Category: Sports

Manga of the Month: Ace of the Diamond

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Ace of the Diamond by Yuji Terajima

I can go on for a long LONG time about how much I love Ace of the Diamond. That podcast is a spoiler minefield by the way. Yet, I haven’t put that love into writing here on the blog before. In fact, the only time I talked about it on Reverse Thieves proper, I wasn’t actually very taken with it. It is a series with a slow roll; after giving it a second chance, I discovered it pays off big time.

Eijun wasn’t planning on playing baseball seriously, he just wanted to spend time with his friends. But after he is invited to see a major high school team’s practice, everything changes. He gets to pitch a few, piss nearly everyone off, and gets recruited thanks to star catcher Miyuki and coach Kataoka.

Eijun, however, is not the ace of the Seido baseball team. He dreams it. He wants it. But he isn’t it. You might think it is obvious that Eijun will become the ace, but the series has a lot of uncertainty. As I see it, there are many aces of the diamond because this, as with all good sports series, is about a team and not a single player. Different moments have different aces.

At first, Eijun is hard to like. He begins the series as a sincere baseball lover but also a bullheaded jerk. More than likely you’ll be like me and become very passionate about the stories of catcher Miyuki, captain Yuki, injured Chris, the Kominato brothers, and the many other players. However, Eijun, for all his flaws, learns so much in the early parts of the series thanks to the stellar cast. It doesn’t take too long (but certainly more than a couple of volumes) for him to realize the error of his ways and start down his true path.

And finally what keeps me glued to Ace of the Diamond for the long haul is the emotional resonance. The series is top-notch when it comes to showing the determination and heart of the Seido team. I have cried harder, cheered louder, and raged more fiercely when it comes to Ace of the Diamond than I have for any other sports series.

So you may not like Eijun at first. And the series is more than 50 books and climbing (Ace of the Diamond is 47 book, Act II is 8 and ongoing). But I am here to tell you that it is absolutely worth the investment.

I’ve been beyond elated with the recent offerings of sports manga in English. Ace of the Diamond is another series that is getting a digital release which is a great way to go with these long-running series.

~kate

Manga of the Month: Giant Killing

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Giant Killing by Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo

narutaki_icon_4040_round Ah, to return to Giant Killing is quite a thrill! And one I never expected to have for a long (43 books and counting) serious soccer manga.

I say serious not because the manga is terribly gritty but because Giant Killing is about more than just the players vying for a championship. The story tackles characters in every facet of the sport: coach, player, manager, owner, PR coordinator, reporter, fans young and old. This panoramic view of the soccer scene is what makes the series so intriguing.

Giant Killing’s basic plot sounds like a classic: washed-up team is revitalized by new unconventional coach who previously betrayed the team many years before when he was their star player. Coach Tatsumi brings a lot of baggage and drama into the lives he upends by returning to his former team. But he is good at what he does, is smart, and has enough charm to make it work.

Shifting the focus to the coach already makes Giant Killing feeling a little bit different from many other sports manga we’ve had the chance to experience in English. Then the series does one better and spreads the focus to so many other characters which makes it a standout.

~ kate

Manga of the Month: Haikyu!!

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Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate

narutaki_icon_4040_round While Haikyu!! is not the first manga focusing on men’s volleyball, it’s probably the first most of us American fans have heard of. The current season of anime just wrapped up so it seemed a perfect time to re-experience the series from the beginning with the manga.

From the start Haruichi Furudate’s detailed art caught my attention. Sense of movement, strength, and atmosphere are well-composed to capture the intensity of volleyball; a sport that many may have not considered so intense prior. The facial expressions and humor get an equal amount of artistic love, plus the comedic timing is great whether it is breaking up a moment, showing the bonds between comrades, or creating a rapport with other teams.

But one of Haikyu!!’s biggest strengths lies where is should: with the main character. Hinata’s exuberance is infectious. His moment of epiphany towards volleyball happened years earlier, and he is now pursuing his dream. He is not a total novice, he doesn’t need to be taught the basics, but he hasn’t gotten to experience a full team. He is the little guy who jumps with wild abandon in a sport that often prioritizes height. His ego is in check. He simply glows so much when it comes to volleyball that you can’t help but smile. Perhaps best of all is how quickly his rivalry sputters out when his rival ends up being on the same team.

That rival, Kageyama, is as sour as Hinata is bright. Once nicknamed “The King of the Court,” Kageyama has fallen from grace because of his attitude towards his teammates. Hinata and him make an unlikely but essential duo if they hope to see their team gain glory on the court.

And you really, really want to see their team regain their former title. The emotional hooks of Haikyu!! are the strongest I’ve found for the recent crop of popular shonen sports series. This is in part because so many of the other teams we meet are just as interesting as our main group. Do I ultimately want to see Hinata and crew stand proudly at the top? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I won’t shed some tears for the other teams along the way.

Reading the manga has served as an excellent reminder that the series has been strong from the get-go.

~ kate