Haikyuu! - My Final Thoughts

Plot Summary from ANN: Shōyō Hinata began playing volleyball after seeing the "small giants" who played the sport when he was in elementary school. He suffers a crushing defeat in his first and last tournament in middle school at the hands of his rival Tobio Kageyama. So, Hinata joins Kurasuno High School's volleyball team, vowing revenge against Kageyama. However, Kageyama is also on Kurasuno's team. The former rivals form a legendary combo with Hinata's mobility and Kageyama's precision ball-handling. Together, they take on the local tournaments and vow to meet Kurasuno's fated rival school in the nationals.

Backstory
When I first read this description back what seemed like it was about go guys that didn’t get a long that magically start to get along and do well blah, blah, blah.  I actually had no intention of watching this anime.  The only reason I started watching was because I wanted to get my girlfriend interested in anime and I thought she would like a sports anime.  In the end she thought it was lame and I was hooked almost as soon as the first volleyball was hit. I guess what immediately drew me to the anime was the stylized art and how the animation changes at certain points to emphasize the intensity.

Story

Overall I think the story isn’t anything crazy.  It’s about how a boy who wants nothing more to play volleyball starts his high school volleyball career in a way he never imagined.  With his nemesis.  I don’t want to talk too much about the characters in this section because I will more lately.  As the show progresses the team plays more challenging opponents, sometimes they lose and sometimes they win.  One of my favorite things about Haikyuu! Is that the team often failed and that was okay because it always led to some revelation about the characters.  The two main characters go from disliking each other to realizing that if they learn to rely on each other they can reach higher heights than if they were alone.  This aspect is kind of cool, nothing that I didn’t see coming though. The ONLY thing this story is missing (and maybe it’s just me) I thought it would have been cool to have a cute romance between one of the players and some girl.  Just to see how she put up with his dedication to volleyball, nothing too serious though.  I’m just a romantic I guess.  My favorite motif in the show is how Kurasuno is known as the flightless ravens (they all wear black) and as the season ends they all realize they moved past this label.

Art

I LOVE the shows art style because one second its characters talking and another second the anime changes and I forget I’m watching a sports anime. A character will be going up for a spike and suddenly they are using all of their life force to hit the ball.  It may not be for everyone but I certainly thought it was cool.  Another thing I was a fan of was how all these goofy faces were used to portray Hinata’s insecurities and emotions.  Although that type of thing is commonplace in anime it made me laugh out loud quite a few times.

Characters

Definitely the strongest part of the show was the characters.  Not only the development was cool but just how they interacted I almost felt like I could see myself hanging out with them.

Hinata Shootout- He’s the main character and the orange haired kid that is the face of the show.  He’s super dorky and passionate when it comes to volleyball.  He starts off the series wanting to make it to nationals with no idea on how he can make the dream come true. He is short for a spiker and is worried that he will never be able to see “passed the wall” which is the opposing team’s blockers.  As the show progresses he learns that with his team behind him anything is possible all he has to do is trust them.

Kageyama Tobio- During his time in middle school he came into possession of the nickname “the king of the court” at first Hinata believes this is because Tobio is such a skilled setter.  It is soon revealed that the title is a taunt used by his teammates because they believed he acted like a dictator.  “King of the court” becomes a symbol of the cold loneliness Kageyama felt in middle school.  As the season progresses he comes to realize that he is no longer alone on the court and the result is beautiful.

Secondary Characters- Every character on Kurasuno’s team is really interesting and they all have hilarious quirks.  Whether it’s being obsessed with the team’s cute manager or being hating guys “that get all worked up about the things they’re passionate about.”  As Tobio comes to know the team he learns to bring out the best in all of them. I wish I could talk about them in depth, but I’m afraid of making this review too long.

In Conclusion:

I would rate Haikyuu!!’s art and animation as a solid 9 because it was good most of the time and outstanding when it needed to be.  My favorite scene in the show is when Karasuno’s ace finally spikes for the first time since his return and the ball flattens when it hits the ground.  That scene is what I think of whenever I think of this show.

The story I would rate a 9.5 because although it isn’t anything unfamiliar to a sports anime it had me guessing the whole way and I love how everything unfolded. 

Voice acting I am just going to give a 10 because I don’t really care about that.

Characters are definitely a 10/10 enough said.

Haikyuu!! Final rating I’m going to put at a 9.5 because I loved every second of it and I’m sad it’s over! L Anyway that wraps up my first review hope you all enjoyed!

Cheers,

Ryan