Ace of the Diamond Season 2: Episodes 28-30 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2022-01-19 14:01:03 +0000 UTC*Headphone Warning*
There's so much to love about these episodes:
Sawamura and Furuya BONDING?! Check.
Kataoka BACKSTORY?! CHECK.
Epic Miyuki Speech Leading into the Semifinals?! CHECK!
I am actually okay if Sawamura sits this next game out (they've made a repeated point to bring up that Sawamura's pitching style is not ideal against Seiko), and I really want Furuya to make his grandpa proud AND for Nori to grow (he IS canonically confirmed as the manager's favorite, after all)! This should be an interesting matchup!
LINK: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/ZeoPANUwEBrveFEacpcyDz?
Thanks for watching with me and for the support!
Comments
That is true -- he's grown on me a little these last couple of episodes since he's been "humbled" by Kataoka and the other school officials (and our boys) it seems. I can also see your point -- have Yuki go pro before coming back to coach! If he eventually ended up at Seido, that'd be so awesome, though! :)
Romaniablack
2022-02-21 04:02:15 +0000 UTCAt least Ochiai is honest about it. And whatever his flaws, I commend that honesty. I agree Yuki is following in Kataoka's footsteps. But unlike Kataoka, I think that he'll have a professional career first. After all, Kataoka is probably going to coach, albeit maybe not at Seido, for - more-or-less - another 30 years. That's plenty of time for a full pro career before coming back to Seido as an assistant coach.
zeroantizero
2022-02-21 03:47:03 +0000 UTCYessss, this is definitely Miyuki at his coolest! :D And I agree, he was so much more of a loner in season 1, so seeing him take on the roll of captain and grow to this moment has been great! But yessss, we finally get a sweet Sawamura and Furuya moment and Miyuki mucks it up! >.< That’s a VERY interesting point to bring up about Sawamura – I think it’s interesting that we see WHY Ochiai’s plan with Sawamura was sheer luck that Sawamura managed to pull it off and we see what COULD have happened…which makes me a little peeved that Ochiai suggested it to begin with Sawamura…but luckily…it all worked out, eh? And YES, seeing Sawamura’s thinking pay off and be noticed is great – albeit he did let the plan slip, but we’ll forgive him, eh – and, oh Naruto; I have to agree with you, there! Also, the technology discrepancy – I didn’t realize that with Sawamura’s portable encyclopedia! Ahahahaha! Of all of Ochiai’s calls that I dislike, I do have to say that I agree his note with Kuramochi DOES make sense. And that is so true about Miyuki’s reaction and response to Haruichi and Kuramochi – the fact that Ochiai MAKES Miyuki communicative is kind of hilarious. But also, YES! Nabe being so blunt and cutting no corners – our sniper, going in straight for the kill with Nori! @_@ I definitely feel Sawamura has mellowed since getting to know the first years and has softened, oddly enough, around them! And that does make more sense with him being challenged instead of having an offer given to him. Hmm…so what shall he do? That is the question, eh? I assumed maybe Tetsuya was going to college to play ball because he wanted to get a degree and follow in Kataoka’s footsteps in being coach at Seido. He seemed inspired towards that decision, but we’ll see, eh? Masashi is VERY intimidating as a younger brother, though! So intense! As is this game for Seiko seems to be set up, eh? And ooooooh, thanks for not spoiling about Act II – I’m excited! Thanks for the kind words and comment!
