Ace of the Diamond: Episodes 25-27 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2021-08-04 14:00:06 +0000 UTCHoly cow -- this game with Akikawa (I finally pronounce it right) has been SO GOOD so far!
Mad respect to Furuya, to Miyuki, to Shunshin, and to our boy Sawamura this set of episodes! The teamwork and strategy throughout --sprinkled in with some Akikawa "miracle" luck -- has been so well done! I just want our boys to win and make it to the quarterfinal so Tanba gets a chance back on the mound, but it's not going to be an easy order to fill!
LINK: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/h4odJU7pU3PoyHW5z38gmw?
Thank you for watching with me and for the support!
Comments
It worked! Yay! Yes, the dynamic and personality differences between Chris and Miyuki are really neat -- I like that the "positions" on the team don't fall into a stereotype. That everyone is different, even if they're all pitchers, for example. And that's a neat note about the first episode and first chapter of the manga! :)
Romaniablack
2021-08-09 19:56:29 +0000 UTCWell, I wonder how much of Miyuki's encouragement is genuine, or if he's even capable of it being so. He said it himself that he'd even lie to make a pitcher do well. I do think Miyuki is genuinely impressed by Sawamura - he wouldn't check-up on him otherwise, even from the shadows like he did here - but with that higher expectation, maybe he hasn't gotten to the the point where he feels genuine encouragement is warranted (or maybe he fears it will lead to arrogance on Sawamura's part.) Who knows, he hides so much behind that Cheshire Cat grin. But it does feel cold in comparison to Chris, who isn't sparing with genuine compliments, as well as genuine constructive criticism. I feel bad for not liking him at first. And I hadn't thought about Shunshin being a reflection of "what if" of Sawamura before. It's always came across to me that being recruited on a baseball scholarship was the only way Sawamura was going to high school, since it's not compulsory in Japan. Interestingly, they changed the dialogue slightly in Episode 1 of the anime, where its said that no school will send him offers after he slapped the other team; whereas Chapter 1 of the manga implies he had offers that were rescinded (like Kakeru in RWTW). So maybe he is fated to be a star, especially once he gets better control.
zeroantizero
2021-08-09 19:05:30 +0000 UTCNo reason to be sorry! These episodes had a LOT going on!! I agree about Kanemaru and Tanba -- it was good seeing the upperclassmen shine in this episode, and Tanba giving Miyuki hell will never get old to me. I love Miyuki, but he's a straight up troll, and needs it dished back every now and then! :P Geography is literally my WORST subject (which way is north?!), so that's helpful to get an idea about Taiwan's climates and that makes sense. Yes, Shunshin, the definition of control! It's a shame he's the main standout on the team -- I think with a higher level team, he could be an even fiercer player, but maybe that's a commentary for Sawamura, too? That if he'd stayed at home instead of Seido, he'd be in the same position? Hm. And I get your perspective on Furuya -- I'm trying to give him some benefit of the doubt, since he did come from playing alone and doesn't quite understand the concept of teamwork entirely yet (agree 1100% that Sawamura has had a team and understands this completely), but I do get frustrated for the reasons you said. Furuya needs more handholding by his teammates, whereas Sawamura is an adaptable choice at any time (as we saw this set of episodes). It's frustrating, because it can come across as favoritism to Sawamura, but in reality, his coach knows he's reliable...it might just be harder to see that. And Miyuki still baffles me in why he doesn't warm up more to Sawamura...but...haha, I guess that's the point of the series, right? At least there's Chris-senpai right now. :) Thanks so much for the comment!!
Romaniablack
2021-08-09 11:49:24 +0000 UTCFinally, it's Sawamura's turn! And he comes out fighting, much to my relief by the end. When I was outlining this while watching, I had some positive things to say about Furuya, especially his tenacity. But I was done with him when I saw the stunt he pulled at the switch with Sawamura (I had forgotten about this completely) and I had to cool down before I could actually write fairly. I will say this however, IRL someone doing that would more likely than not be finished as a pitcher, and it irks me to see the team respect it. Segueing to more positive things, I really like the development of Kanemaru since he was first introduced. In the first episodes, he came off as a total jerk. But now we see that he's put aside his pride (and physical safety, poor guy) to help Sawamura. I'd love to see him as the captain some day; I think he has the mentality for it. And speaking of mentalities, we get to see a little more of Tanba demonstrating why there's no contest with the first-years when it comes to being ace: he's put aside all his pride to lead the team generally and the other pitchers specifically. I love that it doesn't stop him from ragging on Miyuki - the guy dishes it out too much; he needs to have a chance to take it. And we get to see that despite his fear of being eclipsed by Haruichi, Ryosuke is helping him be ready for his own opportunity to shine. Maybe it's out of realization that his future is now dependent on Haruichi as a fellow first-stringer. Either way he was a good senpai and brother this episode. In the other dugout, we have Shunshin (voiced by Ishikawa Kaito, our megane-kun from BnHA Iida, as well as Haikyuu's Kageyama). Also, I doubt that he's suffering the same heat effects as Furuya - while much of Japan has the same warm summers as other places along its latitudes, Taiwan is much further south, in the tropics. If anything, it's cooler for him. We get to see what control looks like, and I love how they show him manipulating the umpire; unlike other sports nowadays, there is no technology verifying the umpires calls - the strike zone box they show on ESPN and the like is not official. He definitely is making Akikawa a contender. Seguing back to Seido, while I respectfully disagree regarding Furuya and the health of his rivalry with Sawamura, I think a lot of his issues go back to being isolated in middle school. Without a team, along with not developing his pitching beyond speed and power, he comes off as not having developed teamwork habits or the ability to remain calm against people who can avoid him striking them out. On the other hand, Sawamura is self-confident and self-reliant (as a matter of training) and his big issue is control (compare my comment on their each displaying one of the physical and psychological components of an ideal pitcher). And as he has only one issue (again, control), Sawamura is seemingly pulling ahead in becoming the "ideal pitcher" by himself. Sawamura's only other issue is that he has no guile, but we can leave that to Miyuki. :) And finally, speaking of Miyuki I think the above is why he comes off a favoring Furuya. While we don't actually know Miyuki's reasons, I don't think he helps out Furuya as a matter of preference (but I don't discount maybe he sees something familiar in Furuya; who knows, Miyuki is a cipher in addition to a troll), but because Furuya needs to be encouraged and maybe hand-held a bit, and Sawamura doesn't (and as we saw, Coach deciding to play Sawamura was an 11th-hour decision; he wasn't originally supposed to play, and Miyuki needs to keep the actual players in top-condition). I've just noticed how long this is, sorry. For 66 minutes, we had a lot of information!
zeroantizero
2021-08-09 08:50:31 +0000 UTCRIGHT?! This show gets you on board with all of the characters, not just Sawamura, and they're all so distinct! I really like it as well! Supportive Cinnamon Roll Sawamura seems like a fitting name! :)
Romaniablack
2021-08-04 16:51:29 +0000 UTCSuch an amazing game and we havent even seen much of our MC yet! This is why I love this anime so much. Like Haikyuu it makes you love not only the MCs but everyone on the team and the opponents too! Plus, while I love seeing Sawamura putch, I am also a huge fan of his cheering in the bench. He’s just such a supporting cinnamon roll 💕💕💕
Melanie Marie
2021-08-04 16:11:11 +0000 UTC
