Filler episodes were never a great joy to most Anime viewers out there (or weebs as they like

to call
themselves). It is considered as a distraction, a waste of time, and could even disrupt the flow of the
series where it is going.

There could be a lot of reasons why fillers exist (and also have a few kinds). Mainly, it is to give more
time for the manga to catch up with the anime. But, most fillers are just there to add up the episodes of
a certain series. In particular, recap episodes are a hassle to watch and people would just skip them. It
summarizes the story from the start to the recently aired episode or a certain time frame of episodes.

On one side, some fillers are not all that bad. Some are quite enjoyable, wholesome and could even give
a different perspective of the story and the featured character. You just gotta know which is which.

To all those lovely smug manga readers out there, they are the ones who have an idea on what to skip
and what not to skip, but to the unassuming noob, they would have no clue (unless they Google it, of
course).

As one of Googles' search results, I am here to enlighten you and help you pinpoint which is the meat
and which is the side dish of this particular anime- Ace of Diamond.

THE ANIME

Ace of Diamond is a shounen and sports series, centered on baseball that aired from October 2013 to
March 2016. It has 126 episodes and 5 OVAs. It also has a second season, Ace of Diamond-Act II which
has 52 episodes and aired from April 2019 to March 2020.

The story is about your regular MC- strong-willed, Nakama-centered, and with a unique quirk in his
pitching style that he is about to discover and of course improve. And don’t forget his team members
who also have their own circumstances and story. The first season is divided into two parts.

THE EPISODES- First part

The first part has 75 episodes aired from October 2013 to March 2015 and has one reported filler on
Episode 28. And it is a recap episode, but don't leave yet. Hear me out (I mean please continue reading).
This type of filler when done incorrectly and excessively can be quite annoying and considering that in
this part of the series there is only one, I think it is quite acceptable.

FILLER NUMBER 1- Episode 28, a recap episode

As the title explained, it is a summary of the previously aired episodes, the question is- Is it needed? And
I think it is. Let us consider the situation of someone who plans to binge-watch this (I assume you are,
don’t we all need that quick fix of anime in our system to feel that we are alive for a moment). When
you are speed watching this, most likely you might have forgotten some characters and their roles, the
main events, and such. In the composition of this particular episode, it expertly arranged the main
events and still felt the tension of the story even when it pretty much skipped a good amount of details
(since it is a recap). It also re-introduced the characters (main ones) and gave small descriptions to it.
The narrator of course is the MC, but it also showcased a few lines of some characters like Chris. When I
was watching, I still felt the excitement, the cringe I had experienced. With the build-up tension of the
previous episode, I think that this episode gave its viewers a breath of fresh air (you could also call it
”recycled” fresh air) and reset their minds and give you time to process the story so far.

Even if you think you don’t have time, stop by in this recap episode and you’ll know what I mean. The
next episode continues the match between Seidou and Akikawa Academy.

The episode started off with the usual dramatic opening of most MCs. With the BGM backing him, his
suspenseful tone and a statement that teased the audience that this series will be lit (and it is. Don't
argue).

Then the op song started, which by the way you need to listen to since it is part of the experience in
Anime watching. After that, the events skipped to the part where the assistant director of Seidou High
school- Rei Takashima, invited him to come to their school. But as our MC is playing hard to get (as they
all do), he said no.

She, being the smart cool character, found a weakness in his statement, provoked him by saying a
sarcastic remark about his goal of wanting to go Nationals and of course to his team. And our Eijun (our
Mc), being a simple-minded, Nakama- centered, took the bait and chomped on it. In other words, he
visited the school, and oh boy, he was amazed. Before that, a certain bully character must enter and
provoke our righteous MC- Azama, and they somehow started a duel (more like it was proposed by Rei-
san to resolve any argument with a baseball match since they are on a baseball field. Classic).

And here comes our cynical catcher of the team- Miyuki Kazuya, he suggested catching Ejuns' pitch, and
yes he did (I also think Eijun lowkey simp for him because he was the first person to catch his ball, I
mean pitch).

Fast forward, different characters were introduced. One particular character was mainly focused on, is
Chris Yu Takigawa. The upperclassman who is in the second string and someone who is partnered with
Eijun to form a battery.

Of course, as all good relationships go, it started off with a pile of misunderstandings it got worse when
Chris commented how good Furuya (the obligatory rival on the position of being the Ace) is in his
pitches.

But eventually, it got cleared up when Eijun learned the truth about Chris- senpai's injury that hindered
him from being in the first string. Eijun then banged his head on the floor and asked Chris to be his
Sensei and teach him the way of the baseball. This is my favorite part in the recap episode, I could still
feel how regretful Eijun was and his conviction to mend his way, the animator didn't butcher this part, in
my opinion.
And now, the awaited proper introduction of the rival in the position of being the Ace of the team-
Furuya. It was also briefly narrated by Eijun the backstory of Furuya where he was ignored by his junior
high team because he was too OP, they couldn't match him.

The scene then changed to the part where the Summer tournament is teased and the selection of two
second-string players to move up to the first string during the summer practice matches in. They faced
off with Kokudokan and Eijun formed a battery with Chris-senpai. Of course, Eijun performed
exceptionally in this practice match where Chris- senpai made sure to bring out the diamond that he is
(Eijun). And so, the summer practice tournament ended where Eijun got selected along with the eye-
covered, pink-haired soft boy first year, Haruichi Kominato.

Unfortunately, Chris-senpai wasn't selected and he will continue his career on the baseball team as a
manager of the team. Eijun was bitter and sad about it as they all are in the first string, but with Miyuki-
senpai's encouraging words he accepted it with tears in his eyes and a new conviction for all of them- to
go to the Nationals with everything they got.

With that part coming to a close, the scene jumped to the part where Seidou High is facing off other
schools in West Tokyo District to win the Summer Tournament and get the chance to compete in the
semi-finals This part you could briefly see some teams with Saitama as their theme, the other one has a
very striking eyebrow and of course, the team that they would have a hard time dealing with.

The MC also briefly introduced its amazing (as he likes to call them) upperclassmen one by one, with
their weird quirks and their positions on the team. It was not boring in this part since the characters
themselves have a line for themselves to somehow really show their character and Miyuki also helped
narrate this part by slightly insulting each character, you'll know what I mean if you saw the episode.

The episode came to a close with Tanba-san being injured during a game- the upperclassman that is the
supposed ace of the team. Now, Seidou High enters the tournament without their ace. Of course, the
fate of the team rests on Furuya, Nori-senpai, and especially our MC- Eijun to carry on the game. The
episode ended with a note of doubt on how will they perform but we all know that all is well as long as
the MC is there.

THE EPISODES- Second part

I would like to put this out there- It would be your own discretion and judgment as to whether you
watch these filler episodes or just skip them. I personally would watch the fillers, because- One, I'm too
lazy to Google a certain anime and identify which is the filler and which is not. Two, I always feel that I
am missing out on a lot of things if I skip an episode regardless that it may not be as good as I thought it
would be (I kinda feel that sometimes I love to hurt and tire myself and then if I regret it, it is what it is)
and lastly, I feel obligated to watch it since it is still made with hard work by these animators, it is always
worth for me to try and the stare of the distance and ask myself "Why did I even waste my time?".