#daiya thoughts

[ukaiknowsbest]

he's babygirl

source: Ace of Diamond Act 2 Miyuki Kazuya Birthday Goods by Princess Cafe

[ukaiknowsbest]

COMPILATION OF SAWAMURA EIJUN'S TEARS

a study in how Terajima portrayed his main character while he crying.

chapter 1 - DESTINY'S FATEFUL PITCH

Eijun is in tears after their middle school rubberball team lost in their first and only official game.

note: eyes properly drawn. cheeks red from the emotional exertion, a stead stream of tears and individual drops flowing from his cheeks. There's also snot from his nose brought upon by his crying.

In the two pictures above, Eijun slaps the opposite team because he was angry that they insulted his teammates.

note: cat eyes, pupils not seen, a stream of steady tears.

chapter 3 - DAY OF DEPARTURE

Eijun eventually breaks down crying while the train is in motion. His former team had sent him off in tearful goodbyes.

note: at first we only see his head is bowed. Then a moment later, teardrops start falling. The next panel we see a closeup of his scrunched up face. His eyes are properly drawn too. There's also snot from his nose brought upon by his crying.

chapter 6 -PITCHER ELIMINATION (introduction arc)

Eijun sobs after Kuramochi asks him if he's training to be an Olympic Marathon runner and not a baseball pitcher. He also cries from being manhandled into wrestling moves.

note: played for comedic effect. Appearance of cat-eyes and there is a continuous stream of tears.

chapter 105 - CUTTER (seido vs yakushi act1 summer tournament)

Eijun sobs after Kuramochi taunts him of being a lesser version of a moving-ball pitcher like Sanada.

note: there is an appearance of cat-eyes and there is a continuous stream of liquid from the tear duct. The tears go down in drops after leaving his face. Effect is initially comedic but upon closer inspection of the next panels you see that he was genuinely insecure about it and had to be comforted by Miyuki. Therefore we can say it's semi-comedic.

chapter 192 - SENSE OF REALITY (seido vs inashiro, act1 summer tournament)

Eijun breaks down in tears on the bus after he see Yuuki Tetsuya crying in the seat opposite to him.

note: we cannot see his eyes since they are not drawn in and are also obscured by his bangs. Moreover his face is hooded for effect. His tears are portrayed in drops. This is serious.

chapter 217 - INNER VOICE (seido vs yakushi, act1 yips arc)

Eijun breaks down after being pulled out from the mound in Seido vs. Yakushi scrimmage. He shut down while playing and couldn't pitch neither to the inside nor outside and had to be replaced in the inning that he was subbed in.

note: Eijun's face is entirely covered by a towel, his head is bowed. The panels show individual drips of tears, not a continuous stream like in comedic moments.

note: It was only when Eijun stopped crying/when his tears ran out that we could finally see his face. Note his blank eyes and dark eyebags.

ch 258 - STONE (act 1, fall qualifiers)

Eijun openly cries in happiness while reading manga.

note: Eijun's eyes are shown in this, the continuous stream of tears makes a come back, suggestic the comedic nature of the scene. Moreover this seem to be tears of joy rather than Eijun being genuinely upset.

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ACT 2 chapter 305

Sawamura in tears of joy after helping win the Seido vs Inajitsu summer tournament final match. He was holding it in until the medal was hanged on his neck. That's when the tears started flowing.

Note: continuous stream of tears, eyes properly drawn, individual drops. Serious. (But at least these are joyous tears).

Conclusion

If, while crying Eijun has

cat eyes - he's upset but with comedic effect

continuous stream of tears - can be serious but is comedic when there are no individual teardrops

individual tear drops - serious

eyes drawn properly - serious

eyes not shown - serious

Final Thoughts

this was interesting character and manga study for me. I did not expect there to be so much nuance in how Terajima drew things. While reading we now know why some stuff appear serious while other scenes do not. Laying panels all like this gives us an idea of the creative choices mangaka use to depict certain emotions.

Thanks for reading!

.........

EDIT 10/10/21 - WELP SO I SPOILED MYSELF. NOW I HAVE PHOTO OF SAWAMURA CRYING IN THE FINAL.

when i saw the spoiler i was like "that looks too familiar." and here we go! It's basically the same pose! From the eyes, to the tears, to the clenching of teeth, to the repressed shivers! what a payoff!

FEELS LIKE COMING HOME ISN'T IT?

Laying the two panels side by side feels like the end of the journey.

Okaeri.

[ukaiknowsbest]

i've been thinking.

Miyuki doesn't really do heart-to-heart talks, he's either very clinical or poetic, or riles up pitchers by pitting them against each other... or he can just be generally mean coz he can get into the pitcher's psyche that way.

