Haikyu!!

warning, spoilers ahead.

Haikyuu, my favorite anime/manga to this day, even after I have watched over 200 anime and read a fair amount of mangas that are considered good by many, and some of you may ask themself, what does this moron find in a series that looks so simple, that looks like its just another sports anime with mindless hype like many other sports anime, isn't ping pong better? isn't slam dunk better? you have watched/read them both, how come you still think haikyuu is better than both, well then, join me and I'll explain why I think haikyuu is so great.

Characters:
Haikyuu does what many others fail, haikyuu manages to have a vast cast and not only to just have it, haikyuu takes its time with each and each character and give them a fair amount of time to be the main focus so we, the readers, could have an emotional connection to characters that aren't the mc or in the main character's team, Only in haikyuu you will be able to find fans that have their favorite character from the show not from the main character's team, I have seen many fans that actually like other teams more than the main team, karasuno, and I find that one of haikyuu's good traits, haikyuu does not fail to flesh out his extremely big cast it offers, unlike many others that fall short in that aspect.

Characters backstories:
while it isn't something really deep, I think almost every character has a unique and captivating backstory that makes us feel more connected to each character, for example, ill take my favorite backstory which is kourai hoshiumi's back story. Kourai, which is a character that was introduced to us at the start of the national arc as a character that is just very good at volleyball while also being almost, as short as hinata but without having anything more than that, until the kamomedai match later on in the manga where we see his backstory. Hoshiumi which comes from a family that is mostly tall got the short end of the stick and ended up taking up after his mom, hoshiumi's backstory is all about hard work, even when he saw how easily people with height cant spike the ball he never gave up and continued to polish his skills and took after his mom's advice.

even if its nothing special, every character has their own backstory that will make us want to know more about them, sympathize with them, and have a connection with them, the backstories aren't something unreal or something that you cant relate with, most of us will be able to relate to some of the characters which is another strong point for haikyuu.

Plot:
from the outside, it looks like the plot is extremely simple, just like every other sports manga/anime so, what makes me love haikyuu that much? Haikyuu starts slow, for a good while the chapters are all about building up and introducing us new characters but, that buildup pays off well when it comes to the matches. The haikyuu matches are great, intense, and are extremely hype, so, what's different from others? you may ask, okay, let me tell you when it comes to haikyuu after that slow buildup that may make some people not want to continue we get to a point where we care about most of the cast, and when it comes to matches, you will almost NEVER know who you want to win, you are torn apart between cheering for one of the two teams on the court and can't decide who do you want to cheer for which makes the experience even more fun and intense during the matches, it feels like your two favorite teams encounter each other in the champions league and even tho you are having the time of your life enjoying this insane match up, you still can't decide who do you want to cheer for so you are just fascinated to your screen in hope that this match will keep going and be a good one. Haikyuu does fall short when it comes to comedy but the comedy disappears with time.

Another good point for the plot is obviously the rivalry trope between hinata and kageyama throughout the whole story. Haikyuu never forgot where it came from and how it started, even if from the outside it looks like "they are both on the same team, what rivalry?" oh dear you couldn't be more wrong than that. even in the matches we still get the feeling that hinata and kageyama are still rivals that are trying to top each other even in a match and not just outside of it, while they are working together they are both trying to top each other's expectations and reach new heights when it comes to being good at the game, this aspect becomes more noticeable since the pre-national arc and is getting stronger and stronger with each match so we never forget that even if they are on the same team, they are still rivals.

Beach volleyball, where haikyuu breaks out of the sports formula:
the shift to beach volleyball was unexpected by many fans, throughout the whole story there was no sign of the story going outside of japan let alone the high school setting. But, In my opinion, during this arc we can see how much hinata has grown as a character, from a kid that only knew how to jump to a full-on adult that takes care of his body, that went to Brazil in order to not rely on anyone when it comes to being on the court, he went to Brazil in order to be someone who can do everything when it comes to volleyball. during this mini-arc hinata's character shine and make us feel like we have been through a lot with him, from a nobody to a ninja.

I feel like this is getting too long so I will end it here, even tho I can go on and on about how great haikyuu is, how creative and refreshing the final arc is, how great the character development is in haikyuu i will end it here by saying that, ignore the annoying fanbase, ignore the mindless hate if you like the sports genre you are in for one hell of a ride.