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Ace of Diamond (TV) (All Seasons).


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 12:48 pm Reply with quote
Season 2, episode 8:

Decent episode overall. Well good job Seidou High. I'd say that the match had good performance and it's just a taste of what things to come soon. I'm not liking the new coach though. I wonder how far he can lead this team into victories.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2015 2:17 pm Reply with quote
Episode 83 (S2.8)

"The sun came out right before the game ended."
"Thank you!"
"That wasn't a compliment!" Laughing

Yeah, I don't think we're supposed to like the new coach. He seems primed to stir up trouble now. Nice to see him sweat though. Evil or Very Mad

I really can't say I get his approach of only nurturing one player. No player can singlehandedly win games in baseball. Even if someone can pitch Ks across the board without the batters ever touching the ball, you need batters to win a game and he doesn't seem interested in anything but having an ace pitcher. And what's his plan if the ace gets injured? The season is gone and he's back to square one.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:11 pm Reply with quote
Season 2, episode 9:

Nice buildup for the upcoming matches. Lol, the training part got me laughing a bit especially at night. I like how Eijun has a new found confidence since their previous defeat though.

Also, Shigatsu reference spotted this episode! I am highly anticipating a rematch between Seidou High and Inashiro Industrial in the future if they want some revenge.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:16 am Reply with quote
Mei is my one of my favorite characters from this series and it's sad imo to see his team go down. Well, part of it imo was his own pride especially with his confidence in pitching.

Still a fun game to watch although he should put more faith in his team imo.
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Bugnin



Joined: 09 Sep 2012
Posts: 575
PostPosted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 5:11 pm Reply with quote
It really was the perfect recipie for an upset: an over confident team without it's leader against a team that (A) they didn't know and (B) didn't fear them.

I love this show so much. It's made me care not just about the main character, but multiple characters on multiple different teams.

I do like Mei. It's been a fun ride watching him adjust from being a first year phenom that really had no responsibility, to a team ace relied on to go the full 9 innings against the best teams, to now the most experienced player on the team and being forced to grow out of his childish attitude towards his teammates into someone they'll follow.

Inashiro will be all right. Their golden class of recruits is about to be 3rd years, which puts them at the top of the food chain. Mei got the wake-up call he needed, so I suspect he'll be the most dominant player in all of Japan by the next Summer Koshien.

Also, I like that Seidou probably won't see them again for another year. I want round 3 of their rivalry to be epic. Unfortunately, Seidou lost more talent to graduation than Inashiro did. I don't think seidou can score enough runs to beat them as both teams are right now. They're going to need a really good first year class to make up for the offense they lost.
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leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:05 pm Reply with quote
^
With how much they were developing this new team I suspected mei's team would lose. Especially since they brought up the "one game at a time" saying. I'd say that was pretty clever foreshadowing. Especially when the coach said they would worry about Seido AFTER the team they played next instead of worrying about them before they even played. These are very real pit falls that over confident teams go through. Which is exactly why you see so many surprising upsets every year. Which is another reason I love this anime. While some of elements of the show are over exaggerated the hurdles every person has to overcome are done in a very realistic fashion. People can't just fix their issues with a pep talk although lots of shows would like you to think that.

Also I really loved that final scene with Mei. The coach has a very good understanding of where his team is when they lost the seniors and that Mei is going to have to stop with his cocky attitude if he wants to be a real leader since everyone is just following his lead. When he said it was a mistake putting Mei on the mound I actually cheered a little bit inside. He needed to be properly put in his place and that seems to have finally happened.


In other news while I still like the new coach I feel like.........they make him TOO mean spirited towards the players. For example there is one part of an episode where he says "the subs don't need to practice" or something like that. Even I can't agree with that line of thinking. People are GOING to get hurt. It's only natural in sports. You can't expect them to perform well if they don't get practice.

Even so I can see why he's focused on Furuya. If you think about it Furuya is not that different from Yuki (the captain of the team last year). Yuki was imposing as he was one of Seido's best hitters and could keep the teams spirits up with his attitude. Furuya is also a great batter but not only that his fielding/pitching are just as amazing to boot. If he was properly raised as the ace he could grow out of his shell and become the Yuki for the team. Which would in turn rise their spirits as a whole. While one person doesn't make a team having a reliable star player is a very important aspect when building a team.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
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Location: New York
PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:32 pm Reply with quote
^
Sometimes they're pretty heavy-handed with the assistant coach. Like when he said, early on, that he would never switch out the ace. I was like..."Never? As in, he's injured or reached his limit and you're in a tight spot and you'll just...leave him?" I guess some people are like that; cultivate a strong team and keep the leftovers for practice. But it's not good in the long run, especially with Furuya's inconsistency. I don't think he's wrong to focus on Furuya, though. He came at a bad time to see Eijun fail, Kawakami has never really been a contender, and Furuya is incredibly talented.

Now that you mention it, Furuya is similar to Yuki. He lacks the leadership and interpersonal skills, but could easily develop those. Actually, it sort of strikes me how his past is similar to Miyuki's. Both were very talented and part of teams that didn't exactly like them. Bt Miyuki could control the game and, even after being roughed up by disgruntled teammates, didn't back down. Furuya didn't have a skilled catcher he could rely on, his teammates rejected him, and he spent the rest of his time in seclusion. Still, they both wind up having issues connecting with people; Miyuki can be especially bad at being openly sympathetic and supportive and Furuya generally avoids voicing his concerns or problems.
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:55 am Reply with quote
I really don't like Mei, so I'm glad the cocky bastard got taken down a few pegs.
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 10:17 am Reply with quote
getchman wrote:
I really don't like Mei, so I'm glad the cocky bastard got taken down a few pegs.

