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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Manga Review: Haikyu!!, Volume 21, by Haruichi Furudate


Rating (Out of 5): ~4
Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)
Release Date: March 2018
Volumes: 32+
Spoilers?: Hints.
Volume: 1. 20. 22.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don't need to be tall to fly!

Ever since he saw the legendary player known as "the Little Giant" compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?

The fifth set of the Miyagi Prefecture qualifier round finals continues. With Tsukishima out of the game, Karasuno's defense is starting to fall apart. However, they're determined to keep it together. With both teams physically and mentally exhausted, which one will keep it together the longest and move on to Nationals?


Review:

So this game is rounding ever closer to the end, the points are raking up, and each time is giving each other a fight. It's nearing the end when Tsukkishima finally gets released to rejoin them, and both teams have used all the time-outs they have. The specific rivalries are heating up—Tsukki wants to beat Ushijima as much as Shoyo does. Aside from that, each character is trying to prove a point. Karasuno wants to prove that they deserve to be there.
During this, there's the reminder of Aoba Josai's captain watching, waiting to see who will win this one. An interesting point is when we see Shiratorizawa's coach watching Shoyo, and his background that is a direct contrast to Shoyo. He was a short volleyball player who didn't get to shine, and he is practically determined to stick with those old prejudices. Shoyo is very directly fighting that.
I will admit that I expected this to turn out differently. I didn't think they would go this far this fast. (I guess it has been over 20 books? Is that not fast?) But at the end of the volume, we get a hint to the Tokyo team's starting round. And it, sadly, looks like we'll get to see whether Fukurodani or Nekoma move forward.
I don't know how I still have things to talk about every volume, but still all I want to do is gush. I love it so much. I wanted to cheer with them at several points in this book.

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