Haikyuu: A Fangirl’s Review

Haikyuu, an anime that hypes me up for my next volleyball match, when I’ve never played volleyball. A spoiler-free review by an uncertified fangirl.

Haikyuu got me so pumped I’m thinking about joining a volleyball team! Here’s a spoiler-free review for all my fellow fangirls and fanboys out there.

Facts! It’s a sports anime about high school volleyball. It’s about the main team, “Karasuno High School”, and their journey towards reaching the Japanese Nationals. Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio are the main characters. THEY ARE SO CUTE. (I ship them, no lie, and I remain unashamed.)

Plot Perspective

As is my habit, I only watched Haikyuu once I saw that season 2 was fully aired. So I watched that, and when season 3 came out, I waited until that was complete to watch it. And. Sis. Bro. Everyone. I loved it.

If you were worried about not knowing enough about volleyball rules, don’t worry! Haikyuu does the job of teaching the viewer the rules of volleyball as you go on. I too learnt as I watched. It’s a classic shounen anime, which means going into it I already knew it was going to go the way the typical shounen usually goes, so don’t go in expecting surprises!

On the other hand, expect surprises. *derp face*

Maybe it’s because Haikyuu is based on a sport I was unfamiliar with, but I did get surprised despite the fact that I shouldn’t be. The way this was written wasn’t anything special or out of the ordinary, but it totally captivated me nonetheless. The animators managed to create moments in the anime that made me scream and cheer along as if I were watching it live! Just thinking about some of the epic scenes makes me sob with conflicting emotions. *sob*

The plot isn’t an original, unique story, but it was set up in a glorious way. In terms of development, both the team as a whole as well as individual players evolved over the course of three seasons. To be fair to the anime and the original manga, Haikyuu‘s strength isn’t in the plot, but rather in characters. I’m appreciative of how Haikyuu managed to maintain my interest in all of the characters and gave me feels over everyone. I kid not, even the side characters that appear barely in an episode had me clutching my bosom.

I ship so many people in this anime, it’s ridiculous. But I do wonder if that too was schemed by the original mangaka because the set up couldn’t be more optimal for shipping. So many pairs to work with! Hinata and Kageyama! Tsukki and Yamaguchi! Daichi and Suga! So many perfect ships! *hugs myself tightly to try and contain feelings*

Because so many characters are introduced, you’re bound to find yourself a favourite or two. Obviously I loved the whole Karasuno team (not just because I ship them so hard), but my favourites in the whole anime were Kageyama, Tsukishima and Oikawa. Because they are PERFECT!! (I kid, they’re assholes, but they’re perfect assholes in my eyes.)

The art and animation in this anime is by far in my top 10. It was almost flawlessly animated that sometimes I found myself with my mouth agape in awe. The animation was warm and crispy on the outside, and smooth on the inside. In common speak, the scenes were clear and the transitions from one frame to the next was wonderfully done, especially in the fluidity of movement. Truly impressive.

It’s important to note that Haikyuu not only portrayed charming characters and have pretty animations; it also told a compelling story of trusting your teammates to have your back and to always try your best to have theirs. Simple things like this make a simpleton like me happy.

Music

Special mention of Haikyuu OPs and EDs for all three seasons! I obviously have my favourites (hit me with that “tobe fly” and “hikari are” ish), but to have an anime consistently choose epic OPs and EDs… wow. Mad props to the Haikyuu team. The soundtrack is particularly useful when running to a beat; it really gets me BURNIN’ THEM CALORIES.

You can listen to the four songs that are currently available on Spotify here. It’s too bad you can’t stream all of them, but hey, that’s what YouTube is for. I on the other hand have managed to snag all the OPs and EDs from a friend. This is what tomodachi’s are for after all! Get yoself a friend who can do both, and all that extra shtuff too.

THANK YOU TOMODACHI. PLEASE HAVE THESE TEARS IN RETURN.

Worth it?

Regardless of how good it is, it’s not technically perfect. Since the animation was so well done, there are times when the same animation is used multiple times by different characters. It doesn’t take away from the experience for me, but understandably for some of you that might be a total buzzkill. Also, you might be put off over the lack of an unique plot line.

But it was fun! For me, the digestible plot, variety of characterisation and shipping opportunities made up for any slights in spades. Enough for me to watch this three times now… *suddenly realises lack of social life*

Is it worth the watch? Duuuuuuh. Even if it’s solely for the love of ships, do so. You’ll get that and so much more out of Haikyuu.

WORTH IT.

Wanna gush over the Kageyama, Tsukki and/or Oikawa?? Or about the ships? Maybe you have suggestions for what anime I should watch and review next? Leave me a comment below!

Click here if you want to have a look at my other sports anime reviews. You can also find all of my other anime posts here. Don’t forget to subscribe so you know when I post my next super dope magnum opus anime content!