Ace of the Diamond: Episodes 67-69 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2021-11-03 13:00:06 +0000 UTCNot going to lie, y'all. These episodes, especially Episode 69, were hard to watch.
Seeing our team slowly rebuild itself is one thing, but seeing our sunshine boy, Sawamura, genuinely STRUGGLE with clearly trauma from the Inashiro match; alongside jealousy at Furuya's growth and seeming transition into the ace of the team, the lack of proper communication from our new-captain Miyuki, and everything under the watchful eyes of our new "assistant coach" Ochiai...
...it hurt. A LOT. And I'm not even sure we're at the lowest point, but I wanted to cry and hug our boy Sawamura. If ever there was a time to need Chris-senpai, it was now, but alas...the 3rd years are gone. So what are we going to DO?!
At least Raichi and Sanada are there as rays of sunshine! *nervous laugh*
LINK: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/sKK8CBe2hwzeZo6Ffrc63n?
Thank you for watching with me and for the support!
Comments
I honestly would LOVE to keep up with the Todoroki's -- I need a spinoff where we follow Raichi and his rise to power and fame, oblivious to it all, and his dad swimming Scrooge McDuck style in a pool of money! :) It does make sense that Furuya is the ace at this point, I agree; it's just so hard to watch with our sunshine boy suffering. I agree that Kataoka probably didn't realize how much his words were hurting in that moment, and with Sanada, yeah, his injury could be the main reason he's not started...but Todoroki is kin of a wildcard, so that makes sense, too. Hahahaha, this set of episodes was HARD, but the next two to round out the season? Ahhh, there's so much to talk about! I'm just glad we all made it through this set somewhat unscathed! :)
Romaniablack
2021-11-14 14:04:25 +0000 UTCI think that we are all in agreement that these are not particularly enjoyable episodes, especially Episode 69. And the enjoyable moments are mostly to the credit of the Todorokis, and Sanada, whom we discover is almost as much of a troll as Miyuki. To be honest, as much as I love our Seido characters, I sometimes wish that this was "Keeping Up With The Todorokis". :D It's so hard to see Sawamura break to the extent that he does, especially when Furuya is doing so well. I think it's obvious that Furuya is being set-up to be the ace at this point, and it's completely justified at this point. After all, I mentioned before that his ability to dominate the early innings before tiring out was a reliability in its own way. And he can go even further into a game now by having worked on his stamina. I think that it's perfectly justifiable for Sawamura to interpret being a reliever to never being the ace, and Kataoka couldn't have damaged him more at the wrong moment if he'd been trying. In the real world, even in the major leagues, the ace is almost invariably a starter (although it's more of a first-among-equals with other starting pitchers because it's very rare for any pitcher to play in more than one game of the 5-7 games per week played in the regular season). Sanada not being starter is unusual, and it may be Sanada's recovering from an injury, or it may simply be Coach Todoroki's unorthodox style. Anyway, I don't have much to say in regards to this set, which is the first time I've written this without later removing it as it was no longer true. :P
zeroantizero
2021-11-14 10:04:48 +0000 UTC*nervous laugh*
Romaniablack
2021-11-07 11:40:27 +0000 UTCRight… 🙂
Alien
2021-11-07 08:38:55 +0000 UTCI’m glad I’m not the only one that struggled with Episode 69, because man….not a fun place to be, right?! You can’t be mad at Furuya, because he’s oblivious to it all and is just trying to do his best! I agree that Sawamura has been probably more openly supportive of Furuya than vice-versa, so I wonder if this development will lead to Furuya giving Sawamura some support? Hmm….but yeah, Furuya’s still a first year adjusting in his own way, so that probably isn’t going to immediately happen. >.< Yeah, seeing Sawamura struggle and be depressed, anxious, jealous, and stressed about his own ability, getting left behind, and not reaching the “ace status” he covets was SO hard this set of episodes. That’s such a good point about us having looked at all this from his own point of view and not Furuya’s. Zono is a sweetie at heart, and I love that we’re getting more with his character – and that he’s going to help keep Miyuki in line because lordy, he needs some help, too! That’s such a good point – Nori and Tanba have had rough days, but have seemed to pull through, whereas Sawamura is a different case than Miyuki is used to! @_@ And communication is NOT Miyuki’s strong point, so that doesn’t help, either. Yeah, we were all worried about Nori, but little did we realize Sawamura was the one trying to put on the act when he was caving. ☹ I hate it for him! And THAT MOMENT WITH THE GLOVE! My shipper heart was soaring, but I was so sad at the same time because you want it to solve the problem, but you know it’s not enough in the moment. Yeah, Miyuki wants to help Sawamura, but he’s too gone at this point…I just want them to have a huge Chris-senpai style talking afterwards to figure all of this out…but I don’t know if we’ll get that. Oh, and YES! Haruichi is following in his brother’s footsteps and I agree; he’s going to need his own style, too, to set himself apart and be the best player he can be – though, he has batting down pretty solid. 😊 Thank you for the kind words! Yeah, these episodes were ROUUUUGHHH, but hopefully…it gets better? I guess we’ll see, eh?
