Now, Haikyuu!! isn't exactly a bad or a terrible anime. My overall score of it is 9 because it did give me the enjoyment I wanted and did not expected to have from sport anime as I am not a fan of such anime. HQ is good show, despite the fact that I have dropped it I still have to give it the fair rating and this rating is that I have enjoyed that anime and I hope one day I will have time and motivation to actually finish the whole series and second season. I am writing this review without finishing it because of the fact that this anime is sadly predictable one you get a good hang of it and despite my never finishing it. Maybe once I will finish it I will give this anime another review or just update this one but it all honesty (and sadly) I doubt there will be any difference before I finished it and after. I might love it, I might hate it, I might have th same opinion as it is now. Who knows? I can't look into the future.
Anyway, without further a do, here is the; Story:
HQ is an anime about a sport (that I never been fan of, still not big fan of and in future I will never like it) which is volleyball.( In all honest I hate this sport and I am very bad at it too. But I digress.) The overall plot line loops around our main protagonist Hinata, Shouyou who, after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, became inspired to become as big as the "Little Giant". Despite his small height, Hinata is surprisingly good at it (sadly not good enough as a Capitan) and after joining (and reviving) volleyball club that was suppose to shut down at his middle school, went with his team to tournament, only to be squashed by the opposite team and their "King of the court", Tobio Kageyama. After their first and last match, Hinata promised Kageyama that one day he will be the "King of the court" and will beat him down. After graduating from his middle school, Hinata got into Karasuno Highschool to where fore mentioned "Little giant" used to attend, to make his dreams come true. However things become complicated as he finds out that his rival, The "King of the court" himself, also attended the school and now is his teammate. The story itself seems like any typical sport anime etc etc, and it can either can with Hinata indeed becoming someone like a Little giant or him failing but still becoming someone amazing and maybe even better than Little giant. Sadly that is about it with the story itself as it is very simple and easy to follow plot.
Visuals/sound track:
The art style has this special place in my heart. It isn't amazing, it isn't outstanding but it isn't plain. Animes that have amazing animation do catch my eye easily as good animation will give you a lot and I mean a lot of eyes that will watch. Not everyone will pay attention to the animation itself and some people may even dislike the style because of its unique look. The style is a bit weird in my opinion but the way how its used (for example the shading, animation etc) really made me give this one a high rank. The sceneries are average and could've been better but they are sure not just "basic" or just flat-out boring. The soundtrack however, this one is the kicker. I said this twice now and I will say it again; the Soundtrack is amazing. The openings are always very good as well as the endings. Sadly compared to the first opening, second opening wasn't as "exciting" and didn't make me pumped for the episode as much as the first one did. The soundtrack is very nice to listen to but for some people this can be hit or miss, really depends on what you like. Overall, I love the style and the soundtrack, its a shame that the second op wasn't as good at first one. And about the endings, well, I didn't really gave them a good score as I think they are just "ok."
Characters:
Ohohohoh! This is the part where I will be able to grab lemons and throw them onto life. The characters are amazing. I love every single one of them (or at least the ones I've seen so far) and the way how they are presented is great! Our main characters, Hinata and Kageyama (Bakeyama), spend a lot of their time with same people at the very beginning, but as the series goes on, more and more characters are shown and their personalities get revealed quickly. When we meat some characters from opposite teams, we see them at the right times and it doesn't feel as if they are pushed there just because they must show their faces. The character interactions, especially between the mains, is good and realistic (at least for an anime). The characters themselves have interesting designs but at times they look either ridiculous or just plain. But if characters have amazing personalities that are shown from the very first episode then there is no need to complain, at least not as much.
Final verdict:
Although I didn't finish the anime, I have given it the fairest score I could've ever given it. In all honest, I love this anime. The animation, the characters, and the soundtrack are something that I honestly love. I wouldn't put it as high as Kyoukai no Kanata as I haven't finished it and it sadly didn't hit as high as I wish it did. But the anime itself is amazing. If you don't like sport animes, I would recommend this for you at this one is greater than any other I've seen so far. Overall, I would say "WATCH IT". Give this anime a good try and if you don't like it its ok.
I hope this review helped a least a little.
This is IKira-n
Signing out.
