A talk event for the TV anime " Ace of Diamond Ace of Diamond Ace actII -Second Season-," based on Yuji Terajima 's popular baseball manga "Diamond no Ace," was held on May 5th at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo). Yuma Uchida , who plays Ryota Osaka , Nobunaga Shimazaki , Yuma Uchida, who plays Koshu Okumura, and Noboru Yamada, the general producer of the anime series, appeared on stage. Behind-the-scenes stories from the TV anime were shared, and there were also remarks hinting at the production of a sequel to the anime, making for an exciting event.
At the event, they looked back on the currently airing "actII -Second Season-". Following the events up to episode 5, the cast members each shared memorable scenes and anecdotes from the recording sessions. Producer Yamada also revealed the production process of this season, stating that he "wanted to give the anime version of Sawamura a proper conclusion," and shared behind-the-scenes stories about the storyboard collaboration with the original author, Terashima. Furthermore, Producer Yamada casually announced the production of a sequel, saying, "Up to episode 4, which has aired so far, we had to adopt a digest-like structure, which is different from the way we've done things before, so I think some fans may have been worried. But we will definitely make a second season (following the current first season)." He added, "We'll take a short break, but please rest assured that we will broadcast the second season all the way to the end."
In a segment where producer Yamada reviewed memorable scenes with accompanying video clips, impressive moments from Okumura, Furuya, and Sawamura were highlighted, and the cast members reminisced about the recording sessions. The scene chosen for Okumura was a battery scene from Act II, Episode 41, "A Community of Fate," featuring Okumura's memorable line, "If we die, we die together." Producer Yamada explained his choice, saying, "Okumura's eyes usually don't have highlights, but in this scene, they did. It was a scene that marked the beginning of his relationship with Sawamura as a battery ally, so I remember it." Uchida shared his thoughts at the time of recording, saying, "As Mitsufune inherits the role of Kazuya Miyuki, I wanted to be a good catcher, and I still feel that way today."
The scene chosen for Furuya was from episode 63 of the first season, "Echoes," where he declares he will become the ace after the loss against Inashiro. Shimazaki said he remembers the recording session well, recalling, "The studio, which is usually bustling with the Seido cast, was empty. Just like Furuya and the others, we felt that we had to continue to deliver the same quality even though our senior cast members were gone, and that's where I connected with Furuya."
For Sawamura's scene, the memorable moment from Act II, Episode 45, "Go EXCEED!!", where he receives the ace number, was chosen. It was revealed that the theme song "Go EXCEED!!" was inserted into this scene, and that the subtitle was also changed accordingly. The history of "OxT" and "GLAY," who have supported the TV anime "Ace of Diamond" with their theme songs, was also discussed, and the cast members reminisced about their memories of TERU participating in the voice recording.
Finally, producer Yamada sent a message to the fans saying, "Thank you for supporting ' Ace of Diamond' for so long. We will do our best to make the second season, so please continue to support us!" Uchida commented, "It is made with the incredible passion of not only the cast but also the production staff. Please look forward to the second season!" Shimazaki said, "It is because of all the memories we have talked about today that this work has become so special to us. I am happy that such a special work can be enjoyed again across time. Your support has led us to where we are today, so I hope you will continue to support us as family and enjoy it to the very end. And I hope that we can see what lies beyond together."
Osaki said, "We should be able to run through to the very end of the original story... so we will also run through to the end with all our might! We hope to show you the culmination of ' Ace of Diamond,' so please continue to support us."
"Ace of Diamond" began serialization in "Weekly Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha) in 2006, and its sequel, "Ace of Diamond actII," was serialized in the same magazine from 2015 to 2022. The story follows the protagonist, Eijun Sawamura, as he enrolls in Seidou High School, a prestigious high school baseball school, and aims for the top of the national high school baseball championship with Kazuya Miyuki, Satoru Furuya, Haruichi Kominato, and others in the baseball club.
The first season of the TV anime aired from October 2013 to March 2015, the second season from April 2015 to March 2016, and "actII" aired from April 2019 to March 2020. "Ace of Diamond actII -Second Season-" is a sequel coming approximately six years later and is currently airing on TV Tokyo and other networks.
