Harukana Receive

In beach volleyball, there is no room for aces. To achieve victory, each player must find their one, irreplaceable partner that they can rely on in the court of sand. At least, that is what Haruka Oozora learns on her first day in Okinawa after moving in with her grandmother and her cousin Kanata Higa. While touring a nearby beach, Haruka stumbles upon some girls practicing beach volleyball and is quickly invited to join. This friendly practice game suddenly turns into a match when one of the girls, Narumi Tooi, notices Kanata approaching the court.

Although the two suffer a devastating defeat, Haruka finally realizes the reason for her cousin’s quiet and distant behavior. Kanata and Narumi used to be an exceptionally talented beach volleyball duo, until Kanata quit due to her short height causing problems for Narumi. Now, with the Junior Tournament just weeks away, Haruka must learn the intricacies of competitive beach volleyball and help Kanata overcome her crippling anxiety towards the sport that she once used to love.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oozora, Haruka Main

Yuuki, Kana Japanese

Higa, Kanata Main

Miyashita, Saki Japanese

Tooi, Narumi Supporting

Shimabukuro, Miyuri Japanese

Tachibana, Ayasa Supporting

Itou, Kanae Japanese

Thomas, Claire Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Thomas, Emily Supporting

Suegara, Rie Japanese

Thomas, Marissa Supporting

Shouji, Umeka Japanese

Ooshiro, Akari Supporting

Kimura, Chisa Japanese

Tanahara, Ai Supporting

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Sunagawa, Mai Supporting

Koike, Riko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro Producer

Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Producer

Yamada, Ryousuke Producer

Reviews

Sep 21, 2018

Stark700

Recommended

It’s easy to dismiss a show like Harukana Receive at first glance. Look at the key visual, read the premise, and check out those preview promotional material. What do you see? If the answer involves girls in bikinis playing beach volleyball, then you would be 100% correct. As a competitive sport, Harukana Receive takes the idea of beach volleyball and transforms it into a meaningful competitive story to tell.

Since its serialization in 2015, the manga has received only moderate attention but had enough value to be licensed in North America. I rarely ever heard of people talking about the manga though so I assume most ... people coming into this show to be fresh. I’ve only read parts of the manga but it shouldn’t be hard to realize what the show will be about. The obvious is the show will be composed entirely of beach episodes. However, if we take a deeper dive into this anime, then it should also be recognized that Harukana Receive is a very character driven story. Every episode pushes the characters to new heights and this series isn’t shy to bring out their best.

The title “Harukana” is a portmanteau of two of the main characters in this series – Haruka Oozora and Kanata Higa. It makes sense too considering the significance of this character pair and their journey to become volleyball superstars. In the beginning, Haruka is fascinated by the beaches of Okinawa. It doesn’t take long for her to embrace the love of volleyball as she decides to team up with her cousin, Kanata. The first few episodes easily establishes the story’s premise and is easy to understand from the characters’ perspectives. We learn about both characters and their motivations. Haruka is presented as a very open minded girl and easy to make friends with. This is in contrast with Kanata, who shows a more reserved personality and keeps much to herself. Through flashback details, we learn that Kanata used to be an experienced volleyball player until a traumatic event caused her to resign. It is not until present day that Haruka is able to convince her to return to the sport again. The two makes an interesting pair because the way they supplement each other – Haruka’s height and Kanata’s experience. To say the least, his character pair will no doubt spark curiosity on how far they can make it in the big leagues.

Throughout their journey, Haruka and Kanata also meets formidable rivals. The most prominent of these include the pair – Claire and Emily Thomas. In many ways, I see a parallel similarity between them to Haruka and Kanata. For instance, Haruka and Claire both possesses a playful personality with a very open mind. It didn’t surprise me that they quickly became friends either. Kanata is also similar to Emily as they have a more quiet nature and tends to be more reserved. Nonetheless, the show portrays the relationship of these four characters with friendship, rivalry, and respect. Deeper down into the story, we also meet other character pairs such as Narumi/Ayasa and Akari/Mai. The show makes it clear that some of these competitors are extremely talented such as the case with Narumi. Their accomplishments inspires Haruka to improve while also bringing back Kanata’s motivation to succeed. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t fully develop them enough and only gives us a glimpse of their potential. In other words, it’s not easy to get attached to the supporting cast compared to the main pair of Haruka and Kanata. Luckily, the Thomas siblings makes up for the void as they get a decent amount of screen time. The character chemistry they bring into the show is infectiously entertaining. Even their mother makes an appearance and through flashbacks, viewers will understand how they became the characters they are today.

As a 1-cour show of only 12 episodes, it became a bit obvious that the anime had to make room to reserve for the plot. It’s unfortunate to say this but 12 episodes really isn’t enough to explore the show at its fullest. The tournament arc featuring Haruka and Kanata only shows their improvement as players but doesn’t fully capitalize on their potential. While the series does a decent job at making us care about the characters, not all of them really get their time to shine either. This issue could have been resolved if the anime had been 2-cour but alas, it was not meant to be. I also have to mention that the show can be a bit niche if you’re watching this for the wrong reasons. It’s very lighthearted with plenty of comedy and gags but also moments with emotional drama. In other words, Harukana Receive may appear to be a walking fan service but there’s much more to just the hot girls in swimsuits.

