TGIF! Here we are again with another Fangirl Friday! This week I’m going back to my otaku roots a bit, by covering an anime series that was suggested to me by the outstanding Katrina Sade over at Grimmgirl.com! If you have been following my twitter, you know without a doubt that I have been seriously obsessing over the sports anime series Haikyu!!
I’m not really a fan of sports anime, in fact I usually go out of my way to avoid them when I can… So when Kat suggested that I watch Haikyu, let’s just say that I wasn’t expecting much. In fact, the first and last sports anime that I every cared enough about to keep up with was Prince of Tennis and that was years ago. But, along came Haikyu and it just blew everything else out of the water!
Haikyu is an ongoing sports anime series, with two 25 episode seasons under it’s belt and a third season on the way in October. The story follows the exploits of the once great Karasuno High Volleyball team as they fight to reclaim their former status as one of the top high school volleyball teams in Japan!
Based off of the original Weekly Shonen Jump manga series from Haruichi Furudate, Haikyu!! is a slice-of-life sports anime revolving around Shoyo Hinata’s love of volleyball. Inspired by a small-statured pro volleyball player, Hinata creates a volleyball team in his last year of middle school. Unfortunately the team is matched up against the “King of the Court” Tobio Kageyama’s team in their first tournament and inevitably lose. After the crushing defeat, Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama After entering high school, Hinata joins the volleyball team only to find that Tobio has also joined.
I don’t know what it is about this series, but I was hooked from the very first episode, it took me a few days to get through the first season (real life kept getting in the way), but the second season… I blazed through that in one sitting. The entire time I kept telling myself just one more episode, and the next thing I knew it was dark out. I can’t remember the last time I was so invested in an anime series, from the plot to the characters, Haikyu managed to do everything right!
While Hinata and Kageyama are technically the “stars” of Haikyu, each member of the Karasuno team manages to worm their way into your heart. Each player has their time in the spotlight, and Haikyu does an awesome job of developing the characters as individuals players and as members of the Karasuno team. It was so satisfying to see such a diverse case of characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses come together and form a close-knit team. Each member plays a role in the successes and failures of the team, there is no one player that carries the team and I love that about the show!
Even now, I’m a having a hard time naming a favorite character because they’re all my favorites. But, if I had to choose… I guess I’d pick Nishinoya, because he is always so hyped! Oh, and the inspirational messages on his shirts are always on point!
I finally get it now… I finally get the appeal of sports anime! There is just something about them that just get you pumped. While watching the show I had the urge to run out and join a volleyball team, mind you I suck at team sports. But, that’s besides the point, the energy in Haikyu is contagious, no matter who you are or what you do, you can’t help but get caught up in it!
The fast paced high tension situations of Haikyu, had me on the edge of my seat with every new challenge…So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I highly recommend watching Haikyu, this show will have you pumping your fist like a maniac! I can’t wait to see where my Karasuno Crows wind up in season 3!!
Are any of you guys fans of sports anime? What’s your favorite sports anime series? Let me know what you think in the comments section, I really want to know what you think! Also, do you have any suggestions for Fangirl Moment post? Want me to review a specific book, film, anime, manga, show, or webcomic? Feel free to Comment on this post or Ask Me on my tumblr! As always Thank You for reading!