Haikyuu!! To the Top

Perhaps this is selfish, as I don’t interact with the community enough to know if this opinion is shared, but to me, the enduring appeal of seasons one through three of Haikyuu!!—putting aside, for now, its outstandingly high quality production—was in the fact it was the first and only shounen anime which did not feel like it was meant to go on forever. All shounen manga as serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump are literally, in-the-text, meant to go on forever. By design of the publication, volume sales and product sales are of secondary importance to by-vote audience reception, which would honestly be kind of cool ... from a creative market perspective if said piece of art wasn’t placed on such a ridiculously tight schedule as such which effectively forces all products produced under its purview to be trite, shallow, flavor-of-the-week time killers, and few works of its brand escape this fate. To me, Haikyuu!! was the only one of those exceptions which was worthwhile.

Its characters have always been archetypical, its theming has always been modest, and its narrative has always been standard, but to regurgitate what I’ve been saying for years now, Haikyuu!! knows the good tropes and executes them flawlessly. Haikyuu!! doesn’t take one-note characters and make them deep, it just makes them the most consistently well-written and empathetic one-note characters you can find. It doesn’t take power of friendship, hard work vs talent storytelling and make it any more complex, it just delivers it with such hype and humanistic catharsis your heart can’t help but be affected. It doesn’t take the highschool sports inter-high plot structure and make it any more unique or interesting, it just executes the stock mold with such expert pacing and pointed purpose you still feel every step of the way is a culmination. And the cherry on top of it all is exactly where I started this gushing rant to being with, its ability to do what none other in its genre can do: not feel like a waste of my time.

I’m not old, but if you asked your average anime fan, they’d think I’m old. Frankly, I find it extremely and progressively difficult to give a care about highschool anime. Unless you have a crazy high-concept and a million things going on at once like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or incomparably genius writing and direction like Hyouka, I’ll probably drop you within five minutes. Haikyuu!! has an immediate advantage with me being a Production IG show, because it gets to be drop dead gorgeous, but I still just couldn’t help being anchored down by how good it made me feel. However, this was not nearly enough in the long run, and I figured I would just power through the first season and then respectfully refrain from continuing, but with the betrayal of expectations the first season ended with, the point became clear and I became invested. From that point on, season two delivered the most psychologically relieving and emotionally elating ensemble character arcs in any sports anime ever made, and season three delivered ten straight episodes of bracing sakuga and physically electrifying payoff after payoff.

And this is exactly why I thought it was the perfect time—to stop. I’m not about to sit here and spout pandering buzzwords and generalizations at you, like how long running series are destined to go downhill or any of that nonsense, because as I mentioned, I don’t interact with the community, I and don’t care about the trappings of their public consciousness. I just personally feel as if the concept is starting to exhaust itself. To no deep fault, mind you, but to exhaustion nonetheless. Season one felt aimless only in so far as it smartly played its cards close to the chest, but the moment it showed its hand, the series gained an alien sense of—not maturity, per se, but—reality, and seeing as I then instantly noticed the story hidden in the details which I had failed to appreciate, I was able to continue on in the correct mindset and consume it as the modest masterwork it was and always had been, plus the incredible animation and sharp design work it initially charmed me with. This season was the complete layered cake I described, only without that imperative cherry on top.

Simply put, it stayed as solidly constructed and consistently written as it ever was, but lost the subtle spark and fulfilling momentum which it had always enchanted me with. The characters have to regress to develop because they were so perfectly completed, the new principle antagonists feel random because those who came before them spent fifty to sixty episodes being built up, and the plot has to meander to progress because it was so perfectly concluded. Said regression fit said characters’ established mental hang-ups, and said meandering fit said plot’s logical stagnation following the tournament which season three ended with, but whether it makes sense or not and whether it’s competently made or not, the fact of the matter is it’s not nearly as gratifying as it has been historically, and that is a problem, no matter how picky. After all, just as a bad show can only change for the better, a good show can only change for the worse, especially if that good show is of the same nature Haikyuu!! is, that of an anime based on a manga pumped out weekly and with no time to improvise once the proverbial conceptual well ran dry.

