Shounen Haikyuu!! by FURUDATE Haruichi

[Koen]

Haikyuu!!
By: FURUDATE Haruichi
Genre: Sports
Serialized In: Weekly Shounen Jump
Publisher: Shueisha
Mangaupdates

Hinata is full of enthusiasm for volleyball, and he's determined to become the ace of the volleyball team as he enters high school! Unfortunately, due to having too few players and no real teachers, his middle school volleyball team just kind of casually played around. He has no real experience or skill with the game and only has the ability to jump really high and spike the ball. The real first-year ace, the super-serious, highly-skilled, irritable Kageyama, has no patience for clueless Hinata's ambition. Will Hinata be able to find a useful place on his new team?


If you like the manga, check out our Haikyuu!! anime discussion thread as well.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Oh, I guess there wasn't already a thread. Well, I've been reading it, and I don't know. It has some promise, but I'm not seeing that it's amazingly good. I need to see something more to understand why the Japanese fans have been consistently ranking it highly.

 

[Koen]

I need to see something more to understand why the Japanese fans have been consistently ranking it highly.

Easy: it's the best sports manga WSJ has served since ES21... I won't compare it with the sports monuments but I have read practically all sports manga since then:
1. they got rightfully cancelled
2. I dropped them because they don't appeal me at all (kuroko no basket,...)

This manga is cool because it has a peculiar art. The sports itself is interesting and the setting is really realistic at this moment. I mean: in a lot of sports manga, the main character shows instantly a secret, unrealistic sports move. Hinata is small but there are actually small people with such a détente.

I loved it that the main character lost in his first chapter and that he did a nice smash (plain and easy)

 

[TemplateR]

I have dropped this Sport-Manga, because the Artwork doesn´t suit to me and to this sport-manga. It´s more childish and scribbled.

 

[Estranho]

I saw a lot of people say a lot of things of Furudate's art, but this is the first time I see someone calls it "childish".
And coming from someone with Magi's avatar, that's a real funny thing! LOL

 

[Negative Syndicate]

I don't really see Furudate's artwork as childish?

 

[TemplateR]

I saw a lot of people say a lot of things of Furudate's art, but this is the first time I see someone calls it "childish".
And coming from someone with Magi's avatar, that's a real funny thing! LOL

Magi hasn´t really a childish-artwork-style, because Lines and propotions are really good. Haikyuu!! is more childish, because lines and propotion ren´t perfect or is more "childish".

I don't really see Furudate's artwork as childish?

ok..........the word "childish" is here wrong, I mean more scribbled. Just like the Artwork of the Manhwa "Ares"

 

[FrostyMouse]

Easy: it's the best sports manga WSJ has served since ES21... I won't compare it with the sports monuments but I have read practically all sports manga since then:
1. they got rightfully cancelled
2. I dropped them because they don't appeal me at all (kuroko no basket,...)

This manga is cool because it has a peculiar art. The sports itself is interesting and the setting is really realistic at this moment. I mean: in a lot of sports manga, the main character shows instantly a secret, unrealistic sports move. Hinata is small but there are actually small people with such a détente.

I loved it that the main character lost in his first chapter and that he did a nice smash (plain and easy)

The vast majority of the the rightfully cancelled sports series should never have even been published, such as Dois Sol. Kuroko's just a blemish on the world, but WSJ sees fit to keep that thing around.

He hasn't shown a superpower yet, but he still has apparently great jumping skills and understanding of where the ball is in the air, even if he's not that good at volleyball, so it's not like he's a complete bum. I have to say that I thought a little bit of Kuroko's relationship with his jump happy friend, where Kageyama's Kuroko and our protagonist is the jumper. I don't like the outset. We've only seen five chapters, so we can't see in what direction this is going, but I haven't seen anything that warrants the Japanese fans loving it. It's decent (it's not Dois Sol level of shit or anything), but it hasn't drawn me in or anything.

 

[Koen]

The vast majority of the the rightfully cancelled sports series should never have even been published, such as Dois Sol. Kuroko's just a blemish on the world, but WSJ sees fit to keep that thing around.

He hasn't shown a superpower yet, but he still has apparently great jumping skills and understanding of where the ball is in the air, even if he's not that good at volleyball, so it's not like he's a complete bum. I have to say that I thought a little bit of Kuroko's relationship with his jump happy friend, where Kageyama's Kuroko and our protagonist is the jumper. I don't like the outset. We've only seen five chapters, so we can't see in what direction this is going, but I haven't seen anything that warrants the Japanese fans loving it. It's decent (it's not Dois Sol level of shit or anything), but it hasn't drawn me in or anything.

