Haikyuu!!: Riku vs. Kuu

Imagine your first review on MAL being about Haikyuu can't get better than this.

Anyway these OVA's were in my opinion pretty enjoyable to watch, even though it was pretty short it just worked. And like its Haikyuu so it was bound to be good.

Plot;

These are basically the events that happened, before the 4th season of Haikyuu. So I guess you could say it is important to watch.
We follow Kenma and his team play a match against Fukurodani. And well that was pretty entertaining to see I sure laughed a lot. Especially because of one of my favorite characters (Bokuto).

I won't really spoil what teams went through so I would really recommend watching it yourself.

Art;

The art style was pretty good, I felt there were some times it was a little worse than normal. Not saying that it was bad just a little different then let's say Season 3. But still very good. Some moments were truly beautiful.

Characters;

I also liked the characters a lot, I really liked what they did with a "certain" player to show that he should not be underestimated. And in my opinion, what makes Haikyuu in general so great is the characters most of them are all unique and so likable. So yeah can't complain.

The sound was pretty good just like always, Haikyuu never disappoints in this factor.

So in conclusion, I would say watch this before you start with Season 4, so you can get hyped up for upcoming matches. It does not take very long so its really worth it.

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To clarify right at the start, I find real life sports boring and I think watching real life sports is one of the least entertaining things people do for entertainment. However, anime has ways to convert this boredom and to hype it up to the levels that make your blood boil with excitement. Sadly, not every attempt at this is succesfull.

Watching this Haikyuu OVA felt like watching a regular sports match. Though I get that it's not that easy to make valleyball exciting, as it's already not interesting even for sports standards. Sure, some might find the realistic feel attractive, but when the original lacks points of interests, emulating this lack of interestingness may not be the best idea.

Haikyuu fans will very likely enjoy this side story, but for me it felt like wandering into a gym by accident and being forced to watch a match between people I don't care about with stakes that I am completely indifferent towards to. The ill-timed attempts at humor that start off with a poo joke aren't exactly helping the case too. The exception was the last 5 or so minutes of the 2nd episode that had some actually interesting-ish interraction between the characters. Overal, the few scenes with the sisters were unironically the most entertaining part. And the animation is, of course, still well above the average.

Unless you're a fan of Haikyuu or real life sports of just a completionits, you might as well just skip this OVA. You won't be missing much except for the opportunity to waste 40 minutes of your life.

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For anyone who's planning on watching season four of Haikyuu!!, I would suggest (and recommend) watching this two-episode OVA special to get back into the groove of Haikyuu!!, and to get hyped up for 'Haikyuu!!: To the Top' as it's been over 3 years now since season 3 last aired.

There wasn't much added to the story since there are only 2 episodes and that this focused on the two games in the qualifiers. There weren't many key moments (mainly being a certain person's injury, not naming names, and who qualified for the tournament). You could probably mistake this for a filler episode(s) if you think too much on it.

The animation for this was quite good, as there were some scenes where the art and animation quality were at a higher standard than usual, however, don't get your hopes up on expecting any groundbreaking, internet-breaking sakuga, since this was an OVA, not a 1/2-cour series (where most of the attention and production is currently). It's what you would expect of Haikyuu!!, which is still good.

The soundtrack was very good, we get to hear some of season 4's OST, which will hopefully turn out great and will be put to good use. Haikyuu!!'s soundtrack is always great, so there's no complaints in the sound department.

Since this is a special focusing on two games with three different teams, we get to see the interactions between the characters in focus. We get introduced to a bunch of new characters with new/similar personalities and different playing styles. There were some good comedic moments alongside some flashbacks and internal monologue scenes which helped further a few characters' development - the usual stuff you'd see in sports anime.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this OVA, as it's done its job of hyping me up for the new season of Haikyuu!! There are some things you need to take away from watching this, mainly the new characters and the two teams that qualified as the representatives for the tournament. If you're a fan of Haikyuu!! and you want some more content to watch, or to get ready for the upcoming season, I would recommend watching this.

Overall score: 8/10

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Alright, listen, I understand that I can't expect a perfect ten out of a couple of episodes, but if I left it at that, what would there be to review? So, I'm gonna go over why these OVA episodes could've done a bit better regardless of the fact that they were still awesome.

With Haikyuu!! I'm used to experiencing amazing scores of music because that's what the standard has been so far. During these episodes, though, I don't know that I necessarily felt that. The music didn't hit me like it has in the past, which is unfortunate. Similarly, the voice acting wasn't quite as familiar as I thought it would be. There wasn't much by way of shouting during the games like they normally do. There were still some awesome musical moments, too, when there was a chance. Art-wise, Haikyuu!! has one of the best styles in all of anime. I did feel like the movement of the characters during serves or jumps were a bit choppy for some reason, which struck me as weird since Haikyuu!! is usually really good at that, but it didn't bother me that much.