And yet, what’s really the biggest hit to my own personal enjoyment is the downgraded directing and animation. The production values are just as kinetic and ambitious for the genre, but nowhere near as polished, consistent, and technically perfect as the prior seasons. You know it’s a dark day when Production IG themselves have to split-cour a production, whether it’s being done better by their B-Team than any other fullcore studio could ever do with their best or not. Haikyuu!! To the Top is by no means the “top” of what this series has to offer nor what this series has offered in the past, but it is still miles, miles, miles above the bottom, and any fan of the series will find themselves greatly pleased by its return. However, if you’re a crotchety old bitch like me or a sakuga nerd chasing that prepossessingly glorious shooting star of crafted brilliance, Production IG, you may find yourself somewhat disheartened, no matter how delightfully your favorite characters on screen can turn that frown upside down.

Thank you for reading.

Welcome to a new chapter of “I could never have imagined a volleyball anime could be this good”

“Haikyuu!!: To the Top” picks up more or less at the spot where we were left when S3 ended, meaning that Karasuno has just defeated Shiratorizawa to qualify for nationals. Even if it was an unavoidable event for the story to keep progressing, that along with other circumstances such as the sidelining of Hinata for much part of the Shiratorizawa match might have made the third season the weakest -though it was kind of useful to demonstrate that Karasuno wasn’t a 2-man army-. Still, it set the stage ... for a huge future narrative event in the nationals championships, and it seemed clear that Shoujo was going to play a more important role these following seasons.

Up until now, Haikyuu!!’s formula had always been the same: Train hard, improve, play some friendly matches here and there and enter the competition of the Miyagi Prefecture, where Karasuno’s team would fight their way through the league chart against some already known rivals to reach the long-desired status of National qualifiers.
However, this season marks a turning point in the franchise path; our beloved crows have a new goal in sight, win the nationals, and in consequence, new and harder challenges to deal with.
The indicated set-up gives the creators the chance to make two phenomenons possible: Dig deeper into the development of this volleyball universe -showing us new players and teams to keep in sight as well as more aspects of the game- and displaying a different perspective of the series -more character-driven than the past 3 seasons- as it strongly focuses on the development and evolution of the main cast, preparing and hyping us for the enormous challenge that our friends from Karasuno High School are just about to face.

And this brings us up to Hinata’s situation. His only power is ambition. Sooner or later, the ability range of Hinata had to expand and this season called for it. His character had always walked across the thin line separating greatness and powerlessness due to its short range of abilities, but he had managed to survive in spite of that.
Therefore, and far from making it as your typical shounen evolution where characters improve their abilities out of nowhere or learn a skill after practicing once, Haikyuu to the Top shows us a main character who finds himself forced to envision volleyball from a different point of view to what he’s used to; this gives Hinata the chance to analyse and scrutinize other great volleyball players game, making it easier for him to realise what was dragging him down, and how could he put a stop to it. This results -for the delight of us, Haikyuu fans- in a considerable bust to his volleyball potential.

So, as we all know, one of the elements that make this franchise stand out is its realism and characterization of the players. This has not changed a bit; every single character feels special in its on way, as we still see how both our main cast and their subsequent rivals evolve as players and as human beings throughout games and hardships, forced to change their approach to the game and to life due to the adversities they encounter along the way.
However, due to the lack of games -or, at least, meaningful ones- during this season, the intensity and anxiety that matches provoked on the viewer and that had become the seal of identity of this anime this past 3 seasons, has somewhat been obscured, making this course a little more boring than the last ones. Maybe this framework is not the most enjoyable, but guess what? All good stories require a good foundation, and without this one, Haikyuu!! might not have been able to move forward.

Leaving all this behind, this fourth season is the first to see significant changes in staff –we have both a new director and animation director.
Nevertheless, animation quality has not dropped at all -or at least, not that much as people thought it would-; Satou has achieved to safeguard the spirit of the last 3 seasons, though slightly redesigning some of the characters in order to make them closer to the manga which, in fact, was one of the objectives they had at the beginning of the process.
When it comes to Haikyuu!, the depictions of movement is probably unparalleled. This series has always been masterful at illustrating the human form in motion –muscle definition, facial expressions, joy, fatigue– making good use of vivid colors and fine structures, and it looks like none of that seems to have changed.

Last but not least, sound. Besides counting again with a great sound director such as Hiromi Kikuta, which has been able to create absolute magic throughout the whole series -this season was no different from the previous ones-, and with the same voice cast we’ve been enjoying lately (rest in peace Tanaka-san),we also could enjoy ourselves with the absolute banger which BURNOUT SYNDROMES delivered.

I.G production knows that a lot of responsibility is placed in their hands -you know, they produce one of the most acclaimed sports animation shows- and, as it was expected, “Haikyuu!!:To the Top” did not let us down.


“With sweat, blood and tears - those shining wings will take you wherever you please”

(Never wrote a review before but hey why not, right?)

