Also, 2.43 is the height of the net for male volleyball: 2.43m, and the same could be said for the level of ambition for the show: too high, and when it drops, it hits the floor like a ticking time bomb.
Backtracking to when this show got its first PV, not gonna lie, despite the marketing that tries to show what 2.43 is at the hinds of its legs, some of us had the inkling that 2.43 is inherently similar to said show (at the time when Haikyuu! was all but wrapping up soon), especially with the volleyball setting. But while the show is heavily skewed in that direction, you could say that it was in actual fact a mix of that with some character drama, akin to Akane Kazuki's Hoshiai no Sora a.k.a Stars Align, but with the entire recluse of the original novel's setting that's similar to Summer 2016's Battery (similar settings, but a different sport of baseball).
It pains me to say this, but looking back at Battery and inferingly comparing to 2.43, there are indeed comparisons to be made: both are based off a novel, the synopsis of 2 guys (one strong and one weak, mentally) trying to recognize each other's radar of presence and support one another until they reach their objective and aim high for whatever they do. Yeah, you read that right: "grappling to find the true joy of the sport", and that's as much indicative for poorly mentally character-induced "drama" that just had a resolution with the many poutings and jealousies of the central duo that kinda rubs people the wrong way. You could argue that it's realistic, but I'd try to quote as much on the story and character fronts:
While Battery is not the standard hype-inducing kind of sports show that focuses most of its matter into the game being played, 2.43 inherently wants us viewers to see that the sport (which in this case, volleyball) is but only a medium platform to the plot...maybe too much, because it easily overshadowes the sport for a sacrifice for character development when hype-induced levels of animation like David Production's prove that it's effective to tell a story with great animation and visuals. And that right there is where 2.43 loses its hidden character drama plot, and I have an inkling that the production committee behind this show also knows it as well, and all they had to do was the get the best studio for animation effects, and it's DavidPro they've chosen to hide all these erroneously seemingly related-but-unrelated stuff to cover their tracks. Bad move.
Back to the whole character drama farce, it focuses heavily on the interaction between its characters, but also makes it glaringly rather difficult to say if it really even has much of a ‘story’ per se. Characters ARE a good source of material, and is one of, if not the most important agenda when it comes to character drama shows because of investment values for growth and development in the right stance. That being said, it's a disappointment that the characters doesn’t manage to carry themselves all that well, especially with the main Seiin duo Yuni Kuroba and Komichika Haijima. Both are physically efficient at what they do (and that's a good sign), but generically suck so bad at trying to relate with one another about their whims and getting along together (blame it mostly on the naive Kuroba) that unfortunately, isn't soakingly easy and is heavy to churn down on a one-way street. It’s like a never-ending struggle that feels like it could’ve been told better, but with the drama feeling so empty and everything feeling so bland (that is except the volleyball moments), it’s hard to really care much about anything that goes after the point of no return.
It’s quite obvious that a bigger topic is trying to be discussed behind the innocent front of sports shows but it’s just too bad that the message doesn’t properly come across unless you genuinely make an effort to really reach out for it. If I'd have to take a wager, replace the entire Seiin team for the opposing team, Fukuho Technical High School (which is Subaru Mimura and his team), because their circumstances are much more relatable and doesn't feel all that forced than what's found at Seiin. Take my word that when the focus is skewed in the main characters' direction, the side characters will try to make their mark as relevant as possible, and while 2.43 certainly did that, it's more so for progressing the "victory" plot than actually addressing the hidden core problem that is character motivation that development-wise, falls flat on its face with little to no stronghold. I know that Stars Align definitely did a better job than 2.43 overall, that's for sure, even if the character demographic is vastly different (young teens vs. young adults).
The bad times are over, and onto the good ones:
For anyone who has ever watched an inkling of shows made by David Productions, you know that the studio has the animation power to excel, and I'm nonchantantly sounding like a broken record, but it absolutely delivers in the similar veins to Haikyuu! on a production level. Also, its presentation is made to look like Stars Align in the watercolour space, so at least you'd have a better reference than always going for the juggernaut.
The soundtrack is supposed to help in the downtimes of moments like these, but somehow I find that to be particularly lacking, not because I don't remember what happened in those scenes where charater alleviation is supposed to be mattered most, but...it's just lacking, there's that. In other case, the OP slaps volleyballs to a T. It's definitely the right song for the right moment, and that is easily a plus for me. The same could not be said for the ED, much less its watercolour and creative visuals. It just sounds so generic and repetitive.
In conclusion, to be maligned into such a time as this to deliver on what is already the strong backdrop of similar shows of yesteryears past, I can't say that I can't recommend 2.43 for what it is, because as much as the anime has shown, hype for one aspect cannot uplift the others. It's like a weighing counter that has feathers on one side that are counteracted by the weight of solid objects on the other, and that's no good of a balance. If you like it, then I'm OK with it, no hatred for such lengths, but personally, I gear towards Stars Align more than 2.43 for a better experience.
