×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Haikyu!! Sub.Blu-Ray


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5823
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 2:20 pm Reply with quote
So a volleyball anime, that doesn't have major volleyball action. That is a major negative. Sounds like another slice of life high school drama.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
futuresoon



Joined: 08 Jun 2015
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:32 pm Reply with quote
Actually, it has plenty of volleyball action. It just also has character interaction and development outside the court. Often spurred by how the matches go, too.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:42 pm Reply with quote
Right, there's only two official games in these episodes, but lots of volleyball playing. It's more that the games and the character development are linked more than you might expect. So if you're looking for just a lot of volleyball and don't care to get to know the characters, it might be a bit of a drag, but if you don't mind some character development with your action, give it a shot.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TsunaReborn!



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Posts: 4713
Location: Cheltenham UK
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 5:22 pm Reply with quote
There was more than enough Volleyball action for me as a real life fan of the sport. Like most series the first few episodes introduce you to the characters and begin to show you where the series is heading; with that being said there is a match in the second episode (non official) as well as a lot of training which is used to slowly introduce the rules and how the sport works to the viewer.

For me Haikyuu was perfect and had a great balance of character development and game time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
lebrel



Joined: 16 Oct 2009
Posts: 374
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Rebecca Silverman wrote:
after all, she's the team manager; she must have some kind of relationship with some of the members.


Not necessarily; the "manager" of a Japanese school sports team is a backstage support position mainly involved with cleaning / maintaining equipment, making sure the towels get washed, handing out drinks, preparing lunch, etc. It's entirely possible to do the job with minimal direct interaction with the players; especially in all-boys schools, it's possible for the manager to be from a completely different school (since the manager, as a "housekeeping" sort of position, is supposed to be filled by a girl)(and yes, the system is sexist as all get out, but hey, it's Japan, what do you expect).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11339
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:01 pm Reply with quote
There is lots of volleyball action, though it's not one game after another all the time. But the volleyball was a major selling point for me, because it's so beautifully animated. It also has some marvelous direction, in the camera angles that enhance the action, and in how one shot leads into another, even if that other shot is in a different scene. At one point they splice two different games together to amazing effect, telling much more than just the story of those games.

Really, some of these episodes are just breathtaking in how they're presented. Very Happy

The eyecatches are hilarious too, but what's most interesting to me is that you could replace the characters with stick figures and you'd still know who they were because we know all these players' individual personalities, styles and movements so well.

The point is moot now, but does anyone know why Sentai shipped this so far ahead of the release date? I pre-ordered it, expecting it in June and was stunned to find it in my mailbox more than a month early. Yet Rightstuf still showed it as a pre-order until June.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dragonrider_cody



Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 2541
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:35 pm Reply with quote
@Gina Szanboti:

It's quite common for Right Stuf to ship out anime releases early. How early can vary quite dramatically though. I've had some that only shipped a few days early, and others that have shipped as much as six weeks early.

Home video companies send their product a minimum of one to two weeks early to retailers, to insure the product is there for the street date. Hollywood studios enforce a system of fines to discourage retailers from shipping or selling releases early. However, anime companies simply don't have that clout, and they are glad to take whatever sales they can get.

In the case of Sentai releases, Right Stuf also serves as their warehouser and assists in their shipping. So basically, after the discs are replicated, they are sent directly to Right Stuf, even if they are ultimately bound for another retailer or wholesaler. Since Right Stuf is the first to receiver the product, and since Sentai doesn't enforce fines for early sales, they are able to ship out the products extremely early, even before other websites that also ship early.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Elves



Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 269
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:59 pm Reply with quote
Rebecca's review summarizes exactly how I feel about Haikyu!!. I absolutely adore it! It is seriously a sports show which transcends the genre. Much like Free!!, but without all the voyeuristic muscle shots.

As others have said previously, Haikyu!! has a broader focus on more than just the sport; it's also about the entire team of characters. Everyone really does have a distinct personality, and they are a hoot, plus they all work together as proverbial cogs in the much larger machine which is the show. The sport of volleyball is totally present, very much so, but the player's individual stories and growth go hand-in-hand with the games and practice so it doesn't even seem like as an audience you sit through so many episodes focused on just a handful of games!

I wanted to address Kiyoko's (the manager) lack of purpose. In the first season she really doesn't have much of role to play, but she is important later on down the road (and by that I mean beyond where the current anime season ends and many chapters into the manga).

Also, the background music is awesome! I never really noticed it upon the first watch through on Cruncyroll, but after listening to the soundtrack on it's own those pieces really pop. Good tunes.

In conclusion, I really hope that more people will check out Haikyu!! and love it. I really want the second season to be released stateside too. What I don't want is for it to turn into another Big Windup! which flew under so many people's radar. It never got the chance it deserved to shine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5823
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 10:03 am Reply with quote
futuresoon wrote:
Actually, it has plenty of volleyball action. It just also has character interaction and development outside the court. Often spurred by how the matches go, too.


Only went by what the reviewer said. Which seemed to indicate the lack of actual official gameplay. I have no problem with character growth and development, but from the review it sounds like they didn't have it balanced out right.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sobe



Joined: 04 Jun 2011
Posts: 881
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:22 am Reply with quote
Daichi, Kuro, and Tobi-kun can take my world by storm any day (or night). Twisted Evil
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:36 am Reply with quote
I'm eagerly awaiting the continuation! I've been keeping up with the manga volumes and there's never been a dull moment.

Can I ask why the review often refers to Hinata as "Sho" instead of "Shoyo" though? There seems to be a lot of inconsistency there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2606
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:26 am Reply with quote
^Most of the characters called him "Sho" rather than "Shoyo" or "Hinata." I agree it seems inconsistent; my thinking was that at least people wouldn't have the surprise I did at the three names for one guy. (Which honestly is pretty normal in real life, but not so much in fiction when you're trying to keep track of characters.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
^Most of the characters called him "Sho" rather than "Shoyo" or "Hinata." I agree it seems inconsistent; my thinking was that at least people wouldn't have the surprise I did at the three names for one guy. (Which honestly is pretty normal in real life, but not so much in fiction when you're trying to keep track of characters.)

I honestly do not remember Hinata being called "Sho," at least not by his Karasuno teammates. I can only remember him being called by his first or last name. IIRC, on the team Nishinoya was pretty much the only one who called Hinata by his first name and everyone else used his last name.

Either my memory isn't as good as I think it is, or the subs had some typos. Or maybe he was called "Sho" by his middle school teammates and I've forgotten because it was so far back. I can imagine him being called that by his old teammates but I'm quite sure no one in Karasuno calls him anything other than Hinata or Shoyo.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
futuresoon



Joined: 08 Jun 2015
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 7:46 pm Reply with quote
I only remember people calling him "Hinata", too--in fact, pretty much everyone in this show is referred to by their last names, IIRC? At the very least, when I think about the characters, I think of their last names. I'm not sure what most of the characters' first names even are.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
FireballDragon



Joined: 17 Nov 2014
Posts: 683
PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:13 am Reply with quote
Honestly, the fact that it's a volleyball manga with a strong female fanbase reminds me so much of "Sepatte Takuro" from "My Girlfriend's a Geek." Did anyone else get that vibe?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group