Haikyuu Series experience: read the prototype oneshot right before starting the series but thats it Short review: Haikyuu is an engaging story about the fallenchampions mens volleyball team of Karasuno high school. Despite not being big on sports manga or not knowing anything about volleyball giving this a try is absolutely worth it. Without realizing it youll be immediately hooked and rooting for the boys all the way. The story and the characters development is told brilliantly through the volleyball matches and no play is useless in the entirety of the story everything is connected. Full review: Warning: review contains spoilers Ive been meaning to start this for a while now but I only decided to start reading Haikyuu because when the manga finished it was all I saw on my feed. A bit sad that I got on the hype train a bit late but it was also nice to get into it with zero knowledge. We begin with Hinata of course being beaten by Kageyama in middle school really badly then ending up teammates with him. This does sound like the beginning of a whole bunch of Shounen Jump titles but Hinata is such a supportworthy MC that you just keep on going. Plotwise Im not sure how it compares to other sports manga because I havent read any others. However to me the simple plot of the year that changed the teams lives going on to a glimpse of how everyone is doing in the future is great. I think some people feel like Hinata/Kageyamas second year and third year stories should be told but I think we already saw everything that we needed to see with Karasunos lineup that made them fly again. We find out anyway that they did make names for themselves and the MSBY/Adlers game really feels more fulfilling because we see all the powerhouses still playing. After that short arc we get even more timeskips and see our heroes succeeding playing in the same team AND as rivals which is exactly what wed expect them to keep pursuing. For the characters where do I even begin? I am an absolute sucker for ensemble casts where you just fall in love with everyone. First of all Hinata Shouyou is just a ray of sunshine that I immediately wanted to root for. Hes just got spirit and is such a sweetheart he really affected so many people around him. Watching him grow out of the shadow of the Little Giant and coming into his own as Ninja Shouyou and an olympic player really made me proud. Kageyama as the darker rival archetype is the usual except that hes only a volleyball genius and a dumbass in everything else and that makes him so endearing The other Karasuno members are so lovable as well with how supportive they all are of each other and how they become catalysts for each team member to grow. I was especially happy with seeing the growth of the other first years Tsukki during the Shiratorizawa match Yachi no longer just a side character and Yamaguchi becoming a great pinch server. The stable senpais are also so great how they bring up the first years is just so heartwarming to see especially Sugawara who doesnt play in the starting lineup still teaching Kageyama. Coach and Sensei of course are also such great pillars for the team without them none of this would have happened. The other teams are great as well I ended up rooting for so many characters lol. Some stand out characters are Oikawa not a genius but ended up competing against the Japan team? Damn. Bokuto how could you not like this guy really. Ushiwaka when we see him more outside of just being a strong player its amazing. Of course we have the Miyas too Nekomatas members all of them : and I could go on and on but basically the cast of characters is really memorable and easily you will find a favorite or seven. Lastly we have the art. Again I cant compare this to other sports manga but I can say that the art is nice and clean. The art style had subtle changes too from the beginning to the end but thats how it usually works with series that go on for over five years. Still as someone who doesnt play volleyball I was still able to grasp what was happening on the court. The constant reminders of the current rotation the explanations of the plays and the the drawings of the balls trajectory really helped me follow what was going on. It wasnt overwhelming at any point. Overall Id recommend this to anyone. Even though I might have initially been disinterested in following a story about some high school boys playing volleyball by the end of it I was so attached to the characters and so proud of the tremendous growth they made. Its definitely not difficult to get into and the message of the whole thing how everything is connected and how Furudate showed this from the beginning to the end really felt like a beautiful set into a wonderful play. I hope more people would give Haikyuu a shot. Plot 9/10 Art 9/10 Characters 10/10 Overall personal enjoyment 10/10 Top 3 fave characters Sugawara I mentioned him earlier I love how hes such a supportive senpai even though he isnt part of the starting lineup : his bright personality really helped the team out in dire times and its so fun to watch him being goofy in the sidelines Hinata I love this sunshine boy how could you not support him. He grows a lot too throughout the series but i love how consistent he is as a good friend to everyone else. his dynamic with Kageyama is adorable too Oikawa we stan the grand king its so entertaining seeing him be so petty with Tobiochan but so serious with volleyball. he took a different route compared to everyone else but Im so glad it paid off. the little scenes with seijou also hit different : ken watanabe for life Others: Tsukki Akaashi Osamu Kuroo 220https://gifimage.net/wpcontent/uploads/2018/11/koshisugawaragif1.gif Thank you for reading