Haha. I feel the same. He has his cute moments now and then, but most of the time I just don't like his attitude. I think he's great as a character. ...But I'm not particularly fond of his character, LoL. That makes sense, right? Anime hyper

What makes Dia no A so great is its characters. They've all got their own individual distinguishing personalities.

(And damn Miyuki was hawt in this ep! *__*)
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Bugnin



Joined: 09 Sep 2012
Posts: 575
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:31 pm Reply with quote
re: Furuya, I think while he is clearly an excellent hitter/pitcher, his fielding has been terrible thusfar. He doesn't field well as a pitcher and he misplays fly balls in the outfield. That seems to be his kryptonite along with his stamina.

Looking ahead 2 years (assuming things get that far), I don't see Furuya as the captain. He's the most talnted player and possibly the ace, but of the 3 elite first years (Kominato, Furuya, Sawamura), Sawamura is the guy that everyone on on the team looks up to as an example.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:11 pm Reply with quote
I could see Sawamura as the captain, at least more so than Furuya. He's friendly, talented, and promotes unity in the team. Overcoming the yips is a valuable experience that would help him empathize with struggling players. What's difficult is that, as a first year coming from a no-name team, he doesn't understand the technical side of baseball very well. He'll have to push past that. Furuya's quiet, intensely introverted personality might make it difficult for him to effectively lead or inspire.

Re: this episode. What I really appreciate about this series is that no character suddenly overcomes their issues. Other series tend to have a character realize their issue and, with that, it's practically gone. Furuya would have overcome his trust issues within the first ten or so episodes and Sawamura's meeting with Chris would have dissipated the yips.

Which brings us to Miyuki. Before becoming captain, his personality flaws could be overlooked. Now, he can't be as emotionally distant and unwilling to connect, guide, and advise. The team wont be able to function properly if players are afraid to go to him when they have a problem. All this really works well with him as a character, considering his past team, natural talent, self-sufficiency, and apparent lack of close friends. As Miyauchi told him last season, Miyuki needs to recognize that not everyone is as strong as him and it's his responsibility to help them through difficult times.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:57 pm Reply with quote
Those posters weren't exactly subtle, were they. Smile Loved the windup and the TP pitch. Also, don't trash talk to Furuya unless you're wearing asbestos.

Assistant Coach seems to be rubbing off on Miyuki. I understood his attitude and feeling like it's not his place to pressure someone to play if their heart's not in it, but I felt like he was more of a "we're a team!" kind of guy up to now, so it was odd hearing him talk like it's every man for himself now.
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Bugnin



Joined: 09 Sep 2012
Posts: 575
PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:40 am Reply with quote
The thing is, Miyuki has a point. Everyone does what they can do as part of the club, but the reality is there are probably 40-50 club members, only 20 spots on the first string roster, and only 9 of those 20 players are guaranteed to play in any given game.

It isn't that it's every man for himself, but I think this was Miyuki's roundabout way of acknowledging the reality that a lot of members of the Seidou baseball club are never going to make the Seidou first string and get their own uniform, and even more guys than that are never going to play a single inning of a real game.

In his eyes, it's probably cruel to try and give false hope to someone that may be a valued part of a the team in a supporting role, but might not ever get to wear a uniform on gameday.

Miyuki obviously respected him as part of the team, or he woudn't have asked him to scout the Inashiro/Ugumori game. I don't think he saw him as dead weight, I just don't think he wanted him to stay if he felt he wasn't his heart wasn't in it anymore.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:43 am Reply with quote
I see where he's coming from, and he's not in the wrong; most players wont make it or be will be stuck on second string, and someone who doesn't feel motivated is even less likely to succeed. On the other hand, he didn't even seem to consider that Nabe's detailed notes were indicative of his desire to stay, so... Though, Zono tends to fly off the handle and that's a terrible way to deal with problems. Of course Miyuki isn't going to react well to being grabbed by the collar, yelled at, and told he wasn't going to be acknowledged as a captain.

Miyuki might seem like less of a team guy now, but before he was only dealing with first stringers. Specifically a couple of first years who made the cut right out the gate and are set on performing well. Sawamura and Furuya have had issues, but none about a loss of motivation or quitting. Plus, up until now, Chris has been more involved in Sawamura's growth.

He's also watching the third years drift and probably beginning to recognize that high school is a stepping stone to a career. In any case, he might just see teamwork and unity as a necessity to playing well and winning. He still respects players and definitely understands that for some people (Furuya) it makes all the difference to have that trust. But Miyuki didn't get along with his middle school team and even said early in the series that he's fine being hated by his teammates as long as they can work together.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:23 pm Reply with quote
Episode 90

That was one of the best episodes in a long while (though any Miyuki-focused ep is a win in my book). I was expecting more roadblock drama, but that was a nice feel-good resolution.

Who is the Rock Lee-haired kid in the crowd? He looks like he could be the son of Buddah coach (what is his name??).

I do hope Sawamura gets to pitch this game though. It doesn't look like Furuya is going to make it, given his pitch count.

One thing I'm really liking though is that so far Nao is just another part of Ugumori's team. They haven't felt the need to give us his backstory yet or make any kind of deal at all about his chair. That's pretty awesome.

One other thing I just noticed, even though it's an age-old technique, is how well they save money on animation and still show movement. A runner will be shot in a gorgeous static action pose and the breeze will still blow his hair and uniform, even though that's physically impossible to have the one movement without the other. But it always looks so good. Very Happy
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