Diamond no Ace: Second Season Episode 50 Discussion

MitsukiAkashi said:
but out of everyone here on this thread, the three of you were pretty heated about the whole furuya/eijun thing and it nearly got out of hand. you were at each other's throats. we can't control how the canon story goes, but that's why we have fanfics. i, myself, is not a big fan of furuya, but even i can respect his slow growth and development as a character and as a baseball player with the rest of the seido guys and guys of the other teams.

Dragon_Slayer_X said:
The problem isn't Furuya though.......it's the continuous Furuya worship and continuous unfairness towards Sawamura.

Even looking at previous games, Furuya bowls first, gives some runs and run out of steam (lol losing motivation because of rain). After that Sawamura and Kawakami has to come in at serious situations and CLEAN UP his mess. Is there any match where Furuya closed a game or played in a serious situation? I don't really remember......Sawamura came in at some very dangerous situations and saved the team.

This time they both did well, especially Sawamura who was in top condition and had high morale but the shitty audience and Coach just denied all of that and everyone is going to crazy because Furuya destroys the bottom order after they . It's literally just saying to his face that he isn't trusted enough to finish the game and he is just an hanger-on for Furuya even after appealing like that and showing an spectacular performance. It's how these events play out that makes the readers/audience pissed off time and again.

The most economical and pinch-situation-adapted player in a highly motivated state aka Sawamura is more reliable to close the game than the injured ace(?) (btw that happened because of him being selfish) who has no experience in closing and rarely plays in pinch situations.

Dragon_Slayer_X said:


....................did Kawakami looked like the hero anywhere the times he finished a game? If not, then how can anybody say that Sawamura is a hanger-on for Furuya?
By that logic, Furuya and Sawamura would be hanger-ons for Kawakami on other games. It is not really a matter of trust, if Kataoka didnt trust Sawamura at all, he wouldnt even be able to play. Basically, Kataoka would be more like Ochiai. Now Ochiai didnt trust Sawamura at all........and maybe even now he doesnt.........well, maybe a little. But he isnt Ochiai at all.
Using Furuya now instead of Sawamura doesnt mean "Hey, i trust Furuya more, which is injured, than Sawamura" or "I want to piss everybody off just because and therefore is Sawamura out", doesnt mean that he trusts Furuya more than Sawamura. He trusts Kawakami the same way he trusts Furuya and Sawamura but on the same level he knows what they can do and can not do.
Using Furuya now is a matter of trying to overpower the enemy now when Seido has the lead and wants to finish it off. Sawamura already played and therefore Yakushi knows what to expect from him. Yeah, Sawamura is highly motivated to finish the game by himself, but Yakushi is already prepared for what he throws. Yeah, he may have more variety than Furuya, but Sawamura already used his variety against Yakushi. And he does have the power of Furuya.
Now, Furuya, yeah he is injured, but he still can play for 1 inning at full power. Sawamura already played, even if he doesnt want to admit, he cant use his full power anymore since he doesnt have the beans from Dragon Ball.
Furuya can now overthrow and destroy Yakushi with something that they dont really expect. Yeah, Yakushi counted Furuya as an enemy throughout the game, but not now. And with his power, he can overthrow Yakushi, a team that will need time first to adapt to Furuya even with Sanada and Raichi as power-batters. And when the time runs out, the game will be over.
And besides, Furuya is motivated the same way Sawamura is, his Saiyajin-God-Mode shows it every time. Besides, Furuya himself knows that he only has 1 inning. He knew that before the game. But as you probably saw, even he was surprised when Kataoka switched him in. Kataoka saw how Furuya warmed up and probably even saw his blueish God-Mode (since its hard to overlook) and decided that he is the right man for the job. There is the more reason for Furuya to give it his all.
If Kawakami hadnt played until now, then Kataoka may have used him to finish Yakushi off. And yeah, because he has the experience as a finisher more than Furuya. Furuya messed up in the past, yeah, so did Sawamura. Sawamura was able to save the team in occasions? So did Furuya. Did Furuya messed more up than Sawamura until now? I wouldnt say so. But is he more selfish? A bit, yeah.
Bringing the argument "He is an Ace". Yeah, he is the Ace, so? He did deserve that after all in season 1. And besides, look at Tanba and how he did.

This is not a matter of "I prefer Furuya over Sawamura, so therefore i want to see Furuya". Its a matter of the more rational decissions. Ochiai wouldnt probably use Sawamura that long, THEN you could say that Furuya is preferable, since he himself doesnt trust Sawamura all that much and wants to see the Ace getting experience even if it means not coming very far in the tournament.

