Ace of the Diamond Season 2: Episodes 31-33 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2022-01-26 14:00:06 +0000 UTC*Maybe a Headphone Warning? Mayyyybeeee?*
What else can be said other than: Furuya was on FIRE these episodes!
I can't hate our "Missile Man," who is slowly showing his potential as an "ace." Now, if he can just keep that ankle in check! I get so torn, because now I want both him and Sawamura to be aces...but what can we do?
Sawamura (against mine -- and OCHIAI OF ALL PEOPLE's -- better judgment) gets called into the game in the 8th inning, but now the game is tied...honey, I just need you to stay our sweet sunshine boy and don't mess this up! Not much to ask, right? **anxiety intensifies**
LINK: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/hdcsixNYCXZjy2ZqB9jZk6?
Thanks for watching with me and for the support!
Comments
Oh, no worries! It’s crazy how this year is flying, as well as these episodes! @.@ I kind of love that Ogawa was singing and that gave him courage and chill – and from the most unlikely of places! It was really sweet – but Miyuki getting hit by that pitch was not! This boy just gets MAULED in this game, doesn’t he? Still, Ochiai having second-thoughts and everyone doing well was a nice set up…leave it to the other team to throw off their rhythm, eh? I found Seiko a fun rival team; in hindsight, though, I agree – they’re not as compelling as some of the other teams. They remind me of Sannoh from Slam Dunk, if anything. I didn’t like that Furuya stayed in – I was wondering if Furuya “demanding” would be called out or that he’d be put in his place (like you said, he IS a teenager after all), but it’s not. Seriously, though, you’d think with all the injuries that happen on Seido’s team that they’d eventually get it, haha! Chris-senpai haunts me, haha! It IS really ironic that Ochiai, the giant Furuya fanboy, is suddenly having second thoughts about all this as well…maybe there was some freaky Friday shenanigans happening and the mangaka just forgot to explain? I do like Furuya, though it aggravates me that he steals the show from our sunshine boy a lot at this point – I do agree that it is sad that an “injury” is what gives Sawamura the edge over Furuya. I agree, I want to see him overtake Furuya just by talent and not because of an excuse. And I agree, Furuya has the talent to be an “ace,” but the “spirit” of one I’ve not quite seen either…unless it’s just that he’s “reliable” as a pitcher when they need it. That’s a REALLY neat take that the author is regretting not making the rival the main character…interesting! I’ll have to keep that in mind moving forward. I am glad that Sawamura is up to the challenge and I love the idea of Kuramochi and Kanemaru having similar roles of keeping Sawamura in check. And YES – Miyuki finally paying more attention to his condition! Of course, they’d leave us on a cliffhanger like that! @_@ Thanks for the comment!
Romaniablack
2022-02-28 21:02:31 +0000 UTCI remember when you polled us on which screenshot to use for this! I can't believe it's taken me this long to comment! Based on the start, it looked like Seido was going to get a called game. Furuya started in the zone, Cheetahmochi got a triple, Maezono made increasingly ridiculous faces and Seido got up 5-0. We even got Ochiai admitting that he couldn't have achieved the same results and that he'll leave if Seido wins the tournament. But once Ogawa got on the mound and (hit Miyuki with a pitch - ouch! - I know it wasn't intentional, but a baseball can easily break bones) got his rhythm, Seiko made a complete turnaround. And I always find it hilarious that he got fired-up up by singing a song from Anpanman! :D It's like, who gave Ogawa the courage to come back? Masu? No. Coach Kumakiri? No. It was ANPANMAN!. LOL! As for Seiko, I'm still ambivalent about them. The only ones that have been given any depth are the ex-coach, Kumakiri, Masu, Nagata and Ogawa. But I'm not attached to any of them enough to root for them. However, they (minus Kumakiri) are leading Seiko's come back; and because of their pressure, Furuya overexerts himself and sprains his ankle again. I can't believe it. I've had some problems with Kataoka for a while, but this is the point where I /want/ him to leave (with or without Ochiai; maybe Rei can take up the mantle). Putting a player back in who's obviously injured is inexcusable, even if he was just caught-up in Furuya's determination. It is orders of magnitude worse than Ryosuke hiding his injury and manipulating Kuramochi to hide it was well; they're teenagers and he's the adult responsible for them. And even worse, he doesn't even notice an injured player despite all of his "experience" - it takes another teenager who isn't manipulable (and why did it take Kudo an entire inning to get down there?). Like you said, how have the staff not learned their lesson by now? And what's the most frustrating is that, again with his injury, Furuya at least looks like he's doing well, impressing everyone. But just like the first time, he's doing "better" because he's distracted by his foot. Seiko were already hitting his pitches, and it was during fielding a hit ball when he injured himself. So, even setting aside player safety, Kataoka shouldn't have put Furuya back in. It only ended up in Seiko gaining more runs. So much for determination. And ironically enough, Ochiai is beginning to think that too. If I thought he actually cared about the condition of the players, I'd almost think he and Kataoka have swapped minds. Thankfully, Sawamura may