420https://i.pin.com/originals/e1/e8/c3/e1e8c3e2f5585370283f9b4ab5ca339a.jpg Spoilers ahead Apologies for the length Im a university student coming off of a semester filled with grueling written assignments and Ive been looking for something fun to distract myself with. In brief: watch this series if youre willing to put the time into a long nearly 200 episodes over 3 seasons + OVAs and extras sports series. Its incredible and well worth it. Ive divided my review into parts but my rating for each category isnt weighted the same in the final score. I might sound a little pretentious because again Im mostly used to writing essays for people I really have to suck up to so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. Plot 9/10 420https://4.bp.blogspot.com/splDLbQ1LI/VTzlYjPgeI/AAAAAAAACcM/OXSSxaqB8vA6nlfFSxAebih7yrYCdTzQCEw/s400/Nextstage.png At its core Ace of the Diamond is about competition both between teams and within them. Sawamura Eijun the series protagonist fights tirelessly to become Seidous ace and hes confident that he wants it more than anyone else. On a competitive team like Seidou however this is no easy feat especially with Furuya Satoru a pitcher made of pure baseball talent in his year blossoming right before the teams eyes. The story revolves around Eijun as he moves to West Tokyo to attend Seidou makes his way up to the firststring team and pitches in tournaments. It explores the nature of competition companionship between teammates and in a very general sense overcoming obstacles. All of these components are pretty standard for sports anime but I think Ace of the Diamond hammers them down in a really effective if longwinded manner. Part of this is due to the dormitory setting giving lots of time for team bonding between games and practices in addition to the overall likability of Sawamura Eijun as a protagonist. Characters 8/10 420https://imageswixmped30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/2dfe001b36004c60980dbcd261939957/ddk9all7d51fc8a54474119aef491fb3d36125d.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzJkZmUwMDFiLTM2MDAtNGM2MC05ODBkLWJjZDI2MTkzOTk1N1wvZGRrOWFsbC03ZDUxZmM4YS01NDQ3LTQxMTktYWVmNC05MWZiM2QzNjEyNWQuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.zoNLsOtnJ6MihafEnrwCIcAhs03QA4YMUfeZQ5scnBU A boisterous firstyear who exceeds expectations respects his seniors and puts his all into everything he does Sawamura Eijun is an excellent protagonist. Youll feel good when he succeeds youll cheer for him when hes down and maybe youll cringe a little when he does something embarrassing. Hell grab you by the heart and pull you into his corner once youve known him for about ten minutes just like he did to Miyuki Kazuya and the rest of Seidou. I prefer him to a lot of protagonists in similar series because of his goofiness and kindness but its his singleminded conviction thats most inspiring. 420https://i.yt.com/vi/qpnOYjEpG0/maxresdefault.jpg I almost dont possess the words to describe Miyuki Kazuya. As Seidous catcher and the series deuteragonist he takes up his fair share of screen time. At the same time hes also kind of elusive. With an endearingly shitty personality an affinity for provoking his allies and an unbridled love for baseball he simultaneously embodies the series themes and provides great comic relief. You cant help but want more from Miyuki just as Eijun does every day during practice. 420https://pbs.tw.com/media/D4tIqOnWkAcIz4C.jpg If you love Eijun as much as I do chances are Furuya Satoru will frustrate you. Furuya the tritagonist seemingly always succeeds when Eijun struggles which causes a lot of narrative tension in the earlier arcs. This tension can be frustrating to watch particularly since Furuya does not have a very dynamic personality. His backstory though sad does not help his lack of discernible traits beyond liking polar bears and muttering stamina roll to himself. Hes definitely not the worst this series has to offer but youll almost always root for Eijun when they go headtohead. If you like him though more power to you 420http://3.bp.blogspot.com/EcRyZ9JxgA/VVGKJ9oVI/AAAAAAAABmg/DenhcBMbNFk/s1600/5BHorribleSubs5D2BAce2Bof2BDiamond2B2B122B5B720p5DOUT00115579.png This series has so many characters. A lot of the great ones are on Seidous starting roster like Kuramochi Youichi Kominato Ryousuke Yuuki Tetsuya Isashiki Jun etc.. Chris and Kataoka one of the teams managers and coaches respectively are also vivid and dynamic within