Haikyuu!!: To The Top continues to be my favorite sports anime. It has everything one could ask for, drama, comedy, superb action and a well rounded cast of characters.

Story: The story is still going strong. While this current arc is not being well received, I believe the show is consistent with what they have delivered so far. A well mix of drama, comedy, and action. Season 3 was an entire match (people seem to forget it was nonstop action), season 4 has slowed the pace to show the impact the conclusion of last season. Haikyuu!!: ... To The Top is addressing a certain story-line brought up in the previous season, Hinata's will to grow and improve.

Art: The art for Haikyuu is consistent throughout every season. It has been top notch since season one and has been polished with every season. The one thing I love about this show is that they show all the mechanics of players. Very rarely are there still frame shots of players scoring. An example of an anime that has poor animation during action sequences is Aihiru no Sora. Sora is like watching a PowerPoint presentation of a game.

Sound: Sound is great per usual. From the sounds of players killing the ball to the sound of their sneakers skidding across the gym floor, all around great. Why did I give it an 8? Not a fan of the opening. :P

Character: Hinata is easily one of my favorite protagonists. There have been way too many moments where I have teared up from watching his growth, failures, and triumphs. All the supporting characters are entertaining can easily have a spin off series (completely opinion).

Enjoyment: I am sure you can tell by what I've written that I love this season. While I do not think it is for everyone who was expecting non-stop games, I am believe that if you love the Haikyuu story then you can look past this season being a slower pace to flesh characters out.

Overall: There isn't much wrong with Haikyuu!!: To The Top besides the fact that it is only a whopping 13 episodes after a few years of waiting. At the end of the day, there are plenty of shows to watch in the meantime.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

ALRIGHT! CHANCE BALL! NICE KILL!

Now that Kageyama is back from his running career, the new season of the highly anticipated sport anime is here.

Although, matching the hype that was season 3 is going to be hard.

One thing that is right away noticeable is the art design change, not that drastic but the softer and bulkier design doesn't seem quite right. Especially when they are playing. The slender and longer designs of the previous seasons complemented the sharp and smooth animation. The new designs do not as much. This might be seem like a minor detail but it is noticeable in motion. Maybe the animators ... will prove my dumbass wrong, who knows.

Being that this is a part one of two, this is most likely going to a training arc so the character development with the two mains better make up for the lack of hype matches. It looks to be promising but director Mitsunaka is out so I am unsure. Not to put dirt on the new director who's work on episodes of Haikyuu before, directing changes most of the time are unwelcoming and dogshit. Otherwise, the episodes have been fairly good coming from someone who hates training arcs.

The sound is great but there are times where the lack of music makes a scene feel awkward. Might be relying too much on music to mask silence of scenes. OSTs should be used to be enhance the story not to feel up space.
(alot of shows do this too)

I know I've been sort of taking a shit on the show but I do infact enjoy the series, it is one of the better show and the few sports animes that I like. I just hope it lives up to the hype and gets better as the season goes on.




Also, underrated ED song?

To start off this review, I'd like to say that I've seen quite a few people complaining about this season. The main complaints seem to be about the animation and the lack of action.

I normally never write reviews, but, because of what I stated above, I'll try to express my opinion this time.

While I don't think starting with the animation is that relevant, I'd like to address the complaints here. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, it's the art style (yes, it's not the same thing) that has people complaining. I believe people just don't like changes, and, when something is indeed changing, they immediately react ... in a bad way without taking the time to think about it. To me, the animation is great.

Furthermore, the art change was made to stay true to the manga, so I think that's a good thing.

It does take a while (like 5 minutes) to adapt, but if you try to enjoy it, you'll see the animation and art style is pretty damn great. I personally like this art even more than the older season. It resembles the manga more, and seems more "modern". It is simpler, mostly because the animators weren't the same I believe. But it's still beautiful and satisfying to me.
Adapting to a different art style and seeing animation evolving shouldn't be such an important topic of complaints when it's done greatly! It's anime, OF COURSE the animation or art style is gonna evolve.

Secondly, the lack of action. I don't understand this statement either? Do people believe a good series is only matches with no character progression in between? This is what makes Haikyuu! so great : how we see the characters grow. Complaining about this is understandable if no big matches were played for some time, but this season follows the biggest match we've seen till now. Not to mention we still did get a quick match at this end, and we know the second cour is gonna be all about action.

Furthermore, if there weren't these moments where we see characters evolving, the show would become repetitive and boring, so I personally enjoyed it. Of course there's gonna be some training arcs, but if well made, they're interesting!