There isn't much to say about the story. It's very much an in-and-out type set of episodes. There isn't any extra information given because these episodes are really only here to serve the purpose of showing us the outcome so that we know what's going on heading into the fourth season. That isn't a bad thing at all, though I do wish these episodes were able to provoke a bit more emotion than they ended up doing. Since these OVA episodes had to cram a whole lot of manga material into two episodes, it makes sense that it felt a bit rushed. Another thing Haikyuu!! is typically good with is immersing the audience in the game that's on screen, but since so much happened in these two episodes, they weren't able to do that. Does it really matter? No. Like I said, the outcome is more or less all that matters in these episodes, but I was still hoping these matches would've been represented a little differently.

Whatever, I'm just pumped to be back in this story. I'll see you at the end of next season!

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Story

Don't pass by them ! You should watch them before beginning the S4 ! Yes it's not Karasuno, and it's not the main characters, and that's why it's interesting. It's basically the story of two Nekoma team matches , on their way to the nationals. So, the major part of the OVA is playtime. But that's not all, the true goal of these episodes is to develop the characters from Nekoma, their personal side, but also their relationship with the other members of the team, and also with their enemies like Fukurodani. We also meet a new team, the Nohebi team. It's not the most interesting team in the manga, and personally I didin't really like their game methods, but the match was still interesting and we learn a lot about them in the two episodes.

Art

Haikyuu is still a beautiful anime for me. There is no change with the anime, and like in it, we have some beautiful moments, during certain actions like spike or blocks for the example.

Sound

Not a lot to say about it here, it's basically the same sound as in the anime. I would like to have maybe more original music during the matches for the OVA.

Character

I think it's the most interesting part of these two OVA. We can learn a lot about the Nekoma's player, and the Nohebi team, and their relationship. That's why I think that these two OVA are musn't be avoided : they allow us to understand better the motivations of the characters to win, and to go more and more beyonds their limits, why they are fighting. But they also involve certain characters questionning about their way of playing, and how they can improve it, ourselves, and with their other teammates.

Enjoyment

It's true that it's a little bit less interesting than the main plot, but these two OVA are still a good entertainment, and for me, could have been in the actual anime.

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So Haikyuu came out and made a second ova known as Land vs Sky!! It’s pretty decent considering it’s an OVA but it definitely has its fair share of problems ranging from minor to major.

If your looking for a quick summary:
Story:6/10 Art:8/10 Sound:3/10 Characters:8/10 Enjoyment:6/10 Overall:6/10
If your looking for an explanation read the rest of the review down below. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

The story revolves around Nekomas journey to nationals set at the same time as Shitoriiwaza vs Karasuno season. They face Bokuto and Furokadani and a new team who’s name I forgot to get there. I’m not gonna spoil anything but those games were quite entertaining and definitely funny at points but there was one major problem with the whole anime/ova, Pacing. As an example Furokadani vs Nekoma in the manga was suppose to be a major game, on the levels of Shitoriiwaza vs Karasuno. However this being an ova they squished that whole volume of content into less then 1 episode. That whole match revolves around two moments from the manga instead of the rest. Meanwhile the other game Nekoma took part in was pretty decent if I do say so myself. It showed us a new aspect of sports and taught us how far some players were willing to go for the victory.

It was a fun match and it certainly was a rollar coaster of emotions. However throughout the whole anime I could not hear a single notible song. For a good chunk of the 2 episode Ova your kinda just watching the anime, no music to set the mood, your kinda just there. This was a major problem and the only time they played a notable song was in the ed, not a good showing whatsoever. The new art style was shown for the first time and it was quite good. All the characters felt real as if I could know them in real life. ALL of them were enjoyable and I could not dislike a single team/player.

Yeah I was on the fence about this OVA, as an anime only I would have been so entertained knowing how Nekoma got to nationals, however as a manga ready I’m kinda left disappointed. If you’re just looking for a fun time than I reccomend watching the OVA, if you enjoy haikyuu then you will probally enjoy the manga. Now that that’s all said and done thankyou for reading this far and feel free to check out my profile.

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Even though I have some pretty high rankings for the story, art, sound, character, and enjoyment, I still gave this an 8.

This was done amazing, in my opinion.

I love the storyline since I love watching these characters playing volleyball.

I love how well they followed along with Furudate's newly improved art style. Everything looks so smooth.

I loved the sound they used, and I was a fan of the audio they chose during some fast-moving scenes.

I love all the characters. I don't think there's a single one that I'm not a fan of.

I loved the OVA in general. It had its moments for both humor and angst.

However, there's something that anime-onlys wouldn't quite understand why some people were so upset over this.

In the manga, the Fukurodani VS Nekoma was much longer. There were way more interactions between characters, more funny bits, more serious bits, more awesome bits, etc. Not to mention the minor character screentime that was cut out (poor Konoha).

For the Nekoma VS Nohebi, we were also cut of some things which include interactions as well as some other details. I don't want to give any spoilers for the OVA but some things that were shown more in the manga didn't quite pop out as they should've in the anime.

If we talk about how they did deliver the parts they decided to animate? Wow. Amazing. I felt chills with most things. Everything seemed to be exactly how it was in the scene matching the manga. It was so satisfying to watch them finally come to life.

