Ace of the Diamond: The Best in Show

 With the upcoming adaptation of Ace of the Diamond Act II's Second Season, I've been thinking about how this series has stood so tall within the sports genre. This thought came off of my recent viewing of Oblivion Battery. Mainly because they're both about Baseball, but also because they both handle their storytelling quite well. With Oblivion Battery, you have a more individualized story revolving around a team of misfits that featured top High School Baseball players. Whereas AOTD featured a top level High School and the structures within that make the machine run. So, Oblivion Battery ended up feeling like the product of modern sports anime/manga, while AOTD definitely harkened back to its older contemporaries. And this might just be more of a lack of knowledge on these types of sports series, but I have never really seen anything like AOTD before.

The series has shown so many different characters and changing teams as the story progressed, while balancing them like no other. Like, the only thing that I have seen that felt comparable, has been Ao Ashi. Yet even that series has kept the scale smaller so far in the Anime. But structurally, they were the same to me. And that's what made Ao Ashi such a joy. Both featured a central main character that worked through the system after being scouted from a rural area. Eijun Sawamura and Aoi Ashito are spiritually the same, and I wish to see their stories to the end. 

But this piece is not about sports anime/manga in general. It's about Ace of the Diamond, the best sports anime that I have seen thus far. To me, it's not really close. Stuff like Ao Ashi and Oblivion Battery are neat, but need some time to iron out. And others like Hanebado!, which has a solid but botched Anime writing-wise, and Teppuu were manga that finished far too soon before they could become truly legendary. So, that really just leaves me with things like Ping Pong the Animation and Haikyu!!. Shows that re beautifully animated, yet don't quite scratch that same itch. Ultimately, not really suffering from a lack quality, but substance. 

AOTD by Yuji Terajima follows Eijun Sawamura and his path to becoming the Ace of Seido High School, a top level Baseball school in Western Tokyo. Like I said earlier, the uniqueness in AOTD's story was the focus on the entire structure of the Baseball program. It's not just a look at the First Team. You get to see the Second Team, Third Team, the players who don't play, the managers, the whole damn thing. Years later, I remember Nabe's expertise at Video Analysis, and how he changed his role on the team in order to participate without playing. A heavy decision that was clearly not easy, but one that still made him content. It's the little things that matter. Especially when you have to juggle so many pieces. 

To really hammer home the reason why I place AOTD over every other sports anime/manga, I am going to talk about the ending of the Seido vs Inashiro game at the end of the first season. Not only is it a game that defines the series, it's a game that really cements the rivalry between the two schools. 

I remember watching this for the first time years ago. Feeling the hype and energy going into this title fight, just for it to be snatched away. A momentous occasion became a nightmare. The feeling of a pit in your throat as you fight back the tears. The sensations in those final minutes were translated from the minds of people who have been there before. From the bench, to the stands, across the airwaves. The despair over coming up short was palpable. Being just one out away. I can attest to knowing this feeling from playing Hockey. So, seeing it on the screen was something that felt all too familiar. What do you do? What do you say? The thoughts are all there, but there's nothing you can really do but sink in that moment. 

While I think the whole team can be analyzed in this moment, I want to highlight a few players. Those players being Eijun Sawamura, Norifumi Kawakami, and Tetsuya Yuki. Our last two pitchers in the game and the Captain, at the time, himself. The feelings of dread and pressure get best exemplified through these three as the team fails to punch their ticket to Koshien, the Japanese National High School Baseball Tournament that happens in the Summer. 

First up we have Eijun Sawamura, our protagonist who has been given the gamble of a lifetime. Closing out the big game. With the momentum trending toward Seido's favor. All Sawamura had to do was throw just as well as he had been. Starting the Ninth Inning with two key outs should've meant that the game was over. However, life's never that easy. And the pressure swelled into a wild pitch from Sawamura that landed Katsuyuki Shirakawa on base alongside the speedy Carlos Toshiki Kamiya. At this point, Sawamura had not only lost his adrenaline, but his color. The damning realization spread across the whole team and Coach Kataoka was forced to relieve the young star. 

