Haikyu!!

Haikyuu is a manga about volleyball. There, the hottest take of 2020. But no, really: volleyball is the actual hero of this story, and the only one at that. The enormous cast of colorful, likable characters with all of their ambitions and rivalries are mere canvas for the author Haruichi Furudate to paint his limitless, unrelenting adoration for the sport. Former enemies become rivals, former rivals become teammates; the entire corpus of character dynamics is shown almost exclusively through the lens of their relation to volleyball. Consequently, characters who have none of such relation almost never even enter the frame—that's just how laser-focused Haikyuu is. I couldgo on about how Furudate makes a point to make the protagonist short to help break the common stereotype that only tall people are good at spiking the ball, or how Hinata and Kageyama have a strangely captivating yin-yang kind of interpersonal dynamics, or how Tsukishima is the unsung MVP of the team, but it feels almost pointless to delve into these comparatively minor details. Or perhaps it would actually be missing the point, simply because everything takes such a distant backseat to this great overarching goal of spreading the love for volleyball—which is really what the author wants to express first and foremost. Not some fantasy take on volleyball, but the real thing. In this respect, I'm sure that after some years Haikyuu will be seen as the second coming of Slam Dunk in terms of its lasting influence on the sport, and it will deserve every bit of praise it gets in this regard. After all, it genuinely lives and breathes volleyball; the way the sport is portrayed is so vivid and enjoyable all by itself that such appreciation becomes contagious. In writing it, Furudate sets out on an evangelical mission to convert as many people as possible into volleyball fans and players, and does so very successfully in my opinion. I don't normally enjoy sports manga, and I used to be completely averse to volleyball, but now I kind of admire it more than some other sports in which I used to dabble as a kid. If that's what this manga did to me, I can only imagine the magnitude of its effect world-wide. All of that aside, Haikyuu is a really by-the-numbers sports manga that follows the typical shounen formula of setting a goal, encountering an obstacle, training, and overcoming the obstacle, and repeats it while throwing in an occasional loss to shake things up until it decides it's done enough. Naturally, there's your usual cheerful spiky-haired underdog-type protagonist to go along with it. The plot can be described as functional; it's really only there to make you follow the games. Their portrayal is somewhat embellished for dramatic effect but never leaves the realm of realism and common sense; there are no weird superpowers, misplaced mind games, custom rules, or any other silly shenanigans. There's pretty much no romance, tragedy, or interpersonal conflicts, either: the sport provides all the conflict, and all of it is resolved on the court. The life off the court is mainly spent recounting the past games and preparing for the next ones. Nothing but volleyball matters—which, depending on what you value in a story, may be a big downside. If you enjoy this sort of simple and sincere sports series, Haikyuu is definitely one of the very finest specimen you can find, and it will take its rightful place in history alongside the likes of Slam Dunk and Captain Tsubasa. But if you prefer to have a deeper character study with sports/games serving as the backdrop instead, I'd rather direct you to Ping Pong, Kaiji, or The Boxer. Do note that the TV adaptation does the series justice and helps greatly in following the dynamics of the matches, which can get a little confusing at times. If you're choosing whether to read or watch it, the anime is a safe choice and the definitive experience in my opinion.

Holy hot damn, it's over. I never thought I would review this, and now that I have the chance to, I'm grappling for words. What a ride this story was, from start to finish, and it's bittersweet to know that such a staple in the manga universe has come to an end. I guess I'm gonna block this out by category and see if I can get a decent review out of that method because, otherwise, I'm at a loss for words. The art style in Haikyuu!! is so special. I haven't read much manga, but even I can tell that the way Haikyuu!! was drawnand presented was unique. The sense of movement I felt from every panel during volleyball games was insane. When I go back and think about those scenes, I don't think about panels, I think about them as though I saw them in the anime. More than that, the style of art itself was just gorgeous. The detail work in the big panels, the character designs, the neat sketchiness of it all-- it all blew me away. The characters just popped off the page, didn't they? Every character-- and I do mean, every character-- had a purpose and a story. No matter what game it was that I was reading, each pinnacle character had at least a chapter of development. It really allowed for the cast of characters to bloom and become something full and fun to read about. I noticed this, mostly, in the epilogue. There were characters mentioned in the epilogue that I wasn't even aware I cared about in terms of how they ended up x-amount of years later, but I did care because the story did so well developing them when they were presented initially. We can't talk about characters without specifically talking about Kageyama and Hinata, though, can we? Those two, both individually and as a pair, felt so unique and precious in the world of sports manga and anime. They were both written so wholly and so wonderfully that they became figureheads for what good sports manga/anime characters should be. The care that was taken for both of them to realize their own desires and potential as well as the attention paid to their development as a cohesive team was just phenomenal. Which brings me to the story. Now, I don't want to spoil anything for somebody who has just seen the headlines talking about the last chapter of Haikyuu!! and wish to start reading it all now, but damn was it special. Even when it felt like the games drug on forever, every chapter-- in-game or during training periods-- offered something extraordinary to the situation. Every chapter made me wonder how it could get better, and then it did. More specifically, the back-and-forth of the pacing was so well done, and every game really felt like it could go either way because of that. The way in which the story was written allowed for so much possibility and opportunity that, reading it, I really felt like anything could happen. The training sessions or camps in between the big tournaments were used very well, too, as it broke up the intensity of the games. In that vein, the character backstories were also placed perfectly to allow for a downswing in the momentum. And the stock this mangaka put into the epilogue was astonishing. It really made the story feel like it was worth it to see where these characters ended up two, five, eight years down the line. I can't really pick apart Haikyuu!! in a meaningful way because it's just good. Brilliant, really. It's definitely something that's going to stick with me from now on as an example for how good stories can get, across any and every medium. Knowing how the story ends is always a joy, but I am simultaneously so sad that it is over. Haikyuu!! is always going to fill a place in my heart that no other story can fill. Thank you, Furudate sensei, for such an amazing journey. ありがと.

