After the anime Ace of Diamond act II and its original manga concluded, many fans felt a deep longing and thought there would never be another season. But this spring, Ace of Diamond act II -Second Season- has returned, complete with its iconic battle cry “Oshi oshi o~shi!” to rekindle all that excitement once more.

This time, we take a closer look at Sawamura Eijun — the man who always gets back up no matter how hard he falls.

⚠ This article contains significant plot spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

What Is Ace of Diamond?

Ace of Diamond (ダイヤのA) is adapted from the manga by Terajima Yuji, originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine from Kodansha. The story begins when 15-year-old Sawamura Eijun meets Miyuki Kazuya, a catcher who changes his life forever. Sawamura makes the decision to leave behind his childhood friends and enroll at Seidou High School — a prestigious baseball powerhouse packed with players who are utterly devoted to the sport.

In Ace of Diamond act II -Second Season- airing this spring, Sawamura advances to his second year on Seidou’s baseball team and earns the ace number heading into the summer tournament. He is a left-handed pitcher with a resilient spirit, full of fire, and the spark plug of the team’s atmosphere. His hard-to-read pitching style makes his fastball a fearsome weapon against any opponent.

A Rival Who Left Him Behind From the Start

One of the defining dynamics that makes Sawamura stand out is the existence of Furuya Satoru, his rival from the same year. The two joined the team together and neither had much knowledge of baseball’s rules at first, yet the gap in raw potential was stark. Furuya possessed superior ball speed and physicality; he climbed to Team 1 quickly and was receiving pitches from Miyuki before Sawamura ever did.

Most people would have given up by then — but Sawamura refused to bow his head. He fought forward one step at a time, relentlessly working to prove himself, and gradually came to understand that his true goal was not personal glory but to lead the team all the way to Koshien.

The Yips — His Cruelest Trial

When Seidou fell in the Koshien qualifying rounds, Sawamura buckled under his sense of guilt and developed a case of the yips — the condition where a pitcher loses the ability to throw where he intends — while Furuya continued to advance. That period was deeply painful for Sawamura’s fans, yet he never quit. He trained methodically, overcame the yips, and developed a new weapon he called “Numbers” to take his pitching to the next level.

The Most Memorable Scene — Facing Ichidai Sanko

The scene many fans remember most vividly is the showdown against Ichidai Sanko in Ace of Diamond act II. At that point, Furuya’s form had collapsed after the Senbatsu tournament; the coach tried to keep him on the mound to the very end, but ultimately had no choice except to send Sawamura in.

The Sawamura who took that mound was no longer the anxious boy of the past. He demonstrated both his pitching and his hitting at an outstanding level — a performance that had fans cheering non-stop, one that feels even better every time they watch it again.

The Day He Wore the Ace Number

When Sawamura received the ace number for the first time, the joy he displayed was endearing beyond words — whether it was his awkward attempts to twist around and read the number on the back of his jersey, or refusing to take off his uniform even while sleeping. A grown-up Sawamura who has matured in both body and spirit still carries that irresistible charm that melts fans’ hearts every time.

He also showed what true leadership looks like when, after classmates told him they would come cheer from the stands, he earnestly warned them that the sun would be brutal and there was no shade like in the covered reserve seats — yet still thanked them with complete sincerity: “Thank you. We’ll do our best to repay the cheers you give us.”

The Ace-vs.-Ace Duel — Sawamura VS Tenkyu

In the tournament to decide Tokyo’s western representative for the national baseball championship, Seidou faces Ichidai Sanko again — and this time it is a direct duel between two aces: Sawamura and Tenkyu, the rival school’s ace who has acknowledged and respected Sawamura’s talent since the very beginning, to the point of exchanging phone numbers and talking baseball together regularly.

The fact that Tenkyu sees Sawamura — not Furuya — as his primary rival is itself a powerful confirmation of how far Sawamura has grown. Who would have imagined that the boy who barely knew baseball’s rules would one day stand on the mound as ace and go toe-to-toe with the ace of a top-ranked team?

The duel between Sawamura and Tenkyu begins in Episode 6 “Ohirome” and in Episode 8 “Ace no Rinen” (which aired May 24), neither team has yet managed to score. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Sanko is on offense; Sawamura is pitching well, but an error by first baseman Maesono allows a runner to reach second base, and the next batter up is Hoshida — the cleanup hitter who was already a threat back in the 2nd inning. Another scoring chance is coming right back around for Sanko.

Broadcast Information

• TV: TV Tokyo network (6 stations), every Sunday at 5:30 PM / AT-X every Sunday at 9:00 PM
• Streaming: Netflix (simulcast ahead of broadcast) and additional platforms to follow

Staff

• Original Manga: Terajima Yuji (serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine, Kodansha)
• Director: Oba Hideaki
• Series Composition / Script: Konuta Kenji, Fujisaki Junichi, Udagawa Takahiro
• Character Design: Shoji Yasukazu
• Music: Momoishi Gen
• Animation Studio: OLM Team Yoshioka

Voice Cast

• Sawamura Eijun — Osaka Ryota
• Furuya Satoru — Shimazaki Nobunaga
• Miyuki Kazuya — Sakurai Takahiro
• Kuramochi Youichi — Asanuma Shintaro
• Kominato Haruichi — Hanae Natsuki
• Kawakami Norifumi — Shimono Hiro
• Maesono Kenta — Tachiri Hiroaki
• Shirasu Kenjiro — Shimosuma Yoshiyuki
• Aso Takaru — Murata Futoshi
• Watanabe Hisashi — Ishida Akira
• Kanemaru Shinji — Matsuoka Yoshitsugu
• Tojo Hideaki — Aoi Shota
• Okumura Mitsufune — Uchida Yuma
• Yuki Masashi — Takeuchi Shunsuke
• Seto Takuma — Yamashita Daiki
• Yui Kaoru — Murase Ayumu
• Asada Hirofumi — Hatakeyama Yu
• Yuki Tetsuya — Hosoya Yoshimasa
• Kominato Ryosuke — Okamoto Nobuhiko
• Takigawa Chris Yu — Namikawa Daisuke
• Masuko Toru — Hatano Wataru
• Kataoka Tesshin — Higashichi Hiroki
• Ochiai Hiromitsu — Akagi Shinta
• Ota Kazuyoshi — Takeuchi Eiji
• Takashima Rei — Uchiyama Yui

Theme Songs

• Opening Theme: Baby Canta — “Let’s Go Crazy”
• Ending Theme: SUPER★DRAGON — “NUMBER”

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Source: aniani