Ace of the Diamond, Manga Recommendation!

Key takeaways from Manga Recommendation – Ace of the Diamond:

• Ace of the Diamond is a long-running sports manga that captivates readers with its consistently good storytelling and engaging plot, spanning over 700 chapters across two series.
• The manga follows Sawamura’s journey to become the ace of Seidou High School’s baseball team and qualify for nationals, offering well-developed characters and compelling interactions that keep readers hooked.
• With its stylized realistic art style and thrilling match sequences, Ace of the Diamond delivers an immersive experience, making it a must-read for fans of sports manga.

Sports manga can be one of the most exciting genres when done right. Many try and fail but a few series capture that perfect balance of games and characters. We have quite a few examples of good sports anime these days, but Ace of the Diamond will always be one of the OGs.

This manga initially ran for a long time but soared into popularity along the tail end of its serialization. I read it fairly recently and am impressed by how consistently good it is despite being so long.

So welcome back to another edition of our manga recommendation series. This week we are talking about Ace of the Diamond. So let’s get started.

Introduction

Ace of the Diamond is written and illustrated by Terajima Yuuji. It was serialized in the Shounen Magazine from May 2006 to July 2015. The manga is 47 volumes or 418 chapters long, which is pretty long but it doesn’t stop there. It has a sequel manga too which was sterilized in the same magazine from August 2015 to October 2022. And Act II is another 34 volumes or 309 chapters. That is a total of 81 volumes or 727 chapters; which is really long.

Plot

Akagi Middle School lost its chance of qualifying for nationals because its team captain, Sawamura tried to pitch his own unique fastball. Sawamura feels really guilty about this and promises his friends to qualify for nationals in high school. But because of his poor grades, no high school is willing to accept him. His unique pitch though catches the eye of a scout from the prestigious Seidou high school in Tokyo. Despite some initial reluctance, Sawamura decides to enroll in Sediou.

And his journey to become the ace of Seidou and qualify for nationals begins. Yes, that is pretty much a usual sports manga plot but Ace of the Diamond manages to feel fresh for all of the 700 chapters. The pacing of this manga is so well done that you almost never feel bored while reading it. It is kind of like One Piece where you just can’t stop yourself from reading despite the length of the series.

Characters

Check out the manga on Amazon!

Sawamura gets some really good character development throughout the series. He and Kazuya make an amazing pair. It is really cool to see them grow closer through various moments as the series goes on. The sheer length of the series also gives it time to flush out the side characters which makes for some awesome character writing and interactions.

Art

I really like how the author went for a slightly realistic look  The stylized realistic art style really suits the series. The sense of fluid movement we get during matches is nothing short of amazing.

Why should you read Ace of the Diamond?

Quick pointers on why you should check out this manga:

• Good plot
• Great characters
• Amazing matches

Conclusion

That is all for now. Ace of the Diamond is an amazing manga and I really can’t recommend it enough. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I will take my leave here. See ya!

Check out this week’s anime recommendation right here!