Wren:
Hinata isn’t a bad main character. I love his pure determination. Sure, he might not be the best receiver, but does he let that drag him down? No! He actually uses it to his advantage, wielding his faults like a pro. He doesn’t back down from a challenge. Hinata would make an amazing role model.
Kageyama is a child prodigy. Let’s not attempt to dumb it down. He’s amazing. I love his character development. He is originally a stubborn king who doesn’t pay attention to anyone else, but, by the end of the series, he trusts everyone else. He plays on a team at last.
Kageyama and Hinata are awesome together. I love their teamwork. The two of them work well together, complementing each other’s skills. Just watching them practice is amazing. I’m in awe.
Overall, the teamwork in the entire anime is strong, even with the other teams. They work together, as an unit not as a single player. Each has their own part to play. And they do it very well.
Sugawara is awesome. He’s calm and collected. But has so many emotions. You never see the yearning within him. He’s very good at controlling his feelings. He is very smart, and I admire him. He lets Kageyama take the setter position. But he watches from the sidelines and learns so much about the other players.
Daichi is kinda ignored at times. But he’s a super cool character! He’s the captain. While, the series focuses on Hinata and Kageyama, Daichi’s there. A strong and steady leader who offers up his best advice and supports the team. I’d like to be a leader like him, one day.
And not to forget Asahi. He’s a quiet and kindred soul. But he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He took the brunt of the loss to the Iron Wall Team (whose name I forget currently.) He feels so much. He looks like a roughhousing bad boy, but he’s so quiet and nervous.
Nishinoya is by far one of my favorites. He’s a delinquent. And he’s a perv. But he’s a fantastic libero. Without him, I surely doubt that Karasuno would be able to receive a lot of the serves. He’s creative in his receiving, even using his shoe to throw the ball into play. Sure, he’s a comedy character, but I love him nonetheless.
When you are first introduced to Nekoma, you think, ‘Wow. They’re exactly like Karasuno!’ I know this was on purpose, but the similarities just showed the vast differences between the two teams. The two of them are so vastly different. Not that Karasuno is weak and Nekoma is strong. But they have different strengths and weaknesses.
I love Kozume's story. His story reminded me of...well...me. I saw a part of myself in him that I’d never seen before in any character. He was a loner. And it seemed like it didn’t faze him. But he had friends and a team to support him. So maybe there’s hope for me after all.
I didn’t particularly understand the introduction of the girls team. Why did we need to know about them? They didn’t become cheerleaders to the boys team or anything. While they had an interesting story, it wasn’t expanded, so I felt like they were useless.
Oikawa is kinda boring. Cute and smart doesn’t mean a lot to me. Plus, I hated how he antagonized Kageyama. Sure, his story is fascinating, but that doesn’t mean that an eager kohai is bad.
Plot
Wren:
The episodes leave off a lot and force you to watch the next one. It really builds up the tension, even ending an episode in the middle of a match. Which is a so so for me. I don’t mind furiously watching 3 or more episodes a day, but I have a life (sorta). I gotta do my homework and all.
The first half is super boring because they aren’t in tournaments. They go through a lot of practice matches. Which aren’t REAL matches. Well, sorta. They do act like they are real matches. In the first half, we see a lot of slow-motion and a lot more dramatization. Which I didn’t really like.
On the other hand, the second half is much more interesting. The matches speed up, and you really get to see Karasuno in action. I loved this half much more. It felt like watching an actual tournament. And there was a lot of tension because of this.
Somewhere in the middle, the show introduced the opposite of Karasuno. By this, I mean, showing the game from the opponent’s viewpoint. And it was amazing. You got to see the people who lost and their emotions. (Especially the team that Daichi’s friend was on.) It made me love this show.
And right about there,(ep 16, I think) this show acknowledged it was a show.
Life isn’t about winning and losing. It’s about learning from your mistakes. And changing your ways. This show proclaims this message loud and clear. You have to get up when you’re knocked down. It’s a fact of life. And this show is by far the best example of getting back up I’ve ever seen.
Art
Wren:
Okay...I’m not a huge fan of the art. At times, it looks off. The proportions don’t seem right or something. Plus, the shading on the characters is really distracting for me.
Also, that ball animation! It’s great. I love how they gave the ball life and motion. Like a really volleyball.
Soundtrack
Wren:
The first OP is insane. I love it. It sets the perfect tone. I’m ready for an awesome battle. I got pumped up. I wanted some awesome volleyball action. I was ready!
The second one is much more tame. Which I don’t like. The second half is made up of the tournament. The calmer OP doesn’t match the intensity of the matches. The first OP would suit the second half much better.
Admittedly, I didn’t listen to the endings. I’m not a huge fan.
But in the second half, there was this background song that I ADORED. It was so cool. I don’t remember what episode it starts in, though.
