Reviews

Ah Haiykuu, the return of one of the greats. Hinata and the Karasuno crew are heading to Nationals to face off against the best of the best to see if Hinata can live up to The Little Giants name. I have already made a review on the first part of To The Top which I recommend looking at to see the changes in opinions and stances I’ve made thus far. Like I said before, Haikyuu had to dig out of a 10 foot hole before it was even considered a watchable show. A mixture of it being apart of the sports genre and being boys volleyball made most people 180 the second they heard the synopsis. It had to actually build up it’s reputation before people even glanced at it. I’ll admit in saying I was one of those people at first and I also admit it was one of my greatest sins. If you are on the fence because you aren’t into boys volleyball I would seriously consider giving it a watch. It’s ability to capture emotion in the matches is something that struck home to me and I hope it does the same for ya’ll.

Story: 7.5

Haikyuu, while having a solid foundation and characters, still has a pretty basic sports plot. I think the main reason why people stray away from sports anime is the repetitive feel of the matches after you’ve seen a couple. I’ll fully admit that I felt the same way. During the S3 match against Shiratorizawa, I was able to correctly predict who would score a point and when it was going to get turned over. Haikyuu followed the back and forth chemistry where Karasuno would get dumbfounded at the beginning, have flashbacks about their training, tie it up towards the middle, both teams go back and forth until the last few points and then Karasuno takes it at the end. They followed that same strategy for almost every match and it got really eye rolling eventually. However, the stakes are now raised and this is Nationals we are talking about. The intensity is through the roof and I cannot wait to see how they do. If I had to predict, I would say they are going to end this season at the quarter/semi finals and then have a final season about those matches and the championship. I like how this season is all about the matches and not training and I am constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Karasuno does next.

Art: 6

I can’t be the only one who noticed the drop in animation the last 4 episodes compared to previous seasons. I hope it’s just a one time thing but I swear they change the art style every season.

Sound: 7

Sound is fine, openings are alright and the OST is dope.

Characters: 7

The characters are…. ok. They are cliched to say the least and aren’t really anything I have never seen before. If I am being fully transparent, I prefer the characters of the opposing teams rather than Karasuno itself. I think they make the supporting characters of the teams they play very 3 dimensional and fascinating. They all have something special and each have their own characteristics that make them intimidating and its really well done. The Karasuno team however is full of usual cliches like the loud meathead, the typical dumb go lucky mc, the leader etc. I still really enjoy them do not get me wrong, but I definitely think the author puts more time into the supporting cast then the main crew.

Enjoyment: 8

This is where I love Haikyuu. When it gets in the zone, it gets in the god damn zone. The final points in the matches where its neck and neck is where Haikyuu shines and really does its work. Of course the predictability keeps it from being anything more than an 8 but I still think its a solid 8 nonetheless. When Haikyuu wants the scene to be emotional, it will be emotional to the max. I cannot wait to see the final matches leading to the championship and how Karasuno will face the best.

Overall: 8

I really think the series is starting to climb the mountain towards the climax and the finale of Haikyuu but I am fully along for the ride. Hope the finale is as awesome as this anime has been thus far :)