Hey guys! :D I've been very inactive this weekend due to an unexpected binge-watching session, but now that I've finished the show I'll get back into posting for all of ya'll; but first, I have this! I was gonna type up a short review of the anime I watched for a friend (shout out to Lance who took over my Skype for an evening) but I just kept writing and it turned into an fully in-depth (but still spoiler free) review xD This was really fun to write honestly, and I've been wanting to do some other kinds of writing for a while now. If you guys like this well enough I might turn this into a little series of reviews, but for now it's just this one :)
Rainy Reviews:"The Volleyball Anime"
I recently finished watching the anime Haikyuu, and would like to share my opinions on it :)
Overall, it's a solid show, and I really like it! It didn't quite surpass Free! and Noragami as far as my personal favorites go for anime, but I have a feeling that’s mostly because I fell in love with those shows almost instantly when I first started watching them, while with Haikyuu I wasn’t really sure how exactly I felt about it until around midway into the first season, along with a few other minor issues I have with it that I’ll mention later. Unlike other sports anime that I've watched, like Yuri on Ice and Free!, the main focus of the genre is what ended up sticking out and exciting me the most; that being the sport which the story is focused around, volleyball. With the other two aforementioned shows, I always ended up caring more about the main plot than the actual sports the shows featured and built themselves around. Yuri on Ice's ice skating definitely interested and entertained me, but coming into the show I already had a love of figure skating, and in the end it was the main plotline and love story that got me invested in the show. In the case of Haikyuu through, volleyball - and the way it's presented - is what really shines through this time around, and I won’t hesitate to say that is was my favorite part of the show. If I had to describe this anime in just one word, it would be fun! Never before have I had so much fun watching something related to sports! The matches are executed with the same fast-paced action as an intense fight scene, and watching the characters perform challenging plays and block formidable attacks from their opponents will likely get your own adrenaline pumping right along with them! All thanks in part to the fluidly beautiful animation, deeply immersive soundtrack & sound effects, and the superb voice acting, the show's sport of choice really seems to come alive on the screen before your eyes, and often while taking breaks between episodes I caught myself amusingly trying to replicate the hits and jumps the characters were performing, and more than once glanced at the unused volleyball that sits in the corner of my bedroom. Unlike some other shows (and even real-life coverage), watching the games never got monotonous or boring for me, and they never failed to add something new to spice up the action, making plays we’ve seen since the first episode feel just as exhilarating and compelling when used during the finale. The screenwriters and choreographers did an amazing job adopting official moves and plays performed in real-life volleyball and translating them perfectly into a cartoon setting; while they exaggerate some effects and abilities for the sake of classic anime thrill, all of the games and plays could probably be replicated in an actual professional game of volleyball, and that goes a LONG way towards making the show feel intriguingly realistic, while also constantly stimulating.
While the main storyline may not stand out quite as much as the gameplay in this one, this show definitely does not disappoint! The central plot focuses around the main character (and precious child who I love very much and would protect with my life) Shoyo Hinata, a high-spirited and energetic middle school student who, after seeing the high-school volleyball national tournament being broadcasted on TV, developed a deep love and interest for the sport, and strives to join a team and experience the fun for himself. Unfortunately, his middle school doesn’t have an official boys volleyball team, so at first he was forced to learn from scratch by mimicking the girl’s team, and torment his friends into tossing balls for him to practice spiking. After a long while of nagging (and probably a bit of bribing) he manages to pull six of his friends and schoolmates together so that they could enter a local volleyball tournament, where they face off against a powerful team with a highly-skilled but overbearing setter named Tobio Kageyama. Over the course of the match the two boys begin to form a strong rivalry, and when Hinata's team inevitably loses in the end, he takes the defeat as a personal knock against his ego. Sad, but determined, Hinata seeks out Kageyama after the match and tells him that, someday, he will defeat him; little does he suspect though, when he walks into the gym to join his high-school's volleyball team next year, the very person he swore to win against no matter what is there to greet him...as a teammate. The story goes on from there, and while it doesn't hold as many twists or deeply emotional moments as some of the other shows in the genre, it does a great job at getting you invested in the characters you're going to be rooting for, and knows just when to bring out the suspense and drama to get you hyped up for an oncoming match.
