Original subtitles

All right!

I'm gonna do it!

That idiot...

Not Qualified to Be a Pitcher?

Private Seidou High School

Sawamura-kun, be sure to get a good rest after you finish moving in.

Our practice will wear you out even during the spring break.

I'm very well aware of it!

Is that so?

Well, my job as a recruiter ends here.

You might come across speed bumps being in a new environment,

but I believe in what I saw.

Good luck, our future ace.

A-Ace?

Also, it'll be a student-teacher relationship from now on.

If you don't speak with some manners, I'll beat some sense into you.

You serious?

...Ma'am?

Seidou Spirit Dorm

Seidou Spirit Dorm

Seidou Spirit Dorm...

Dorm?

It looks more like an apartment.

Who's drying laundry here?

A baseball life? Bring it on!

Wait! I gotta find my room.

Tohru Masuko Yoichi Kuramochi Eijun Sawamura

Here it is.

Rooming with the upperclassmen...

Considering the level of this school, I bet they're both amazing people.

I'm getting nervous.

Once I open this door, a new life begins for me.

I'm a little scared.

I thought I'd made up my mind.

Let's do this.

For my new future.

A ghost!

Great success!

Don't hate me for this.

I was in your shoes last year.

Welcome to the Seidou High School Baseball Team.

Thanks.

I'm Kuramochi, eleventh grade.

This guy here is Masuko, twelfth grade.

Nice to meet you.

N-Nice to meet you as well.

Don't mind his strange practice.

He made an error yesterday, so he banned himself from talking.

Crazy, right?

Don't just stand there!

Come in!

Where did I put it...

And the other one...

Okay, let's do this!

A video game tournament welcoming the newcomer!

Bring it on.

Let's get this over with quickly.

We've got an early practice tomorrow.

I was totally expecting a super strict, military-like atmosphere, but...

I'm not gonna lose!

If you lose, you're gonna be our gofer for a year.

Did I just hear something very scary?

You're just hearing things!

Come tomorrow, we'll still be buddies!

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Yeah!

Well...

They're really nice people!

Good morning!

I'm Kataoka, the head coach.

Is this all the new members this year?

Yes, sir!

Introduce yourselves one at a time.

Yes, sir!

I'm sleepy.

Was it okay to leave him there like that?

Not our problem.

It's his fault he didn't wake up on time.

What is he doing?

Crap! I overslept!

I can't believe I'm late on my first day!

Why in the world didn't my roommates wake me up?

They're the reason I was up so late!

Atsushi Takemoto from Minami Junior High!

I'd like to be the left fielder!

It's a pleasure to meet you!

Next.

Hiroshi Oshima from Miyagawa Senior League.

I'd like to be the shortstop!

I have confidence in my defensive abilities!

I can't walk out in this atmosphere.

What are you doing, you idiot?

How do you explain yourself to your friends back home?

Crap! They've already started.

I just couldn't stop watching that video.

Wait... Aren't you that kid?

Kazuya Miyuki!

Be quiet!

They'll catch us!

I-I'm sorry.

What a surprise.

Never thought I'd see him again like this.

Anyway, why are you here?

Why am I here?

Because I joined this school!

Wow! So you're late on your first day here?

You have a big attitude wherever you go, huh?

I don't want to hear it from you!

Well, more importantly...

You're in a pretty tight spot.

Our head coach, Tesshin Kataoka,

is extremely strict about being punctual.

We have over one hundred people on our team, so...

Worst-case scenario, he'll never remember your name.

That's bad!

That's really bad!

Should I go out there and get on my knees?

No, just calm down.

A tardy is a tardy even if you apologize.

It won't make your sentence lighter.

However,

what if you sneak into that line without anyone noticing?

So...

Take a good look at how they're lined up.

They're doing introductions from the far end to the close end.

Once the first row is done,

it goes back to the far end of the second row.

While the farthest guy is doing his intro, everyone will be looking at him.

Right.

Take that chance to run quickly

and quietly into the line like a ninja!

N-Ninja?

Tardy

Yay!

Are you sure?

Wouldn't I be in bigger trouble if I fail?

Don't worry.

I made it last year.

You've done this before?

Do you want to give up on high school life because of a single tardy?

Just trust me.

Nice pitch.

Okay.

Watch closely.

You'll only get one chance.

Shinji Kamimaru from Matsukata Senior League!

I'd like to be the third baseman!

It's a pleasure to meet you!

Next.

Go.

Like a ninja!

Nice sprint.

He came here late, but he's trying to sneak into the line!

That idiot.

There's a good explanation—

When did he...

Did he use me as a distraction?

Kid.

You've got some guts being tardy on the first day.

And you've got a twisted mentality for trying to sneak in, to boot.

Go run for the rest of the morning practice!

Everything's working against me!

You deserve it!

Wow! He's an idiot!

So hilarious!

That goes for the two older guys rooming with him.

And the idiot who jumped into line while we were busy with him.

You guys run, too.

Ahhh—!!

I'm never trusting a single thing you say!

Thanks for the compliment!

It's not!

I'll have to slap him later.