The focus on the first half is divided between Kageyama and Hinata, and it's incredibly interesting. I personally didn't see time passing when I watched each episode. I was engrossed in each of them!

To conclude, apart from some small pacing problems and some things being resolved too fast, it was still very good. I don't think this season is worse than the others. The characters are still lovable, the story leading to nationals is interesting, and the evolution of everyone's play (particularly Hinata) is great.

If you've loved the first 3 seasons of Haikuu and don't fixate on the art style just because it has changed, you're gonna love this season as well.

Coming from the incredible Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa season, I expected much more for this one.

·Story: 6

Many people consider training as a way of learning but, when it comes to this anime (where most of the eps are related to that), this season is focusing too much on it.

Because of the few character development so far, no emotion or hype to see what happens next and many other things, I have concluded that these first 5 eps are some of the worst in whole anime history of Haikyuu.

·Art: 8

Art hasn't changed that much from other seasons. Something that I could notice ... is that the scenes have become smoother and lighter, which doesn't give that sense of intensity that other seasons had.

·Sound: 7

Effects and background music have got worse in my opinion or maybe hasn't appeared a chance to introduce better ones. Anyways the OP and ED are good and I hope the music will give me more hype in the next eps.

·Character: 6

As I said before the personalities of the mcs haven't changed at all. Maybe they have more ideas for their play style, but that's all.

The plot isn't helping them to develop and I think that they are stuck because of this.

·Enjoyment: 7

Not a big fan of volley but I'm still eating the eps, which is something strange for me because I usually leave apart series that are boring.

Nevertheless, this section is much more subjective than the others and it depends on you :D

·Overall: 7

So far I can say it's good. If it continues in this line I will grade it with a 6, but I hope it gets better and we can enjoy some hype from this anime.

Thanks for reading :D

Haikyuu is still as amazing as ever.

I was a bit skeptical about this season, mainly because of the change in artstyle, also because the director changed, but looking back I don't really know why.

It's Haikyuu. Haikyuu can't be bad.

This season retained the Haikyuu spirit. The OST is incredible and not only that, but it is always used at the perfect moment, making the viewer feel hyped or emotional. The character development is exceptional as well, the Karasuno team especially, but others as well are constantly growing and improving, both as players and as people.

The sakuga moments are still there and in the 2nd cour of ... this season, the animation will probably be even better because the staff will be more accustomed to the new artstyle, which bothered me for an episode or two, but now I can't really say I prefer the old one, the new one is great as well.

Also, I wanted to address one point - a lot of people liked this season less than the previous ones, mostly because this season focused on training, setup for the matches and character development, but most of these people are just "adrenaline junkies", who only appreciate Haikyuu for its matches. However, without the setup and development, the matches wouldn't matter as much and wouldn't have a big impact on the viewer. But in Haikyuu these setup episodes are very well executed and extremely enjoyable, that's why Haikyuu is the best.

Haikyuu is the most enjoyable show I've ever seen because every aspect is carried out exceptionally. I love it.

10/10

Hot damn, it's back, baby! I gotta say, I found myself staying up-to-date with the manga, so I can't really talk much in this review about the story content because, well, I already knew what it would be; that being said, I'm still really excited to review this season of Haikyuu!! now that it's finally been animated.

On that note, let's talk about the art. This is the first season of any anime I've watched in which I already knew the plot because of the manga (I know, I'm probably a bit weird in that regard). That meant that I was paying extra attention to ... the new character designs and environments I knew we would see this season, along with the animation of the scenes I had already read. I gotta say, y'all, I wasn't disappointed at all. The art style is one thing-- something we all already know and love from previous seasons (though it does feel updated now)-- but the coloring laid down on some of these new characters and environments absolutely blew me away. The animation, as well, was gorgeous as always. Haikyuu!! is exceptional at animating the motion of the athletes, and the updated art of this season (since it has been a hot minute since the last season) only made it better. I haven't necessarily seen a whole lot of sports anime pull the animation off perfectly in a movement-heavy sport like I have in Haikyuu!!, though Diamond no Ace does phenomenal with it too. Haikyuu!! does have an amazing soundtrack as well, and the OSTs this season were still bringing the fire, though I didn't really pay as much attention to it as I did the art this season.