Thank you, I love discussing this:

Seriously, small people jumping high is kinda realistic. I am 188 cm and in football I dare to admit I have even lost header duels against people who are -15 cms... Jumping might be favoured by length but a small guy jumping high isn't supernatural either. It does exist since jumping isn't about length only; it's about timing, power, agility, etc... I didn't call him a bum but he isn't as extraordinary as Kuroko, Eiji Ryoma,... were in their manga.

The point is that Hinata has only played one game. A game in which he was determined to lose because he didn't have a team. The same goes for Kageyama whose history is still vague but we can guess that his team left him. He's being called soloist and thus he doesn't fit in a team. This is what Volleyball and other team sports are about, it's about forming a team and playing like a team. The story is focusing on that with decent character development. These 5 chapters have been really enjoyable for me

but you are 100% right, it's too early to be right on both sides

 

[FrostyMouse]

Thank you, I love discussing this:

Seriously, small people jumping high is kinda realistic. I am 188 cm and in football I dare to admit I have even lost header duels against people who are -15 cms... Jumping might be favoured by length but a small guy jumping high isn't supernatural either. It does exist since jumping isn't about length only; it's about timing, power, agility, etc... I didn't call him a bum but he isn't as extraordinary as Kuroko, Eiji Ryoma,... were in their manga.

The point is that Hinata has only played one game. A game in which he was determined to lose because he didn't have a team. The same goes for Kageyama whose history is still vague but we can guess that his team left him. He's being called soloist and thus he doesn't fit in a team. This is what Volleyball and other team sports are about, it's about forming a team and playing like a team. The story is focusing on that with decent character development. These 5 chapters have been really enjoyable for me

but you are 100% right, it's too early to be right on both sides

It's not unrealistic for small people to be able to jump by any means, and it's not like he can fly, nor does he have the superhuman jumping capabilities of Echizen or Kintarou. On the volleyball team, the solero (I can never remember exactly what that position's called) is short. However, on all of the big name college volleyball or pro teas, all of the players are large, except for that one designated player.

It's not as if shorter people can't outjump taller people, but taller people have a length advantage as well, so it's not only about jumping in volleyball. In football, you can make up for being shorter by having better footwork, positioning, and timing for your jump. We saw in both legs of Barca vs Chelsea (Go Chelsea!) that Barca's general lack of height meant that against a physically more imposing defensive side, their technical skill wasn't able to help them on set pieces. Our height advantage took set pieces and crossing out of the game for the most part. Barca did get its first goal off of a corner, but it wasn't through outheading Chelsea defenders.

It's true that both Hinata and Kageyama have never had the support of a team around them in their MS volleyball careers, regardless of how short or long they were. I've liked the five chapters, but I'm not in love with it yet. We'll see what happens in the future. I would like for Haikyu to become a success, but I do need something more at the moment.

We're probably both right to some extent.

 

[Negative Syndicate]

Magi hasn´t really a childish-artwork-style, because Lines and propotions are really good. Haikyuu!! is more childish, because lines and propotion ren´t perfect or is more "childish".



ok..........the word "childish" is here wrong, I mean more scribbled. Just like the Artwork of the Manhwa "Ares"

I don't really look Haikyuu!!'s art as scribbled either; I, personally, think it has very good artwork as same as Magi. The only problem is the character design; some of them look pretty same.

 

[Galactic Tomahawk]

I don't think Furudate's art entirely works here, he's obviously better at drawing horror and it looks weird when he tries to rein it in like this. He's good at action shots though, which helps a lot for a sports manga.

I agree with Koen overall, it's not perfect but it's one of the better sports manga we've had in a while.

 

[Koen]

Well Furudate's art is definitely influenced by Nishi Yoshiyuki (muhyo to roujie). Latter one is known for manga with creepy faced characters. I think that Furudate's art is an adult version Yoshiyuki's art...

Yes, Galactic, if you have read Yostuya then his art is indeed more suited for horror but it is on the other hand cool that a sports manga is drawn with a different art. His characters have always had something tall and slender together hence why it works in this volleyball manga

 

[FrostyMouse]

http://www.mangareader.net/haikyu/6

 

[Drmke]

For starters, even though I'm no fan of Kuroko, Jump keeps it around because it's liked. Maybe they forced it at first but now it has a legitimate fan base and an anime.

Secondly, it seems to me that people would get tried of seeing the exact same art style in every single manga Jump puts out and wouldn't be so quick to dismiss a comic just because the author has a more original drawing style. Maybe it's just me.

