Haikyuu has always been a series that traded on delivering exactly what was expected of it.  That’s why it’s always surprising when it’s surprising – and it surely was with the training camp arc this season.  It was a side of Haikyuu we haven’t really seen before and Hinata like we’ve never seen him before, and I liked both very much.  It was the sort of development that you can tell is going to pay off in spades farther down the narrative tracks, which is the best sort of development there is.

This week, however, was Haikyuu getting back to what Haikyuu usually does.  Shouyou and Kageyama fighting like bratty kids, the rest of the Karasuno bunch being their likably goofy selves, and a bunch of impossibly good animation of powerful young athletes in motion.  It may have felt a little fresher because it’s been a good while since we’ve seen it, but it’s still the default setting for this series in every way.  And hey, that’s the setting that got Haikyuu where it is today (maybe the most popular sports series currently running) so you’re sure as hell not going away from it for too long.

There are subtle changes simmering just below the surface though, that’s for sure.  We’re seeing Shouyou falling back on observation more and more, having learned what a powerful tool it was during the Shiratorizawa training camp.  Tobio is displaying, as best I can elucidate it, arrogance through humility.  He’s seen that there are others out there just as good or better than him, and realized that he’s going to have to hold himself (and Hinata) to even higher standards if he’s going to reach the next level.

The focus of the second half the match is the practice match with Date Tech, an old Karasuno opponent from way back.  They’re in something of a rebuilding mode with a reliance on first and second-years, but there are familiar faces from training camp here, and they remain a formidable foe.  Which is of course the whole reason why they make a good opponent in preparation for nationals, especially since their blocking is considered exceptionally strong.  As one of the rare sides employing the “bunch” rather than “spread” blocking style, Date Tech is good practice in case Karasuno runs into that in the big dance.

The key figure on this Date side seems to be Koganegawa, their 190 cm “super-setter” who represents a particular irritant to Tobio.  Shouyou even notes that Tsuki seemed to be spiking from a higher point when Koganegawa was setting for him, and the first-year setter is able to use his stature to attack directly from the setting position in a way Kageyama hasn’t been able to duplicate.  That and the fact that the Date blocks have gotten inside his head make this an especially unsettling match for him, but at least he seems to be relishing the challenge rather than being discouraged by it.

As for Shouyou, he’s a bit of an ancillary figure for now, with the primary battle of wills being between Tobio and the great wall of Date.  And, perhaps, between Tobio and Nishinoya – who have an amusing verbal clash mid-point that promises to yield some amusing results in next week’s episode.