What's the Hype With Haikyuu!! ? (Anime Review)

After watching a volleyball match featuring the "Little Giant" on Karasuno High School's volleyball team, main character Shoyo Hinata decides to become the next great Ace in volleyball since he too is short like the Little Giant.

Plot and Characters

I would mostly say this plot is one of a character following his dreams and overcoming his struggles along the way. It's sort of a typical trope, but Haikyuu!! definitely rocks it in a good way. Each character has their own problems, but at the same time, you see continuous growth throughout the anime. Hinata is a well developed character that does at times realize his faults and learns to make up for them in other ways. his opposing protagonist (who we originally think is going to be the antagonist) Tobio Kageyama, who is nicknamed the "King of the Court" by his teammates and others, grows as well, and realizes his own faults, but also works well and eventually becomes a duo who can do quick attacks with Hinata.

Voice Acting

The voice acting is on point. And that's not even me being biased because they have Hiroki Kamiya in it! The way that Murase Ayumu is able to portray a teenage boy who is loud and sometimes obnoxious is impressive. And I have to say I'm overall pleased with all the voices chosen; perhaps the best picked in my opinion is the voice for Kei Tsukishima, who is Koki Uchiyama. He just pulls off the attitude that Tsukishima has so well; arrogant, yet at the same time able at times to speak up and make those he's loudly insulting lose their cool.

Animation

Volleyball is definitely a rough sport; I remember when I would play it in middle school and high school for PE . It's both physically exhausting and mentally exhausting. The animators portray all of this incredibly well; you can see when a character has worked hard on the court, and you can see their emotions clearly in their faces as well. None the less, you move a lot in volleyball, and the animators do not slack on this fact either. Each scene with actual playing is well animated and it is easy to follow the matches while watching. The fact they did not slack off and draw sloppily is impressive as well.

Music

Perhaps this is my favorite part of the anime. The opening, "Imagination" by SPYAIR is great, and definitely sets the mood for an intense volleyball anime like Haikyuu!! well. You also get a good feel for Hinata and Kageyama with that song as well, but also for the other characters as well. And the actual music in the anime is good too; there are times where the scene is tense and the music in turn fits so well for those moments. Any time there is music you can sense it fits the scene so perfectly.

Overall Grade On the Doki Doki Scale

From a scale of one to ten dokis, that explain the feelings on the anime total...

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤- 9 Dokis!