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[cutter-kai]

Nabe’s Predicament

In Summary:

The Nabe-Miyuki-Zono arc is quite possibly one of the most refreshing Daiya arcs for the sole reason that it’s a conflict that happened outside the field instead of on it. But besides that, it was truly an eye-opening one, and it’s something so petty and yet something much deeper than what it seems. It’s very controversial? People are still talking about it even if it’s been resolved a long time ago. And it’s ridiculous how much people want to drag it out.

The Nabe arc was an arc that exposed what Miyuki lacks as a captain, what the team needed to address, the 2nd stringers’ struggles, etc. It was a very important phase in Seido’s development as a team. In my opinion, it was not designed for fans to decide who was wrong and who wasn’t. In fact, no one was truly right or wrong in that situation. It’s perfectly valid to understand which side more? It was a minor disagreement, and people will either be Miyuki or Zono in that situation who were more or less two opposite sides of the spectrum. I personally side with Kuramochi, but realistically, there was a much better way to address that conflict w/o anyone getting hurt.

Nabe’s Problem

Terajima prefaces Watanabe Hisashi (better known as Nabe) as a rather meek character. The first time we see him, he attempts to approach Miyuki to talk about something but backs down immediately after losing the confidence to continue.

(Daiya no Ace Act I, Ch. 258)

We find out eventually that he and his friends (Kudo and Higashio) have been feeling some sort of distance, a vast difference in motivation between themselves and the rest of the team. We have never seen Nabe before this, and it makes sense. He’s a player who has always been sidelined, just like the rest of the team that never had the slightest chance of making it into the 20-man roster.

Nabe’s problem is brought up again by Miyuki himself, which takes us to the next segment.

From Miyuki’s Perspective

Basically, Miyuki can be stubbornly annoying about his own set of beliefs, but ultimately, he always means well. We’ve already established that Nabe is kind of shy. He’s not very forward about his thoughts and convictions, so Miyuki had to bring up the issue again; otherwise, it would’ve stayed up in the air for an indefinite time. Conveniently, Nabe brought books for review, and Miyuki caught on to what he was about to say before he could talk more.

(Daiya no Ace Act I, Ch. 260)

“By that, you mean you want to quit the team?” “...I can’t stop someone who says he wants to quit of his own will.” Miyuki assumed Nabe was already decided, but he hadn’t considered why Nabe came to talk in the first place. That’s where things went wrong. Just hearing those words from a big shot like Miyuki left no space for Nabe in that conversation. He was talking over him. Miyuki is GOOD at reading people but only really when it comes to baseball. Even when he was trying to help Eijun through his yips, we see how he’d failed to comfort Eijun when he went and poked at his lack of control and ‘stupidity.’ That kind of prodding and encouragement only works On The Field when Eijun is looking at the prize and not when he’s already caught up in his own thoughts and insecurities. (EDIT: After reading into it more, I think Miyuki wanted to provoke Eijun into focusing singly on one thing, instead of getting caught up in his thoughts about something he can’t do. BEFORE he’d turned him over to Chris. But this is for another discussion.) The same thing happens with Nabe, because Miyuki fails to take into account who he’s talking to as well as other important things. To put it simply, Nabe, Kudo and Higashio were already feeling extremely alienated, because they felt the difference in motivation watching everyone else. For Miyuki to go ahead and say something that could potentially make someone feel disposable and replaceable, he didn’t exactly help Nabe figure things out on his own.

So chaos ensues, and the team confronts him about it.

From Zono’s Perspective

On the other hand, Zono is someone who has a lot of ~feelings~ regarding things like teamwork, friendship and whatnot. Zono might be a little more idealistic. Clearly, there’s a difference in values here. That’s mostly what it is. So feeling extremely passionate about this, Zono lashes out on Miyuki. From his perspective, Nabe came to Miyuki because he wanted to talk, but the conversation turned out to be more one-sided than he’d expected. And that frustrated Zono who understands what Nabe must feel. Miyuki has his own set of issues, but not being secure in his position was never one of them. Let’s be honest. Miyuki has the confidence to challenge The Best because he has the potential to beat The Best. But not everyone’s like him. Not everyone is the team’s indisputable 4-hole or indisputable starting catcher.

(Daiya no Ace Act I, Ch. 272)

Zono’s frustration at Miyuki was valid, but to take it out on him was not. Instead, in an ideal scenario where teenagers have an incredibly good grasp of their emotions, Zono would have taken the most logical step and given Miyuki a possible and better resolution. Or assisted him. If he really thought he was right and cared so much about the situation more than his own feelings, he would have already approached Nabe.

The Resolution

Now that that’s out of the way, the more pressing issue is to talk about how they eventually resolved it. Because I don’t think enough people talk about how they did. Surprisingly, I think Kataoka offered the best, most reasonable response to the situation. So Nabe and friends are called to the coach’s den or whatever you call it, and they bring up the thing about switching to managerial positions. Here, I think Nabe had already decided to quit. Which is valid. But Kataoka’s words really hit.

(Daiya no Ace Act I, Ch. 296)

Kataoka gives rise to the question: “Who are you swinging for?” He doesn’t give them a definite answer, but he gives them space to think. To break it down, Kataoka admits that the system can be unfair to players like Nabe who could never get their chance. By doing this, he does not delude them into thinking they will surely get their chance. But swinging their bats every single chance they could will definitely take them somewhere. Because they aren’t on the team only to play for Seido, they’re also doing this for their own sakes. It’s hopeful and realistic. It doesn’t tread into the defeatist attitude that could make players feel like they’re playing for a fruitless cause (looking at you, Miyuki). It doesn’t sugarcoat things either, because it’s okay to give up sometimes, and you don’t have to force yourself if you’re no longer into it (looking at you, Zono). If there’s still a fire burning inside of them, then they don’t have to give up yet. Kataoka takes from both Zono and Miyuki’s POVs and provides Nabe and friends more space to think and eventually decide.

Here’s a quick run-through of the resolution on Miyuki and Zono’s parts! It’s admirable how Miyuki consulted Tetsu instead of letting the issue be. Season 2 is where Miyuki learns to take responsibility. Because S1 Miyuki was a lot more playful and ~free~. He just let things happen before the enormity of things would eventually dawn on him (See: Eijun’s reaction to the home run he’d given up the first time). Miyuki makes sure to approach Nabe and make him ~feel~ part of the team, apologizing in-game, thanking him for the data, etc. This continues until after consulting Tetsu. On the other hand, Zono only realized things after Jun’d confronted him about it. After That Talk, Zono realized where he was wrong and attempted to make amends with both Miyuki and Nabe. 

In Conclusion

That arc wasn’t meant for fans to side with Miyuki or Zono and to criticize the other, to hold them accountable for it even after both have grown since then. It’s stupid to drag out something that’s already been resolved ages ago. What instead could be drawn from that arc is the difference in values between an absolute genius and someone who has to work twice as hard to get to a certain level of skill. Miyuki is by no means a readymade genius; he just has a natural feel for baseball to the extent that he was promoted to first string as soon as he joined the team. On the other hand, Zono has to put in more work to even get on Miyuki’s level. And this arc opened our eyes to the reality of the players on the sidelines, the players on the stands. Much of it is also deciding things FOR yourself, to learn when to step down and give up and when to keep pushing. There’s so much nuance and room for discussion. But people make it seem so much simpler than it really is.

#daiya #daiya no ace #daiya meta