TL;DR: If you felt like not watching the season because of some bad reviews or the art style or whatever, you are wrong and WATCH IT. It does not disappoint IMO.
I couldn't wait for this season since the last one was more than half filled with the training arc. However, If you look at the 4th season as a 25 episode season, You'll see why I gave it a 8 overall.
(idk if I'll have spoilers in this, probably not tho, but beware)
P.S.: This is my first review on my newly created MAL account, but I have been using MAL for a while.
I always give Haikyuu the "Haikyuu bias" as I call it. Where essentially anything that can be rated in the show is usually bumped a point or two higher simply because it is just such a great show that I LOVE!
This season revolved around the Inarizaki vs Karasuno match, with a little segment for Nekoma.
Coming into the season, with the couple outsourced episodes, and the clearly different art style, people felt a little off. For good reason too. But, Haikyuu delivers what Haikyuu does, and that is emotional character development with hype matches.
To name a few parts that stick with the main Haikyuu philosophy, we have:
Tanaka's cross shot arc
Tsukishima's arc against Suna Rintaro
Nishinoya and Kinoshita's arc
Hinata's recieving arc (THE BEST IMO)
Kageyama's messed up one-handed set thing (idk what to call it) arc
This season does not deviate much from the feeling that Haikyuu usually delivers, and I don't see a way you can say otherwise. The art style may have changed (definitely for the worse 100%), but if Haikyuu started with this art and continued on, I still believe it would have been a brilliant show. Much like it is right now.
I'm gonna keep the sound, character, etc. rating short.
Story: 9/10: Great match, showed both sides as well, Nekoma even got in. Happy days.
Art: 6/10: Haikyuu bias, probably should be 4-5 compared to previous seasons, but I DONT CARE.
Sound: 9/10: The haikyuu soundtrack is great, although some people didn't like the sped up version at the end of the match, I think it was great that they didn't fully repeat the song exactly, and it also matched the message of "speed can be bad" or whatever.
Character: 10/10: Just great development all around, as I mentioned with the arc stuff earlier.
Enjoyment: 9/10: MAN ITS HAIKYUU, JUST SO GOOD
Overall: 8/10: Compared to previous seasons, maybe just a little worse, I'd say mainly cuz of the art, outsourcing, and a little bit cuz of the random Nekoma insertion (still enjoyed the Nekoma episodes tho)