After this, I'm not really sure how to review Haikyuu!!: To the Top. I could mention the character development or the story elements, but since I first appreciated them in the manga, I feel like I can't talk about them in the anime (though the anime did great with both of those things). Instead, I'm gonna talk for a minute about the structure of the season. Honestly, I didn't really know what they were going to do with the thirteen episodes this season given the manga material-- if they would stretch out the training camps, jump to nationals, etc. For the most part, I was satisfied with the outcome. I felt like the story that was touched upon this season was picked out perfectly, and the pacing done very well. Of course, given where the third season ended and where this one was set to pick up, this season felt a lot like the setup season it was rather than a progression of the story, which normally isn't something I'm crazy about, but Haikyuu!! always keeps the in-between bits interesting as well, so it didn't bother me as much as it has in other sports anime. There were a couple scenes in the manga I felt probably would've been better left out as it did upset the flow of the season a bit, but overall, I think the material they showcased from the manga was very well done.

Well, that's it. At this point, a lot of what I have to say about Haikyuu!! is going to be said in my review of the manga once it ends, so my reviews on the anime will mostly be about structure, but I don't mind that. I'm enjoying watching a story I've fallen in love with on paper being put to sound and voice and motion and color. I'm not entirely sure how the seasons will be divvied up going forward since the end of the manga presents a few issues with the future episode or season counts, but I'm confident the wonderful people working on the project will do this story proud. I'm so overwhelmingly happy to have this in anime form, and I'm looking forward to everything that's yet to come.

OKAY.... this season was amazingggg!!!! As a haikyuu fan that only watches the anime and not the manga, i was very excited to watch this season when it fully finished airing. Honestly, with the previous seasons i always thought that Hinata wasn't as good as I wanted him to be. He may have fast reflexes and at moments he may surprise you but his basic skills were not there. In this season, it mainly focuses on the character development of Hinata. There weren't many volleyball matches( there is a continuation of season 4 that will have nationals though c:), but I truly loved seeing him ... improve and solving his problems by himself. Kageyama also improved, and all the other characters as well. We also get introduced to new characters that we haven't seen before, which was very exciting to see.
One thing I often saw was people complaining about the art. And honestly, in the beginning, i was unsure too, seeing many differences in the art style that i loved. But, i quickly got used to it and it was not bad, also this new animation is cleaner in some ways and the personality of the characters still matched their expressions. Although the art was pretty good at some points it was poorly animated in my opinion, but it did not cause me to ever complain about it.
in conclusion, this season was Really good as we get to see more character development and the haikyuu energy we needed :))))) I truly enjoyed this season and y'all should watch it too

Because of how good the third season was, my expectations for the 4th season may be higher than has it be. SPOILERS!!





So far, this anime has been okay so far. The story has introduced some really interesting characters and has found a unique way to evolve the characters.

Minor:

... -It is very noticeable that the art is significantly different. In my opinion, it makes the characters a little less appealing and bland.
-Sugawara in the previous seasons has been caring and uplifting character throughout the series, but for some reason, he changes his personality completely for no reason at all.

Major:

- Kageyama reverts back into the "King" for no reason at all. Previously, it was a learning process that he works and communicates well with others, but then he loses it out of nowhere.
- Haikyuu's soundtracks are one of the most inspirational music in anime. It is played once out of 8 episodes. What is even more underwhelming is that it is played in probably in the most unimportant segment.


Haikyuu is still a good anime to watch. However, it didn't meet my expectations as it did with the previous seasons. So far, this season doesn't have the magic that it had in the past.

Ah, Haikyuu. Remember when everyone dismissed this anime because it was boys volleyball? Look at all of them now. I'll admit I was one of them but it wasn't necessarily the boys volleyball aspect but more as just the sports genre of anime. Sports has been a tough act to follow in terms of anime and there is this unwritten bias that most sports anime's aren't very good. Haikyuu follows this trend and above all boys volleyball is a sport most people turn away from when hearing about it. So you understand the 10 foot hole Haikyuu had to get out of before it was ... even considered a watchable anime. But now that I threw the reviews about sports anime away and my lack of interest in boys volleyball in the garbage.... This is a pretty decent anime.

