The story of Haikyuu!! is pretty simple: two old rivals, Hinata and Kageyama, happen to attend to the same school and join the same volleyball club after encountering each other in middleschool in a volleyball match. The rather untalented Hinata, still having the wish to beat his rival in a match, and Kageyama, an incredible gifted player, do not get a long very well in the beginning. However, it turns out they complete each other extremely well, so they'll have to work out as a duo to add to their team.
The story focuses, of course, on these two characters, as well as on the Karasuno volleyball club, which has been rather unlucky and didn't win a lot of their latest matches. So, now with our over powered duo, they'll win every match right? Wrong, and that is something I think you should give this anime credit for: it's not as predictable as other sports anime, they do not win every match just because they have Hinata and Kageyama now; they'll always have to find a way to beat their formidable opponents, and it's never easy and not based on using sole will power. As the story continues, they get better, so they decide to enter a tournament, which they of course want to win.
The story itself isn't the main focus on Haikyuu!!, as you can see by the fact it isn't very unique, even among sport animes. It rather focuses on the interactions and relationships between characters, and it does that amazingly well. The matches are incredibly fun to watch, I even found myself cheering for both teams, and it manages to create a very intense atmosphere. While the story itself wouldn't be too engaging on it's own, Haikyuu!! manages to suck you in with a lot of full-scale volleyball action and great characters. The downside is, as unpredictable the matches can be, you still get very easily what they are going for; it's training – tournament – wanting to win – facing old enemies and all that kinda stuff. It doesn't make it bad, you just wish they might have tried something more creative here. There is also a lot of inner monologue and pep talk, which is extremely cheesy from time to time, but it's not terrible or anything.
As I already mentioned, the characters in Haikyuu!! are great. Everyone is pretty unique in their own way, and they're all extremely fun to watch on screen. The two main characters, Hinata and Kageyama, couldn't be any more different from another, so it's really entertaining to watch them get along. Both do show typical traits of shounen protagonists, however, they're still portrayed in a realistic way, so you won't mind it that much. The supporting characters are great as well. As already mentioned, everyone is unique, and their relationship with one another is very well established. I might say they all fit in some kind of stereotype, like the hot-headed guy or the always positive guy, but the show manages to show different traits of the characters. The „antagonists“, meaning the players of the opposing teams, are all just as great as the one from Karasuno. Everyone is very cool, has their own traits and is pretty likeable. While they're reduced to one character trait for most of the time, it's still played off really believable.
Sometimes I wished however, they would give certain characters a bit more focus, not just one introduction episode. It's not like they're left forgotten afterward, but I always wanted to see some more of them. Another thing that really annoyed me, while it might be a nitpick, is the reaction you always get to see from the opposing players or watchers when Hinata and Kageyama do their quick attack. I get it, it's awesome. It's just the fact it always takes so long until the match continues and I'm in general not a fan when a show tries that hard to tell you something is awesome. But as I said, probably just a nitpick, it doesn't ruin anything for me.
I have to say, I can't say much about the animation itself, except for that it's incredibly good. It's really fast, smooth and fluent, it really makes the show very pleasing to watch. The volleyball action comes across amazing, and that's what counts great time for a sports anime. The art-style is also very good, the characters do look pretty realistic while still showing some unique features.
The music however, I have to say, wasn't that outstanding. Frankly, I don't even remember one really god track in the OST. I'm sure they added to the mood, but they didn't do that much on their own. The OP and ED are all nice to listen to and are pretty catchy tunes, but also not something that memorable. The voice acting was always on point though, the actors really brought up the feeling they are in a real match. It's not something I always comment on, but the sound effects in Haikyuu!! are extremly good as well, they do make everything feel more real, might it just be the volleyball hitting the ground.
As mentioned above, Haikyuu!! was really enjoyable. The matches and the characters are just so good, I really couldn't stop watching after one episode. It gets pretty cheesy from time to time, but it never felt like it was too much and would ruin anything. The comedy is also good, especially Hinata and Kageyama get into some funny situations.
Overall, Haikyuu!! is a great anime. It has some flaws, but they're not as bad as the good stuff is good. If you're looking for some easy-to-watch sports anime, with great characters and a lot of amazingly animated matches, go for that one.