If I told you Okinawa is one of the most beautiful places on Earth today, you’d probably point fingers and name something else better. However, I will say that Okinawa is extremely well crafted with the vibrant colorful sunny atmosphere and realistic sandy landscape. The aquatic ocean also feels real that injects more of the Summer feeling. As this show aired during Summer 2018, it’s a perfect place to be. To get the more obvious out of the way, every character in the show will be in swimsuits for a good majority of the time. There are some episodes that characters spend in casual wear but most of it will be on the sandy beaches of Okinawa. What does this mean? It basically means that you’d better get used to seeing ass, boobs, and curvy bodies on your screen. It doesn’t help that the camera seems to always focus on the character’s bodies too so get used to that. There are even comedic gags where some characters slap another’s ass as a way of expressing their personalities. Still, it’s definitely also a good idea to keep an eye on the body movements of the show during the volleyball matches. Every movement in the show feels important whether it’s a dive, block, or close save. It emphasizes character teamwork that’s as real as it gets. In fact, I would say the character pairs in the show are portrayed much more than just partners. They feel like are destined to be together whether it’s Haru-Kana or the Thomas siblings.

As colorful as the show is on the surface, also be prepared to be dazzled by the energetic soundtrack. It creates the sensation of being in the sunny fields of Okinawa. Every match in the show also gets an enhanced experience with the OST matching its intense momentum. The theme songs are also catchy that emphasizes on character pairings. Last and certainly not least are the character voice mannerisms. Characters like Kanata and Emily really bring themselves to life and it’s easy to accept them who they are.

Harukana Receive seems like a deceptive show that glorifies fan service and makes it look like an eyecandy for the male audience. However, if you look beyond the skin and swimsuits, it’s easy to see how well this show works with its ideas. Do be aware that as a show with just 12 episodes, it will feel incomplete. And also, some characters will feel less likable than others. However, I would definitely recommend adding this show to the watchlist. It’s not easy to make a show as a walking fan service but Harukana Receive does more than just being sexy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 21, 2018

Fircoal

Mixed Feelings

I love a good CGDCT. If you were to look through all of my favorites and the shows I rank highly you would find a lot of CDCGT that I gave a high score to. I also like sports shows and find them as a good way to get hype and experience the highs and lows of competition without the negative ramifications of death or other dark results like with some shounen. A pairing between the two seems odd and when combined with the echii tag there are a lot of distinct parts that are mixed together. And while I think it can be done ... well sadly Harukana Reviece missed the mark.

The show starts off with drama and while I did like the drama it had and the exploration of the characters it provided it did pose a problem. Part of the joy of a CGDCT is the cute meaningless antics that the characters get into and while there were some, there wasnt enough for the genre it was in. Furthermore because the start was drama and the end consisted of 3 episodes worth of one match this led the show to be strapped on time. In fact it pretty much did a time skip askewing a lot the more SOL moments to get to the volleyball.

While the volleyball was good, it made the show feel incomplete. While it talks a lot about the strength of the characters bonds and relies a lot on attachment to the characters, it's hard to get the true feeling of attachment when many of those attachment gaining moments were breezed over. The problem is sports anime tend to be long and focus a lot on moments of high tension. While this can work with CGDCT if they alternate, they both need time in order to shine. And for this combo one cour isnt enough. Not if both peaks are to be fit in well. And while the matches were nicely animated and fun to watch, the tournament structure was boring and really only one match had all of the tension. Not to mention the way that, that match came about was lackluster imo. While the idea behind it was good I felt like it was forced to happen sooner due to time and increased drama more than anything else.

The characters did have some good motivations and the starting idea was great. I liked the development of Kanata, and how she was able to overcome her previous shortcomings and get out of her funk, but the rest of the characters really could have used some more time to focus on them. Their initial characterization was promising but for the show to do what it wanted to do well I feel like more would have been helpful.

Overall there's a lot of good ideas in Harukana Reviece and the fanservice and visuals are nice, but in the end the pacing let's it down and I'm left wishing it had two cours to properly explore its ideas. It's still a good show but ultimately leaves with promise it couldn't capitalize on.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 19, 2021

E-M-T

Not Recommended

I watch these sorts of fan service sports anime when I am bored, tired, eating, or simply need something to fill the time and don't want to watch something that is driven by a meaningful story with interesting characters and plot. Fan service does not bother me when done correctly, and let's be honest if you're interested in watching this anime you're primarily interested in the girls in bikinis playing sports.

**Review may contain spoilers**
The problem with Harukana Receive is that the main characters are very unlikeable. Haruka is annoyingly good at everything. She improves at such an unreasonable rate that it feels sad watching ... her begin to outshine and dominate girls who have given their lives to this sport. Kanata on the other hand is a girl who ran away from the sport, abandoning the 'friend' Narumi who she made a promise with to become national champions. Then, she easily returns to the sport with Haruka, and what's her way of apologizing to Narumi? "I'll keep my promise, but this time with Haruka." This apology genuinely made me want to vomit and this is when this show went from an okay sports anime with decently attractive girls and fanservice to a show I struggled to finish. I then had to watch them somehow overcome Emily and Claire, who were kind enough to train them, in order to finish season 1. Watching Emily and Claire get defeated felt awful. It would have been better to have the main characters lose and for once be humbled.

The best part of this anime is the side characters. Narumi, Ayasa, Emily, and Claire. They're likable characters who work hard to earn their talent over years of practice and dedication. Narumi is especially the best girl and is the only one who actually looks the part. Unfortunately, The main characters ruin this anime.

Story 2/10
Art 5/10
Sound 5/10
Character 2/10
Enjoyment 3/10
Overall 3/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Will There Be A Season 2 Roderick24_ - Feb 27, 2022	7 replies	by Yuno4444 »» Dec 16, 2:24 AM
	Poll: Harukana Receive Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 24, 2018	61 replies	by HiljainenSipuli »» Nov 12, 2:10 PM
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	Poll: Harukana Receive Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 8, 2018	20 replies	by HiljainenSipuli »» Nov 6, 8:46 AM