Story: 7
The story of Haikyuu is pretty generic comparing to other sports anime's and I mean there really is only a few paths you can take when advancing the story in sports anime. Hinata, a short orange haired kid aspires to live up to the Tiny Giant, a short but powerful player on the court that gets the job done regardless of his size. Comparing the 2's height, Hinata was obviously in love with the Tiny Giant and wanted to live up to take that title for himself. So he trains and trains and trains and trains and trains and trains and trains x24 (If you think i'm exaggerating the just watch the anime, 3/4 of it is training arcs). So blah blah he joins Karasuno blah blah meets up with the team blah blah they win a couple matches with team spirit and willpower blah blah and they work their way up To The Top at nationals where I thought this season was gonna take place. The story gets to a standstill multiple times because of my last comment and the amount of training arcs they do. They will play a couple matches for like 3-4 episodes then have a 13 episode training arc to smooth out and be realistic with how they improve. I like that they do training arcs, but I mean, it is a little much. This season in particular is hinted at being a huge training arc with a I believe a big match at the very end. I must say, for the people waiting 4 years for Season 4 to come out, a training arc instead of nationals is a huge slap in the face.

Art: 8
Smooth and clean and crisp and thats the way I like it. They do repeat some frames which is hard to go unnoticed but other than that solid animation.

Sound: 8
Again nothing to complain or gripe about. Clean sounds that match and line up with the actions on the screen.

Characters: 7
As much as I like the Karasuno team and how the interract, they are pretty cliche. You got the idiot MC who just jumps into things without a plan (Literally every shonen protag ever). You got the cold and compelled but short tempered badass thats a rival. You got the bald ecstatic loud one. You have the leader who rials all of them together. If I am being honest there isn't anything particularly unique about the characters but I still love how they interact. If anything the people from other teams like Shiratorizawa and Date Tech have way more compelling and interesting characters than Karasuno but never the less they are still a fantastic team to be around. And hello Kiyoko ;).

Enjoyment: 6
Maybe its just me not a fan of sports anime's or it really is true but Haikyuu tends to get really repetitive. It got to the point where at the Shiratorizawa vs Karasuno match I was able to predict successfully who was going to get the point and when they were going to stop the ball and score again. Once again sports anime's are very limited in what they can do because they actually have to follow in real life boundaries and not go full on "anime". And there is nothing compelling about blow-outs so they have to follow the close game scenario. Both teams are neck and neck scoring one point after another switching off. Then one team pulls away by 2-3 points and then then they have some powerful flashback about how hard they have trained and then turn the tides and win. That was basically every match Karasuno has played since Season 2. It gets repetitive really quickly and I think that is what ruined my hype for S3's match. I want to love Haikyuu so badly but it just has to come up with something more unique because the style they were using for the matches has run dry for me. I hope they can spice it up when they play in the Nationals.

Overall: 7

I think most of what I needed to say has already been. I want to love Haikyuu very badly but right now it sits at an average 7 for me. Really hope they bounce back with the Nationals :)

Haikyuu is my favorite sports anime. [haven’t watched hajime no ippo yet]
The show makes you the part of their teams [karasuno]. it makes you feels like we know the members like a friend or teammate. It is one of the consistent shows airing now

Haikyuu s4 had some problems but overall it is still really good.
There were some changes like in art. The art style is now more inclined to the manga. Most of the viewers doesn’t seem to like the new art style. I can agree with this, I also liked the old art style.
But if this is more similar to the manga, then I ... can’t complain more, usually every good show have art style similar to manga. So I was able to bear this.
Animation was also weak compared to previous seasons. This season was more like a training arc before the tournament so I hope they will improve the animation quality more in the second part.

[THE RATING SEEMS TO BE LOW FOM LAST SEASON, I THINK ITS MAINLY BECAUSE OF THE NEW ARTSTYLE, and animation was a little lesser in quality]

• Story 9 awesome
Story is very good. We feel the the pressure in the match even it’s a story. That makes it incredible.

• Art and animation 8 Pretty good. [THE REASON FOR RATING DECREASE]
Not a fan of the new art style, but is adapting to it slowly. I hope animation improves in second part.
I MISS THE OLD MID INTERVAL SCENES.

• Matches 9 awesome
We had one training match, which was really good. We also got the first stage matches of the tournament. They end this season in kind of a cliffhanger which keeps you hype for July.

• Sound 10 Outstanding
The osts are really good like always. The opening was awesome. Some new osts were really good.

• Character 9 awesome
Characters are one of the good things in Haikyuu. The series takes time to let us know the characters in the team really well. This season we got some major Hinata focus and developments.
We got more focus on Kiyoko, Tanaka, etc. more. We got introduced to some characters who can be major threats in the tournaments.

• Enjoyment 9 AWESOME
I enjoyed very season of Haikyuu. It is really consistent.
The change in art style in a thing I have to adapt to, especially when it is more similar to manga. Animation was weaker but not bad compared to many shows which have bad animations.