the plot. Most of the backup players really arent anything to write home about though and it can be a bit awkward when the narrative seemingly focuses on them out of nowhere. As for characters on opposing teams Narumiya Mei and the rest of Inashiro Industrial really stand out as well as a handful of characters from Yakushi but the series definitely focuses most on Seidou. Occasionally the Seidoufocus will result in antagonists being reduced to one or two personality traits i.e.: Tachi from Kiryus creepy smile Todoroki Raichis strength and hunger. This in and of itself is not bad writing but if youre expecting something like KnB this element might require a bit of an adjustment. I only viscerally hate three characters: Ochiai the coach thats brought in about three quarters of the way through the season and the two reporters who spectate nearly every single one of Seidous official games. Unfortunately those three have a lot of screen time between the three of them which can make for some really frustrating episodes. Music 10/10 420https://i.redd.it/6r830h368ij31.jpg The underscore is fantastic by far the best execution Ive witnessed in a sports anime. Between the catchy melodies intense rhythms and dynamic swells that fit corresponding scenes perfectly it does not get much better than Daiya period. As someone who usually hates the sound of guitars this series made me love guitar. Normally Id recommend listening to the OST before watching the series to see if you like the style but I actually think youre missing out if you dont hear the songs for the first time while watching the show. The composer also works well with leitmotifs. Their skill is particularly apparent with Eijuns theme Grow Stronger Day by Day youll hear this tune/chord progression overlay in a number of other tracks in varying degrees of subtlety. The soundtrack does well to reinforce the series themes of hard work determination companionship and defeat. The openings and endings too are very thoughtful and fitting for this series. For the first season my favorite opening is the third one Hashire Mirai but all of them are excellent. While the second and third endings are a tad brash volumewise the visuals are adorable. Endings 46 feature some of the voice actors singing in their characters voices always fun to listen to making for a really relaxing break from some of the tense matches. Representation of Women 6/10 420https://thetruelystria.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/diamondmanagers.png I wasnt expecting much and the result was unsurprising. There arent any notable women in the entire story. At the start we meet Wakana one of Eijuns middle school teammates Takashima Rei the assistant coach who scouts Eijun and Eijuns mother. Of the three Takashima definitely has the most presence in the story but shes mostly sidelined during practices in favor of Kataoka and later in the season Ochiai Though she does seem to have more presence than Oota the club president whos obsessed with Kawakami. Wakana Takashima and Eijuns mother are all understandably tied closely to Eijuns arc early in the first season resulting in them having no significant influence over the storyline. Aside from those three characters I can only recall four girls: Seidous managers. I enjoy their dynamic with the team but they all seem very stereotypical and onenote. The only significant screen time they get is during the endings and even then Eijun always steals the show. That being said its very refreshing to watch a maledominated sports anime where the women arent sexualized at all. I found this to be a huge problem in Kuroko no Basuke and parts of Haikyuu so in that regard I was actually pleasantly surprised. Enjoyment 9/10 420https://pbs.tw.com/media/CWgJgTUYAA11Xo.jpg The only things that ever got in the way of my enjoyment of Ace of the Diamond were a handful of characters drawnout recap sequences and occasional moments of secondhand embarrassment on Eijuns behalf. The pacing can be a bit tiring at times particularly with so many suspenseful scenes placed backtoback but taking breaks or watching at 2x speed can be helpful for some of those episodes. In case it was not apparent by my walls of text I adore this series. Please watch it if you like baseball or sports anime even the slightest amount. I know that 175+ episodes over three seasons sounds daunting but its a ride well worth taking. Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you have a nice day :