The thing that has always stuck with me in this moment was Sawamura's Thousand-Yard Stare. In his mind, the game was over. This slip-up would surely lead to disaster, and he would be to blame. When in a high-pressure situation like that, it's extremely hard to not get swept up in the negativity. The future was riding on this game, this moment. To let it fall through, meant death. Now Sawamura would watch in perpetual fear from the sidelines. Hoping that this one mistake would not result in total damnation. Unfortunately, Sawamura would be proven right as Inashiro's victory would become the new reality. 

The silence from the Seido side became deafening, and the cheers from the Inashiro side were piercing. The once everso joyful Sawamura was now experiencing the worst moment in his Baseball Career. Losing with the weight of world on your shoulders. His depression, like many others from Seido, would last days. Even the bright summer days had been cloaked in a heavy darkness. And that's just Sawamura. But for Nori, it was different. 

Nori, the reliable sidearm pitcher, was the one who actually gave up the winning and tying runs. Sawamura was taken out right before the implosion. While Sawamura's feelings of responsibility made sense, it was Nori who was feeling just as awful due to the blown save. This can be seen when Carlos scores off of Masatoshi Harada's In-Field Single, and with Mei Narumiya's winning hit. The sunken eyes, flowing tears, and face full of regret defined Nori in this moment. Couple it with the fact that Nori can be shown hanging his head in shame through the aftermath. 

So, despite Nori and Sawamura having similar experiences to the loss. I thought it was important to make sure that Nori was featured as well. Especially considering that Nori was always portrayed as reliable and emotionally stable like the Captain, Tetsu. The player who I think hurts the most to see sad. 

What I mean when I say that Tetsu's sadness hurts the most, has to do with the perception. This was something that can be seen from Sawamura's perspective, and Harada's comment during the handshake line. In regards to Sawamura, Tetsu was the heart and soul of the team. He's a player that you can rely on. And his composure helped to calm the nerves. So, to see someone that you revere so heavily in that state, it breaks you. That scene on the bus when Sawamura looks over at Tetsu was devastating. An absolute killer to the mind. 

But prior to that there's the interaction between Tetsu and Harada in the handshake line, where Harada remarked on the ability to congratulate him on their victory. To not only keep his composure, but to still have the capacity wish the opponent well. It's a decision to still stay true to your principles no matter the circumstances. And Tetsu stayed committed in that moment. It's not just about being gracious in defeat, it's having the willpower to say anything notable at all. It's more than a simple good game. It's a whole coherent, thoughtful message towards Harada and his Inashiro teammates. 

And that's what separates AOTD from all of the other sports series out there. Every moment has some thought put behind it. The road to success does not look pretty. The grind is dirty, and the players have to work tremendously hard to achieve their goals. This aspect when watching or reading Sports Media is vastly more important to me than anything. I love seeing the hard work and dedication. I hate when the player or team just coast through without any growing pains. Looking at you Haikyu!!. Alas, not everything can be as enthralling as AOTD. 

Overall, Ace of the Diamond by Yuji Terajima is still the best sports media that I have witnessed. Just an overall masterclass in understanding sports culture, and the structures that define this particular subset of it. I truly wish that other series, like Ao Ashi, would take reference from it. Details are more important than whatever plotline you want to rush towards. Clearly the audience loved the process as the series amassed hundreds of chapters, and is poised to reach over two hundred episodes. And that makes me excited for the future, and eventual conclusion. I just have to hope that Kodansha finally releases the Manga in a physical format in English. I need it. And the world needs more Ace of the Diamond. 

And remember to Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Venezuela and to Free Lebanon from the onslaught of their oppressors. Never stop talking about them. They think that we don't care, but we see everything. Never forget that. They are trying to suppress our voices because they matter, remember that. There may have been a ceasefire in Gaza, but Palestine still needs to be completely free.