Romaniablack
2022-02-21 02:44:29 +0000 UTCI'll start with the end. That battle cry led by Miyuki is one of the most hype moments in the series for me, and one of Miyuki's coolest! Coming from where he started (and it's stated he hasn't liked doing it before), he's taken great strides in being a leader and he's well on his way towards earning the title of "captain". Although, he's still a troll; turning Furuya and Sawamura against each other when they're bonding! And saying this as someone who isn't much enamored with Furuya, even I can't help but to like seeing him shyly reach out to his friend. So Miyuki, you were borderline cruel there! Mentioning Furuya and Sawamura, I did want to circle back to a few things from the previous set of episodes, since I think that they were better connected to this set - namely greediness and humility. In the last set of episodes both Furuya and Sawamura were becoming "greedy" in wanting to learn new pitches. Sawamura was stopped and Furuya was indulged. And we see the consequence of Ochiai indulging Furuya and teaching him a new pitch. Furuya couldn't get the new pitch out of his head and his performance suffered until he was forced to abandon it. That's how dangerous it was for Ochiai to teach Sawamura previously, and why neither Kataoka nor Miyuki were willing to teach him anything new at the moment despite knowing he'd ultimately benefit. Learning new things is generally for the off-season; then you can throw every idea against the wall and see what sticks. It was just good fortune that it didn't disrupt Sawamura and that he needed something new for Seido to have a chance against Oya. And yes, sunshine characters don't have to be brainless! Actually, I think most of them have hidden depths. One of them whose dismissal irritates me is Naruto; if you look closely, he demonstrates intelligence and talent that people (even in-universe) don't give him credit for. On the other hand, Sawamura just let slip the team's plan to keep Kataoka on... Of course, because Ochiai isn't really interested in Seido winning the Fall Tournament - and would actually prefer they /didn't/ - he doesn't mind breaking and re-making people; and so he also does it (at least) with Haruichi and Kuramochi. I said it before, and I'll say it again that using a metal bad is a crime against baseball; but setting that aside Ochiai does make a good point about Kuramochi. Kuramochi can bat left, which gives him an advantage in getting to first base. Not only is the left-hand batter's box closer to first, but the momentum of a batter's swing also turns them towards it; whereas a right-handed swing turns away from first base. The amount of time it takes for a right-handed batter to re-orientate themself can make or break a play. Now, some players can't bat left and have no other choice; but those that can should. It's also telling that in the postgame review afterwards, Miyuki tells Haruichi to keep using a wooden bat if he wants but doesn't tell Kuramochi to keep switch-hitting. If only Ochiai could phrase things better; we've found someone who makes Miyuki's people skills shine! :D Of course, Nabe was there giving Ochiai a run for his money; as if Kawakami doesn't have enough confidence issues, Nabe just twisted the knife! It's also funny how Ochiai is always on his smartphone (that shouldn't exist yet) while just recently Sawamura was using a portable encyclopedia that looks leftover from the 90s...LOL! And double LOL that he straightened-up from his perpetual slouch for Coach Sakaki. And it was interesting to see Kataoka kind of competing/testing Ochiai, as was meeting his high school coach (I do want to point out that I think Sakaki is challenging Kataoka rather than making him an offer). Thanks to him, we finally get to see what Kataoka was like as a "kid" (born 30, indeed!). In actually seeing him then, initial insolence aside, he doesn't come across as similar to Sawamura as I expected him to. Kataoka seemed way more driven and self-guided at the start, and that's what earned him the position of the ace over skill or seniority, and he definitely took of that mantle and embodied the "spirit of the ace" to the end. Also, is it odd to say that I think Kataoka's mellowed a lot since when were first introduced to him? Sometimes he feels like a different person to the hard-a** that sent Sawamura running for weeks without end. We're also getting more ideas of the comings and goings that are approaching inexorably. Finding out that Tetsuya has a younger brother that might be better than him; or can become better than him?! O.O And Masashi seems put out that Tetsuya chose to go to college instead of going pro. College baseball, at least in Japan, is less celebrated if not less intense; but a player aiming to be a pro only goes on to play college baseball if they're not expecting to be drafted from high school or want a fallback career just in case they never get drafted. But there are other options, like with Coach Todoroki, who played either with independent or corporate teams. But Tetsuya doesn't seem to either be lacking in confidence or talent to end up as a pro at some point... I think, all-in-all, Seido is ready for the game against Seiko. From what we've seen of them so far, only Masu grabs my interest (and it's hilarious how he can corral all those burly guys who look like they could eat him whole!). But we'll see how the game plays out! As well as Ichidai's, with Amahisa! Oh, and there is a reason for "Act II"; you'll just have to wait and see it!