This can be a double edged sword coz it seems only the results matter to him (not necessarily a bad thing but can lead to issues if he does not word things *right*)

Meanwhile Chris asks things like "what do you think when you're pitching, tell me anything", "who are the batters", "what will you pitch in this situation"

refreshing in the sense that he gives the pitcher a voice

Kariba and Ono are pretty kind and accomodating of the pitcher while being very aware of their weaknesses as catcher, Yui seems to be in this category too (also imo Harada and Inui)

honestly this is the most ideal for me but the series is just gonna turn seinen if they use mild mannered catchers like them. Also it is unfortunate that catchers like Ono/Kariba/Yui are always in last places in the running for best catcher in Seido lol

Meanwhile Okumura is like Miyuki who fires up the pitcher with well chosen words, but also can be fatalistic in his encouragement... but he’s not as mean as Miyuki. And Okumura does admit things to Seto such as "he's scared." Lately he’s been asking what sawamura thinks and just be there for him 

better than miyuki at least, coz he admits to weaknesses and is willing to learn and listen. He seems to be the best of both worlds. Okumura’s actions can either be his revolution against Miyuki’s methods or he genuinely wants to help Sawamura more (or both).

But then I know there is someone out there who’ll counter that Miyuki grew up that way and became a catcher like that coz he had to survive and he had no friends unlike ther rest of the catchers presumably. And his handling of pitchers does work at times anyway.

Moreover Miyuki IS KIND and HE CARES...he’s just not that showy about it OR you can see those attributes more in his kohai(with chris) and captain persona.

tfw when u understand miyuki but also wanna punch him and also admire him.

[ukaiknowsbest]

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

[ukaiknowsbest]

It’s interesting how even before Inajitsu vs Teito match started, Miyuki was already looking for Sawamura in the bleachers at the corner of his eye.

We have got to understand that this was unusual behavior coming from Sawamura. I looked back at the previous episodes and noticed that Sawamura was always in the center of the main roster flock, and usually on Miyuki’s side.

example1, when the first years were introduced

example2, in the canteen (he’s sitting directly across Miyuki here)

example3, in the bleachers after Seido vs Kasuga-ichi match, while they were watching Ichidai vs Niogakusha

Therefore Sawamura sitting far from the core of the team after Seido vs Ichidai was downright WEIRD by Sawamura and Seido standards.

I know that Kuramochi kept implying that Sawamura was angry at the team for not being able to back him up with more runs.

However I think Sawamura wasn’t really angry at the team but he just wanted time for himself to reflect on what he learned about the Seido vs. Sankou match. Maybe he wanted to reflect on his frustration about the difference of the team and Kataoka’s treatment of him and Furuya as reliever and ace respectively.

This is why he let Haruichi and the rest of the main team go on ahead without him. It wouldn’t be too far off to say he wanted to avoid them for a bit.

I think though one of Sawamura’s  reasons for sitting far away was to be able to watch the match without Miyuki’s input.

If you recall, Miyuki had started explaining in-game strategy to Sawamura and Furuya while watching Ichidai vs Niogakusha match.

Sawamura was impressed by how Miyuki could predict gameplay by watching a game. He wanted to try doing it on his own like how he got sanada’s cutter & shuuto, shunshin’s precision and narumiya’s changeup for himself.

Because this is what Sawamura is really about. He never wallows in defeat for too long but he looks for concrete and practical ways to improve himself. While the rest of the team were still regretful, Sawamura was already one, two, ten steps ahead.

He’s an inspiration to them all.

[ukaiknowsbest]

Tetsu Yuuki vs Miyuki Kazuya as captains

[ukaiknowsbest]

Did you know that...

The television set in the Seido Baseball Dorm, some kind of bootleg SUNY brand CRT TV, was upgraded after Miyuki reviewed the Seido vs. Inashiro Summer Tournament Match.

Ch 193. August 1, Miyuki reviews the matches by himself. Here we can still see the old SUNY tv.

Ch 195. August 2, Sawamura declares that he's going to be the ace and asks Miyuki to let him watch the Seido vs. Inashiro match. In the corner we see a flatscreen monitor. The SUNY tv is gone.

Miyuki must have complained that the tv was so shtty, the coaches replaced it immediately with a flat screen LOL /jk

This means the data in my previous post (x) was not yet complete. Terajima-sensei had upgraded the technology (or just the tv) even in Act 1.

on sidenote it's kind of cool that everyone cleared out the mess hall at 9pm just in time for miyuki/sawamura private review session. Everyone finished their food in just an hour.

[ukaiknowsbest]

Ive been thinking how we’ve never met any of miyuki’s previous pitchers and I realized that they must either

1.) suck so bad they gave up pitching/baseball

2.) never made it into the first string

3.) be in east tokyo teams that havent faced seido even once in the fall tournaments.