Besides, personally i dont really even see Sawamura as the "main character". No, i dont even see Furuya as an MC. But i see Seido as the MC in Diamond no Ace. And there is a difference.

MahadoKusanagi said:


Here you go again. Stop painting the issue as if there is only one logical reasoning to this. This was a valid argument, just as you argue yours. There IS a VIABLE REASON behind the switching yes but THERE IS ALSO A VALID POINT ON WHY THE SWITCHING SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. It's all about facts, historical data and characters/audience's PERSPECTIVE.

Yes, Diamond no Ace is about Seido but it's also about the pitchers..and ultimately Eijun. In case you missed the marketing of this anime and the manga, the series is dubbed as Eijun's journey or legend. WHICH SHOWS IN THE COVERS, OPENINGS AND OTHER MARKETING MATERIALS.
Really, you should hold on to your horses before making an argument.

Wintovisky said:
Mad at Dia no Ace? Well, I see some of you didn't watch Haikyuu!! yet... Honestly, I have no idea what you are waiting for rofl. Seriously, go watch it NOW, my fellow sports anime friends.

ShiiroChan said:


I watched it too and still DnA is the best by far. :)

LittleStar said:


For me Haikyuu is better :D
Even if story/arc focused on another/supporting character
I never get bored and I end up liking this character.
Really Haikyuu characters are very likeable :D
Compared to DnA there is already few characters I can't stand... -.-

MeinKaiser said:
as always Furuya will take away all the glory from kawakami and eijun...

hayka said:


I know how you feel bro. Eijun is supposed to be the main protagonist but they royally screw him over on numerous occasions and place alot of focus on other player that at one point I had to really wonder who the star of the show was.

Well its nice to see how he developed from the first episode in season 1 till now even thou he's fighting a losing battle.

Shuhan said:
Of course they gonna end it with fucking Furuya, tired of seeing him.

Rio_Pascua said:
What's harder to accept in that decision is the fact that Eijun became a casualty to it. Many people could've accepted the reason without questioning their situations by bringing Furuya in if Kataoka had put it into words and not just saying Furuya is the ace so he should finish it. In front of Eijun and everyone on the team. Eijun asked sincerely and seriously, with confidence acquired throughout the whole match and he was put down by the most ridiculous and cruel slap in the face. Sometimes, I have to wonder what Kataoka is thinking. Why put panels of Eijun hoping he can close the game only to be put down to suffer in the sideline? Terajima, you sadist.

If you guys can remember, Eijun was also replaced in the semi-finals against Seiko with only Kataoka saying, "We need to go at it with the strength of the whole team."

And of course, Act 2 will have a Furuya version wherein of course the boy will not get replaced simply because he's the Ace.

Rio_Pascua said:
What's harder to accept in that decision is the fact that Eijun became a casualty to it. Many people could've accepted the reason without questioning their situations by bringing Furuya in if Kataoka had put it into words and not just saying Furuya is the ace so he should finish it. In front of Eijun and everyone on the team. Eijun asked sincerely and seriously, with confidence acquired throughout the whole match and he was put down by the most ridiculous and cruel slap in the face. Sometimes, I have to wonder what Kataoka is thinking. Why put panels of Eijun hoping he can close the game only to be put down to suffer in the sideline? Terajima, you sadist.

If you guys can remember, Eijun was also replaced in the semi-finals against Seiko with only Kataoka saying, "We need to go at it with the strength of the whole team."

And of course, Act 2 will have a Furuya version wherein of course the boy will not get replaced simply because he's the Ace.

Xhanna said:
Aaaagh amazing episode!! Too bad Furuya ends up closing the game :< Wish I could see Sawamura but you didn't need a psychic to tell you that it would be Furuya closing the game instead. It was for the best, game and story wise. Honestly if I was the author I would've done that xD (don't hate on me people, please, I have reasons. And cookies.)

To clarify, as an author/artist/mangaka you don't merely write or draw to satisfy your audience. You do it to give justice to an amazing story you want to share with your audience. And I'm sorry guys but whether you like it or not a protagonist doesn't start from the top, nor does he always get the glory. It's called character development. And this is one of the reasons I love Diamond no Ace. With there being new characters introduced (and still getting little screen time in episodes, such as potential Seido recruits) the mangaka is continually finding ways to develop yet extend the story further. So there will be more. Sawamura will get his chances. And wouldn't it be even more satisfying one day to see him overthrow Furuya after all the struggles? Gotta look at the bigger picture here.... >.<
This all being said, it was really sad to see the coach reject his upfront request to continue pitching. :'( dammit coach!!

