So the time is finally here, the Haikyuu manga has ended. Personally I am a big fan of the manga since I have been reading it for 8 years now and seeing it end is saddening but at least things ended on a good note. I really enjoyed it throughout the years, things were consistent and the hype was always there. It was actually surprising to see Furadate shift from the horror genre to the sports genre and he managed to make it into this big of a series.

Story 8/10
The story isn't something unique when you look at it from the surface, it's basically like any other sports manga/anime in a high school setting. So what makes the story so great? The story is actually really well-thought out, all the major matches are exciting, it never gets boring and each match helps the characters evolve. The story is a bit slow-paced so people have dropped the manga. But the payoff which we get at the end of each match/arc is pretty much worth it. Furudate was able to show the people, some who know the sport and some who don't know anything, the essence of volleyball. The drama element of the story was okay, comedy was decent and Furudate only tried to do what he could do best focus on the sport. The story lacks SoL elements (which I am a big fan of especially in sports oriented series)unlike many other big shot sports series in the industry but that eventually became its strength because the character interaction on the top of the intense matches did the thing for Haikyuu.

Like other sports series Haikyuu also used a ton of tropes but the way they were used is the best part, like Your greatest enemy being your rival trope was handled really well. The relationship between Hinata and Kageyama had friendship, rivalry and drama, even the way they ended the story this duo was one of the best parts in the story. One of my favorite part was that Hinata remained the decoy from start to end and it was done greatly (never felt forced). The ending, I was expecting more to be honest, but what we got was pretty decent. If we get a sequel Olympic Edition, I would be pretty satisfied. I won't put it on the same tier as Slam Dunk, Ping-pong or AnJ but it's not that far-off and it showed how great sports series can still be written realistically without giving them some SSJ powers.

Art 9/10
When you start reading the manga you may not enjoy the art that much but it grows on you as you continue reading. Furudate's art has seriously evolved from how it was at the start and how it is now. It is somehow really fitting for volleyball. The art is unique in its own way and you can distinguish it from the other arts. It is able to capture the intensity at the intense moments, fun at the comedic moments and the goofiness when it's goofy. The metaphorical depictions also looks great. The background art is amazing. The buildings, the details and architecture on the stadiums is great. The signature double page-spreads from Furudate are pretty good. The character designs are pretty simplistic, the characters can be differentiated based on their build, tropes and hair.

The best part for me about the art is the paneling and the composition. The intensity of a rally, serves and spikes is uniquely captured by the paneling. The character composition is realistic and doesn't break the flow/intensity and it only got better as the story progressed.

Characters 9/10
My favorite part from Haikyuu are the characters. The characters are that indispensable part of the manga that make the matches and the story interesting. The two protagonists are really well developed, especially after seeing how things turned out in the last arc (holy shit, our boy Hinata developed both physically and mentally). Both of them are rivals yet strong friends. The supporting cast is amazingly well developed as well. Take anyone of them, look at what compels them to play the sport and how much they have progressed individually. The characters from the rival teams are also great. Since everyone loves this guy let’s take Oikawa, the man is well written, has skills to back up his talks and has his own ambitions even towards the end of the story he was doing what he always wanted to do.

The character interactions are great and always interesting. Characters are what pull the weight for the lack of SoL element in the story. Some do complain about how there is an over-saturation of characters which sometimes leads to some weaker character which is somewhat true but that’s expected from a sports series especially with sports like volleyball, basketball and football. Towards the end of the story a “foil” to the main protagonist Hinata was introduced i.e. Hoshiumi Korai, this trope is often used in sports series but in a pathetic way where the MC miraculously overcomes the foil which is superior to him in one episode and the foil is useless for the rest of the story. But in Haikyuu the foil is used in an exceptional way, can’t explain how because that’s a big spoiler. Not many character I disliked and I guess that’s about enough rambling about the characters.

Enjoyment 10/10
What’s left for me to say, I personally loved the series. It was a memorable experience. Also would love to re-read the series in the future, pretty sure it would make me appreciate it more. The consistency made me read it through the years, even though it was slow paced. The characters and the intense matches with the art were the most enjoyable parts for me.

Overall the manga is 8.5-9/10 for me. Now for the question that should the anime only fans read the manga? Well if you ask I would say yes, the manga is a must read even if you don’t want to read beyond the story of the anime, try it from the start and then catch up the latest animated chapter and decide for yourself. But I got many people into reading the Haikyuu manga and their impression was that they were missing out on it big time. Definitely a sad yet happy occasion for me.