This review isn't to say that you shouldn't watch this OVA. These two episodes were amazing, and they were really fun to watch. I'm glad we got to see some Fukurodani and Nekoma action. It's also really good to watch before you begin the new season. This review is more to say that if you wish to see more of these matches, you're in luck because what was shown was not all of it. Read the manga for more content if you loved these two matches.

So, yes, I highly recommend taking the time to watch these two OVA episodes (especially before jumping into season four since it's a great way to start off the new season). However, I also highly recommend taking the time to read the manga (especially if you want to see more content of those two matches).

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I really liked Nekoma High. So personally this OVA has story that I really like. This story tells the journey of Nekoma High through the preliminaries, something that I want to see animated for quite a long time. I just love Nekoma High's hustle play. Although they aren't the best they want to win. Also some backstory. The art is regular Haikyuu. The usual one, just perfect for Haikyuu. Not stiff yet not smooth. Sound is also same as usual. Although there's no notable BGM this time around. The volleyball sound effects are always satisfying to hear. As I said earlier, I really like Nekoma High, so on that regards I also like the characters. They are well written characters that I really like. This two-episodes OVA also provide some additional backstory for some of the members. More backstory is always fancied. Haikyuu is always enjoyful for me for two reasons. One is the characters. It has great characters. But the most important reason is volleyball is my favorite sport, other than football and basketball. And such I have taken a liking to Haikyuu. One additional reason is there are no supernatural shenanigans like some sport animes.

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Well, its difficult to make the people feel so excited with this ova like they do with the last season with Karasuno against Shiratorizawa, but instead this is a good ova with great moments, but dont have a great number of epic scenes like other math, may be its because this time we see the Nekoma team, but i dont believe that´s it i think something is gone this time with haikyuu. The music themes are amazing as usual with this serie but in the art and the moves i dont feel it like the best thing we have seen of haikyuu isnt even near. The story of this match could give us more epicity but that part failed 6/10

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This shows what happens right before Haikyuu!!: To the Top and Nekoma going through National Qualifiers with Fukurodani High School, Nohebi Academy, and Itachiyama Academy.


They changed up the art style in 2020... and I am really not sure how I feel about it. Whilst it looks a bit cleaner, the design that has stuck throughout just feels off and strays quite a bit from the series that I have grown accustomed to.


Not much to say about the sound for this. They play songs at the end but even though they are good - they are not anything I would go out of my way to listen to. The voice acting was solid but it was mostly just squeaking shoes with no background music.


Kenma Kozume - A 2nd-year and Nekoma's team setter and is the "heart and brain" of the team.

Tetsurou Kuroo - A 3rd-year and Nekoma's team captain and a middle blocker, known as the "Scheming Captain".

Lev Haiba - A 1st-year and one of Nekoma's middle blockers and the claims himself to be the ace of the team.

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(Quick Review)

This OVA was more of a side story for Nekoma High team and I really enjoyed it. The first episodes show the battle of Nekoma vs Fukurodani and their win against them then we see how on the second episode was the match of Nekoma vs Nohebi and how each match was hard for them but was able to succeed. The art seemed to be the new design from the new seasons and I really like the art from those new seasons and the sound effects and voices actors were fine. Nekoma is one of my favourite teams from Haikyuu so that's why I was happy there was an OVA for them and I really enjoyed it a lot.

This OVA was really good, like said before Nekoma is my favourite team so that why I liked this OVA and it shows how they are growing stronger in order to defeat Karasuno and win the nationals

Story 8/10
Art 7/10
Sound 7/10
Character 8/10
Enjoyment 8/10
Overall 8/10

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I don't want to complain about the new art style because I knew it was coming, and it is good to see the unique manga style animated, but as anime watcher only it was quite a shock after seasons 1-3. The art itself wasn't too bad but the animation was somehow a bit lazy and the crazy impact of match points lacked greatly. The music has been big part of the mood but here the soundtrack wasn't strong. The ova was all over the place due squeezing matches in 40 minutes so most of the time I was just confused because everything happened too fast. The characters were great as usual and overall this ova was worth watching but it could have been a lot better.

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Cats, owls, snakes, and boars. Lions, tigers, and bears oh my! (There was an actual lion moment in this OVA so the comparison is warranted)

This is basically fun times with Nekoma, specifically Lev and Kuroo and with Fukurodani in the first episode, and was pretty funny given how brief the jokes need to be set up and paid off. The Nohebi guys are interesting given how they play up the psychological advantages to aid them on the court, which is fine and interesting by sports standards even if it can be annoying to be an opponent.

This does feel understandably rushed, with less time on audience reactions and music stings to really build up moments in a match, which progress quickly especially compared to the stretched time of season 3. It's not as provocative for these characters as even Nekoma's and Fukurodani's earlier appearance in season 2.

This is basically a refresher and hype vehicle after about a three year hiatus so there isn't that much to really blame. And there are improved and new animations and visual flairs that work here that I'm sure will come into play and be featured more in season 4.

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