As a sports anime Haikyuu!! is both similar and different compared to Kuroko no Basket while the differences outweigh the similarities. I feel Kuroko no Basket stressed more on competition and its spirit while Haikyuu!! has a slight flavor of slice of life anime.
Now starting with the review of Haikyuu!!
The story of Haikyuu!! is not much different from standard sports anime revolving around clubs in school but rather the presentation of characters is somewhat different. The story revolves mostly around Karasuno volleyball club which was strong previously but recently has been in crisis. Some new members join the club who excel in some skills. Now, the new volleyball club is trying to make it to the nationals. Though the story mainly revolves around Karasuno appropriate time log is also given to their rivals.
The Animation regarding the series is quite satisfying and apt for this kind of storyline. The characters were good looking and reflected their behavior.
The openings and the endings were good. Especially the background music was really well done which helps get into the anime many times. It was smooth and fast.
The characterization in the series was somewhat different compared to other sports anime.It is little bit wide ranged and comprehensive. Each character is given importance and sometimes the side characters feel more important than main ones .The main ones being Kageyama who is a genius setter of Karasuno and had a bad attitude in the past and is trying to change it. The other one is Hinata who is a spiker, has awesome reflexes and can jump high. He is straight forward and has no intellect. The other characters are also well driven and unique.
The series carries quite some energy along with it and at many times goes along with a formula. There by depends whether you enjoy some energy along with a slight flavor of slice of life and comedy.
