Today in Supōtsu: Haikyū!! Episode 1

  ***SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT***

Shōyō Hinata (Wordpress)

Tobio Kageyama (Wordpress)

At some point in my anime watching career, I realized that otaku life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Eventually, you simply run out of the archetypal shonen and seinen action-adventure trope anime and you have to start biting into the proverbial chocolates for better or worse.

Fortunately, like most sophomore anime fans, I started to like what I was tasting. "Kuroko no Basuke" was the first sports-filled morsel I had (excluding eastern martial arts as a sport in this context).

Segue to "Haikyū!!", and introduce the unlikely tandem setter-spiker volleyball protagonists: Shōyō Hinata and Tobio Kageyama. Shō is voiced by Ayumu Murase from shows like "Gatchaman Crowds" and "Sakamichi no Apollon". Tobi is voiced by Kaito Ishikawa from "Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet" and "Kuroke no Basuke".

In episode one, we witness Shōyō's first encounter with the sport of volleyball. He watches a t.v. through a shop window and witnesses the amazing feats of a nearby high school volleyball star known as 'Little Giant'. In that moment, Shōyō decides to dedicate himself to the sport. He develops himself, but he is only able to obtain short, ragtag members at around his middle school team.

When Shōyō and his team do finally make it to an actual volleyball tournament, they face-off against volleyball sensation Tobio Kageyama. Shōyō and his team lose though not without Shōyō displaying feats of athleticism.

Shōyō, far from being dejected, is inspired by the loss and vows to see the Tobio again and to defeat him. 

This sports genre volleyball anime has good animation, a likeable polar-opposite, yin-yang duo (think Naruto-Sasuke or Jin-Mugen). While there may have been some somewhat cliché tropes, from what episode one has shown me, I believe that we are in for quite the  show this season.

Rating: 3.7 out of  5
+ room to grow
+ sports shows make you a little less nerdy
+ good animation
+ good voice acting
- archetypal
- men's volleyball

Spring '14 Anime List and My Hot Picks

Chart created by Zana at neregate.com

Spring 2014 is upon us, anime fans.

I am presenting a fairly recent anime chart describing some of the new and returning shows this season. I'm expecting a lot of enjoyable shows to come from this batch, so without further adieu, allow me to point out some shows which I am especially looking forward to.

"Mushishi: Zoku-Shou" from Artland studios is a sequel to "Mushishi". The story focuses on a mysterious, traveling protagonist whose lone driving force seems to be the classification and capture of various spirit-creatures called mushi. The first season was highly enjoyable and I would recommend it (Rating: 4/5) to anyone looking for a mellow, slightly spooky anime with good visuals and sound.

"Soul Eater Not!" from venerable producers Bones and SquareEnix is a prequel to the quirky, fun anime "Soul Eater" (Rating: 4/5). For those who do not know, "Soul Eater" is an anime which centers around a boarding-school type setting, but the school in question is a school for training wunderkind bad-asses to hunt down wayward souls while using unwieldy weaponry. With fast-paced action, smooth animation, and financial backing, this should be one of the season showstoppers.

"Monogatari Series Second Season: Hanamonogatari" is a sequel to the comic 'ghost' story/love story "Monogatari" (Rating 4/5). Season one has some of the most beautiful animation sequences I can recall and also has some very emotional moments. I must caveat that this is by no means a fast-paced, action-driven anime. Rather, it is artsy and breathtaking.

Lastly, we come to an OVA which I am really looking forward to. I do not typically get majorly excited for OVAs, but this season we will see a "Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic" (Rating 5/5) spinoff from A-1 Pictures which will follow the adventures of young Uncle Sinbad. If you have been living under a rock for the last few years, "Magi" is a highly popular running anime that is high fantasy, magical, and political.

As the season progresses I will do my best to bring you reviews of individual episodes. I can not be expected to follow every upcoming show, but rest assured that those mentioned above will be.

Share this on Google or Facebook. Maybe click some link.

Diamond No Ace: Episode 26 review

Cover of Ace of Diamond, published by Kodansha on September 15, 2006

 In Episode 26 of "Diamond No Ace", we find Seido's elite batting squad in a fight against Akikawa's 'clockwork' pitching.

Fast-pitching first-year Furuya must  face the pressure of Akikawa's methodical Taiwanese transfer student, a pitching ace with unshakable focus on the mound and deliberate at the plate. The Taiwanese pitcher, Yueng, also rocks the megane style, just like Miyuki.

This episode, like this show, works hard to both entertain and to realistically depict what is at the very heart of baseball drama. The tension built behind each of Furuya's full-force, fatiguing pitches and their juxtaposition with each of Yeung's simple, easy pitches really gives this episode a pulse.

Rating: 4/5

+ Good story
+ High drama
+ Realistic baseball references 
+ Megane (if you're into that)

Be sure to +1 this! Maybe even click a link.