Diamond no Ace Act II Chapter 281: Release Date, Delay, Discussion

Chapter 280 of Diamond no Ace Act II, titled “Sore Loser Contest,” was the manga’s latest installment.

Shirasu’s rage resonated with many readers this week. The build-up we got before his batting was like witnessing the calm before the storm, and yet, all we got was a dead ball. All he could do was walk to first when we expected him to score.

The next in line is captain Miyuki, and this will be a deadly battle between him and Mei. I think Mei will finally show his true abilities as an ace and a true captain that might surprise even Miyuki. Will Miyuki eventually hit a score for Seidou? We’ll find out in the next chapter.

1. Chapter 281 Discussions and Predictions 

Miyuki Kazuya from Seidou has entered the batter’s box, and things are getting better for the team. After Mei hit Shirasu with a dead ball, he silently made his way towards first. Despite his calm demeanor, his aura was filled with rage, which even shook-up monster Mei.

Now that the captain himself has taken up the bat, the match will be exhilarating. The best-case scenario would be that Miyuki hits a home run, followed by Sawamura’s excellent batting for the rest of the inning. Of course, it’s a far-fetched theory, but one can still dream.

It was really annoying to see Shirasu’s play getting cut short, and I really hope that the same doesn’t happen to Miyuki. I hope he hits and scores at least a run before the ace, Sawamura gets his chance to step in. Also, hopefully, this won’t be the last of Shirasu’s batting in this inning.

2. Chapter 281 Release Date

Chapter 281 of the Diamond no Ace Act II manga has been released on Thursday, Mar 03, 2022. The chapter title has not been leaked yet.

I. Is Diamond no Ace Act II on a break this week?     

Yes, chapter 281 of Diamond no Ace manga is on a break this week. The series will continue to be released as scheduled after the break.

Sometimes, the English translations of the manga come out three to four days after the official Japanese release, so the chapter might get a bit delayed.

3. Chapter 281 Raw Scans, Leaks

The raw scans of chapter 281 have not been released yet. These scans usually come out one to two days before the weekly release day. So, we can expect their release by March 1.

4. Where to Read Diamond no Ace Act II

The first 28 volumes of the series’ first season can be read online at BookWalker. The official Japanese chapters release weekly in the Pocket Shonen magazine. However, there are no official English translations available.

5. Chapter 280 Recap

The match continues with Kominato in the batter’s box with Mei throwing his strong pitches. As the ball zooms towards him, Kominato remembers how his coach expects him to score for Seidou. The coach told him that he wanted him to become a booster for the team’s batting lineup.

He hits the ball and runner from second. Kuramochi makes use of Kominato’s grounder to advance to third. The crowd cheers, exclaiming that the hit was good enough to advance the runner. It’s one out with a runner on third.

This is where the Seidou cleanup crew steps in. Batting third is Shirasu, who scored a double in his previous at-bat. Once one of the teams scores, the game tends to see some developments, and with Kuramochi, he’ll be right home even on a grounder. It’s now about up to Shirasu to keep up with the enthusiasm built by Kominato.

As he takes his batting stance, Kuramochi steels his resolve to come back home on any hit. The entire Inajitsu infield squad shits forward, making it evident that they will not allow even a single run to be scored.

As the pressure builds up, even Mei feels a bit jittery with the game’s current state. Before the game begins, we’re taken to a flashback where Shirasu was in his first year. He laments how it still bothers him that two players his age were chosen as regulars before him.

After that, not a day went without him thinking about how much he didn’t want to lose to them. He practiced even after everyone left. Every bite of food, every practice swing, and every weight he lifted motivated him to not lose to anyone in anything.

Back in the present, Mei is irritated by Shirasu’s calm expression and throws a ball, determined to make his face twist in a grimace. The pitch hits Shirasu’s back, making it a dead ball. Despite the pain, Shirasu calmly heads towards first, making it clear that he’s alright.

Everyone is shocked at seeing how angry it made him. That’s how pumped he was to hit the ball. Mei looks on with a scared expression, thinking how completely confident he was that he’d have scored a hit if he hadn’t been slammed by the pitch.

Inajitsu catcher Tadano requests for a timeout. It’s the top of the sixth and Seidou’s attack with one out and runners on first and third.

Next in the batter’s box is Miyuki, a strong-minded determinator personality that’s too much for the catcher to reign in. This is both Mei’s strength and weakness. 

6. About Ace of Diamond

Ace of Diamond is a Japanese shōnen baseball manga series by Yuji Terajima and published by Kodansha. Weekly Shōnen Magazine has serialized it from 2006 to 2015. A sequel titled Ace of Diamond Act II started in 2015. An anime adaptation ran from 6 October 2013 to 28 March 2016.

The protagonist is Eijun Sawamura, a baseball pitcher with a very strange changeup pitch that is natural to him but surprising to others. Sawamura plans to go to a local high school and play baseball with his friends, to showcase their skills and win the matches.