The only dilemma for me is next week, really. I’m done with Diamond no Ace, obviously. I’ll watch the final episode and blog it, of course, because it just isn’t conceivable (I think – I reserve the right to change my mind) to cover a series for 120-whatever eps and not blog the last one. But it’ll be a snippet post, and there will be no picking up the story with the manga. If the second phase of the manga gets an anime I won’t be watching or covering it. And at this point, I can honestly say I’m sorry I ever did.
I can’t possibly imagine I need to rehash all the reasons why what happened in this episode was an atrocity, a slap in the face to anyone unlucky enough to have been following Diamond no Ace. I can’t say it shocked me, and since a commenter on the “Orphans” post spoiled the ending, it didn’t even surprise me. But it’s a flaw in my nature that I always let the good things about this series spark a little hope in me and I never stopped hoping what happened here wouldn’t happen. Terajima, you’ve screwed me over for the last time.
The only other question, I suppose,would be what I’m hoping happens as I skim through the finale next week. The answer is that I’ll be hoping Yakushi wins, of course, but I know there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that happens. Truthfully, there’s no realistic scenario that could play out that would leave me feeling anything but disgusted and dismayed Even if that’s not a total surprise that doesn’t mean it’s not a disappointment. I guess it’s time to start marking Xs on the calendar until Battery premieres in the Summer – it shows every sign of being a baseball-themed series that doesn’t completely troll its audience and massively punt its ending.
Alex
March 22, 2016 at 11:01 pmI left this episode the most unsatisfied I’ve ever been with this anime. The anti-climax of building up Eijun’s request to pitch in the last inning only to shut him down and then try to play it off with attempts at comedy marks the most deflated I’ve been in perhaps any anime ever. What’s more astonishing to me is that 80% or more of public reactions I’ve read have been completely fine with the turn of events saying it was the logical choice to put Furuya in for the last inning. One person even presented his rebuttal with “Kataoka never chooses the safe option”.
Infuriating stuff @___@
gilraen_tinuviel
March 23, 2016 at 3:23 amOh, yeah… I really wanted to ask what f-, ahem… logical reasons are to put Furuya in the last inning. Not only they have now two injured players instead of one but there’ll be players form the bottom lineup in last inning, who Eijun struck out too easily. And if Furuya will fuck it up, then they are doomed because he can play one inning and other pitchers can’t come back on the mound.
BTW Kataoka’s letting play injured Miyuki is one BS but him playing so good with such injures is the bigger one. Manga readers really thought Miyuki being injured will be his serious development or at least showing his weakness, because him being an embodiment of perfect player was starting to be boring but, of course, Terajima let us down, again. Nothing new.
Guardian Enzo
March 23, 2016 at 8:10 amThe logical reason, to me, is that the stories that Terajima wanted Furuya to be the MC and was shot down by his editors are true. Truthfully, as a lifelong baseball fan I can tell you that move makes absolutely no sense to me from a strategic perspective. If nothing else, what if Yakushi ties the game – what then? Put in one of the practice game pitchers? The only reason to do this is plot manipulation.
Duke of Earls
March 23, 2016 at 11:45 pmI knew there was a short story with Raichi as the MC, but Furuya? I never heard that rumor. Furuya is like the lead from a 90’s JRPG, except instead of totally bland there’s little elements of douche thrown in there. Why would someone capable of writing characters like Eijun (or even Ochiai) want Furuya as his MC?
As for strategy, Kataoka’s decision makes NO sense… They will have used all of their pitchers if Furuya allows a tie run. With Eijun pitching as well as he did, the only logical choice was to save Furuya until (IF) Eijun’s performance noticeably slipped.
The WORST part of all this, though, was Kataoka’s “you’re the ace” bit to Furuya. What the hell was the point of that scene in the last game (or the previous one, I can’t remember exactly) where Ochiai and Kataoka are discussing the “spirit” of individual players, and how the human psychology of swapping players, etc cannot be overlooked. Well, what did he just do to Eijun?
There’s a show that airs on FOX called Bob’s Burgers, I’m not a huge fan of it, but there’s one hilarious episode where the dad and his awkward daughter are practicing driving in a parking lot, and the daughter slowly but inevitably careens towards the only other car in the lot and eventually hits it. That scene pretty much defines the trajectory of this show… as an outside viewer you could see this inflexible, unerring path of stupid plot decisions made from above, and no matter how obvious they are to us, DnA refused to right its course.
owler
March 22, 2016 at 11:38 pmYeah, I’m really, really pissed at this one.
Only positives from this episode – Haru-dandy getting the run to tie things up, and they’ve made me actually wish Ochiai was coaching…..