zeroantizero
2022-02-18 13:46:02 +0000 UTCI haven’t watched the next set of episodes, yet, so I’m excited, too! :D Yes, seeing our sunshine boy use his noddle is always welcome, and it’s great to see him in such high spirits and “muppet mode” is TRUTH! Hahahaha! I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah, if he’s really used to it…how long would it take for Haruichi to adjust? That’s a good question. A “weird frailty” is EXACTLY the wording I want to use for Furuya! Thank you! He’s not a “diva” per say, like Mei, but he has this sensitivity to him…it’s hard to describe. I want Furuya to get better and for us to dive into his psyche, which I’m hoping we get with his grandfather being there to watch in the next set or two, but yeah, he can really try too hard sometimes and overdo it. And I’m not cool with the “Crash and Burn” scenario by Ochiai, either. I don’t like that he’s a glory hog and takes credit for thigs like teaching Sawamura the breaking ball (which he DID teach him, but it was Kataoka’s idea, and he really did it to try and scoot Sawamura out of the pitching position altogether, sooooo)…Ochiai has good ideas, but he’s so darn slimy about it. I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he makes me TRY hard! And yeah…Furuya does a lot of high balls…so…I definitely think Ochiai is more of an “ideas man” but not the best at implementing those ideas effectively. But I’ll hold off judgment further for now. :P And yeah, I thought Yuki was intimidating but his brother is even MORE so! @_@ Yeah, very different! And YES! Finally!! The crowd cheering the same way as Sawamura was SO heartwarming! I absolutely loved it! And of COURSE, Sawamura, if our boy was to hit any pitch, it’d be a hard one! :P I agree; Kataoka is a “different” sort of demon child, though. He’s like that demon, delinquent – whereas Raichi is just straight-up feral (control your child, Todoroki, haha!). And yeah, there’s a LOT of parallels with the determination of Sawamura and Kataoka – different personalities, but the same goals and passion. It DEFINITELY explains a lot! And Kataoka caring for the WHOLE team, instead of just the “stars” is always welcome…his compliments and advice to the “second string” was so wholesome in these episodes! I loved it. Just make us feel worse and worse that he’s leaving, eh? That does make more sense about how he’s “green” though. Yeah, Miyuki getting to be Miyuki and amazing never gets old, hahaha! And the Challengers title is SO fitting for Miyuki; Mei wants to be King, and Miyuki wants to always be a challenger….so perfect! That’s crazy about his VA hurting his vocal chords! @.@ Worth it, though, because that scene is SO epic! I’m very excited for Kousei’s rivalry with Raichi, who could literally care less and just wants to run around swinging a bat and eating bananas. I love how oblivious our feral child is! 😊 And I love Masu already; someone has to keep these meatheads in line! 😊 I love sassy characters like him; he reminds me of Sugawara from Haikyuu in how he’s parental with them…but has that slyness, too. Good to know about Sanada, too; he for sure has Captain energy! And yesssss, one of the best parts to me is that Furuya and Sawamura are bonding! And for Furuya to open up and COMMUNICATE with Sawamura…I love it, and it’s such good development. Keep talking, Missile Man! Yes, with Kumakir, it seems the team knows it wasn’t a purposeful thing…the parent getting mad reminded me of Stars Align and a parent in that series; interesting. Seikou definitely seems loyal to their coach, which is a nice parallel to Seidou being loyal to Kataoka. Oh, I doubt I will forget this series, and I KNOW Carlos will always be known as that man on Inashiro who likes to be nude 80% of the time. 😊 Can’t wait for next week!
Romaniablack
2022-01-21 21:27:21 +0000 UTCOh man!! I hope school has let up; no worries -- the episodes will always be here whenever you can get back to them! :) But yeah, THESE. EPISODES. ^^ I agree; it may be the better decision for Haruichi, but mid-game without any explanation and just "it's an order;" I'd be a peeved teen, too. I'm glad Sawamura tried to spurn Haruichi on through it, though! And YES, Get angry, Haruichi! :) And yessss -- it makes sense why he hit Furuya's pitch and it was needed to keep Furuya in check and to help bolster our sunshine boy, who's not the "best" batter, haha! I do think that in Kuramochi's case, Ochiai made the right decision too, but again, he didn't EXPLAIN the reasoning behind it like he could have -- I get you want the technique over the sentiment, but a little explanation to the players helps....too...hahaha! And yes, now we have two teams wanting to win for their coaches! That definitely will be interesting moving forward! And YES! Our boy Miyuki stepping up as Captain! :) I love it! Thanks so much and have an amazing week, too!!