--TL;DR at bottom-- Let me start by telling my experience with volleyball. I come from a community that has a lot of volleyball fans and players and I love this sport. The best thing about this sport is that the basics are easy to get and it is really fun. I've played volleyball for a year before knowing that a volleyball anime existed (I first thought Haikyuu was basketball lol). Considering my love for volleyball, I was very excited to start the Haikyuu anime. I watched it till To The Top Season 2 (the current newest season) and switched to the manga soon. The journey afterward waswhole another ride... This is the almost perfect example of how good a regular sports high school story can get. Starting off with a match right away and meeting in high school in a totally unexpected then later becoming best buddies; the story has the right amount of drama, twists, and is filled with its own epic moments. Comparing this to some other sports manga (no I am not pointing out specific stuff), Haikyuu plays just makes sense. It just makes sense x was supposed to happen because y happened or x didn't happen because y was there/had happened. It's not some ridiculous story where the main character knows some kind of jutsu and scores a point every time. Also, another of the best thing is, if someone is totally unfamiliar with volleyball, they can still enjoy the story no matter how much experience they've had with just a sport in general. Its repetition is minimal and the story progression is amazing. And not to mention how good the ending was, the almost perfect ending a sports manga or just a high school anime focusing on the future of one's passion. Unlike the Haikyuu anime, the manga doesn't reuse panels for just a normal point and every time Furudate draws something new, his art can reflect the parts of the story he wants to stress on; with crazy two-panel art and tear-worthy after-match moments, his art has depth and intensity which elevates the excitement of the reader feels while turning/scrolling toward the next page knowing that he himself is thrilled because even know matter how good the story is, if the art is bland and boring, people won't enjoy it much. One of the problems I see with stories with a lot of characters is that they focus on only the important ones getting developed but Furudate gives development and a brief backstory to even characters that only appear for a single match. Imagine if he does that, how much development would go the important characters. The best thing? they get better but their personality remains almost the same so no one can blame them for a major "change". Absolute genius. TL;DR / summary With all these elements - amazing art, thrilling matches, and enjoyable development - this manga is peak. I love Haikyuu and I am glad I was born in this generation where something called "Haikyuu" existed. Thank you Furudate.

Haikyuu. Arguably the greatest sports manga/anime ever. It was a bittersweet journey, for me especially. I am an athlete myself, a swimmer actually, and even though Haikyu is about volleyball, it still holds a special place in my heart as the only manga/anime to ever accurately represent the feelings of being an athlete, the highest highs of winning and achieving a goal youve had for so long, the lows of losing after working so hard, Haikyuu encapsulates those feelings perfectly. No matter what sport, i still found Haikyuu to be the most relatable thing. The characters were endearing and inspiring, and wanting to be like them pushed meto new lengths as a swimmer, i was going through i tough time with my swimming, and was unable to find motivation, but the sheer determination that Hinata, Kageyama, and the rest of the crew had really woke something inside me. Haikyuu made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me scream with excitement. It taught me so much about volleyball, that even volleyball players ask me if i play on a team! And for people who dont know much about sports, being able to find something educational yet enjoyable like Haikyuu is amazing. The art is amazing, storytelling is an all time high, characters are lovable. Saying goodbye to the series after 8 years was heartbreaking for me, it was like saying goodbye to someone who had been there all your life. I can hope therell be a continuation, but with how it ended i doubt it. The anime is great as well! Everything about this series resonated perfectly with me, as im sure it will you. "Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish." - Tooru Oikawa "You dont win alone, thats just how it is." - Tobio Kageyama "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Shouyou Hinata