Romaniablack
2021-11-06 22:32:04 +0000 UTCThese high school boys and their EMOTIONS, I swear!! It definitely sucks that no one has been able to guess Sawamura’s descent these episodes – Haruichi gets close, but our sunshine boy really needs some help and guidance. Where is Chris-senpai when we need him?! Man, I didn’t even think about the “only child syndrome” aspect to that extent, but you’re so right! But yeah, Sawamura’s ace up his sleeve is now what he’s most afraid of…so what do we do with that? That’s a good way to look at it, that it’s not just his jealousy, but that he isn’t able to use the pitch that’s HIS anymore…and yeah, that line about being a “reliever” just gutted him…ugh…not good, eh? I feel for our sunshine boy! But YEAH! Tojo! He’s great! Haha, he’s like Shirasu and I hope we see more of him! 😊 Surely things will get better from here, right? RIGHT?! 😊
Romaniablack
2021-11-06 22:22:57 +0000 UTC@MandyK I definitely could see Sawamura as a vice captain, too! :)
Romaniablack
2021-11-06 22:18:40 +0000 UTCI definitely like the rivalry that’s developed between Sawamura and Furuya, which was frustrating with these episodes because Sawamura had all this jealousy towards Furuya, whereas Furuya doesn’t even seem to notice what’s going on. Ugh…thanks, show, I hate it. >.< I feel so bad that I didn’t even think of Haruichi as captain! **blushes** That honestly makes much MORE sense than Furuya – I was thinking, well, if Furuya can’t be the ace, he could be captain! Haha, but this show is way too complex for a simple reasoning than that. Furuya does have that stoic, calm sincerity like Yuki…but he’s also like Miyuki, in that his communication skills are…lacking at times. Kanemaru is an interesting choice, too, though! He DEFINITELY reminds me of Enoshita from Haikyuu! 😊 There’s definitely a lot of comparisons throughout with Haikyuu and AOD! The Goshiki Misshima comparison is spot on, too! But yeah…surely it’ll get better after this bleak point, right? RIGHT? -___-
Romaniablack
2021-11-06 22:17:51 +0000 UTCOooh, thank you for this clarification! I am a noob when it comes to the terminology in baseball, so that's great to note! It makes me feel all the worse for him, since he failed to get that last out. :(
Romaniablack
2021-11-06 22:09:51 +0000 UTCLolol distraction from this pain train but u right 😅😅 still cool that all 5 have supporters tho
Alien
2021-11-04 03:35:48 +0000 UTCYall discussing captains for next year on a video where Miyuki JUST became captain lmao 😂
Kelsey
2021-11-04 01:19:35 +0000 UTCCaptain discussions are always fun haha, I’m very much for captain kanemaru! Toujou/haruichi as my second picks. I think sawamura would make a great vice captain though! Supportive and a mood maker just like his mochi senpai xD
Prinn
2021-11-03 23:50:33 +0000 UTCWell I guess you could say Kawakami is a reliever but his role is more of a Closer which is a bit different, closer’s have a lot of trust from the coach and the team
John Miller
2021-11-03 23:20:59 +0000 UTCMy favorite for the position is Haruichi just because I love him so much, but, objectively, Kanemaru is my first guess & Toujou my second 😂😂 BUT I could see maybe Sawamura, even though I don't know if a pitcher could handle the pressure of being a captain too. The only one I am convince not is Furuya (sorry Romania! 😅).