Romaniablack
2022-01-21 20:15:31 +0000 UTCI am back!! School has been killing me but I finally managed to catch up!! Anyways, THESE EPISODES! ♥️♥️ The level of pissed I was when Ochiai ordered Haruichi to use the metal bat EVEN THOUGH he got a home run last game with the wooden one! Like, I get it, he would be an even better player with a metal bat. BUT, I believe that the happiness of the player is also important in whether they play well and Haruichi is evidently NOT happy about the metal bat. I loved that Sawamura pitched to him with the intention of showing him to not give up on his ways. BE MORE STUBBORN HARUICHI! When you said: “No, you are an idiot” I DIED! 😂😂 I have never been more proud than when Eijun FINALLY hit the ball & it was even better bc it was Furuya pitching!!! Makes sense, since after Miyuki and the other catchers, he has probably studied Furuya’s pitch the most. The reason why everyone was surprised that Kuramochi was hitting left is because, in baseball, it’s easier to hit a ball when you are on the opposite side of the pitcher. In this case, since Sawamura is a lefty, it is harder for him to pitch to right handed batters. Being a switch hitter, Kuramochi can choose to always bat right with lefty pitchers and make it harder for them to pitch. However, the reason why Ochiai ordered him to bat left is because by batting left he’s closer to first base which is his greatest strength. In this case, I agree with Ochiai. Kuramochi is not the best hitter so it does make sense that he does everything to get on base. But I hated the way he ordered Kuramochi to do so instead of explaining to him the reasoning behind it! One of the most interesting things about this new matchup is that both team’s have the same goal: To take their coach to nationals and prove that the baseball style they have been taught isn’t wrong. It will be an interesting one! The roar at the end was so satisfying! I love Miyuki 💕💕 Anywayyyys, have an amazing week!! 😇💕
Melanie Marie
2022-01-20 23:07:52 +0000 UTCHere we gooooo lol into the Seikou game. I'm ready 👏🏼 Sawamuras strategizing is so nice to see honestly. I think he matured a ton after the yips and he's realizing how important every individual pitch is in a game. He knows what he has to focus on to really maximize his pitches to be as good as they can be. He's definitely still a muppet lol screaming and being a turkey but when he's actually on the mound he has a great focus that's so nice to watch. The time it would take to get used to a metal bat from how long Haruichi has been using a wooden bat honestly might not even happen in his high school years lol. He's used that wooden bat for so long and he's so used to it that a metal bat probably isn't better for him at this point. It's probably automatic for him at this point to adjust to the wood of his bat instead of letting a metal bat do all the work. Furuyas got such a weird frailty to him. He's getting better with his mentality but in general he's quite frail with his pitching. He gets so overwhelmed by runners and by trying too hard. I feel like it makes his weaknesses way more obvious than Sawamuras. More exploitable. Ochiais strategy with Furuya grosses me out in these episodes. He talks about letting Furuya figure out these inconsistencies in real games and how he would rather that but it's so slimy. You called him an idiot for it lol but really what he means is that he wants Furuya to crash and burn in this tournament so that when Ochiai takes over in the spring, he'll have Furuya blossom then so he can take all the credit for Furuya being an amazing pitcher all of a sudden. He doesn't want Furuya to get hyped up while Kataoka is still coach because then Ochiai coming in as the coach will seem like he's done nothing noteworthy for the team. He doesn't want Seidou to win this tournament, do well or go to the spring Invitational. It does seem like he's fine throwing Furuya in the deepend to learn to swim but in reality he wants Furuya to drown so when he shows up later as a speed swimmer Ochiai gets all the praise. It's very ugly. Its also SO ironic that Ochiai is talking shit about Sawamuras high balls and saying "you have to exploit such an obvious weakness" when FURUYA is king of the high balls lol. But of course Ochiai has no issues with Furuyas crazy control. Sawamura easily has better ball control than Furuya. I honestly forgot you get to meet Masashi these episodes 😂 he's a funny kid and I love how he looks up to Tetsu. Same honestly. He's massive haha but his focus on going pro even before he's in high school is crazy. Very different from Tetsu I understand the stats of Mochi giving up switch hitting but honestly I wish instead of