Okay, I get the hype!

Shoyo Hinata has been in love with the sport of volleyball ever since he saw the “Little Giant,” a legendary player of small stature, play. He plays on local teams and women’s teams and every time he can in order to build his skills to one day become just as good as the Little Giant. He has to face up against guys twice his size, but works hard trying to improve his vertical leap so he can become unstoppable. In his last middle school volleyball match, he is trounced completely by Tobio Kageyama, an incredible player who is known as “King of the Court” as is already primed to go pro.

As he grows up, Hinata gets into Karasuno High School, intent on becoming the star of their volleyball team, only to discover his old rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate! Of course they butt heads within seconds of meeting, but in order to both make their dreams come true they have to try and work together to not only get along but become part of a team. Along with their teammates, including the captain, Sawamura, can their rag tag team full of egos get over themselves to become greats?

As I am a librarian who orders graphic novels/manga, I became aware of this series when the anime popped up on Netflix and the interest grew. After reading, I totally get why this series is so astronomically popular. I liken it a lot to My Hero Academia, in that both series follow the stories of underdog boys who are just trying to believe in themselves and become something but are constantly being threatened by a childhood rival. Haikyuu is a really fun series that focuses on sports, but doesn’t make you feel like you have to understand the ins and outs of the sport to enjoy the series. I learned a lot about volleyball sure, but the series is more about the interpersonal relationships between the teammates. I totally will be reading the entire series.

Title: Haikyu!! (Vols 1 & 2)
Author: Haruichi Furudate
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192 // 200
ISBN: 9781421587660 // 9781421587677

Three Descriptors: Fun, Dramatic, Underdog Story

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