Hey so I’m back at it again after my first review which was the complete Haikyu manga, this time I’m going to give my review and opinions about the latest and current season of Haikyu, Haikyu to the top part 2. (will contain some spoilers) As always add me on discord if you want to talk about anime or manga or just want someone to talk to.
Discord: Chungu5#1753
Going into this I was looking forward to seeing the Karasuno vs Inarizaki, watching the previous season's Production IG did an amazing job of adapting the previous seasons into anime this was not the same for this season!
Plot 9/10
Furadate is an excellent storyteller from developing multiple characters in this match to giving us beautiful and hype scenes that did not disappoint. Haikyu to the top part 2 contains only the Inarizaki game even though at first, I was disappointed to not see the Nekoma vs Karasuno game I was still ecstatic to see the Inarizaki game nonetheless. The Inarizaki game contains many character developments throughout the game, one which was Tanaka development of becoming a reliable wing spiker. Throughout the game Tanaka was brutally shut down by Inarizaki blockers consistently being denied and causing his team to lose points, Tanaka moral was low and began to doubt himself and admit that he was average player compared to his teammates. We began to see Tanaka’s character of being load and hot-headed start to change to now being quiet and annoyed at himself for not playing well. Tanaka being a character who has strong mental fortitude was being crushed by the wall that was Inarizaki. As the game went on Tanaka accepted the fact that he is average and useless and began asking Kageyama to reduce sets towards him which Kageyama denied, not only does this show Tanaka has lost all hope and believes that he is average but it also shows the slight development we see in Kageyama from not trusting his teammates to now believing and trusting his team in scoring points. This would then result in one of Tanaka greatest shots in the entire series
Animation 5/10
The animation and art in this season of Haikyu was a hit or miss at times looking appalling and at times looking amazing. From watching its first episode the animation did look a bit different as spikes and servers were taken from a different angle than before. (however, being a manga reader, this was normal as this is how it looked in the manga.) Watching the second episode was where it all changed, the drawings of some characters and animation just looked awful from the spikes and receives being completely wrong. Even though I knew the second episode was outsourced this was the first time in Haikyu series which an episode was outsourced and simply it should not have happened!
Nevertheless, even though the animation being poor at times Production IG did not disappoint in showing beautiful animation in moments that counted, one notably was Hinata receive, It was simply perfect, the first person animation of Hinata receiving the ball did not look weird or off-putting it was just beautiful the way it was coloured and drawn it truly showed what Haikyu was about.
Music and voices 8/10
Nothing much changed about the voices of characters however the music was sublime, Inarizaki theme just bopped throughout the whole series, the normal Haikyu ost did change a little with a quick pacing most likely due to the quick attacks that are done by both teams. I enjoyed the animation, pictures and sound in Haikyu opening as it was used to foreshadow and give tribute to the Haikyu manga finishing.
Overall review and thoughts 7/10
Plot-wise it was amazing I was hooked on seeing the different characters, banners and back story’s of people in the Haikyu world, The animation did disappoint at times but overall it was pretty mid compared to the last 12 episode game series that Haikyu gave, The ost and openings were amazing, every time I hear the Inarizaki theme I just could not stop humming it.
My thoughts of Haikyu to the top part 2, the series could have been delayed 3 more months and could have come with better quality(animation-wise), this season could have been a straight 9 or 10 if there was no outsourcing done. My favourite characters in this season of Haikyu was definitely Hinata, Atsumu, Kita and Osamu, Hinata because of his development as the story progress, Kita because he is the definition of a captain even though he is average the captain lays the foundation of the team's actions. And lastly the twins I mean how can you dislike them they were absolutely sick at volleyball and were funny at times.
I hope you enjoyed my review make sure to follow me on Anilist (I don’t really care who follows me) if you want to talk about anime and stuff add me on Discord.
Discord: Chungu5#1753