I haven't really read much posted on this thread, but looks like everything's already been said (maybe even this). So I'm sorry if I repeated anything, but everything here is from my point of view and something I wanted to say. Also sorry for any errors, kinda just typed this our all at once, tying to keep it short. Cheers~

Rio_Pascua said:


You also need to be logical and if this show's any example, realistic. The best solution in this matter is Furuya only gets switched in IF Eijun miraculously allows a runner or had the game tied. Because if you put Furuya in now (as was done), there was no more pitcher IF he messes up. Also, he's injured even if he can only play one inning. Does he have a contingency plan after this? If he was reserving the ace, it would be safest if they have a 2-run lead or during the extra innings if they get there.

Also, the main problem is the way Kataoka had shut down Eijun. Like, really? Do you say that to someone who worked his off to try to defend the game? Narratively, there was no justification as to why he could say those words to Eijun who bear his heart's out asking for that final inning.

I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to go against what you said. I agree that authors need not to satisfy their audience all the time, because it's their story and they have every freedom to go about it. But logically and realistically thinking, no matter how that move ends up with, it was a weird one, unless of course it's for plot. If not, then the anime will not leave anyone satisfied (especially the ones who like Eijun....we received like a hard slap). I agree with every other things you mentioned. :)

Wintovisky said:
So I can't discuss other sports anime which is also ending next week, both with the most hyped episode a few days ago (1 day apart from each other)? ROFL. Hopefully, though, you can understand that saying Haikyuu is better doesn't mean Dia no Ace is bad. Actually, BTW, it seems your first reply was typed to make me mad.

Rizzle said:
Not one of you would pitch a fit (pun intended) if Kawakami was deemed to tactically be the best option to close. He closes games all the time and no one bats an eye (pun not intended), but now when Furuya is closer, it's a glory spot? Y'all just so salty about Furuya's very existence you can't appreciate how necessary his current dominance is to the story.

This anime is about Eijun's journey from being an unknown player from some backwater town to becoming the ace of a well respected Tokyo school. People want him to achieve this goal as a first year!? People also want Kataoka to risk the match and ignore what he thinks are the best tactics/logic over Eijun's feelings? At the final match to get into the invitational? How unrealistic. This isn't a Disney channel movie. I love Eijun and want him to succeed, but I know that his struggling (emotionally and physically) to beat Furuya is a big part of what has helped him improve so quickly, and leads to great character development. The journey~ When Eijun finally does wear the ace title it's going to be all the more glorious because he earned it through blood sweat and tears. None of that typical shounen wish fulfillment perfect MC crap.

And btw, Eijun IS respected and recognized:
Furuya sees Eijun as a rival
Kanemaru recognizes his talents and supports him (when he used to just think he was an idiot)
Ochiai admitted he was wrong about Eijun
The crowd adopted his "Osu osu osu" chant
Everyone congratulates Eijun for learning a new pitch or refining his control
Miyuki of all people trusts him 100% and actually complements him
Eijun is literally the only pitcher Miyuki constantly refers to as his partner.

MahadoKusanagi said:


And that is what i see here "It doesnt sit well with me". That is the key point you are making, delivering arguments but in the end always coming down to "me". Meaning "I would prefer this istead of that even thou this is more logical than that".
I've followed the argument from you two and i have to agree with Matty.
The thing is this, Furuya may be injured, but he is injured in the level IF he goes for two innings instead of one. Now here, he is just going for one inning. Which means he is still fresh and Sawamura isnt since he has been playing for some innings.
Now, he may very well be at the pick of his level now and therefore still wants to play and finish Yakushi off, which is understandable since he wants to improve as well AND Kataoka nows that very well. Kataoka isnt any idiot, he knows very well how his players feel and think, as coaches go in anime, personally i respect Kataoka the most. But Sawamura is not 100% anymore and Sawamura knows that as well, of course he ignores it since he wants to play. Now, Furuya was just warming up until now and was not playing and playing itself costs way more stamina and nerves. Therefore Furuya is still fresh and since Yakushi knows how fearsome Furuya can be, it was only logical to consider Furuya to finish instead of Sawamura.
Yeah, Sawamura was turned down by Kataoka, but he seemed to acknowledge the decission of Kataoka and he himself may be a little selfish.
When Furuya finishes, doesnt mean he is getting all the glory. By that logic, how many times would Kawakami get all the glory for how he often finishes the games?
Then, if Kataoka has 3 Pitchers but only used 2 until now and the third one can still play (for a single inning at full power but still), so why not use the last pitcher? He did the same with Kawakami often, but i dont see you complain about it. Its just because it is the final of the tournament and season 2 and therefore you want to see your favourite character finish everything off?