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This episode of Diamond no Ace was a painful one, but it certainly wasn’t surprising. The handwriting has been on the wall for a while that Eijun’s appearance in this game was going to be a disaster, and indeed that’s exactly what happened. But it must be said that Kataoka didn’t exactly set his first-year up for success here – in fact, if he’d intentionally arranged events to put Eijun in the worst possible position he could hardly have done a finer job.
As Ochiai (I loved the way he refers to the first-year pitchers with “ippiki”, the counter for small animals like cats and mice) looks on, Katoka finally gives Eijun the ball in the seventh inning. He does so with Yakushi’s Ace and spiritual leader, Sanada, just having taken over on the mound and fired up his team. He does so with the heart of Yakushi’s feared batting order coming up. And he does so after just having crushed Eijun’s spirit by telling him he’s now a relief pitcher. With coaches like that, who needs opponents?
To say this is a tough spot would be an understatement. Eijun has been denied a chance to be a starter without ever having been given a chance to start a game – a chance Furuya has been given repeatedly (and to his considerable credit, taken full advantage of). Anyone could see – and the likes of Miyuki and Haruichi certainly did – that Eijun was way too worked up when he took the mound. He didn’t do his usual routine of warning the fielders they’d be busy, and he looked like he could have bitten a bat (a metal one) in half. Simply put, he wanted too badly to do too much – certainly understandable for a 15 (or 16, whatever he is) year-old kid. So the results – including Raichi’s monster home run – aren’t remotely surprising.
All that would be explanation enough, but the fact that Eijun’s woes seemed to stem from being unable to throw inside suggests he’s having some PTSD from the beaning in the Inashiro game (which was always a worry). Maybe it’s just bad control, or maybe he’s gun-shy about a repeat – but either way, he doesn’t have the crutch of Furuya’s overpowering fastball to lean on. If Eijun throws over the heart of the plate, he’s screwed – he has to pitch basically the way Sanada does to succeed. The only real positive moment here comes after the homer, when Miyuki breaks the tension by joking about what a great hit it was. And for a moment, it almost seems as if Eijun is back to being himself again – but that feeling is short-lived, unfortunately. His command is non-existent and the carnage continues.
With only six episodes left for this run, it’ll be interesting to see where Daiya no A takes Eijun’s story from here. I don’t think he’s been served well by either Kataoka or Miyuki (this is the second time Miyuki has recognized before the first pitch that Eijun was too tense and done nothing about it), but he’s clearly on the verge of a major setback – and his new coach (in theory) seems only too ready to give up on him. That Furuya is the ace for the fall tournament is a given at this point, but where does that leave Eijun? It seems that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – the first thing he has to do is right the ship and prove he can continue to excel as a relief pitcher while biding his time, and waiting to fight for that #1 jersey another day.
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Kim
February 15, 2015 at 11:52 amThis was just awful to watch
Stöt
February 15, 2015 at 12:54 pmSo so painful, a beautifully made train wreck.
Setsuken
February 15, 2015 at 10:56 pmIf there were ever a time where I wanted to just smack Katoka, it was this game. He not only makes the worst decisions ever, but now he's putting down and upsetting his OWN players? And the ones that have POTENTIAL too.
I couldn't help but read into the whole situation where Eijun was just destroyed, not because of some unfortunate event, but simply because Katoka was being a hugely unemphatic dick. This episode was heart breaking, but it was sad to see that no one really helped Eijun through this situation.
I mean, he already had a rough time in the Finals, and instead of you know, bringing his confidence back up, The friggin coach does this?
And all the time this whole crisis was happening, and everyone was trying to support Eijun, Furuya was just there in the background, selfishly flexing his shoulder, ready to go.
I'm surprised nobody tells him to be a friggin human being, and tolerates that shit.
Honestly, I'm not excited to see where this story is going now, which is Eijun hitting rock bottom before he can climb out of it and rise up. Especially given that there's only a few episodes left, as you said.
Great review as always, thanks for always writing these man!
admin
February 15, 2015 at 11:32 pmAnd the worst part is, Eijun actually didn't have a rough time in the finals – he pitched great, especially considering the situation. The beanball was the only baserunner he allowed.
Setsuken
February 17, 2015 at 2:11 amTrue, I meant more in terms of the trauma that happened as a result of that beanball. Again, given the fact that he was a first year that pretty much held his own in the most important match of his team's career, I think its worth nurturing that talent, not demoralizing it.
I will say though, Given what I know about Asia and the culture of countries there, I'm not surprised by this kind of behavior, just sickenned by it.
Jani
February 21, 2015 at 6:20 pmI guess I am the only one that didn't see anything wrong with what the coach did? When I heard him say that, I immediately thought he's doing that to fire him up and to see how he handles it. You have to have a thick skin in sports. No one is going to baby you to get you to the top. You have to get out there and take it for yourself. I wouldn't consider that Asian culture, i would consider that sports culture.
And it's not like being the relief is terrible. If this was a game to go to Nationals putting Eijun in would have shown extreme confidence in his abilities. This will not be the end for Eijun at all I don't think. I am excited to see how he grows. I really love this sports anime, it is one of the truest ones I have seen and really hits close to home. I love Furuya and Eijun and cannot wait to see how it all ends.