This Week in Anime

Haikyu!! is at the Top of its Game

Nicky
Hey, even in a pandemic there's still quite a lot of anime coming out every season to talk about, it's hard when you really want to revisit one of your returning favorites.

Not only are the good volleyboiz back, they're hungrier than ever. After many hard climbs throughout the years, Season four subtitled "To the Top". shows how virtues such as effort and hard work are the things that make any desired outcome just within reach.

Just because you're already high up doesn't mean you can't still be knocked down and it's Inarizaki's job to get in the way. With tough opponents, every inch to victory is a new battle itself.

Especially when your opponents start Copying your OWN MOVES!

Yeah, sometimes you just end up encountering a dude that can be scary for having freakishly long reach.

Since a team can't be carried on the power of genius twins alone, we get a few highlights of the other rival team players as well and how their efforts combined make this set of matches a perfect psychological warfare on top of the already intense physical sports battle.

Actually one of my favorite highlights of the season is just that dude because I'll note his skill is not that he's AMAZING at anything, he's just Extremely Consistent which is a different cake all together compared to the Miya (not named after Mamoru Miyano) Twins or other talents that we've seen in the past.

He's just so good at his routine that he's able to keep cool even when everyone is being crushed by the overall hectic pace of the match.

I think the thing that makes this team different is just that though, they're actually incredibly well rounded compared to other teams like Kurasano that has to simply rely on extremes.

At least he has an awesome sister!!

The crowd element was one of the most interesting parts of the arcs that I was kinda sad to see dropped early but definitely a big highlight of watching an anime adaption is being able to hear those moments where the atmosphere totally changes on the beat of a drum over the oppressive energy of the opponent's fans.

But returning to the topic of our Good Boy Tanaka, he may not be special and he may still have some colossal fuck ups, but even his hard work has some incredible pay-off. Even someone average can work hard to make a big difference in match.


Since everyone spent the first half of the season training it's really rewarding to see all the individual techniques come together, one by one.

Yeah! Not everyone on the team can be a genius like Kageyama, or as Kenma would describe Hinata an "incomprehensible" freak, but team dedication is the foundation of their victories. So anytime we see the occasional successful play by like Tanaka or Suga over some of the usual suspects, it shows that even if the individual players aren't as strong as some of Inarizaki's members, as a team they're working hard to cover for their inconsistencies.

Kenma is an extreme mood, actually.

It's a break in pace but seeing Nekoyama after so long helps hype up the eventual oncoming battle of the garbage dump that all the world to see. This also reduces some tension from the main match since we KNOW that no matter what Karasuno has to win in order to make their dream epic trash battle of reality, and the question is just a matter of HOW they get there.

But if you thought the answer was going to be anything other than "by the skin of their teeth" you'd be wrong.

Yeah Karasuno has never been one for defensive strategies so seeing a different type of playbook is really refreshing and dealing with this kind of stalemate gives us a bit of taste for what's in store since doing three whole matches in a row creates a war of attrition where one of your enemies is just battling the power of exhaustion.

All those Ball Boy drills start to pay off when even my son who is dumber than a bag of rocks can start spotting a ball when before he would've been pretty much useless.

Even his rival, Kageyama starts feeling the pressure as Hinata acts like a monkey on his back trying to overcome his level of skill.

It's really notable since he actually spends a good portion of the game out but when he's there and ready to play he really puts the fire under everyone's butt and that kind of internal pressure is also key to being successful, as he does every drastic move in order to score just one more point for our flightless crows.

This is also a key element for the twins as well, as we learn that they aren't just born geniuses but rather the reason they were able to get to the level that they're at is a combination of passion for the game, and pressure from having to deal with each other all the time.

If anything I'd argue it'd make doing anything that much harder! If I had to fight a second "me" for everything, I'd be competitive as hell too!!

Their sibling rivalry has a lot of similarities to the team-rivalry between Hinata and Kageyama that we see more displayed in the previous story, it's taken a bit of a backseat as we watch each character grow better as players and people but it's that kind of combination of passion, effort, synergy, and pressure that separates the good players and the great players, which is what Atsumu is.

However, he is also like this, and voiced by Mamoru Miyano (the epitome of weird dork). For all the pressure the show isn't lacking in levity or comedy either.

Well with so many people watching, including former rivals, I think they should start trying to figure out what it means to form a volleyball polycule. One of my favorite touches is seeing old characters react from home to the action at the same time the audience is seeing it.

I'm pretty sure that's owlboy's handler. Who I don't have a screenshot of but here is Bokuto cringing while watching the 2020 news cycle like everyone else.

Yeah, animation and execution wise Haikyu!! looks just as good as ever. Every play is animated in a way where you really feel the speed and power behind them. Also extra points for actually putting enough effort to color Aran's hands correctly in this shot. It's the kind of detail you don't always get to see in other anime, and Haikyu!! is full of it.

Dang, It's been so long I didn't even notice that!! But it goes to show how much influence those previous matches (and Oikawa) have carried those boys all the way up to this point, and even the sting of one (1) defeat can push wind under your wings. It's also the perfect storm to get my tear ducts flowing.

I think I was most focused on the fact that the biggest brain move Hinata could actually make was to give the opportunity for his teammates to slow down by putting the ball up nice and easy, mirroring what he learned at training camp.

Not only did my baby boy-o shoyo actually learn how to defend, he's also starting to learn how to think. They grow up so fast...

Either way, I'll be here cheering when it happens. I simply can't get enough of these boys. Not only does Haikyu!! To the Top successfully replicate the highs and lows of watching real sports but after so many seasons of investment, it's actually at the level where you feel like your watching a real team of players having grown alongside them.

My other son needs his boss battle, please give it to him. After having to wait a solid few years between this and the last season I was worried we might NEVER see it. Every stretch of anime seasons without a Haikyu!! in it feels so long, but somehow it keeps coming back just as good as the first time. Just like eating your favorite food.

With one more episode of season 4 left, I don't think we'll be seeing the stuff of legends as soon as I'd like (like right now) but I can definitely smell the trash from here. The stank is intense.

Also, it smells like sweat. I hope these boys shower in their off time.

I may be calling myself out on this one but don't forget to watch your sleep schedule too.