I personally love the fact that his style doesn't fit the standards of spots manga art. As much as I love sports manga, most all look like sports manga, this one doesn't which to me gives it a really cool atmosphere especially since I read and loved Yotsuya. Seeing the same art that scared me in a bright and fun way is cool. And saying you can't figure out why the Japanese readers are giving it such good ranking because you don't see anything special is a little asinine considering it's now six chapters long. Name one Jump manga that seemed "special" before the first volume was over.

It's good because the characters are interesting, the artist has set them up where a lot of potential depth can be added during their development over the course of the story already, the way he draws his actions scenes are amazing, it doesn't try to just to get by on it's "game scenes" and instead is trying to get by on it's characters and plot, and it's the only sports manga I've read in a long time that seems like it could be more than "win the championship then end".

Hope it sticks around for quite awhile.

 

[FrostyMouse]

It's actually like 11-12 chapters long at this point. We just don't have the rest of the scans.

Still, while you might disagree, you can often get a feel for something from the very beginning. There's been no overly positive vibe coming from Haikyu so far, in my opinion...

I would say that both DN and Bakuman seemed special before the end of the first volume. :P

 

[Negative Syndicate]

There's been no overly positive vibe coming from Haikyu so far, in my opinion...

I'm not sure; as compared to other Jump sport manga (Kuroko and Kurogane), Haikyuu did very well on the character development at the beginning. The first arc (?) is just basically focus on creating the bond between Hinata and Kageyama while doing the volleyball game.

The real problem for Haikyuu at this stage will be how the author successfully show the actual game scene. Haikyuu is sport manga after all, so if the author didn't make good on the game scene, then it will be a fatal for a sport manga.

 

[Drmke]

It's actually like 11-12 chapters long at this point. We just don't have the rest of the scans.

Still, while you might disagree, you can often get a feel for something from the very beginning. There's been no overly positive vibe coming from Haikyu so far, in my opinion...

I would say that both DN and Bakuman seemed special before the end of the first volume. :P

I was referring to the number of chapters currently scanlated as that's I can read and I'm assuming that's the same for you.

I can understand the vibe thing you mention though my own personal vibe has lead me astray many times so I try to not to rely on it myself.

And as for Death Note and Bakuman, I'd say they only seemed special during the first volume because of their uniqueness compared to the other manga Jump has run. In the larger scale of manga, they didn't really begin to stand out until later in their serialization. And while I did enjoy both series, when they started they were still a little plain albeit with the unique to Jump thing.

 

[FrostyMouse]

I was referring to the number of chapters currently scanlated as that's I can read and I'm assuming that's the same for you.

I can understand the vibe thing you mention though my own personal vibe has lead me astray many times so I try to not to rely on it myself.

And as for Death Note and Bakuman, I'd say they only seemed special during the first volume because of their uniqueness compared to the other manga Jump has run. In the larger scale of manga, they didn't really begin to stand out until later in their serialization. And while I did enjoy both series, when they started they were still a little plain albeit with the unique to Jump thing.

Yeah, I rarely read the raws, and I haven't bothered to look for them for Haikyu.

My vibe has actually worked out well for me, for the most part, but I will agree that we haven't seen that much of Haikyu yet, so I could be prejudging.

For Death Note, while they may not have truly stood out until later in their serializations, they instantly presented something unique to look at, in Jump terms, so people could see it something drawing them in.

Haikyu's not overly sporty, but I don't have a problem with that. The art that others have complained about/questioned doesn't bother me either. There's just something off putting. Maybe it's that I don't like this whole Kageyama was a jackass premise and Hinata's trying to break him out of it. It could be the start of a good friendship, but...

 

[Koen]

I'm not sure; as compared to other Jump sport manga (Kuroko and Kurogane), Haikyuu did very well on the character development at the beginning. The first arc (?) is just basically focus on creating the bond between Hinata and Kageyama while doing the volleyball game.

The real problem for Haikyuu at this stage will be how the author successfully show the actual game scene. Haikyuu is sport manga after all, so if the author didn't make good on the game scene, then it will be a fatal for a sport manga.

Exactly that's what is distincting Haikyuu from the other recent sports manga. The character development, the bond between Hinata and Kageyam were well told.

That problem is one thing, if the mangaka manages to give a character development to team mates but also to opponents, added with some decent drama and tension, then there won't happen anything fatal to Haikyuu! A sports manga is killed faster in its beginning than in its run afterwards