Jindujun93
March 23, 2016 at 1:00 amYou’re probably making the right call when you say you wouldn’t cover Part 2 of the manga – with all respect for usually not hinting at spoilers or anything, but the beginning chapters alone would already piss you off to a royal degree. I know I was when I read them, and have stopped reading the manga for a while. As for this episode here? I knew it was coming, but it still aggrevated me. Never thought I’d say that when they introduced him, but I also wished that Ochiai would be the main coach in this situation.
Guardian Enzo
March 23, 2016 at 8:07 am“Aggravated” isn’t even a strong enough word for what I’m feeling. Maybe “aggrieved” might be closer. I felt for much of the second season that, DB as he can be, Ochiai would have been the better coach. Now I know it.
leongsh
March 23, 2016 at 8:28 amOchiai would be the better coach in certain respects. If you are in support of Sawamura, Ochiai will kill off Sawamura’s path as he prefers Furuya over Sawamura. He was ready to use Sawamura only as a batting practice pitcher. Thus, crushing any baseball ace future.
Jindujun93
March 23, 2016 at 8:43 amThe thing is that Ochiai has more or less corrected his opinion of Sawamura since then. He’s still leaning towards Furuya, yes, but he’s appreciating Sawamura much more as a player than it was initially the case. Wouldn’t surprise me if Sawamura could win him over for good given some time.
leongsh
March 23, 2016 at 8:59 amOchiai has not changed his tune much regarding Sawamura if you see what’s happening in Act 2 to-date. He is spending more time watching over Furuya. He has said before prior to the Yakushi match as not being to understand Sawamura at all. His thoughts are still generally on Furuya and developing him as the undisputed ace. It’s actually Miyuki that’s helping Sawamura hone and expand his repertoire.
Guardian Enzo
March 23, 2016 at 9:40 amThat is indeed correct – Ochiai is a convert at this point, which the apologists for Kataoka-aho conveniently neglect to mention.
The thing is, even if you buy the tortured argument that switching Eijun out makes sense from a baseball perspective, the way Terajima staged it could only be taken as a big “FU” to anyone who likes the character. He wasn’t just yanked, he was humiliated after pitching his guts out. That’s what takes us well past the bailout point as far as I’m concerned.
But hey – we finally got a Diamond no Ace post with comments!
leongsh
March 23, 2016 at 8:24 amI was expecting your response after what you posted in Episode 47. As a manga follower, I felt bad for Sawamura when it came to this matter in the manga chapter then. After all he had done to keep the team’s hopes alive by doing some heroic pitching, he gets dumped for Furuya for the very last inning when they have just secured the lead. When I looked at it from Kataoka’s point of view of why he chose Furuya, it made logical sense from his viewpoint (and not because I agree with it) due to the following:
– Furuya’s pitching shutdown Yakushi’s batters in the practice match;
– Yakushi does not know he is injured
– The change in pitching from Sawamura to Furuya is expected to mess up their batting as the Yakushi batters would be starting to get attuned to Sawamura’s pitching as it would be coming to the third round that the batters would be facing Sawamura
– Although injured, Furuya has been allowed to pitch for 1 inning by the medical doctor and it’s the last inning.
– If Furuya closes it well to win the game, his gamble pays off.
– If Furuya loses it, he gets his last chance to use who he thinks is the Ace.
– He still doesn’t trust Sawamura to close an important game when it is so tantalisingly close. Even in the condition that Furuya is in, he trusts Furuya more to close the game.
It was a real humiliation of Sawamura and the team members felt it. None will dispute with the coach because, you know, it’s Japanese high school baseball – the coach’s word is final. A lot of manga followers were annoyed, trust me, and most were resigned to it.
FWIW, the start of Act 2 was not kind to Sawamura too. However, in the more recent chapters (which is up to Chapter 28 at the time of this post), he is showing more resilience and growth as a pitcher than the others. That’s all I say about Act 2 for now as adding any more details would be spoiler.
Considering that “Act 1” covers his first year at Seidou, Act 2 would probably cover his second year, and there would be a Act 3 to cover his final year. By Act 3, his progression through all the crap that the mangaka is putting him through would probably end with him being the real Ace that’s recognised by the team as such, irrespective of the number on his back.
Rio
March 23, 2016 at 8:47 amIt was still a much bigger gamble considering Furuya’s slow starts and since he and Miyuki are injured. Also, there was no more pitcher after him if he messes up. I can see Kataoka’s reasons but he could’ve at least vocalize them, because Eijun did not deserve such action after doing exceptionally well.