telling him to bat left only, he helped him practice his right batting more. But of course, Ochiai the bringer of ideas but no actual help or training lol. He gives the word but would never lift a finger to properly help. Having a switch hitter on a team is an asset and I think its stupid to tell your ONLY switch hitter to give it up to concentrate on one side only. I love the episodes where we get to hear the crowd, the coaches and the other teammates praising Sawamura. It seems so far and few between but I love them all commenting on how well he's been doing. And I especially love the backup players praising him and being excited about him pitching for them. They all wanted to help him more and him realizing how reliable they are was just so heartwarming. I love that whole scene. Also Sawamura hitting Furuyas slider 😂 of all the pitches to hit, he finally puts his bat on a pitch that's really hard to hit. Its funny cuz when I first watched this series I used to call Raichi the "demon child" so seeing Sakaki call Kataoka that was so weird for me lol. I think theres a ton of parallels between Sawamura and Kataoka. You're right that Kataoka was more of a delinquent but the determination, the focus, the passion and the hard work were all so reminiscent of Sawamura and I think it explains a lot about why Kataoka has given him so many chances and why he was always so fond of him. Its also really nice to see how much Kataoka pays attention to even the backup players. He doesn't just focus on what the starter players are doing and how they can improve he also cares about the backups and what they should be working on and improving. With so many players on a team that would be hard but it's nice to see him complimenting Higasa as a batter AND giving advice to Kaneda (the other first year pitcher) for his pitching. There's never going to be a time that Miyukis glowing golden eyes don't kill me lol. I love it. I get so hype seeing them light up from behind that catchers mask. Amahisa (Kousei) getting revenge on Raichi is such a good side plot lol. His whole storyline to me is really interesting. A lot of high school kids can't handle high level sports during such a booming social time in their lives so its cool to see a student who did walk away from it but came back after gaining new resolve. He's an interesting nut lol Masu is such a good catcher and character in general lol. Hes also the captain of Seikou which is hilarious given how much smaller he is than anyone on his team 😂 he's very aggressive lol but he's really good. Sawamura and Furuya bonding is so good. I love seeing them discussing their pitches lol. If Furuya ended up teaching him his slider that would be wild. But it's also such growth for Furuya. To openly talk his feelings to a teammate, especially a rival, and to admit that he was frustrated seeing Sawamura pitch the entire Ouya game. That's some breakthrough development lol. Yes boy, express them thoughts and feelings. Also the comment that Kataoka is a "green coach" is less about his age and more about his years coaching. He's only been coaching 6 or 7 years which is quite short compared to some of these older dinosaur coaches 😂 Im glad Carlos' legacy in your mind is his habit of wandering around naked lol. If you ever forget this series I hope that sticks forever lmao Also Sanada isn't the captain of Yakushi. Their coach is a player named Hirahata who's their right fielder. He definitely has captain energy though lol. Coach Kumakiri kicking a student was such an interesting plot point to add in honestly. I think it was likely an accident that he kicked a kid and the way they described it by saying a parent of a third year reported it last spring kind of makes me think that the student understood it was an accident and didn't make a big deal of it because he understood Kumakiri as a coach and knew it wasn't on purpose but their parent was upset about it on their behalf. All of Seikou seems very loyal to Kumakiri. I'd say the catcher would be the closest comparison to a volleyball setter lol. In charge of everything and the starter of all the plays and moves. I love the Seidou roar before the Seikou game. It's been so long since we heard it and it's so hype. Calling them challengers and not kings (which Miyuki loves being) was such a good motivator for them and you can tell it got them all hyped. It's funny cuz this is the first roar that Miyukis VA Sakurai did as the lead of it and he STRUGGLED with it lol. Hes not used to yelling like that and apparently it really hurt his throat to do 😂 I appreciate his dedication though cuz it sounded amazing. Excited for the start of the game next week 😊🎉
Kelsey
2022-01-19 23:38:46 +0000 UTC
