Haikyu!! Second Season

Episode 11

Is there anything like watching a large group of high school boys chow down on barbecue? Haikyuu!! doesn't think so, because what feels like most of this episode is spent at the post-training camp feast. That's actually not an entirely bad thing, since it allows us to see the dynamics that exist between the teams and how the camp has fostered not only better playing (specifically from our guys), but also friendships and a realization that the other team is just another team, not some sort of evil group hellbent of squashing the opposition. That may sound obvious, but apart from Hinata, who befriended some of the Nekoma guys earlier in his inimitable way, most of the Karasuno players look at the other teams in terms of their weaknesses and how to exploit them. The meal humanizes everyone and puts them on the same level – because hey, we all get hungry. It also provides some very funny moments, such as poor Yachi trying to get some meat but being intimidated by the big guys (she sees them as Titans), or the fellow in the screencap who is a couple of side-steps and a few tong clicks away from performing the crab dance.

Before the feast, however, the game that began last week has to be completed. Bokuto essentially had a temper tantrum, and now we get to see how that affects the rest of the players. The answer turns out to be “not that much,” as the team is so in tune with each other that they have learned to compensate for their ace's fits of immaturity. This is a major lesson for Karasuno – they've been working to stamp out behaviors similar to Bokuto's tantrum, not realizing that once they come to know each other well enough to expect meltdowns or other seemingly detrimental behavior, they'll be able to use such things to their advantage. Of course, they have to come to terms with themselves as players first, something Kageyama, Hinata, and Tsukishima have all been working on during this story arc. The third years are really the next three who need to figure it all out, as we can still see Asahi beating himself up for his mistakes this week. But given their drive to come back to Tokyo for the Spring Tournament, as well as Sugawara's ambition to improve his game overall, it looks like things might be going their way.

Overall, this is a very jumpy episode. It goes from the game to the barbecue to being back at school with minimal transitions, its voice-over narration feels a little out of place, and it tries to visually introduce us to the teams who will be the major competition in the coming weeks. It's not so much that the episode feels overambitious as it just isn't put together as well as it could have been. There's a need to show us everyone we might be interested, creating the effect of a random slideshow – look, here's Yamaguchi! And Kenma, playing with his phone in the background! And Kiyoko! And Tsukishima getting annoyed! And Kenma, playing with his phone in the background! It isn't that we don't want to see everyone, but this has a thrown-together feel to it, as if the long barbecue scenes exist only to remind us that yes, all of our favorite characters exist, and no, they haven't forgotten about anyone. As the episode nears the end, things do smooth out, showing that Hinata has brought Kageyama with him to Grandpa Ukai's magical training camp and that things are definitely going to be looking up for the Weirdo Duo when the Spring High School Tournament begins next week.

I've said before that there are “getting there” episodes, and this is clearly one of them. It's a testament to the strength of Haikyuu!! that despite its faults it's still a good one...and the preview indicates that it will have been worth it to get to episode twelve.

Rating: B

Haikyu!! Second Season is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.