Haikyu

How many of you are into sports anime?

Recently, I've become a lover of this particular anime genre. I admit, I originally started watching because I was bored. I had run out of all the fantasy and sci-fi anime that keep me going during the week. Either the shows had reached the end of their season or had been discontinued. Desperate for exciting entertainment, I turned to animated sports.

Haikyu entertains while actually teaching you about the sport of volleyball. There's really no way you could enjoy the story without the brief explanations of all the positions and rules the players on the court actually have.

But of course, one doesn't fall in love with a sports anime because it is educational. The characters are genuinely impossible to hate. As you experience each members back story for why he chose Karasuno high school and why he desires to play the game of volleyball, you can't help but want to see them become a strong team and carry their school to nationals.

My favorite character has to be Shoyo Hinata. He's a bit of a ditz, but he is a nice person. He cares about his teammates and he is passionate about the sport. All he wants it to have fun playing volleyball and playing with other people who love the game. This makes it easy for him to make friends with other players, even if they are from rival schools. Of course, Shoyo is also the shortest member of his team.

In a sport that is dominated by tall people, Shoyo is at a disadvantage. However, the writer has gifted him with incredible leg strength. Even though he can jump higher, he and his team have to develop strategies to help him combat the natural height of their opponenets.

Normally, at this point, I add in an artwork critique. While the art in Haikyu isn't as realistic as I'd like, it doesn't cause the anime to lose points. The cartoony feel of the art really is part of what contributes to making the humorous parts of the story work. And the exceptional voice acting is something that you just can't overlook.

I've just been getting caught up on all the exciting additions to the Karasuno team happening in season 2. Just a note, it is subtitled so if that is a deal breaker for you, I'll be disappointed for you. Have a great week and hopefully this leads you to other great anime.