• Overall 9
A pretty solid season, ¾ was training arcs and the rest was the beginning part of tournament.
The training arcs are as good like always.


In short, apart from art style change and some animation laziness, this season of Haikyuu was also really good.

So here's my honest opinion - even if it might be a bit biased since this one of my best anime series ever.

[Minor spoilers till ep 6 ahead]

Story : 9
It's a slower pace from season 3, but that's to be expected. They're training. And you can't expect every training to be with top class schools like in season 2. What they've done this time is select a handful of these kids for training camps and they focused more on them. Some might feel like they focused too long on this and yeah I agree, but only partially. Hinata and Kageyama are the main characters and ... so I think after the fast pace of matches which were literally a few days long, they deserve some time off the court to really improve themselves all round.

Characters: 9
Like already said, they're focused on the mains, mostly Hinata even (this boy is becoming a receive KING or maybe an expert ball boy haha), but really you can see the development happening on the side lines! Tsukki's seeking help indirectly with Hinata for block practice, Yamaguchi feeling the pressure of the 2nd year's development at floaters, Asahi and Tanaka improving their jump serves, Kageyama thinking deeply about his role as a setter, Kindaichi obviously thinking back and maybe even regretting how things ended with Kageyama, even Hyakuzawa feeling down and being encouraged, then getting better in that little match! For me Haikyuu has always been about the little things like this, it makes me fall in love with it even more. This is truly one of the few animes I can watch weekly without feeling like I wasted my time because if you really open your mind, you receive a fair amount each episode.

Art and Sound: 8
There is an obvious change of art styles but I kinda got used to it, it's not too bad in my opinion. They're bulkier so if anything it favors Hinata and now he truly looks like a seasoned high school volleyball dude. The animation seems to have fallen down in standards a bit but nothing too bad, I still find it reasonably smooth, just not as smooth as earlier seasons maybe. I haven't paid much attention to the OST but so far i have no problems with it. The OP and ED are wonderful as always, the ED especially left a good impression on me. It's so fitting for Haikyuu's vibe!

Enjoyment and Overall: 9
I am absolutely loving it! I don't wanna conclude and give it a 10 because I want to see the entire season but so far I am in no way disappointed. Watching this after the long wait since 2018 has definitely been everything to me, I missed these kids so much. I can't wait for Nationals and I'm gonna be cheering my boys on. I'll admit that part of why i enjoy it so much is seeing where they have come from. I just had to make this review because i feel like the number of average impressions on here is disproportionate to how enjoyable it really is.

I will keep it short. I enjoyed this season, while they lack some elements from first one they improved others. It may be not tense as 3rd but games are still fun to watch.
Character development is in the first place and they did a solid job. New characters introduced, also new possible side story.

I did not like forever lasting matches from season before and they really improved that part. Characters who were avoided before got some spotlight and they did not stall.
Animation and music were still on point.
This is great, fun to watch sport anime. I recommend.

It's my first time writing a review but, i hope i can tell the reasons for why i really like this season.

First of all, I love how they focus on them so much in this season. Their training is so fun to watch. And every time Hinata's eyes shows up on screen, i'm just----- Oh, I like the new characters too!

About artstyle: I really liked it a lot, I know it's not the best but it's pretty cool and enjoyable i think. (Tho can't say that for Daichi, i didn't like his new style)

It's been very good for now. Can't wait for the second part. ... (Maybe i really won't wait and read the manga, but anime is pretty good so don't know what to do...)

OK... So I came back here after watching the 12th episode and now i'm going to decrase art point by one.

The fourth season of Haikyuu. Story-wise, there are nothing really major this season. I like to think that this season is the part where they focus on character development, we get to see a lot of character development stories this season. This season is sort of a build-up to the main story in Part 2 later.

The animation is Haikyuu-esque like usual, with the change of staffs recently I did not hoped anything, but this season's art is wonderful like always.

The Opening is great, it symbolises the whole of the season. The BGM are glorious as always. Haikyuu always has nice OST.

The characters are great this ... time around, I really like the character development in this season. The new antagonists like Miya is also great. I really like how Miya is impacting Kageyama's character development. The addition of Hoshiumi serves as a rival to Hinata.

As usual I really enjoy watching Haikyuu (maybe because I play volleyball regularly), but Haikyuu just has a charm unlike any other sports anime. It's just entertaining. Can't wait for the second-part in the Summer.

