As I stated above, I feel that the art style is fitting for the main genre of the anime. The art style has thicker strokes, as most Shounen anime have, so it reflects the characters' "manliness". If they used thinner strokes, like they do in Shoujo anime ('Brother's Conflict', for example), it wouldn't give you the same "manly" feel. I rated the art an eight because, although I really love sports anime, I'm a sucker for "girly" and pretty animation (like 'Karneval'). I do, however, find the art to quite attractive - hence the high rating.
I am very fond of 'Ace of Diamond''s characters, almost to the point where I love each and everyone of them. All of the characters have diversity, and none of them are completely the same. Sawamura Eijun, the protagonist, is quite loud and boisterous. In contrast to him, we have Kominato Ryosuke, whom is sadist and devil-ish. Once again, in contrast to them both we have Miyuki Kazuya, whom is forthright, confident and cocky. No two characters are the same in 'Ace of Diamond', and they all have their downfalls - which is why I ranked "Characters" as 10.
Since the animators haven't realised the full soundtrack yet, I can't fully judge it. However, upon hearing it during the anime, I can say that I am fond of it. When a certain scene has music added to it (such as when Yuki Tetsuya steps up onto the bating plate in official games), it enhances it greatly and you can practically feel the atmosphere surrounding the characters. When they play unnerving music during serious scenes, it really gives you the "nail-biting" feeling. I would like to get in depth with the soundtrack more, by listening to them by themselves, but since they haven't been released yet, I've rated it an eight.
Out of all my rankings, the storyline was the lowest. This is mainly because it is very similar to the anime 'Cross Game', where they too aim for nationals. I did take into consideration that, being a sports anime, and furthermore for baseball, it's kind of the only goal you can really have. I do enjoy the development none-the-less, and 'Ace of Diamond ' does have distinct differences to 'Cross Game' (and I am in favour of the former). Admittedly, though, it did take me a while to really get into the series. It was fine after about episode seven, for I feel like the everything starts to build up from then on. All in all, I ranked the storyline a seven.
To sum everything up, 'Ace of Diamond' is a very captivating anime and will get you hooked. It's art style is fitting, and the character set-ups are outstanding. The soundtrack is very well done, and it used effectively all throughout the series. 'Ace of Diamond' really is an incredibly enjoyable series, and I'm sure you'll love it.
