I’ll say this for Ace of Diamond – it usually delivers in the clutch. It’s Comiket weekend and I’m exhausted, plus the Top 10 post awaits, so this is going to be a slightly brief collection (for a double-episode) of my thoughts rather than the usual Daiya no A post.  […] Read more

I thought that was all going a little too smoothly. My first reaction when this episode ended was a sinking feeling of doom, because I assumed Daiya no A was going to be on a New Year’s break next week.  Happily, it seems that not only is it airing but […] Read more

What a study in contrasting emotions this series is. Diamond no Ace is in many ways the quintessential sports manga/anime.  It’s s old-school as it gets – baseball being the ultimate manga sport, lots of GAR and rough-hewn male bonding.  But there are extremes here, more so than in most […] Read more

Thanks for that reminder that when it sticks to what it does best, Daiya no A takes a back seat to no sports anime. Make no mistake about it – Eijun is why Ace of Diamond works as a series when it’s all said and done.  And everything about why […] Read more

Yeah, you had to know that’s where they were going to end it. The peculiarity of Daiya no A, no doubt, is that it practically grinds to a halt every time the focus turns to one of the Seidou third-years – yet it still manages to be a pretty compelling […] Read more

Watch out, Inashiro – Seidou’s got wood. After a one-week break, Ace of Diamond is back on our screens.  And while the Inashiro game has had its peaks and valleys, I definitely find that I missed this show – all the more so because the last episode ended on a […] Read more

Well, that change didn’t happen a second too soon. I was seconds away from bailing on this episode, no lie.  That’s how pissed off I was getting at Daiya no A, watching Seidou founder around and get lucky time after time.  Kataoka is an idiot, injured players are putting the […] Read more

That was certainly the most irritating episode of Daiya no A in quite some time. When a three-minute recap at the beginning isn’t close to the most annoying thing in an episode, you know you’re in for a rough week (and let’s be honest, Ace of Diamond kind of specializes […] Read more

Shaky, very shaky… We all know where this drama is headed, so there’s a very strong impulse to wish things would just get there already.  Eijun is going to pitch in this game sooner or later, and that’s when things are going to peak – but buildup is what it […] Read more

This is an episode that just screams “October”. The Koushien itself (and this final play-in game) may be in August, but playoff baseball is everywhere at the moment.  The World Series is just about to begin, and the Hanshin Tigers have just beaten the Empire Yomiuri Giants (Yomiuri and the […] Read more