HAIKYUU!! 2ND SEASON

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ComedyHaikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou
MOVIE ComedyHaikyuu!!: Sainou to Sense
MANGA ComedyHaikyuu!!
OVA SportsHaikyuu!!: Tokushuu! Haru-kou Volley ni Kaketa Seishun
SPECIAL ComedyHaikyuu!!: VS Akaten
ANIME ComedyHaikyuu!!

REVIEWS

• 

  DrkAnimeGurl

  98/100
  Haikyuu is by far my favorite sports anime- It's funny, energetic and refreshing.

  This anime is by far one of the best I've watched, next to Kuroko no Basket and Big Windup, which hooked me up on sports anime in the first place. I first came across this anime on a top ten list on youtube; this
  anime being number one on that list. I figured I'd give it a try and see what it's about, but after one episode I fell in love with it and couldn't turn it off... That is until I got to season two episode nine.
  Haikyuu is very energetic and fun to watch as well as it always keeps me on the edge of my seat and unable to tell who is going to win or lose the match in the end; which is new to me because most of the others I've watched I could easily tell if they would win or lose. The characters are refreshing and funny to watch, especially the expressions. Even some of the quiet and normally indifferent characters turn out to be likeable after a while, such as the manager, Shimizu and Tsukishima the other spiker. Though it would still be hinata and kageyama
  who are my favorite characters due to their clashing personalities and extreme rivalry/ friendship.
  And while I usually don't like when the anime focuses on other characters for an episode or two, I found that I didn't mind it all here, in fact I rather enjoyed it.
  Lastly, and I think the most important thing, is the rivalries. Now I know every sports anime has this, however to me it feels like Haikyuu took it a step further. The anime I watched had the traditional rivalry
  where the main characters or characters would keep training to get stronger just to surpass their rivals (and miracously after a couple of practice matches and training they would do so almost easily); however,
  with this anime The rivalries were also friendships formed by the teams. Like even though they were on different teams the more developed teams still helped Karasuno develop their skills after practicing against them, as well as giving some of the teammates individual help to make them stronger as a player. Not to mention how when they weren't playing against each other they were shown actually hanging out with their rivals and being really friendly towards each other.
  This is defiantly one of those few anime that I hope will go on for a long time, and even then will still be sad to see it end. On my top ten anime to watch list this will no doubt be number one.

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• 

  StupidWeeaboo

  87/100
  The only real KnB competitor

  Hype train! This anime gave me a variety of feelings and almost made me cry near the end. It did a very good job of hyping up the final battle with Aoba Johsei and making sure that it delivered on that hype, showing a new character, new techniques and more character development. I think that, in sports anime, one of the most important things is building up the significance of the opponent, not only relative to the main team but also on their own. It allows for there to be an observable connection between the two teams as well as a connection between the teams and the audience. This season does an especially good job of doing so, building up every character that they can and doing it pretty well. However, some developments were only limited to one or two episodes and as such it became kind of cramped trying to fit the match, backstory and hype all in a very small amount of time. This is only really a problem during the smaller matches that built up to the powerhouse Aoba Johsei wherein the show would just speed through and you wouldn't even notice that another match was happening. But I understand the rush, and I think it was well used considering how much hype the final match had behind it.
  The art and music were spectacular, with the animators showing their flair and giving some shots a crazy amount of impact - combined with the music made the delivery of the final match so much more rewarding. That's not even mentioning the unique character designs and popping colours that were on display throughout the series, making it a joy to watch.
  Although the whole scheme of things was predictable in that it closely followed normal sports anime arcs - like in Kuroko no Basuke - I was fine with it because of how well it was executed. Almost every character has purpose in the plot, with the series building each one up and even giving most of them time to shine under the spotlight both in the moment and for the backstory. It really helped me to believe in these characters and have the desire for them to win. The training arc helped that development immensely.
  Overall, this anime surpasses that of the first season, because of the fact that we get to see them smash the competition after so much build up from the training and multiple smaller matches before the bigger one. And even with its minor flaws I would still rate it an 8 - though a stronger 8 than season one (close to a 9).

