When they were handing out the clueless, Kataoka must have stood in line twice. There are very few anime – and even fewer sports anime – that alternately compel me and drive me around the bend the way Diamond no Ace does.  We go through cycles where things are exciting […] Read more

Leadership can take many forms, I suppose. I know we should be used to recaps from Diamond no Ace by now, but seriously – three minutes worth before the OP, and then you show the same damn clip again after it?  Making use of the same scene three times is […] Read more

To thine own baka be true. It occurs to me in watching the first inning of the Seidou-Ugumori clash play out that Diamond no Ace is really the story of two idiots.  But crucially, they’re very different kinds of idiots – and I think the whole question of the “ace” […] Read more

The peculiarities of Japanese baseball never cease to surprise me. Any way you slice it, the Seidou v. Ugumori matchup feels like a stop on the journey, not a real destination.  When you consider that this is a game against a secondary opponent – a preamble – and part of […] Read more

Trust is the theme here lately, make no mistake about it. There’s a thing in sports called a “trap game”, and for Inashiro, Ugumori was definitely a trap game.  Maybe when you’re the defending national runner-up every game is a trap to a certain extent, but with a Seidou rematch […] Read more

Well, that was worth the wait.  But they sure as hell made us wait for it. My worst fears weren’t realized – despite a sort of trollish preview, Diamond no Ace did indeed resolve the agonizing cliffhanger it dumped on our doorstep last week.  I guess they figured after 80-odd […] Read more