[SPORTS REAL & LIVE Emergency Project] Yuki Yanagita, Kenta Maeda, Kodai Senga, and More Gather! Exclusive Interview Special Program Exploring the Charm of "Ace of Diamond," the Origin of Pro Baseball Stars, to Broadcast on Saturday, April 4th!

TV Tokyo's sports news program "SPORTS REAL & LIVE" will broadcast a special program titled "[SPORTS REAL & LIVE Emergency Project] Exploring the Charm of 'Ace of Diamond,' the Origin of Pro Baseball Stars!" on Saturday, April 4th, from 11 PM, in commemoration of the broadcast of the TV anime "Ace of Diamond actⅡ -Second Season-" which begins airing in April 2026.

Professional baseball is opening in Japan, and Major League Baseball is opening across the ocean in America! Five star players representing the baseball world, who compete on these dream stages, will passionately discuss the charm of "Ace of Diamond" as their common "origin."

The anime "Ace of Diamond" is an anime series that began airing in 2013, based on the highly popular comic by Yuji Terajima. It tells the story of the protagonist, Eijun Sawamura, who enrolls in the prestigious Seido High School and aims for the national high school baseball championship with his teammates Kazuya Miyuki, Satoru Furuya, and Haruichi Kominato.

Following the FIRST SEASON and SECOND SEASON, the new series "actⅡ," similar to the original manga, was broadcast from 2019 to 2020.

After a four-year hiatus, the production of the sequel to "actⅡ" was announced in 2024, and the anime "Ace of Diamond actⅡ -Second Season-" will begin airing on Sunday, April 5th, 2026, at 5:30 PM.

■Exclusive Interviews with 5 Star Players Representing the Baseball World! Passionately Discussing "Ace of Diamond"! Highlights of This Special Program

In this program, as an emergency project of the TV Tokyo network's sports news program "SPORTS REAL & LIVE," we conducted exclusive interviews with a total of five star players: Kodai Senga (New York Mets), Yuki Yanagita (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), Kenta Maeda (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles), Masanori Ishikawa (Tokyo Yakult Swallows), and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Yokohama DeNA BayStars). They will discuss the charm of the anime "Ace of Diamond" and delve into behind-the-scenes stories from their high school baseball days, which are the setting for the anime.

Furthermore, Ryota Ohsaka, who voices the protagonist Eijun Sawamura in the "Ace of Diamond" anime series, will serve as the narrator, adding passion and excitement to the program.

① "Intense Personalities" That Changed Professional Careers

Yuki Yanagita (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), who says, "I can say I became a pro thanks to 'Ace of Diamond,'" will reveal his admiration for the slugger Raichi Todoroki in the series and its influence on his own batting style. Kenta Maeda (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles), with 165 wins combined in Japan and the US, and Kodai Senga, active in the majors...