Haikyuu!!

[MFauli]

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A chance event triggered Shouyou Hinata's love for volleyball. His club had no members, but somehow persevered and finally made it into its very first and final regular match of middle school, where it was steamrolled by Tobio Kageyama, a superstar player known as "King of the Court." Vowing revenge, Hinata applied to the Karasuno High School volleyball club... only to come face-to-face with his hated rival, Kageyama!

A tale of hot-blooded youth and volleyball from the pen of Haruichi Furudate!!

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I guess sports anime are just really easy to get into, so it´s no surprise that I´ll follow this one. Other than the girlish voice of Shouyou (cant call him Hinata, lol), these first two episodes were really fun to watch. My last volleyball-anime was Mila Superstar, what, twenty years ago? Not expecting anything special, but just some typical shounen-sports series is exactly what I want from this.

The "king" is a good rival to keep the hero motivated. Obviously, they´ll grow into a deadly combination. Though I don´t find the glasses girl hot at all.

[Buffalobiian]

I got bored during some parts of this show, and I rarely get bored during marathons. That said, it's watchable. I get really annoyed hearing about how Hinata admires the Little Giant though. I don't mind the main character being an underdog, but when he admires an underdog it irks me. Maybe it's because it feels like he's just trying to be a v2.. or that Little Giant is so awkward to say..

[David75]

Why do you think the little giant is an underdog? Because he is only there to deceive the blocks and has no other uses and does not have the fame of an ace?
My guess is that he chose that guy at first because he's short like he is, then he understood the guy was actually efficient. He also had fun and was an integral part of the team, probably even a leader. Since our red head has a size complex, I can understand why he wanted the little giant as a role model.

[Buffalobiian]

I understand why he chose Little Giant as a role model since he's the same build as he is etc etc. He's going to be this little guy who can defy big fellows by jumping to the right place at the right time. What I don't enjoy so much is that he's not being the first person to do it, but instead is Little Giant The Second.

In other words, I would have liked it better if we didn't have a Little Giant to begin with, and Hinata was actually the first one to be such a figure.

As for the underdog statement, well I called them underdogs because they lacked the obvious advantages that make them natural winners (basically, because they're not tall). It's not an entirely correct way of using the term I'll admit, but that's what I meant when I used it.

[MFauli]

Episode 12:




Ya know, I keep wondering if this is a sports anime made for girl. Of all the sports anime I´ve watched, this one is the hardest to do so. Animation is fine, artstyle better than average and it has its typical sports anime-moments, but ... there´s soooo much talk about feelings, emotions, flashbacks even. My 100% politically incorrect first-thought would be to call all of this "gay".

Anyone else feeling (lol) like that? In crass contrast to this, Baby Steps is exactly what I want from a sports anime, focus on the sports, the action, and the hero´s development.

[Buffalobiian]

This episode actually felt like one of the better ones. The ending actually felt short. I agree with your analysis. For starters, Kageyama doesn't even need to improve it seems. He's already boss all round.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 16


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I was going to suggest that they should give us some more girls volleyball for eyecandy's sake, but in the end I decided that it wasn't worth it. Unless they fully develop their personalities it probably isn't worth the time. Our main team has enough substance to keep this up without girls. The manager doesn't really count since she doesn't do anything.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 17

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Either this week is filled with some blood-pumping episodes across various shows or I'm just in a particularly good mood. Those special attacks rocked. Karasuno's receiving being a weak point has been the subject of their training for so long that I almost forgot how good their offence actually is.

[David75]

It's just they finally were able to put everything into place in this match.
But I remember doing that at the same age... Second line attack, decoy, two stage attack and the likes.
Differences were that the balls were quicker (they have been slowed since then), tie break didn't exist, you could serve only from half the width of the filed and you had no libero. Also, you didn't get point from getting the serve back. Yup, it was that far in the past
The only thing we had trouble with were the quickies, because it's a lot more difficult than anything else.

Chibi is starting doing that, but we didn't see it that much: slow/low power balls. They can be done by the setter too and are very effective because the guys in front are waiting for a powerful attack, yet the ball is elsewhere with no power... so you need good reflexes and precision to lift the ball again with enough power.
Karasuno needs to improve the serve and receive parts too.
But they are on the right path.

[Buffalobiian]

Regarding balls with now power, that was exactly my thought after the ball landed in Dateko's own court despite their block - just tap it in.

I also had to look up what a libero was after starting this anime since it wasn't around during my highschool years.

[David75]

There's another ace card they can use:switch your spike from your dominant arm to the other.
Sure, the attack lacks in power, but you can target other parts of the court and more than anything you trick the block and receivers.
I loved doing that.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 18


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"Bring it here" -> Hinata

I also take back what I said a few weeks back. Keep the girls team around, even if they're cheering. They're very welcome.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 19

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Well played Kageyama, well played.

The coach must have noticed that Oikawa would learn about the opposite team as well, so their signs would have been changed to accommodate for this.

[Munsu]

Just watched the first season, and it was fairly solid overall. I thought the main character was going to be better, had a good first episode, but after that he was a bit of a let down.

The side-characters were good, though severely limited. Too much time spent with team members and no room for anyone else. Had a few good funny moments as well.

I guess what I liked the most was the animation. From all sports anime, this one had the most entertaining animation... quick points, lots of activity, and the games weren't overly long. So that was a big plus. But suffers from the same thing most sports series go through, too much set-up, too much training, too much practice matches.

Plot was a bit meh.

Anyways, 2nd season will start in October.

[Buffalobiian]

You're talking about the small guy right? I kind of like him the way he is at the moment. He's a key player, but he's a decoy, not the ace. That already makes this something different, unlike most other strikers (soccer) or pitchers (baseball) where you're essentially the centre of the team.

The other thing I guess is that there's no main girl. There's a mascot/manager/idol, but no main girl.

[Munsu]

You're talking about the small guy right? I kind of like him the way he is at the moment. He's a key player, but he's a decoy, not the ace. That already makes this something different, unlike most other strikers (soccer) or pitchers (baseball) where you're essentially the centre of the team.

The other thing I guess is that there's no main girl. There's a mascot/manager/idol, but no main girl.

I meant more about some of his personality traits and overall some of the skills he had, the show was very inconsistent with them.

And yeah, the lack of female characters sucked.

[Munsu]

Taking the place of Baby Steps this season, here's the first episode of the second season:
http://nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=740397

Looking forward to it.

[MFauli]

just watched the first ep.

god, i hate how overplayed that "evil grin to display a mixture of confidence and recklessness" thing is. For fuck´s sake, keep it for special moments! When almost everybody makes this face, it cheapens its effect, making everybody look like arrogant, lunatic fools.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 03


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Shimizu is an entirely different person in S2. She actually talks and stuff. The mum crying was pretty awesome.

[Munsu]

Episode 03


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Shimizu is an entirely different person in S2. She actually talks and stuff. The mum crying was pretty awesome.

I'm heading for work and don't have time, so I'll just copy paste what I mentioned in another thread:


Haikyuu!! 2 - Nothing to complain about here. If you enjoyed the first season, you'll be enjoying this one. Glad another female character was introduced, with more female character dialogues as well. I wonder why they never integrated more of the female volleyball team to the series, particularly their captain.