Good thing his grandfather taught me well.

Damn it!

Can I get seconds?

Can I get seconds as well?

You must eat at least three bowls of rice per meal!

What's wrong?

If you don't eat, you're not gonna last through the afternoon practice.

Are you okay?

Don't barf here!

I feel sick.

I was running all through morning practice,

and I had to eat three bowls of rice...

International flamingo!

He had three bowls...

You're not hitting anything past me!

So did he...

Masuko!

Show some spirit!

He had six bowls...

Are they all monsters?

They all ran as much as I did,

but they're practicing like it was nothing.

They're only a year or two older,

but I have no endurance compared to them.

Tenth graders!

Sir!

We'll have you group into your preferred positions to see how you fare!

Change into your spikes and meet me at Field B.

Yes, sir!

Does that mean...

This is the moment!

I get to test my strength!

Kid.

Where are you going?

Where?

To test my own abilities?

You don't have to participate.

If you're bored, you can run.

Why do I get special treatment?

The other three have already joined the practice!

They already apologized.

Seriously?

A guy who can't even apologize for being late to practice...

is not a member of the Seidou Baseball Team.

He totally blew it.

Our coach isn't going to cave in.

If you don't like how I do things, then don't show up.

Ever.

W-Wait a minute...

I haven't even done...

I haven't even...

Good luck! You're our hero!

I overslept because I was naive.

I have no excuse.

But I'm... I'm...

I'm...

I'm here to become the ace!

And I'm confident that I want it more than anyone here!

Empty words.

Who are you to judge what I say?

I'm being dead serious here!

Shoot! Manners.

I was just...

Wait! What are you—

Look at the faces of the tenth graders.

Of course they're surprised.

He kicked a pro contract to coach the school where he graduated.

He hasn't lost his touch.

You want to be the ace?

Then words are useless.

Prove it by action.

By action?

It's roughly ninety meters from the plate to the fence.

If you can throw the ball to that fence, then you can join practice.

A-Are you serious?

But if you can't throw to the fence,

give up on becoming a pitcher.

I'm requesting to play pitcher, too, but I can't do that.

Ninety meters?

That's impossible.

Coach must be super pissed.

That's too hard for a guy fresh out of junior high.

That idiot...

I told him to speak to the coach with respect.

This place lives up to its prestigious name.

What a simple test!

I just have to throw this ball way over that fence, right?

Over the fence?

Are you crazy?

What's your best distance, anyway?

I dunno.

But...

If I can't even do this...

then I can't be the ace!

Give up on becoming a pitcher?

Eijun Sawamura from Akagi Junior High!

What kind of choice is that?

This will be my memorable first throw in high school!

Thank you for this opportunity!

Don't even blink, Coach Shades.

This is the start...

of the Legend of Sawamura!

Whoa! It's going pretty far.

It just might make it to the fence.

Go!

Why did you curve?!

He threw a curve in a long throw!

It might've hit the fence if it didn't curve, too!

Looks like there's your answer.

As promised, you can give up on being a pitcher.

You also can't practice.

If you're bored, you can run.

So much for becoming the ace...

Seidou Spirit Dorm

You're still upset?

The coach gave you a chance after all your disrespect,

yet you throw a curveball in a long throw?

That was classic!

Unbelievable.

Do I even know how to throw straight?

You've just been running for the past three days, too!

You might just end up running for the rest of the year.

All of your tenth-grade peers will be playing in official games,

while you just keep running every day!

What are you gonna do?

Maybe shoot for the Olympics?

In marathon, I mean.

Shut up!

I very well know how pathetic—

But...

You still have three years.

Or, technically, two and a half.

Notice how Masuko's been coming back really late?

He's already in twelfth grade.

So he doesn't have any time.

I bet he's swinging his bat alone somewhere.

He made one error in the last game.

Just a single error,

and he's off the starting line-up.

"I want to be the ace."

"I want to hit fourth."

"I want to make the starters."

"I want to play in the game."

Everyone here wants it.

The reality is,

we have roughly one hundred people fighting for nine spots.

Only those who do well make it.

The others have to wait for the next opportunity.

You're not the only one who feels hopeless.

If you walk in here looking depressed again, I'm kicking you out.

Coach Kataoka.

Do you really plan to make him give up as a pitcher?

He's only just joined, and we don't know his strength yet.

Isn't it a little early to give the final verdict?

And...

he's the junior high schooler who struck out Azuma.

Who's running so early in the morning?

Sawamura-kun?

How in the world

did you throw such a naturally breaking ball almost ninety meters?

However, a promise is a promise.

I can't let him participate in practice as a pitcher yet.

Make him run until the sun sets.

"Yet," huh?

Miyuki is doing amazingly well in the district tournament.

As I've been stamped with the seal of unqualified pitcher,

I'm back at school practicing.

But I'm not gonna lose!

I'm gonna be the ace of this team!

In the midst of Sawamura's training, a fellow tenth grader,

Satoru Furuya, approached him.

What is he doing staying at school?

Next time on Ace of the Diamond: Are You Like Me?

Are You Like Me?

Let's win the national title!