It’s great to have you back, Karasuno. Though I may as well say it’s great to have Haikyuu back, because they’re virtually synonymous. It’s not really surprising that the Crows are the most compelling protagonists for this series – a writer is going to tend to concentrate their creative energy on their core cast (unless they’re Noda Satoru, who can seemingly spread it out equally among everyone in the story). Some supporting pods are better than others, but Haikyuu tends to thrive when the camera stays on the main men in the narrative.
Two weeks diverted to Nekoma is a pretty big momentum killer, I won’t lie, but it still doesn’t take too long to get back into the swing of things. Trying to game this Inarizaka match out, I’m wondering if it’s fated to end 2-0. At the right we’re going if it takes the full three sets it’s likely to take us all the way to the end of the season. Is that possible? I suppose it is, but they seem like a pretty mid-tier opponent to devote an entire cour to, even for Haikyuu.
If this is indeed fated to end in straight sets, Karasuno has some serious work to do. While we were watching the cats the crows were getting their tailfeathers kicked, and it’s 14-7 by the time we rejoin the main narrative. The Atsumu twin is doing serious damage with his jump floater, using the unlikely strategy of targeting Yuu-kun. Yuu is the heart and soul of Karasuno’s defense of course, and seeing him flail at a few knuckleballs is certainly disconcerting. But he’s not that easily cowed, and there are limits to how long such a strategy can work.
Meanwhile the Crows have a long game of their own, which is to tire the Foxes’ ace, Aran. Inarizaka certainly has other weapons, like their enigmatic blocker Rintaro, but Aran is the one who consistently leads the attack. Suga is a part of this strategy with his floater, but sadly his intervention in the game is rather brief – one serve, in fact (not counting that little pep talk). Despite his failure the Crows gradually begin to close the gap, and when it’s Tobio’s turn to serve he unleashes a couple of wicked aces that signal a major momentum shift.
The Foxes’ trump card seems to be their #1, who I presume is the captain given his number. What role he’ll play is unclear, but with Karasuno having as much fun as they seem to be they can be an unstoppable force. More and more it seems likely to me that this one will be a sweep, maybe ending in two weeks or so – leaving an ep to setup the climactic match of the season, and a couple of weeks to play it out to the end of the likely cliffhanger.
Nadavu
November 8, 2020 at 12:00 amAnimation is back to being god awful… I wonder what will future viewers think of this abrupt drop in quality in what was arguably the most stunningly animated sports anime. Likely the real reason will be forgotten with time and they’ll come up with conspiracy theories to explain it.
leongsh
November 8, 2020 at 1:21 pm1/3 of it was passable (not good but not so lousy), but the 2/3 of it had wonky animation and really bad character art. I really hope that they do proper clean-up of those episodes when the Blu-Ray discs are released. The precipitous downward slide from Season 3 is alarming to say the least. The first half of Season 4 is really decent but this second half is maddening.
Guardian Enzo
November 8, 2020 at 1:57 pmBased on this and Noblesse, I.G. has either dropped their standard considerably or is really stretched because of the pandemic.
Princess Usagi
November 8, 2020 at 1:26 amI personally didn’t mind the Nekoma story diversion; it gives them more depth as opposed to just existing for the sake of being someone for Karasuno to play against. However, the timing probably could have been better and not right in the middle of a match. The expository explanations from the audience members got to be a bit annoying. I can understand why they would include it, to give insight into the plays for people like me who aren’t familiar with the sport, but the match still would have been enjoyable without that insight or at least they could have been brief comments from the sports broadcasters at the game so it would feel more like sports commentary as opposed to interruptions by people in the bleachers.
Ki
November 9, 2020 at 2:13 pmWhat do you mean by Inarizaki being mid-tier, Enzo? If you mean the Fukurodani Group are to be seen as the “big guns” of the series, I agree. If you mean Inarizaki is a minor team strength-wise, I think Haruichi Furudate meant for us to see Inarizaki as a big deal. They did place second at Nationals the previous year. Atsumu was introduced early last season and with his baiting of Kageyama I got the feeling he was supposed to be a kind of rival for him. They don’t carry a strong emotional connection for me so I can’t fault anyone who isn’t super invested in them either, but I don’t think that’s what Furudate-sensei intended. However long the Karasuno vs. Inarizaki match lasts, I won’t be surprised.
Guardian Enzo
November 9, 2020 at 3:35 pmMid-tier in the importance sense, not skill. They may be an elite team but in narrative terms, mid-tier. We’d never even seen them before this arc that I remember.
KumaShock
November 11, 2020 at 10:59 amAnimation issues aside, I’ve also felt this season really hasn’t been that interesting and has lacked the narratives hooks that previous matches in Haikyuu!! have had, making the usual blow-by-blow style feel more repetitive than anything else. That is a risk inherent in the blow-by-blow approach in sports anime – if you don’t give the matches enough flavor – built around the characters’ personal challenges/back story or whatever – the action begins to feel repetitive. I found the Nekoma interlude was more interesting to me than the main match (Mainly the second episode of it) as a result.
Guardian Enzo
November 11, 2020 at 12:17 pmGenerally speaking this has been the least interesting season of Haikyuu for me, animation glitches aside.
ibtachi
November 13, 2020 at 2:35 pmHonestly, in my eyes the matches have been missing a compelling antagonist here – I mean that specifically in terms of screen presence.
I’m referring specifically to the high bar set through Kageyama’s emotional connection to Oikawa (and his general swashbuckling charm), and the sheer imposing pressure Ushiwaka’s mere presence brought to the vs. Shiratorizawa match. Hell, even the technical stakes and character growth for Karasuno as a whole during the vs. Date Tech. Those stakes have largely felt like they’re missing, which feels wrong considering this is the bloody Spring Tournament. None of the foils presented this season save Bokuto (Asamu twins, Hoshiumi, Nekoma as whole) seem to be anywhere near as interesting or compelling as those two.
Without a compelling personality on the other side of the net, I’m just left yearning for a character-focused training arc.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2020 at 8:35 pmAll I can say is I’m with you. This opponent is kind of bland, and the Hinata training arc from the first cour is looking better and better.