The Return of the Ace

The Return of the Ace

Haikyuu!! Episode 9 Impression

Last episode focused on the new characters Asahina and Nishinoya and this episode explored their back-story further. While Haikyuu!! Drama felt a bit too overdramatic, I found the sentiment plays well. In fact, watching this episode, I was overwhelmed with the feels and I wanted to praise the producer for creating such a heartwarming episode. 

Watching previous episodes I was worried that Haikyuu!! spent too many time developing the protagonists instead of side characters. However, this episode finally showed their importance. And as I watched the episode, I felt how the show’s focus finally switched from the protagonists to the side characters and how they started to receive better development.

The episode also introduce Ukai as the new coach

For starter, Asahina was a volleyball player at heart. As the team’s Ace, he was the team’s hope for winning. However, his last defeat threw him over the edge. He felt responsible that anything that he had done could not win the team. As the team’s main offense, he started to question his ability. It was humane for Asahina to feel powerless with his limits and I could feel his emotion when seeing the tower of defense that he had seen and how his shot failed.

His best part of the episode was her realization of his fear. In reality, he was afraid for disappointing his friends that he lost his passion for Volley while none of them blamed him. After accepting his fear and finding back his passion, he resolved to take the ball and unleashed his power spike, which power break through the opponent’s block.

So many feels T-T

Second, Nishinoya, the chibi Libero, got more screen time in this episode. He hated Asahina’s decision to left volley because he felt responsible with the blocked spikes either. Even with the failed spike; if he could return the block they could still make another momentum. As consequences, He trained extensively to become better defender by focusing in returning blocked attacks. I loved his dedication in this episode and how funny Tanaka reaction to him. He showed us how important Libero as the team defender. In the last part of the episode, he finally took the returned spike with his palm’s shoulder and managed to send the ball back to Sugawara.

Last but not least important was Sugawara’s maturity. He was the person who realized how the loss affects the team’s harmony. The last episode showed how he finally took the initiative to speak with Asahina. He was truly a great person who considers his teammates more than his position as the team setter. Sugawara persuaded Asahina not only for Nishinoya but also for reuniting his team again.

Sugawara finally spoke his mind

In the beginning of the match, he explained his decision to step back as the main setter knowing that Kageyama’s abilities would suit the team better. Actually he also suffered from the teams lost and openly admitted that he was afraid giving another toss. With his mind cleared, he threw away the hesitation and told Asahina how eager he was to give him his usual toss

The episode was full with emotions and while the protagonists have to take the back seat, I thought it was important for an anime to explore the side characters’ growth as well. Haikyuu!! is not a show about two characters only. It was a show about a volleyball team with its abundant casts. Right now I felt happy with the series direction. It started to take the characters’ development deeper and seriously, and a good anime would cover even the least important character’s to show us how alive they are.