Ace of Diamond

Ace of Diamond (Japanese: ダイヤのAエース, Hepburn: Daiya no Ēsu) is a Japanese baseball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Terajima. It was serialized in Kodansha’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 2006 to January 2015. A sequel titled Ace of Diamond Act II started in August 2015.

An anime television series adaptation ran from October 2013 to March 2016. An anime adaptation of Ace of Diamond Act II aired from April 2019 to March 2020.

In 2008, Ace of Diamond received the Shogakukan Manga Awards for the shōnen category. In 2010, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for best shōnen manga

The series follows one Eijun Sawamura, a baseball pitcher with a very unusual changeup pitch that has occurred naturally. Sawamura plans to go with his friends to a local high school and play baseball to the best of their abilities. However, one scout from the prestigious Seidou High approaches him and offers him a scholarship and a chance to make it to the nationals. Sawamura decides to pay a visit to the school, and it changes his entire outlook on the future. The first season follows Seidou and their main rivals as they attempt to help the upperclassmen make it to nationals during the summer tournament. Once the summer tournament ends, the upperclassmen will be forced to retire, but how far can Sawamura help them go when he currently does not have any control?

The second season continues to follow Sawamura, Furuya, Haruichi, and Miyuki as they lead a new team, along with a few returning faces, through the fall tournament. Their overly ambitious goal is to go to nationals during the fall tournament and convince Coach Kataoka that he does not have to resign.