I kind of briefly glanced through all the posts here, and am just amuse how many "I cried" statements there were~ Hahaha~
I cried too~
I am gonna write a mix of review/ thoughts of the end story as a whole and of course how I love this last chapter. I have no where else I can express all these feelings of mine, so do pardon me for this rumbling chunk of text.
The story is amazing. There were of course areas where the storylines are a little off for me (But well I have got no say, right~).
To me, the Haikyuu! that I started to watched/read, ended when the quarterfinals with Kemomedai ended. Because the premise of all the 360-ish chapters: a high school club, the amazing 3rd years, the recklessness of youth, and the challenges of youth, they all are the details that I have come to love and expect the story to be within; a "Slice of life" of a High School Volleyball Club in a Northern prefecture of a small Island in the far East of the world.
The chapters that comes after that just felt like a little bit of "fan service" giving us an insight of the Main character's life after high school. Or so I thought. Hahhaha~ The last arc tied back so many, so many memories of their past with their present lives. All that they did then, were all ultimately <Connected> to how they came to be the person they are in the present. Very true to the basis of the sport and Nekoma's motto of <To connect>.
And so, I bawled my eyes out, not because it ended, but because I felt like I watched the characters all grew up into the fine young adults that they are. 10 Years in the story's timeline that all these happened(From Hinata-Kageyama's middle school 3rd year match where half of the main characters were present to the end of the story when Hinata is 25 years old). I feel like a proud parent of these characters. I was so touched by their growth and their passion and their friendships that the tears keep on flowing.
The ending truly was done well, for me, it rolled the carpet of the protagonists' futures out there, but it cut the viewers' lens into their life. Their story did not end, but our journey with them ended.
Well of course most stories, whether is manga or anime or novels, end on the same basis where the characters will continue their lives in their world, and we will not be able to see more. Is just that, we only view a portion of their lives, that's why they are stories.
The thing here is, which portion of their lives and where we end the journey with them. Haruichi Furudate sensei here definitely ended our journey telling us that - "These beautiful characters will continue their lives forward like you have seen in the last arc, a continuous cycle of being rivals and teammates, and an unbreakable connection with each other no matter what paths they have chosen to take in their lives."
The very start of the last chapter, showing the start of it all with "Karasunoooo FIGHT!" had my tears rolling. And how the last 2 chapters showed all the meaningful school mottos that brought the characters to where they are is just so beautiful. Especially with the very last banner/motto, in this chapter being Seijoh's "Rule The Court". Yes, all of you rule the court!!!!
And Iwa-chan, you are a Japan Athletic Trainer, please restraint your urge to physically beat up another country's athletic~ LOL. The "Family Quarrel" should be settled through Volleyball, not headbutts~ hahaha
Kamasaki definitely grew out that goatee because of Asahi!
I hope the Miyas know that Kita is still proud that his old teammates are Amazing!!!
I can absolutely feel the nostalgia that Coach Ukai was telling to Takeda Sensei when being recruited in that very panel (second last page) of the empty Karasuno Volleyball club gymnasium.
<Even if the Gymnasium and clubroom remained the same, the time spent there only belonged to that time> something along this line~
And on a side note: Takeda sensei is the real MVP of the story~ hahahah
Last Note: Thank You Haruichi Furudate sensei for this beautiful story. |