Haikyu!! Second Season

Episode 15

Haikyu!! really is at its best when the team is playing. Not just because the animation is able to show off or because the excitement factor rises, but also because we get to see the guys interactions evolve based on how they've changed off the courts. It's great to get to know them individually, but seeing how they shape their playing and themselves into a cohesive team is particularly rewarding.

This week marks their preliminary qualifying match against Johzenji, the team who previously tried to hit on Kiyoko. As with all of the teams in the series, Johzenji has its own playstyle and attitude, and in this case it's...unorthodox. Half the time it looks like they're just making moves up (pretty sure one guy used a soccer play), which is actually a great match for Karasuno, who also don't always play strictly by the book. But what's especially fun about this game (and episode) is that Johzenji is truly having fun with the game. They may be the only people I've ever seen enjoy playing volleyball more than Hinata – hooting and shrieking with undiluted joy, hopping around like ninnies – they're infectious. It's enhanced by Takuya Eguchi's voice work as Johzenji captain Terushima, with pretty much everything he says sounding like he's just having a blast. He also nicknames Hinata “Mini Spiderman,” which is almost worth the episode all on its own.

Another highlight of this week is that we get to meet a new/old player on the Karasuno team: second year Narita. He's actually been there all along lurking in the background, but when Kageyama takes a ball to the face and has to be benched, Sugawara and Narita take over since they've been practicing together. And Narita's no slouch – it's a nice reminder that just because Kageyama, Hinata, and Tsukishima are all ludicrously talented, that doesn't mean that the other players don't have something to offer as well. In fact, one of the best moves this week belongs to Daichi, who reminds us that there's a reason he's the captain in more ways than one.

Of course, this wouldn't be an episode of Haikyu!! without both humor and renewed determination. The latter comes from Johzenji when their “tactics” aren't working against Karasuno's more together team, and their manager, the only third year left, takes exception to their freewheeling playstyle. In her mind, it's time to stop having fun and buckle down, which brings up an interesting question – do you play to win, or do you play to have fun? And are the two mutually exclusive? Given Hinata's base competitiveness, it's not an issue that's really arisen before, and certainly teams like Date Tech make the games look more life-or-death than anything. But Hinata has said time and again that he does have fun playing, that it's something he actively enjoys, rather than the more passive enjoyment Tsukishima or Kageyama take from the game. Where does the line then get drawn? As the game moves into its second set next week, hopefully we'll see that more clearly, and I have to admit that I'd hate to see Johzenji stop having such a good time.

In terms of the more humorous aspects of the show, if Kageyama and Hinata are the Weirdo Duo, then Tanaka and Nishinoya are the Idiot Duo. Watching the two of them try to get Kiyoko to scold them (which is really just a sneaky trick to make her say “spank,” something which also entices Hinata) is right up there with Tanaka getting hit in the head with a ball last week. Yamaguchi, who continues to be a delightful character now that he's actually getting screen time, force marching a highly reluctant Kageyama off the court is also pretty great, and it's a tribute to the animation that Kageyama's reluctance is palpable – his body language looks like a little kid's.

This second half of the season really doesn't feel like it's moving fast enough for any real resolution in the ten episodes remaining, and while I'm not thrilled by that, I also wouldn't want it to gloss over the fact that all of these guys are individuals whose quirks affect the team as a whole, or stop showing that the opposing teams are just as human. Besides, who knows? Maybe it will mean we'll get a third season.

Rating: A-

Haikyu!! Second Season is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.