After the Iron Wall comes the great king!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Haruichi Furudate
Translation: Adrienne Beck
What They Say
After having overcome the Iron Wall of Date Tech, it’s finally time for Karasuno to have their rematch with Aoba Johsai! Kageyama and Karasuno claimed victory in the practice match, but how will they fare in a real game? Tensions are high as Tohru Oikawa is out to crush Kageyama once and for all.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Following up from last time, we rejoin our heroes just in time to see them win their first set against Date Tech. In order to counter Aone learning to block Hinata, they shift the rotation, but that only puts more pressure on the rest of the team. And as a result, the focus for this game actually shifts a bit away from Hinata, and more so onto Azumane in particular. Of course there’s plenty of great action and plays for the other players (including a real awesome shot for Nishinoya), but the climax of the game really is when it’s set up for Azumane to score the final point. It’s just a really fantastic setup that meshes wonderfully with his character arc, making for a truly stunning moment.
Though they pull through that match splendidly, there’s no time to relax, as the match with Aoba Johsai looms ahead. Of course this means that Oikawa is taking center stage, and he’s certainly set up well as a real troublesome opponent. From the very start of the game, he puts on the pressure in all kinds of ways, and it’s great to see. Rather than just pure overwhelming talent, he also makes thorough use of mind games, and shows a thorough understanding of both his team and his opponents. In a lot of ways, he’s set up as the polar opposite of Kageyama, making for a great clash at the core of this match.
As the match continues on, the situation only gets more and more dire for our heroes. Oikawa sees through their signals completely, and he moves to try and break Tanaka, in order to crush morale. And to make matters worse, he clearly does get through to Kageyama, absolutely throwing him off his game. But just when things look their worst, Suguwara is surprisingly subbed in, making for an intriguing cliffhanger leading into next volume.
In Summary
While last volume may have changed things up a bit, this one is purely about big matches back to back. And I’m glad to say that they’re handled absolutely wonderfully. In the first game, we see Azumane’s character in particular get some really fantastic moments, making great use of the arc he’s had up until now. And then in the back half, we get to see what makes Oikawa tick. Rather than pure talent, he actually has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, making for a rather unusual but none the less dangerous opponent. Really, this is a book that doesn’t let down from start to finish, and it shows that the series has absolutely nailed down what works, pushing everything perfectly from start to close.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: December 6th, 2016
MSRP: $9.99