Also, if you’re reading Act 2… [Deleted]
Too specific. I won’t be reading Act 2, but some people might still want to.
leongsh
March 23, 2016 at 8:55 amBottomline, Kataoka generally trusts Furuya more than Sawamura, especially when something did happen before that match concerning Sawamura. Skating on very thin ground to say more but it should be obvious if you have read up to that match in Act 2. To Sawamura’s credit, he has kept pushing on in improving himself.
Rio
March 23, 2016 at 9:05 amYes. It was frustrating. I just think if you are the coach, you would never say such words to your players. I don’t hate Kataoka nor Terajima. I could’ve accepted the previous developments, no matter how battered Eijuns pride has become. But this development is not for Eijun’s, it was a very weird blow to Eijun’s confidence which he was able to build throughout the fall. That’s why he got a slump in the Senbatsu. I would hope for an explanation from him.
Eijun really did try to improve, but we all know he’s been asking himself why he wasn’t allowed to play, be it on the finals or the Koshien. Even though he’s shown growth and consistency more than the so called Ace. Did his lack of trust came from the loss against Inajitsu? Did he think that his mistake as the coach was putting Eijun in the final inning? What has Furuya done, when he barely performed in the Fall, to deserve such trust as opposed to Eijun exemplary performance throughout the season.
Rio
March 23, 2016 at 8:34 amI was spoiled before this and that’s why I couldn’t read the manga after. It was such a horrible thought and Kataoka really went there. After showing Eijun doing his best, asked sincerely to play, he was put down in the most cruel way, being implied to be just a releiver and inferior to the ace no matter how much he tries.
Why? Why? Did Eijun deserve this? No way. It paralyzed me that Seido did not even shown any reaction, be it Harucchi or Kuramochi.
John Arthur Strauss
March 23, 2016 at 8:52 amNot that it helped, but I gave my screen the finger when all that Ace BS started….
The moment they switched Furuya in was the moment I started cheering fully for Yakushi. Seeing all the people cheer for a guy who clearly does a lot less than Sawamura made me feel like throwing up.
Rio
March 23, 2016 at 9:11 amI get you. The first half were so good, it felt great watching the team’s hope being kept alive. Then the second half started and all my excitement were gone. I was mad, confused and generally feel bad with everything. I lost a little respevt for Kataoka after this.
Sanae
March 23, 2016 at 1:26 pmI won’t waste my breath talking about this travesty of an end. Instead, I will tell you that having watched the live action drama version of Battery, I am definitely going to love it and I daresay, so will you. I hope can look forward to your recaps of it.
Ilikepopcans
March 23, 2016 at 7:18 pm:/
Sorry for “spoilering” the episode for you. Guess that’s my fault for being excited for your post and thoughts on the show I been watching week to week and reading the posts you make for the show for over a year and for being a fan of yours since discovering Chihayafuru and you through that and extra really liked your podcasts you make with the RC peeps. Don’t worry i will stop visiting here and supporting you so I wont spoiler you again.
Duke of Earls
March 23, 2016 at 11:35 pmDon’t post manga spoilers and you’re fine? It’s bizarre to get defensive about something like that, unless you are pre-pubertal.
I Love Cats
March 25, 2016 at 11:30 amC’mon, Enzo, tell the girl you don’t hate her.
Bwelds13
March 25, 2016 at 12:20 amThis was possibly the most deflating episode of any show I’ve ever seen. I mean seriously? Get us all hyped up then bring us crashing down in historic fashion. I don’t think I’ve seen a show just cast their MC to the side then give him moments of greatness only to be kicked to the side again. I absolutely hate Furuya. He’s just boring…and Sawamura just seems like he is a better pitcher to begin with. I understand putting in your ace, but for the purpose of this anime it was just dumb and realistically it was dumb too. Sawamura has been doing an amazing job pitching, but your gonna put in your injured ace. I honestly hope they lose at this point.
Guardian Enzo
March 25, 2016 at 9:20 amMe too, but let’s be real – there’s no chance of that happening.
Xilique
August 2, 2018 at 7:09 pmWell, I read the comments here but I didn’t see this episode (actually I stopped the second season of the anime in episode 38) and decided to go to act 2 (that is pay back time for all the bad stuff he did to Sawamura – so act 2 is kind of awesome – so yeah, give a chance to act 2, if u are still interested in the story). But this moment that you are talking about (Kataoka not letting him play in the last inning) appear a lot in DnA 2 and made Sawamura really frustrated and pissed off, and it was kind of important to him mature. But now that I read all the comments, I am kind of afraid of watching (I was afraid, but now I am even more, because I just hate the way the author handled Sawamura in DnA act 1, and I suffered a lot during his yips phase – almost cried)