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Sometimes when we say “shameless”, we mean it in a good way…
I always tend to watch Haikyuu towards the end of the day, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. There’s an effortless quality both to the production and the experience of watching it – not only is it a great show to watch when you’re a little burned out, but it also brings the day to a close on an upbeat note. Of course on the part of the anime staff, pulling this off is nowhere as easy as they make it look.
If it sounds like I’m filling time a bit, it’s because this is another of those Haikyuu eps that I discussed last week, one which speaks for itself in such a straightforward way that it doesn’t leave much left for me. Fortunately we have Bokuto to talk about. This series actually has a problem that’s a good one to have – it has so many likeable and distinct characters that it’s a struggle to get them all meaningful screen time, never mind real development. But Bokuto is such a live wire that he takes full advantage of every moment he gets. Takeda-sensei nails it here – Bokuto is one of those guys that just makes everything more fun for everybody involved.
What Bokuto also did, of course, is give Shouyo (and Tsukki too) some meaningful advice between the lines, which as predicted (not that it was hard) came home to roost in a big way this week in the final practice match. First was the feint, which while a part of every good spiker’s repertoire wasn’t part of Hinata’s – indeed, seemed somehow antithetical to his personality. Where Bokuto made the sale was in making Hinata believe that executing a feint could be just as much fun as a spike – indeed, for a vertically challenged boy looking down at three prone defenders might be even more fun.
Yes, the cogs are indeed slotting into place. The freak(ier) quick, the feint, the combined attack, the libero toss – it’s a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster of bits stolen from other teams and the just plain bizarre, but then that’s Karasuno. As they level up other, more experience teams are going to adapt to meet the challenge – and I would imagine that’s going to be especially true for the teams from which the Crows have copped their ideas. It works pretty well in this case – well enough to shove Bokuto into emo mode and give Karasuno a late lead against Fukurodani.
I’m not sure who’s going to win this game, and in the end I don’t think it’s hugely important. But even as things start to come together for Hinata and Kageyama, I wonder if their increasing synchronicity isn’t going to cause some problems of its own. Isn’t it an issue for a volleyball team when its setter so obviously favors one spiker – much less when they’re first-years and the third-year ace is still around? And isn’t it a potential flashpoint (indeed, we’ve seen a few sparks already) for both the seniors and the other first-years that these two freshmen are hogging the spotlight as much as they are? Egos are a part of sports, and not placated by arguments like the protagonist’s privilege…
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Yana Anastasova
December 6, 2015 at 12:49 pmI loved seeing Kageyama's professional concentration at the beginning of the episode — he's been under so much stress lately that it's easy to forget it was intorduced as one of his defining features as a player. I do not think he is focusing on Hinata to an unreasonable extent; he kind of had to give him all of his attention to ensure their new move worked properly, but he also tossed to Tanaka just fine, and blocked well with Tsukishima (even following the latter's advice — and how rare is that!). In addition, seeing Yachi happy made me happy, and I loved the banter between Kenma and Kuroo: "You do!" — "I do not." — "You do!" — "I do not." *off-screen pause* "You do!" — "I do not." xD
Lastly, and this is something I've been meaning to ask for a while, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate Haikyuu!! ? I know you like it, and you've complimented its production value several times, but I'm curious to see what your overall assessment is. 🙂
gilraen_tinuviel
December 6, 2015 at 4:38 pmI think, as a manga reader, there were some pacing issues in the episode and when many scenes were fine as a stand alone, they didn't work together well this time. I'm slightly disappointed because I was waiting for some of the scenes to be animated.
Oh, and I didn't like so many repetitions about cogs/gears. The manga isn't subtle at all but it was only mentioned twice in a those chapters but it feels like anime wanted to beat a dead horse.
But Haikyuu is still this "feel-good" anime.
melodic thoughts
December 6, 2015 at 5:45 pmI agree with the part with the cogs (I'm not a manga reader btw), it was extremely distracting when it was repeated for like 4-5 times. But, like many others have mentioned here in the blog, this adaptation is anything but subtle anyway.
Still, a fantastic episode because indeed, Bokuto is an extremely fun character and he and Akaashi make a really good comedic duo. I feel like I can comment an episode's worth about how well they nail the comedic timing -> like the part where Bokuto cuts in "Akaashi, back me up for once" had me in stitches. I think the fact that they chose two stellar seiyuus makes a big difference, because I absolutely adore Kimura Ryohei's nasal "shameless" voice. I thought he was fantastic as Jumoonji (he laid it a big heavy there), but as Bokuto I think he refined his voice a little more and it sounds so good. And of course, Ohsaka Ryouta sounds good anywhere (such bias on my part).
leongsh
December 6, 2015 at 9:20 pmThis anime is definitely shameless in showing off the the exceptional production values in doing a very good adaptation of the manga material. Very few manga with anime adaptation get the treatment that this anime gets. Personally, if you are a manga reader of Haikyuu!! and complaining about this adaptation, you're just being churlish and best be going back to reading the manga and avoid the anime.
Chrysostomus
December 6, 2015 at 10:08 pmA fantastic episode. Seeing Karasuno FINALLY start kicking some ass after getting wrecked over 60 times is a pleasure to behold!
I have to say the anime has completely ruined the manga for me. There's just something about the art that really turns me off… It doesn't have that cartoonish over-the-top charm as Yowapeda, nor does it have that endearing doodle-like quality of ONE's One-Punch Man. It's just… ugly, and it has been getting uglier recently? Am I crazy or is anyone else noticing?
gilraen_tinuviel
December 7, 2015 at 12:14 amWait, what? The anime art is super similar to the manga's one. So I really don't understand how anime could ruin the manga.
Except the anime fucked up a little necks – they have proportional length in the manga (Furudate sensei had a problem at first chapters with them but quickly corrected mistake) and have more muscles' definition in the manga too.
Not so long ago there were bunch of chapters, where some characters look more like chipmunks, especially Hinata, but now Furudate has straightened out the course again, so it's back to normal.
Earthling Zing
December 10, 2015 at 9:36 amI liked that Suguwara thought of something of his own, he's been shafted for pretty much the whole season so far…