Review of Haikyu!! To the Top
Hot damn, it's back, baby! I gotta say, I found myself staying up-to-date with the manga, so I can't really talk much in this review about the story content because, well, I already knew what it would be; that being said, I'm still really excited to review this season of Haikyuu!! now that it's finally been animated. On that note, let's talk about the art. This is the first season of any anime I've watched in which I already knew the plot because of the manga (I know, I'm probably a bit weird in that regard). That meant that I was paying extra attention tothe new character designs and environments I knew we would see this season, along with the animation of the scenes I had already read. I gotta say, y'all, I wasn't disappointed at all. The art style is one thing-- something we all already know and love from previous seasons (though it does feel updated now)-- but the coloring laid down on some of these new characters and environments absolutely blew me away. The animation, as well, was gorgeous as always. Haikyuu!! is exceptional at animating the motion of the athletes, and the updated art of this season (since it has been a hot minute since the last season) only made it better. I haven't necessarily seen a whole lot of sports anime pull the animation off perfectly in a movement-heavy sport like I have in Haikyuu!!, though Diamond no Ace does phenomenal with it too. Haikyuu!! does have an amazing soundtrack as well, and the OSTs this season were still bringing the fire, though I didn't really pay as much attention to it as I did the art this season.
After this, I'm not really sure how to review Haikyuu!!: To the Top. I could mention the character development or the story elements, but since I first appreciated them in the manga, I feel like I can't talk about them in the anime (though the anime did great with both of those things). Instead, I'm gonna talk for a minute about the structure of the season. Honestly, I didn't really know what they were going to do with the thirteen episodes this season given the manga material-- if they would stretch out the training camps, jump to nationals, etc. For the most part, I was satisfied with the outcome. I felt like the story that was touched upon this season was picked out perfectly, and the pacing done very well. Of course, given where the third season ended and where this one was set to pick up, this season felt a lot like the setup season it was rather than a progression of the story, which normally isn't something I'm crazy about, but Haikyuu!! always keeps the in-between bits interesting as well, so it didn't bother me as much as it has in other sports anime. There were a couple scenes in the manga I felt probably would've been better left out as it did upset the flow of the season a bit, but overall, I think the material they showcased from the manga was very well done.
Well, that's it. At this point, a lot of what I have to say about Haikyuu!! is going to be said in my review of the manga once it ends, so my reviews on the anime will mostly be about structure, but I don't mind that. I'm enjoying watching a story I've fallen in love with on paper being put to sound and voice and motion and color. I'm not entirely sure how the seasons will be divvied up going forward since the end of the manga presents a few issues with the future episode or season counts, but I'm confident the wonderful people working on the project will do this story proud. I'm so overwhelmingly happy to have this in anime form, and I'm looking forward to everything that's yet to come.