Haikyu returns for a a disappointing fourth season compared to its previous seasons. The changes that first caught my attention were changes in art style and Coach Ukai's voice actor. While the art is by no means bad, I do think it's a step down from the old animation. Some stylistic changes include adding character introductions before matches. It's a good attempt to build hype and acquaint the viewer with the enemy team, but it comes off as tacky sometimes—having flames in head to head portraits is a bit much. Now Ukai's original voice actor died, so they had to replace him. The replacement isn't ... bad; I'm just too used to the old voice. Every time Ukai speaks feels off to me.

What killed this season for me was the pacing. Everything until the official matches felt so slow. The training camp feels like a waste of time for Hinata, and the practice match feels too similar to previous ones. At one point, Hinata asks himself what's he doing wasting his time, and I found myself asking the exact same question then. While Hinata does improve after his "unconventional training", I question how realistic this improvement is. Conventional practice just seems so much better; the show didn't do a good job convincing me otherwise. On top of that, the payoff for the official matches feels short lived. The official matches are as thrilling as they've ever been, but they're over in a flash. In the end, I wasn't sure if they were worth the wait.

The charm of Haikyu's characters is getting a little stale. While each character remains endearing, they've become predictable. You kinda already know how characters will react to team drama and challenges. Sometimes characters feel like flat caricatures that occasionally say snappy sports one-liners. Kageyama and Kiyoko are perhaps the exceptions this season with their new development. As a Haikyu fan, this has me worried about future seasons, since the hearts of this series is its characters.

I didn't dislike this season, but it was a letdown compared to previous seasons. The season did many things right, like music and the official matches. However, this season has to stand in the shadow of ones, and it just failed to live up to expectations.

Firstly, the fourth season starts right before the end of the third one, giving the spectator a great chance to compare the art style between both.

Although, some may argue that the quality decreased, I say with confidence that it changes for the best. An uniform mix that includes both the author art style in junction with it's counterpart from the other seasons. But, again, if you are pleased with it or not, it is entirely subjective.

The formula is simple, yet effective. Karasuno's style keeps changing and improving based on other teams. What characters thought about for a matter of seconds, takes minutes (just like JJBA). ... Strategies that make sense, no special powers, carismatic characters and nothing happens based on nothing or plot devices.

Then why are you rating the anime that high? Well, the application is perfect. Not every anime has to be a innovative masterpiece, if you feel pleasure, tension and can understand the character's beliefs, you already have a masterpiece.

Haikyuu is the anime that hooked me into volleyball, also being the anime that showed me that you do not need to be a genius in order to become a great player, you do not need to have 190cm to be a great spiker and you do not need to be perfect in order to win.

Practice makes perfect, and enjoyability makes a great anime.

This outstanding stunning anime is deserved to be the best anime of the decade. No im not talking abt Sports anime but all anime. Its the BEST Anime tier list EVER. Weeb Lord R/anime and weeb Lord Sseibaa has persuaded me tro write this review.
This anime has such amazing husbandos and is just spectacular. This anime made me lose 10kg of weight because i binge watched it for 4 days straight. I couldnt keep my eyes of the screen. Im at the hospital right now because of this but it was worth it. Cant wait for the next season to air. PogU

Hello, this is my first review, so I hope I am doing this correctly.

While I am still very much in love with Haikyuu, something about it doesn't feel right. And that for me is the change of style.

I remember seeing the new designs on Instagram and immediately felt my love for the characters drop. Don't get me wrong, I still very much love my good boys, but that only characters that didn't seem to change are Yuu and Tanaka. I miss Hinata's wild, detailed hair and I miss Kageyama's distinctive look that came with the prior seasons. Kageyama in this season just looks different ... and it's doesn't sit well with me. But, I understand what change comes with a few tweaks in storytelling, whether it is through animation and the actual storytelling.

Story: 8

I still consider the story very well written. I have not read the manga as that art style isn't really my thing. I will have to give it an 8. I feel that some story elements are rushed.

Art: 6

This could just be me, but the simplicity of the animation makes is look lazy. Yes, in certain scenes (ex: Kagayama trying to understand the layout of the building that they are playing in a grid-like pattern used as visual to enhance that) are very well but together. I made most of my points in before these rates, so I will not get into that again.

Sound: 8

I am no expert, but it mostly sounds pretty good to me.

Character: 7

Some characters seemed to be dumbed down, personalities don't match with the prior seasons. The characters could be handled better.

Enjoyment and Overall: 8

I still very much love this series. While I feel that many things could be handled better, I will not fault the studio and the team for making such a wonderful series for us.

I hope this looks all right and I hope I could get my point across. Enjoy the rest of this series!