be up to the challenge Furuya left behind, even though he's being overcome by the pressure of Seiko's batters. Sawamura needed a good kick in the butt via Kuramochi to get out of it after the tying home run (and props to Kanemaru for learning from Kuramochi; there will be a time when Kanemaru will have to be the one keeping Sawamura grounded!), and Miyuki is finally paying attention to Sawamura's condition (I think that's why he turns to Kataoka; it's not so much not having faith in Sawamura as worrying about his condition), but I love how he steadies himself as he's getting ready for next pitch (nice cliffhanger!): "I can't undo what's been done. I just have to move forward." Sawamura's been told that before, but he's so earnest about wanting to do his best for the team, he hasn't internalized it until now. I'm looking forward to how he resolves it in the next set. And going back to Furuya, knowing you like him, I'll spare you my detailed opinion. However, as I've said before, I tend to move between dislike, not like and disregard with him; and it's at this point where I actively dislike him the most, so it's the best moment to say why. I'll start with retracting my saying it has nothing to do with Furuya being Sawamura's rival. Watching these episodes again reminded me that being his rival is very much part of the reason. Despite all the struggles Sawamura has faced and overcome, seemingly the only way for him to catch up or surpass Furuya is for Furuya to be injured. Otherwise, every time Sawamura gets close, Furuya "finds" another way to pull ahead. And it is frustrating because, given their backgrounds, Sawamura should be the better player in technique and attitude (I'm sorry, I don't see the "spirit of the ace" in Furuya at all; he's more selfish than earnest); however, it sometimes feels like he's a side character in his own series. I mentioned at the very beginning that "there can only be one Sasuke", and it feels that's how Furuya is treated: the rival the author regrets not making the main character. For example, it's really galling that Furuya is celebrated in these episodes for thinking "I'll be the ace, and lead the team to Nationals", and all but outright saying to Kataoka that only he can stand up to Seiko, when both Tanba and Mei were rightly shut down for that kind of arrogance. It may not be fair to him, and I may let my resentment of the author's choices influence my judgment, but it is what it is.
zeroantizero
2022-02-27 05:48:29 +0000 UTCYessssss, OMG, I am SO ready to see Raichi’s mom – I will be eagerly anticipating that 1-second shot we probably get of her! Hahahaha, and yeah, I like Todoroki as a character so much, but #husbando he is not, haha! NO joke – Ochiai not taking credit in this moment is really important and I actually was amazed he was humble then – HA! It IS weird that he’s so chill now – perhaps he’s realizing the gravity of the situation in taking the team and suddenly is getting cold feet? Or the manager gave him some an edible before the game; who knows?! :P Ohhh, I instantly thought of Tendou with his singing, and I LOVE that moment in Haikyuu, so maybe that’s why I found it endearing! ^^ And YES, the animation makes you FEEL Seikou’s swing – there’s a WEIGHT to it, which is really cool; and I love the red colors and overall color symbolism they use in these episodes! Furuya definitely has an “Achilles’ heel” – I guess this is the mangaka’s way of not making Furuya invincible, haha. But I hope that it doesn’t become a regular thing, either. He just needs time off of it and PT. And I agree; the sad part is, like with Ryo, Furuya doesn’t tell anyone, but Miyuki, for his job of keeping a close eye on the pitchers – much like he did with Sawamura last season – does NOT notice the ankle…it’s Nabe’s crew that notices. It shows that Miyuki still has a ways to go in recognizing signs with his pitchers, and that’s a really good point about Chris drilling a strict training regime with Sawamura that Furuya hasn’t had…maybe Sawamura will show him! 😉 I do love that Furuya looks at his team – it is really cute, and you’re right – shows our cold boy HAS grown since season 1; it’s just more subtle. And YES! Furuya was on FIRE with how hard he was working to stay on the mound and prove himself as an Ace. And seriously, Ogawa pitching SO CLOSE to Miyuki after hitting him…this boy ain’t getting the yips anytime soon; maybe that was to showcase his resolve? I do agree that Furuya is viewed as a prodigy; I’d say he’s had to work on his control, but his training has really been more to condition his body with stamina etc., I guess, than his pitching itself. I really liked Ogawa saying HE wanted to be viewed as a monster. Oohhhh, that makes sense with the “Keystone Combination” thanks for that! 😊 YES, Golden Eye Sawamura is great – those damn eyebags have traumatized me with this series! @_@ And SERIOUSLY, I was so frustrated at the end of this episode that people STILL doubt our sunshine boy, especially after Furuya proved there was no need to doubt him. It does make me sad that Nori’s still at the stage he would crumble – as a 2nd year, I want our poor Manager’s Favorite to get some character growth; hopefully we chances for that in the future, but that makes sense. Masu being an Aries is hilarious; Sawamura is a Taurus like me, so maybe that’s why I support him so much, haha! ^^ And yessss, one pitch changes an ENTIRE game’s feeling – I’m really excited to watch next week’s set (but I’m also extremely nervous) – we’ll see, eh? Thank you so much for the comment!