Melanie Marie
2021-11-03 21:05:55 +0000 UTC@Romania I missed this somehow but ohhh this is the first time I’ve seen someone nominate Furuya for captain :o @Melanie I’m team Sawamura or Toujou for captain, such a divisive topic hahaha
Alien
2021-11-03 20:49:55 +0000 UTCHigh school boys having the emotional range of a teaspoon amiright? “Looks like he’s afraid of throwing inside.” The outsider pointed out something Miyuki, the team, and even Kataoka didn’t notice for a bunch of practice games lol. It’s so frustrating watching Miyuki call for the inside pitch again and again, but I honestly can’t blame him because from his pov, that’s always been Sawamura’s best pitch and Miyuki’s trying to help him show his best pitching like a catcher should… The situation just really sucks :( I think Furuya and Sawamura both have a severe case of only child syndrome. They say pitchers are egoists but “the mound belongs only to me” and not wanting to relieve are both overly illogical and immature mindsets. Like you pointed out, look at Sananda! He’s sharing the mound AND relieving lol, still Yakushi’s undeniable ace (best ace mentality-wise in this series imo). If Seidou only had one pitcher, no matter how good he was, they would never make it through those long tournaments. You’d think they’d understand after being part of a pitcher relay. Times like these, I really wish Tanba (OR CHRIS-SENPAI) was around to give them some guidance. That being said, I don’t think it’s mainly jealousy that made Sawamura so anxious and agitated (pretty sure he’s always been jealous of Furuya’s insane fastball and it never got him this worked up). The thing is, ever since the finals he hasn’t been able to pitch like he did before. Miyuki has been constantly nagging about his control and it’s confirmed in that Chiba match that the issue is he can’t pitch well to the inside. Problem is, pitching to the inside fearlessly is what Sawamura’s mostly been praised for so… what now? Coach flat out calls him a relief pitcher, which he wrongfully takes as an insult to his skill. He feels weak and is desperate to prove himself to Kataoka again by performing well in the match but oof… it doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy to overcome this newfound fear TT On a brighter note, glad you like Toujou! Like Shirasu, he’s not the flashiest but he just feels really reliable? It must be difficult coming to Seidou with an impressive reputation as a pitcher and then crack under pressure/underperform, but Toujou’s already looking forward and making his presence known through other means.
Alien
2021-11-03 20:46:18 +0000 UTCOh man. 69. One of my most hated episodes. It's very hard to watch. Furuya is so loveable that you're right, you can't hate him regardless of how much his presence frustrates Sawamura a lot of the time. I'd say something I notice often is that Sawamura has been more supportive in general to Furuya (when he doesn't have jealousy oozing out of his pores) than Furuya has been to Sawamura. Not that I think Furuyas been a bad teammate or rival but when thinking about moments of the other being on the mound, we haven't really seen Furuya be particularly supportive of Sawamura doing well. He gets worked up about it whereas Sawamura does cheer Furuya on. But Furuya is still finding his place on this team after never having a team he feels comfortable with so it makes sense. Seeing Sawamura in these episodes get so worked up over Furuya, that heartbeat scene where Furuya was passing by him in the same position as he did post Inashiro was such a beautifully done scene while also just making my heart hurt. He gets so panicked over being inferior to Furuya and I think its a lot of feeling left behind. I think that's why he doesn't really have a solid plan for how to improve because he's worried about being left behind but his mind is going overdrive and just thinks if he just attempts to focus on control that he'll improve but that's not how it works. His mind is just going to fast and too frantic. I also think a big reason why we as viewers feel this weird, unvoluntary pull to bitterness at Furuya is because this series is done in a way that's very much Sawamuras POV. It's his life narration and so we're basically sitting in Sawamuras head while he's going through all these things and even when you separate action from emotion and realize that Furuyas just pitching to the best of his ability and he's not doing anything to Sawamura at all, it's hard to resist the bitter feelings toward Furuya for soaring while Sawamura drowns a little bit. People have a hard time separating their actual feelings about Furuya from the feelings this show is trying to make you have because