Haikyuu is a series that has always been special to me. The anime was my gateway to this community, and I’ll forever be thankful for my friends that begged me to watch it. Going into my reread of the series, I knew it was awesome, yet somehow, it was even better than before. And I assure you the panels certainly didn’t change.
Right off the bat, Haikyuu hooks you in by presenting you with one of the most human things - drive. The drive to experience, to win, to surpass the you from yesterday. As my favorite quote from the series goes “Today you are defeated. But what will you become tomorrow?”. It’s a story about growth. Be it individual or growing as a team. I especially liked how it never took the “teamwork makes the dreamwork” too close to heart. In order to get the dream work, you sometimes have to fight with the people dear to you. Demanding someone to do better when you know they can, isn’t a bad thing, and I’m glad Furudate took his time to showcase that using multiple characters. You can’t see the view from the top alone, but you also can’t rely on others to carry you there. Haikyuu also tells us that there’s always more to learn. Players like Kageyama seem perfect at the start. Yet across all 402 chapters, he learns something. Something about volleyball, something about himself.
I think the reason why Haikyuu is so beloved, is just how relatable it is. While any media can have relatable characters, the fact that Haikyuu’s cast is primarily just normal teens makes it even more relatable. Looking at Hinata, I thought I can surpass myself too. Looking at Kageyama, I thought I can become the best version of myself too. At its core, Haikyuu is a story about people and their connections. Even with such a big ensemble cast, all of these people seem to have meaningful relationships. They learn from each other, grow together, win and lose together. Through that, Haikyuu also connects to the reader. Reading this series, I felt like I was there, watching the game. I felt the thrill, the joy, the sadness. All that from the comfort of my own bedroom. In the same way the characters keep the ball alive on the court, Haikyuu keeps you alive.
And gosh what a cast of characters Furudate has created. I thought so hard about it and couldn’t think of even one character that disappointed me. They are all just that good. Hinata is a fantastic MC and definitely one of my favorites. Watching him learn and realize that his athleticism and Kageyama’s setting can’t carry him forever was both awesome and heartbreaking. Just when he thought he finally had a chance to stay on the court, his entire world shattered. So in classic shonen MC culture, he stands up and decides to fight by…sneaking into a camp he wasn’t invited to? The Ball Boy Arc, while called boring by a majority of the fandom, has some of the best character work I’ve seen in Jump. It recontextualizes the way Hinata looks at and plays volleyball, and I think it’s exactly that experience that made him go to Brazil later on. The deuteragonist Kageyama isn’t far behind Hinata in character development though. I’d even say he's ahead, but I’m maybe biased. His story broke my heart over and over again. Watching a boy be left behind by his supposed teammates just because he wanted them to be the best possible version of themselves was depressing, to say the least. He just loved volleyball too much, and then he found someone that loved it as much as he did. I think Kageyama is my favorite character because his development isn't linear. I’m guilty of thinking his character arc was over once he stopped being a “king” and started setting just how his hitters want. But then he met Atsumu, a setter that was the complete opposite of his previous idol Oikawa. From there on I was in awe of what Furudate was doing with Kageyama. Return of the King is perhaps my favorite chapter in the series. He found a balance between being a king and a "goody two-shoes", and most importantly, a team that was ready to accept him the way he is. Of course, the legendary Karasuno duo aren’t the only great characters. There’s Kenma, Atsumu, Oikawa, Tsukishima, and so many more. If I had to go into detail, this review would be even longer.
Staying on the court the longest. That is the goal of every character in Haikyuu, but especially Hinata. He only got to play volleyball properly once before high school, and it was very short-lived. That is why Chapter 365 “Endings and Beginnings Part 2” is such a wonderful chapter. It is the first time since Chapter 1(cleverly called “Endings and Beginnings” too) that Hinata couldn’t stay on the court for the duration of a normal game. And it completely eats him apart, because he wants to be there. He wants to stay out there, no matter how tired he gets. But just as Sensei says “this is volleyball too”. It’s an end and a new beginning for Hinata. Truly jaw-dropping work.
Haikyuu is one of few Jump series in recent years that managed to nail its ending. It wrapped up perfectly, with the right pace, and never forgot what it stood for. That game between Kageyama and Hinata that has been built up ever since the start, met and surpassed all expectations I had. They were always chasing one another, always trying to get ahead of the other. What a beautiful revelry. They were the greatest teammates, and the greatest opponents.
Big thanks to Furudate for penning such a wonderful manga.
TL;DR - Haikyuu is an amazing story about people and their connections. Read it.
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