Romaniablack
2022-01-28 14:38:18 +0000 UTCFunny you mention Raichis mom. They do give you a flashback about her at some point but I don't actually remember when lol. I'd have a hard time handling such a demonic kid and such a bum dad lol. Im glad Ochiai is self aware of the fact that he didn't really help this team that much lol. If he had taken the credit from Kataoka for how far this team has come I would've had a lot of issues but he's self aware enough to know that this team is 99.9% Kataoka. I feel like Ochiai maybe decided to try smoking some weed or something before this game 😂 he's so chilled out all of a sudden and it's so weird. Buddy lost all his nerve about stealing the team. It's interesting how quickly he decided to give up on taking the team. Like he realized Furuya isn't invincible and his whole plan was thrown out the door or something. I dunno it's a very weird plot twist lol. You finding Ogawa singing cute is cracking me up lol. I always find it so creepy and bizarre. I'd be so mad if the pitcher facing me got a power up from singing a creepy song 😂 Seikous swing as a whole team would be so intimidating. They animate the physical pressure but I genuinely believe it. I'd be sweating just at the idea of their swing. I love the visual of the pressure of other teams being this red colour all over the screen but there's a shining light in Miyukis glove through the red. It's so simply done but it's so effective and cool looking. This dude Furuya NEEDS stronger ankles lol. I need them to work on that immediately. If he gets these weak ankles in every game from here it would be so annoying lol. His weak frailty manifests itself all in his single ankle. I know Miyuki was just being honest, he didn't know he was hurt and he knows what to say to motivate Furuya but him telling an injured Furuya that he's playing like an ace was probably a massive factor as to why Furuya wouldn't have told anyone he was hurt. He's so motivated by being the best pitcher and by being the ace that had Kudo not noticed, he never would've left the mound. I think because Furuya never trained with Chris like Sawamura did, he didn't get the same drilling of taking care of your body that Sawamura did so he's less serious about it. Ogawa MUST have it out for Miyuki lol. Hits him in the back with a ball and then decides to pitch like an inch away from him for like every at bat after. The idea of not just relying on your talent is such a call back to the concept of prodigy vs hard worker. Clearly they view Furuya as just a prodigy who doesn't need to work hard (which is such an annoying thought process) and they view Ogawa as someone who's worked hard but who does also have a raw talent. The "keystone combination" they mentioned is the name used for the second baseman and the short stop working together as a team. Mochi and Ryou were a keystone combination and Mochi and Haruichi are too. I love the scene of Furuya looking at the fielders to calm himself down. When you really think about season 1 like early to mid season Furuya, he would've never done that. It shows so much growth for him mentally and it shows how differently he thinks of his teammate now. It's so cute 🥺 Furuyas adorable sometimes. You can really tell when a character is having a badass moment when they steal the main characters theme music lol. Furuya got that moment when he got hit with that pitch and threw it to first. He really bumped Sawamura out of his own music 😂 I love being able to tell when Sawamura is focused just by his golden eyes. They're so pretty and it's such a nice detail. No eyebags and bright golden eyes = focused and okay Sawamura lol I understand the concern with Sawamura coming in over Nori but tbh Nori wouldn't have been able to handle 2 full innings of a team with this much pressure. I think Kataoka does trust him but not in this type of momentum and this type of pressure. It could've ended awfully. It could've ended fine as well but I think it just made more sense to go with the pitcher who could bounce back easier if a homerun were to happen. I feel like Nori really would've crumbled under that. It really annoys me how quick people were to panic at the end of that last episode lol. Sometimes they really underestimate Sawamuras growth and strength mentally. This 16 year old kid overcame the yips and they're panicked at him losing a homerun. Give him a little more credit than that lol. Him and Kanemaru at the end of that were so cute also. Kanemaru feeling guilty about missing the ball and being immediately supported by Sawamura who's already nervous and shaking. I'm telling you, that ace mentality is just too strong to fold like that. Fun fact, Masu is an aries. And that makes a lot of things make sense to me 😂 The crazy interesting thing about baseball is how quickly things can change. As soon as momentum gets going, anything can happen. It takes 1 pitch. It makes for very interesting games though. I'm extra excited for you to watch next week's episodes lol 👏🏼👏🏼
Kelsey
2022-01-27 03:13:10 +0000 UTC