Where the show I feel really shines though, is the characters. Haikyuu has done something that is quite impressive, and is rarely done successfully in shows like this; it can get you to be invested in teams and characters other than the main stars. The amount of attention they give to the opposing teams as far as distinguishing their personalities, their individual strengths and techniques, and even backstories for a few is absolutely awesome, and ends up feeling quite unique. The show has a large cast of both major and minor characters, some with more development than others admittedly, but they are all fairly well established and feel like real people with their own goals and desires, and it helps the opposition to not feel like some faceless, shaded entity that serves an antagonist’s role because the plot dictates. All the characters in this show at one point or another supply a good joke or two, and I have to say I was laughing throughout the whole thing! In my opinion though, the main team's characters are the ones who always seemed to stand out as the most enjoyable and relatable of them all, aside from a few rare exceptions.
Hinata and Kageyama are great as the central leads, and you can easily get invested in their missions and understand their struggles. They make logical decisions and feel more human than a lot of other main characters usually do. The team captain Daichi, though not the most outstandingly interesting, is a good character and radiates a sense of stability for the whole team. Sugawara and Aashi, the two eldest members along with Daichi, are great as well, Sugawara (aka team mom) being my favorite out of the three. Nishinoya and Tanaka, the two second-year players, are the excitable ones of the group, and have supplied a lot of good laughs. Their attraction and borderline worship towards the team’s female manager Kiyoko never stopped being amusing for me, but the two thankfully aren’t designated comic relief characters. They are both skilled players who contribute greatly to the team, especially Nishinoya’s talents as the libero. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, two first-years introduced alongside Hinata and Kageyama, are great as well, and stand out as two of the more developed characters on the team. Tsukishima's dry wit and 'I don't give a crap' personality is funny in its own right, while also being quite irritating at times, and Yamaguchi's timid but strong nature makes him one of my personal favorites. All together, they are a great bunch of characters with a lot of charming chemistry, and their interactions as friends and teammates are enjoyable and, most of the time, very heartwarming.
Unfortunately, no show is without its own share of shortcomings. For me, this show didn't really seem to hit the same emotional chords as I know it has for others. A lot of people say they've cried - or at least teared up - at moments during the show, but I can say for a fact that my eyes stayed dry for the whole duration of Haikyuu. More so, I felt that the ‘emotional’ moments brought me more a sense of increased determination to see the main characters win and overcome their struggles, rather than make me sad or upset, which in itself I would say is definitely a positive. Unfortunately, due to the fact that sports anime usually has a formulaic sort of narrative, at times the plot falls victim to a few cliches that sport stories, no matter the medium, suffer from a lot of the time, making some of the more stressful moments and matches much more predictable than they should have been, and at times I found myself taken out of the immersion because of things that I just knew were going to happen, not because of spoilers but because if those things didn't happen in a show like this, it just plain wouldn't be very good storytelling. Also, a minor nitpick, but some character design choices I just despised at times, but thankfully those complaints are relegated to mostly minor or background characters.
In summary of all this, Haikyuu is a great show with a lovable cast of characters, action-packed gameplay of an incredible sport, and a lovely story and narrative that you can't help but feel inspired by after you get to the end, despite some minor pitfalls along the way. For a number rating I'll give all three seasons of Haikyuu an
8/10, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a sports fan, anime fan or, well, anyone! This could definitely be a great starter anime for someone who hasn’t yet dived into the beautiful, endless, inescapable void of hair gel and emotional trauma that Japan has blessed us with. (A small warning though, like a lot of anime this show is rated PG-13 for moderate language, mild violence and occasional blood from injuries on the court)
Feel free to comment down below and tell me what you think! Have you watched the show and agree/disagree with my opinion? Have you never even heard of this show, or haven't watched it, and does this review make you want to go watch it? Also, don't hesitate to critique! I always appreciate helpful feedback! :D
