“Found”
What They Say:
The Karasuno High School Volleyball Club finally won their way into the nationals after an intense battle for the Miyagi Prefecture Spring Tournament qualifiers. As they were preparing for the nationals, Kageyama is invited to go to All-Japan Youth Training Camp. At the same time, Tsukishima is invited to go to a special rookie select training camp for first-years in Miyagi Prefecture. Hinata feels panic that he’s being left behind as one of the first-years and then decides to show up at the Miyagi Prefecture rookie select training camp anyway… As they prepare for the nationals, Hinata, Kageyama, and the rest of the Karasuno High School Volleyball team get ready to face some new challenges!!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Atsumu is stoked that he was able to pull off Karasuno’s freak quick attack. Who doesn’t want to copy cool things when they can? It must have been possible because the Miya brothers trust each other so much. That’s not exactly true. Osamu admits that he doesn’t trust his brother at all. But trust has nothing to do with volleyball. He knows that the ball is coming and that’s all that matters. Fair enough. The Miya brothers go on a roll and even stop a Karasuno freak quick attack! Coach Ukai tells Kageyama and Hinata to calm down. Kageyama responds by saying that he was just setting as normal. He wasn’t being sarcastic either. Kageyama has grown a lot since the training camp and he knows that he can’t control every aspect of the game. In the past, he would have tried to do everything himself. Now, he knows he has to trust his teammates to do the rest. Honestly, it’s nice to see Kageyama so coolheaded.
Karasuno gets a point back after a nice play from Hinata. He’s also grown a lot since the training camp. I’ll discuss that a bit later. On the subject of people growing, Tsukki has also improved. The Miya brothers try another freak quick attack but Tsukki manages to block it. And why wouldn’t he? He sees that play all the time. He knows when to anticipate it. He’s also been wanting to try blocking that attack once and is very proud of himself, haha. Just so you know, Tsukki had the best reactions in this episode. The Tsukki train doesn’t stop there as he manages to score an impressive kill thanks to a perfect set from Kageyama. He put the ball where only Tsukki could hit it. Atsumu is impressed and annoyed with Kageyama. Coach Ukai pulls Hinata aside and tells him that needs him to take on Osamu. He needs him to be like Inuoka from Nekoma High.
Hisashi is put in to serve but he’s a nervous wreck. Relax, man! His serve doesn’t go as planned but Hinata’s got his back. Channeling his inner Inuoka, he commits to Osamu and blocks his shot! Hinata is incredibly pleased about this accomplishment. He’s not just an offensive player anymore, he can also play defense! He tries to explain that to Kageyama but he brushes him off. Poor Hinata. I felt bad for him. He really has grown a lot since the training camp and it has been showing so far in this game. Humor him a little bit, Kageyama! Anywho, lightning doesn’t strike twice as Osamu overpowers Hinata’s next block attempt. Inarizaki isn’t going to be that easy to defeat. Time to mix it up! Coach Ukai has been doing a good job of that in this game. He tells Hinata to get lost in the crowd. Oh boy!
Karasuno gets a point back on the next play and Atsumu starts yelling at Osamu. He wasn’t putting in the effort during that play. Is he scared of Hinata? Osamu adamantly denies that’s the case. Hinata hears this and feels a bit bummed out. I guess he needs to become a scarier blocker! Hmm, who’s the blocker he hated the most to face one-on-one? All the blockers he has faced flash through Hinata’s mind. At the end of the day, the blocker he hated the most was Matsukawa. Huh, I guess that makes sense. He did make Hinata alter his spiking courses a lot. Thus, Hinata decides to imitate Matsukawa. The result? He forces Osamu to alter his spiking course which leads to a Karasuno point. Good job, Hinata! He once again tries to tell Kageyama about his defensive skills but he’s ignored again. Ouch.
Asahi scores a point with a light tap over three blockers. Funny thing is that he didn’t mean to do it either, haha. Hey, a point is a point. On a side note, Hinata made a great emergency set to set this all up. The boy is doing it all! Also, Tsukki busts out laughing and it caught me off guard. His laugh was so hilarious that I couldn’t stop laughing for a few minutes. Again, Tsukki had the best reactions in this episode. Yamaguchi is subbed in to serve much to Hinata’s dismay. He’s quite nervous and tries to reset. Sadly, his go-to sign is being covered at the moment and he starts freaking out. That’s when Shimada helps him calm down from the crowd. Yamaguchi manages to reset and gets a service ace on his very first serve. Nice! I’m glad he managed to recover. Anyone else get emotional when Yamaguchi serves? I know I do.
In Summary:
The Karasuno boys sure have grown a lot since the training camp, huh? This episode showcased how they’ve improved since then. Kageyama has started to trust his teammates more. Before, he would have tried to do everything by himself. But volleyball is a team sport and you have to trust your teammates. A coolheaded Kageyama is a dangerous opponent. And of course, there’s our boy Hinata. He’s more than just an offensive player, you know? He can play defense, too! It was great to see him make so many clutch plays on defense. I just wish that Kageyama would have given him some props. Throw him a bone! Similar to Hinata’s situation, Tsukki has proven that he’s not only good on defense. He can make offensive plays when it counts. Oh, did I mention that his reactions in this episode were golden? I did? Well, I’m telling you again. They were freaking hilarious and they had me dying of laughter. The players aren’t the only ones improving either! Coach Ukai has shown that he’s improving as a coach as well. He’s doing a great job of mixing things up so that Inarizaki doesn’t get a good read on Karasuno. That being said, I do have to mention the animation in this episode. A lot of people complained about the quality. Those derpy faces though, am I right? I won’t lie, the quality definitely wasn’t all there. I still enjoyed the episode though. We can only hope that the animation gets better.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, VRV