he knows he's good and he knows his pitches aren't easy to hit but I think he also regards himself as being really reckless and really dynamic so when the team starts supporting him taking Raichi down head on I think it shocks him that other people are willing to take the chance on him. He feels like logical and reasonable people would likely try to reign him in instead of letting him run with it. He may not have felt like he had the teams trust yet prior to the game so getting all these green lights from them to go for it must have been quite a shock. Raichis batting instinct honestly is like no other. He has some of the best eyes in this show and it's so interesting to see him decide between swinging and holding back based on balls and strikes. Even if something is just slightly out he won't swing and I think that's unteachable. His instincts are just beautiful. Sanada is easily one of my favourite aces in this show. His attitude is almost unmatched to me. He's got the right amount of intimidation on the field, a beautiful amount of skill and talent, he's not cocky or condescending to other players or his own team, and he genuinely tries his hardest to uplift every teammate he can instead of just playing to win the game for himself. That shot of Amahisa coming out of the backroom at the end of the game haunts me. He looks so destroyed mentally. The eyebags the dead giveaway always lol but it must've been such a crazy switch in his head. To go from being on top of the world with the feeling that you're obviously going to win, to seeing that you have definitively lost and you're not going to the finals. They did really quickly mention Raichi had pitched in the tournament at the start of the Ichidai/Yakushi game but I think you were writing notes when they said it lol. Other than that it hadn't been said before. I love the scene between Chris and Miyuki. All Chris says is "are you going to be ready" and Miyuki almost peed his pants thinking he knew he was hurt lol. Someone's conscience is on high alert waiting to be called out. Raichi being the shyest boy I've ever seen in an anime is so cute lol. His constant blush, him looking around panicked. So cute. But I love that he eventually got it out because he felt like the 3rd years deserved to hear what his thoughts and goals were. I'm glad you recognize that while Sawamura is a goof and can be a major turkey in these games, he's actually very contemplative and focused on preparing for games and strategizing. He's very different to Hinata or Raichi. They just wanna hit the ball from there respective sports. Sawamura wants to improve and wants to master his skills before moving on to new ones. He wants to challenge himself and overcome hurdles he previously couldn't get over (ie. Raichi Todoroki). It's so interesting to watch him so focused and studying so hard to see the best way to tackle Raichi as a batter. Off to the finals next week. Can't wait 👏🏼🎉
Kelsey
2022-02-10 01:19:20 +0000 UTC
