Ace of Diamond is a Japanese shōnenbaseballmanga series written and illustrated by Yuji Terajima and published by Kodansha. It has been serialized by Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2006 to 2015. A sequel titled Ace of Diamond Act II started in 2015. An anime adaptation ran from 6 October 2013 to 28 March 2016. Two original animation DVDs were bundled with the fourth and fifth volumes of the Ace of Diamond Act II manga; the first was released 15 July 2016 and the second was released on 16 September 2016. An anime adaptation of Ace of Diamond Act II premiered on 2 April 2019. 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.
Plot
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 doesn't 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 doesn't have to resign.
Media
Manga
Ace of Diamond is a shōnen baseball manga written and illustrated by Yuji Terajima. It has been serialized by Kodansha's weekly manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 15, 2006 to January 14, 2015. Kodansha collected chapters in tankōbon. The first volume was published on 15 September 2006 and as of 17 August 2015, 47 volumes were published. Kodansha USA has licensed the series for a digital release in English under the title Ace of the Diamond, and has been publishing the volumes since March 7, 2017. A sequel manga, titled Ace of Diamond Act II started in the same magazine on August 19, 2015. As of October 2019, nineteen volumes have been released in Japan. There is also a comedic spinoff called “Daiya no B!” about the same characters and at the same school but in a brass high school band. There appear to only be three volumes released between November 2015 and August 2016.
Anime
The TV series was produced by Madhouse and Production I.G and began airing on October 6, 2013, on TX Network stations and later on AT-X. The episodes were simulcast in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Central and South America, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal by Crunchyroll with English and German subtitles. The series was initially planned to be 52 episodes but was extended and ended in March 2015. A second season started airing soon after on April 6, 2015 on TX Network stations and later on AT-X. Like its predecessor the episodes were simulcast in the aforementioned countries by Crunchyroll with English and German subtitles. An anime adaptation of Ace of Diamond Act II was announced in November 2018, and it premiered on April 2, 2019. The cast and staff will reprise their roles from the previous series, with Madhouse returning for animation production. The series is listed for 52 episodes.
Reception
Ace of Diamond was the 25th best selling manga in 2011, with 1,711,607 copies sold. Nikkei Entertainment magazine published a list of top 50 manga creators by sales since January 2010, in its September 2011 issue; Yuji Terajima, the author of Ace of Diamond was ranked 20th, with 2,792,000 copies sold. It was the 27th best selling manga in 2012, with 1,685,194 copies sold. In 2013 Ace of Diamond became the 23rd best selling manga, with 2,010,045 copies sold. As of March 2015, the first 45 volumes of the series have sold over 22 million copies. As of November 2015, the manga had 25 million copies in print. 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.