it's all from Sawamuras point of view. I find it very sweet that Zono thinks about Jun in such a motivational way. Zonos abilities lack fine tuning but also hes just too in his head. He thinks too much about trying to get a big hit and so hopefully Jun being in his head and explaining that he never thought he was good, he was just always on a mission to make a chance for the team and pass the baton will help Zono calm down a little. I agree that Haruichi needs to be seen as his own person but i also think Haruichi himself is still in the way of playing the way Ryousuke used to. Haruichi learned a lot from Ryousuke and because he's looked up to him so much his own style has basically morphed with Ryousukes and I think currently Haruichi finds that a massive compliment to be compared. He's gonna have to figure out his own style and prove himself on a team that's used to Ryousuke but I don't think he's prepared to do that yet. Miyukis strategy here I think was mostly to see what they're working with when it comes to Sawamura. Playing Yakushi has put all the players at their best. All of them have wanted to show off and Miyukis been on Sawamuras case for control even before this so it's clearly been affecting him even before this game. I think Miyuki figured this was a good time to see what's possible and what's not. His strategy to try to goad him into pitching his best wasn't bad, and usually it does work but this mental state for Sawamura is just too far gone. He's never been this far gone before and Miyuki I doubt has ever experienced a pitcher lose it so hard. Especially one that he's pretty close with. Still early days for Captain Miyuki and i think seeing the different ways he tried to help was actually seeing him try to improve on his communication (as hard as that may be to believe). It's pretty night and day to him saying Nori has to get over it himself. Now he's at least trying new things to try to pull him back out of his head. The moment that makes me cry in 69 is honestly Miyuki putting his glove on Sawamuras chest and speaking to him so softly. The way he said "dont worry. we're here" was just so gentle and soft and then he turns around and his face drops. You can tell he's worried about him. A lot. He cares a lot about him he just struggles with how to help. To be fair i don't think there's anything he could've done that would've helped Sawamura in that moment. He was too gone. Its almost funny how worried everyone was over Nori after the Inashiro game when clearly it's Sawamura with the genuine trauma that needs to be worried about. He tried so hard to move on and get over it too but it wasn't enough. Poor sunshine boy ☹ I was dreading your reaction to these episodes tbh but it was a good reaction to watch lol
Kelsey
2021-11-03 20:41:39 +0000 UTCBe careful Mei! Raichi is coming for your destroyer of dreams title. 😂 Up to this point, in terms of healthy rivalries, Furuya & Sawamura’s is tied for my favorite with Nekoma & Karasuno’s. I have loved how despite literally being in the way of each others goals, they have pushed each other to be better & wanted to see the other succeed. I imagine it must have been hard to portray both the jealousy & resentment they feel towards the other in certain circumstances AND their desire to support each other as teammates, but I think the anime has managed to do it amazingly so far. Hopefully, Furuya’s new found strength & Sawamura’s new weakness does not affect the good rivalry they have developed so far. 😰 I agree 100% with what you said about the reasons Furuya & Sawamura want to be the ace. Furuya wants to be the ace because he wants to be in the mound longer than any other pitcher and Sawamura wants to be the ace because he sees it as way to being recognized as the best pitcher on the team. I also agree with what you said about them admiring Mei for different reasons. You briefly mentioned Furuya being captain in his third year & I dont see it 😅 To be fair I don’t see Sawamura as the Captain either. Haruichi would be better than them in my opinion BUT I actually think Kanemaru would be a better fit. Even when he wasn’t on the main team, he was always seen ordering the other first years around like with their meals & stuff and helping them train. He reminds me of Enoshita in Haikyuu. But that’s really a long way coming, so who knows 😂 Speaking of Haikyuu, Misshima reminds me of Goshiki from Shiratorizawa. They are both trying so hard to compete with the ace of their teams but their teammates ignore everything they dio that’s great because they don’t want to feed their already over inflated ego 😂😂 Is always dark before the dawn…right? Riiight 😅😈😈
Melanie Marie
2021-11-03 18:12:50 +0000 UTC
