A high intensity follow-up entry!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Haruichi Furudate
Translation: Adrienne Beck
What They Say
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! He decides to join the team at the high school the Little Giant went to-and then surpass him. Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else? After proving themselves to be the ultimate combination in their practice match against Tsukishima, Kageyama and Hinata are finally allowed to join the club! Hinata’s true power — to perfectly time his spikes with his eyes closed — is awakened and nothing can seem to stop this crazy setter-spiker duo. Now their skills are about to put to the test at a practice match against one of Kageyama’s former teammates from middle school, Toru Oikawa.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Following up from last time, we join our heroes in the midst of their 3 vs 3. And we kick things off with a truly insane feat, as Kageyama manages to guide the ball so well that Hinata literally spikes it with his eyes closed! Fortunately, though, the series doesn’t set them up as quite that godly, since it soon proves something of a fluke that’s followed by many failures. Even so, it’s a great feat that allows for some serious flash, as well as doing a great job of showing off the trust our main pair have gained. They also manage a great little fake-out as well with Tanaka, and in the end they pull off their win. So all in all, this acts as a nice introduction for the team and the characters involved, thus truly getting the story rolling.
For the next big event, it turns out that Karasuno will end up in a practice game against Aoba Johsai High School, one of the top four volleyball teams in the prefecture. Oh, and that comes with a condition that Kageyama play setter the entire game (which honestly just gives him an excuse to be on the forefront despite being a first year). This also means that this’ll be our first proper 6 v 6 match, meaning a more fleshed out team with more variables. In retrospect, it’s actually nice that the series went with a 3 v 3 previously, as that certainly helps in regards to easing in people who may be less informed about volleyball. Also, this is the team where Kageyama’s former teammates went, making for some drama from that angle as well.
For the actual match, the big focus at first is on Hinata’s nerves getting the best of him. It’s actually quite amusing, and makes for a pretty interesting handicap. And of course the way he gets over it is just absolutely brilliant and wonderfully executed. This seems to turn things around, but the other team brings in their ace right at the end. This makes for an awesome sudden boss battle difficulty spike for our heroes, and does a nice job of showing where they still need to improve. Will they manage to overcome this wall, or will their foe instead tear them apart singlehandedly with his precision shots?
In Summary
With this second volume, the series fortunately stays on top of its game, fleshing things out in a careful and well handled manner. At least for now, the book does a fantastic job of showing the incredible potential of our heroes, while also highlighting their faults that prevent them from being too overpowered right at the start. And of course, all this is done with some serious visual flair, as well as some genuinely funny moments that are sure to earn some laughs. My only real issue is that Kageyama and Hinata seem to click a tad too much too soon considering how much they’ve clashed, though that’s a minor issue, and there’s still plenty of room left for them to grow. Other than that, we get some very nice character growth and introductions sprinkled throughout, and it’s with this volume that the team starts to really come together, which is nice to see. Add to this a really grand look at what’s waiting for our heroes at the higher levels, as well as a great plot point via Hinata’s nervousness, and you get a fantastic follow-up entry in the series that helps solidify it as a series to watch out for.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: August 2nd, 2016
MSRP: $9.99
