Haikyuu!! (anime)
Shouyou Hinata is a young boy very determined to become a great volleyball player, like his unnamed idol "The Little Giant". Despite suffering with lack of support (the male voleyball club of his school is practically a fan club instead of a sports one), he manages to get other five students to create a team along him to compete in a middle school volleyball tournament. They are utterly defeated in the first round, but Hinata's abilities impress his opponents and especially annoy Tobio Kageyama, the setter of the other team, regarded as a genius of volleyball even at such an early age. Not that Tobio's realism, to not say cynicism, doesn't annoys Hinata as well. To the surprise of both, they end up on the same high school on the next year and must work together if they want to achieve greater success in their careers.
Haikyuu!! is a 2014 sports Anime, an adaptation of the manga of same name by Haruichi Furudate. The first season comprised 25 episodes (and one OVA!). A second season of the anime aired from October 2015 to March 2016 and had the same format. The third season, however, was only 10 episodes and lacked an attendant OVA. It aired from October 2016 to December 2016. A fourth season began to air in 2020. It has been licensed and digital and home release for North America by Sentai Filmworks.
Directed by Susumu Mitsunaka.
- The Ace: Tobio is very good at what he does. It is deconstructed in the fact this talent makes him very self-centered and dismissive of other players.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: Episode 2. Tanaka says Hinata that he's "way short and sucks bad" but got guts. Hinata take the praise straight.
- Beauty Mark: Shimizu has one on the left side of her fact, just below mouth level.
- Bishie Sparkle: Shimizu's introduction scene in Episode 2 has sparkles shining around her body as she introduces herself to Kageyama and Hinata.
- Curb Stomp Battle: The match between the team from Shouyou's school and the team from Tobio's school ends on a 3-0 result where Shouyou's team don't even makes half of the points of their opponents in the third set, and that's what we only see.
- Determinator: Shouyou don't understands the meaning of the word "improbable". He trains volleyball in a place where's there's no volleyball training for boys, and his determination to win isn't extinguished when the opponent's team have over 10 points of advantage over his team and a set point.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Tanaka is introduced in Episode 2 trying to intimate Hinata and Kageyama but being pulled by Suga, showing he isn't as scary he fancies himself to be.
- Shimizu's introduction shows basically every male around her can barely contain their attraction for her beauty, but she is pretty much The Stoic and whatever she thinks of it is a mystery.
- Foil: Tobio and Hinata are both good at volleyball, but while Shouyou have determination fuelling his abilities and is a nice boy, Tobio has natural talent and a mean streak.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Downplayed, but Tsukishima is clearly the more cynical and cold-hearted member of the Karasuno's volleyball team, and he is the only one to wear glasses.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: An early hint of Tsukishima's cold personality is his use of headphones.
- Hot Mom: Yachi's mom Madoka is a pretty curvaceous mature woman.
- It's All About Me: Kageyama's main flaw is how much he thinks he is right all the time and how everybody should just obey him and play as he pleases, which is very counter-productive in volleyball.
- Jerkass: Tobio is very, very harsh towards everyone we see him interact with at first. Even though he shows a shade of niceness towards Shouyou at first, he seems more interested in attacking his team-mates for their pride than anything else.
- Male Gaze: Shimizu's introduction has the camera focuses on her breasts and glutes.
- Opposing Sports Team: Averted as many of the opponents are given sympathetic point-of-views. However, Toru Oikawa is such an abrasive, arrogant jerkass that he may as well be an Token Evil Teammate for his teams.
- Proper Tights with a Skirt: Shimizu wears pantyhose over the skirt of her school uniform.
- Stealth Insult: Episode 2. Tanaka being chosen to be part of Hinata and Kageyama's three-man team against first-year applicants is clearly because his captain Daichi thinks he is the worst of the veteran players and therefore will make the match more balanced, but Tanaka seems to be unable to understand it even if Dachi gives a non-answer when told why he made that choice.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Like many other japanese sports' genre media, averted. Shouyou's improvised middle school team is massacred by the more experienced team they to have to face at the first round.