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• 

  BlueBlur

  84/100
  A Fantastic Follow Up to an Already Amazing Show

  In case you haven't seen Haikyuu S2 yet I'll be spoiling a lot of S1 and S2 in this review so you are warned.

  So, after the match between Karasuno and Aoba Johsai ended with Karasuno's defeat last season, where does the story go from there. In usual shounen anime affair, a training arc! But this time, the training arc is actually really good.

  Haikyuu is an anime that manages to hold every bit of your attention even in it's downtime and this training arc is no exception. The season starts with the introduction of Hitoka, the future manager for Karasuno and she quickly became on of my favorite characters. Her bouncy, upbeat personality made for some very entertaining moments and the expressive animation adds to the comedy by quite a lot (this goes for every character, not just Hitoka). While her arc is short, it stands out in this series as a perfect introduction to one of the best new characters. As for new characters, this season introduces an insane amount. While Nekoma returns for the training camp we also see new teams that will definitely become important later on. Bokuto being one of the better new rival characters, as he actually fits the role of rival by teaching the heroes while also providing them with a difficult challenge to overcome. The new addition to Nekoma's team, Lev, was also a nice inclusion. Him being another friendly rival to Hinata. Aoba Johsai also has a new member in Kyotani, one of the most interesting and formidable opponents to Karasuno. He seemed like a generic lone wolf hothead character but he became very likable towards the end of the final match.

  Growth seems to be a big aspect of this season as we see Karasuno's training help them learn to handle defeat and come up with new strategies to win. Hinata and Kageyama's new quick attack being a perfect example of this newfound growth. One of my favorite scenes in this sequence was when a previous very minor character, Ennoshita, got his time to shine. I wasn't really expecting him to have a scene like this, but it happened and it was amazing. Before this point, I didn't really see the point in having Ennoshita and his two friends just in the background doing nothing, but this whole scene more than made up for that. It also foreshadowed how he might end up as Karasuno's new captain which makes me even more excited for the future seasons of his show. Yamaguchi's redemption scene was also really good as well. It was predictable that it would happen but it was still great nonetheless.

  I didn't mention this in my S1 review but the soundtrack to Haikyuu is very good. Composed by Yuki Hayashi, who is now famous for his My Hero Academia score, the Haikyuu soundtrack perfectly encapsulates the frantic nature of the volleyball matches and the inspirational nature of shounen storytelling. It's the perfect soundtrack to Haikyuu and each and every song is worth listening to outside of the episodes. The two opening tracks are awesome as well, 'Fly High' being a stand-out. The song that really stole the show for me however was 'Climber', the first ending theme. It's such a fantastic song that fits the vibe of this show so well. It's inspirational while also melancholic, perfectly fitting for the training arc that it plays in. It wish it played throughout the whole season because I liked it a lot more than the second ending which was really forgettable and didn't really fit with the show in my opinion.

  The second arc of this season is the Nationals Qualifiers and it is probably the best Haikyuu gets at this point. Each team Karasuno faces is distinct and has their own quirk or interesting backstory to it. They're all exciting to watch and lead into the final rematch very well. Once again, Karasuno faces off against Aoba Johsai in a battle of pure adrenaline. While I still liked S1's Aoba Johsai match better, this is still not far behind. Kyotani steals a lot of the focus away from Oikawa and Iwaizumi but having the three of them dominate the match made it always fun to watch. Oikawa's relentless serves and Iwaizumi's insane spikes provided Karasuno with a crazy challenge to overcome and it was always enjoyable to watch.

  The way Haikyuu pumps the viewer up is something that should be applauded. I can't speak for all sports anime since I haven't seen many, but if they're anything like Haikyuu, this could be one of the best anime genres.

  S2 improves very little from S1 for me but it doesn't matter since it's really hard to improve what's already great. Haikyuu remains as a must watch for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and I'm glad that a show like this has an insane amount of mass appeal. S2 gives me even more confidence to say that Haikyuu is one of the best shows of last decade, maybe even of all time.

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