Haikyū!! “Spring High Preliminary Arc” (Chapters 97 through 206) Manga Review
Major Spoilers are included in this manga review. Please read with caution.
Synopsis: The story—written and drawn by Haruichi Furudate—follows Shōyō Hinata, a first-year high school student who wishes to become the best volleyball player ever despite his short height. He attends Karasuno High School, where his idol “The Little Giant” went. After the “The Little Giant” era though, Karasuno lost its fierce volleyball reputation. Together with his first real teammates, Hinata works hard to restore Karasuno High’s reputation by making it to the Nationals.
On August 15, 2020, I started reading Haikyū!!’s “Spring High Preliminary Arc” and finished on August 18, 2020. Reading 109 chapters—experiencing the intense grind for Nationals—in three days… I have to say, not too shabby for someone trying to take their time on this manga series. Now having reached this manga’s halfway point (there are 402 chapters in this series), I must also say I didn’t expect to enjoy Haikyū!! to such an extent.
Reading the “Spring High Preliminary Arc” refined my reading techniques—like reading out loud and playing the anime’s OST in the background—in addition to sparking a strong positivity in me that I didn’t realize had laid dormant. Seriously, reading Haikyū!! was helping me better normalize positive encouragement and support for my family and Writer’s Group, the importance of communitive teamwork, and to believe in myself no matter what anyone else said.
Picking up where the previous arc—“Tokyo Expedition Arc”—left off, Karasuno High had finished up their summer training camp with Fukurōdani, Nekoma, Shinzen, and Ubugawa, and they were preparing for the Spring High Preliminaries. The arc’s first two chapters—97 and 98—did an excellent job on setting the table for this arc, reminding the reader what’s at stake for all the teams participating. Everyone wanted to enter Nationals, and the only way to achieve that was to win the Spring High Preliminaries.
Karasuno High’s first two matches against Ohigiminami High and Kakugawa High excelled in highlighting Karasuno’s growth, showing off how much the players improved during the summer training camp. On the opposing sides, Ohigiminami and Kakugawa exhibited sincere grace in defeat, wishing to learn how to improve for the future rather than allow their stress, tiredness, and anxiety to consume them before the match was even over. Reading how determined Karasuno’s first two opponents were to “keep playing even all hope seemed lost” was truly inspiring.
Out of all the Karasuno first-year players though, Kei Tsukishima was the arc’s MVP. Tsukishima had great character development—and brand-new glasses—to compensate for his low self-esteem regarding volleyball and his older brother, finally allowing himself to enjoy the game.
Throughout this arc, the other volleyball teams—players from Nekoma, Aobajohsai, and Shiratorizawa—were also given more screen time and character backstories to reveal why they were so determined to win the Preliminaries for a chance at Nationals too. Nobody was holding back in the Spring High Preliminaries, knowing this was their last chance—with the third-years—to achieve their dream as a team.
The volleyball matches were also drawn fantastically, making the court seem huge and adding much-needed exposition on the games’ play-by-play through the side-characters’ commentary was incredibly helpful too. The passion behind everyone’s love for volleyball—and their desire to win—was cranked to a 1-80 throughout this arc as well. Exclaiming all the “YEAH!” and “BRING IT ON!” out loud was therapeutic for my soul.
While Karasuno High’s match against the wild Johzenji High was entertaining, the quarter-finals against Wakutani High gave them trouble. It also gave Hinata chance to go up against a player—Takeru Nakashima—with the same style as the “Small Giant”, the one Hinata idolizes.
This match-up against Wakutani High also gave Ennoshita—a Karasuno second year—a chance to shine when Karasuno’s team captain Daichi is injured and taken to the infirmary, giving us a closer look on Ennoshita’s backstory and why he doesn’t feel fit to be Daichi’s replacement as team captain. I enjoyed reading his backstory the most, and how it allowed him to connect with both determined players—like Hinata and Kageyama—and players more reserved like Yamaguchi.
Karasuno’s official matches against Aobajohsai and Shiratorizawa—semi-finals and finals, respectively—were the fiercest battles in the manga so far. Aobajohsai had a new player nicknamed “Mad Dog” who overwhelmed everyone with his incredibly reckless volleyball spikes, and Shiratorizawa pushed Karasuno to the breaking point playing five full sets—or five rounds. The sweat and tiredness were visibly drawn on the players, as only their determination—and their teammates’ determination—to reach Nationals kept their legs moving beyond the numbness until Karasuno secured a hard-earned victory.
The arc closed out with Nekoma High—Karasuno’s primary rivals—playing their final matches against Fukurōdani and Nohebi during the last 16 chapters. While they lost against Fukurōdani in the semi-finals, they were allowed a second chance to win a slot at Nationals by playing against Nohebi, a team that biased the referees into calling fouls on their behalf. This was the first instance in the manga where “cheating” was utilized in a team’s game strategy, but Nekoma ultimately prevailed. I thought this was a beautiful way to end the “Spring High Preliminary Arc”, with all the strongest teams ready to go for Nationals!
I’m hyped and pumped and excited and all-in—YEAH BABY—for the “Tokyo Nationals Arc” (chapters 207 through 369)! Haikyū!! is easily an amazing manga with great character moments, amazing life-lessons on teamwork and doing your best, and how to utilize all that to create an effective team. Thanks for reading this manga review, everyone! Let’s keep it reading! I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.