Karasuno's practice match seemed to serve two purposes, to show Yachi the seriousness, passion, and skill of our players, and to show us how they've changed in the eyes of their opponents. They are no longer the flightless birds and Hinata has surpassed even their most cherished players in some's eyes. I seriously loved how Yachi noticed the difference between the guys messing around akin to a flock of birds and their transformation into warriors walking to their battlefield. She was awestruck.
I think Yachi is a great character to focus on for season 2. It seems that Hinata has already started to influence her for the better. In her own words, she's never tried to do something on her own or had people depend on her. She plays townsperson b when she plays roles in the drama club. She feels like she needs reasons to be allowed to pursue what she wants to do and accepts herself as a background character. Quiet and docile. I think her questioning why they want to win was a great moment. That paired with Shimizu telling her you can act on a whim without needing passion or good reasons moved her to finally do something for herself. She realized that it doesn't matter if you are a townsperson b in life like she thinks she is, you can still own that role and do what you want, do what you want so much that you outshine the lead role like Hinata did. And, that's what this anime is good at doing, making really decisive and satisfying and constant character development. She's a nice outsider who has so much change she can go through throughout the course of this, and she's a nice look at Karasuno from an outsider perspective, and her dynamic in the group freshens things up from the first season. It's a great decision to add her to the team.
I particularly love how excitable she is. She may not have faith in herself but when she's pushed just a little bit she snowballs and lets all the energy inside of her that she holds back out like when she shouted to her mom that she was going to join the team. Speaking of her mom, her moms awesome too. She may be cold and too hard on her daughter, always leaving her alone for work, but it's her way of tough love and she even cried after she saw how strong she was getting and later helped her on the poster.
I love the little moments like when Kageyama let out a yawn. They're adorable and add so much character. It's something I don't see many places else.
And lastly, I once criticized Hinata for having this undying resolve and passion and drive for volleyball. He's an absolute volleyball junkie and you can see it in his patented Hinata stare. But, this episode made me realize that's a stupid criticism. The point of Hinata is that he is very straightforward and simple and his attitude is one of saying what he thinks and doing what he wants to do. And, when someone with his attitude catches a whiff of what they love and finds out the absolute satisfaction of spiking the ball there's no question that he would pursue it with his all. He's honestly pretty hedonistic to the point that I refer to him as a junkie. The pleasure he gets out of winning and playing volleyball, of staying on the court as long as he can, it's all he wants in life and it's what drives him. It only makes sense that he would pursue it with the resolve and passion he does. That attitude and passion of his are what makes him so impactful on Yachi I think. He is able to be a townsperson b, he is able to be so short that she suspects he isn't a player, but no matter if he's the little guy in the play or the little guy in the game it doesn't matter. He's showing her you're allowed to chase after what you love for the single reason that you love it and he pushes her to take action for herself. She can relate with him, or so I think, and it's that relation that makes him so inspiring to her!!! |