Haikyu!! is one of the best sports anime of all time and the best anime to revolve around the amazing sport of volleyball. The series is great because it doesn't have any filler content. Instead, Haikyu!! fills its runtime with breathtaking matches, genuine emotional moments, and some of the coolest spikes ever animated. Each part of the story plays a role in developing the main characters and putting them into tense, breathtaking battles.
There are only six arcs in total for Haikyu!!, one of which has yet to be animated. The final arc takes place in the future after the students playing at Karasuno High School have graduated. Some students have turned pro, while others live quieter lives. Although it has yet to be animated, promises to bring a satisfying ending to the story of Hinata, Kageyama and the rest of the gang.
6 Interhigh Supply
The first time Hinata and Kageyama actually played together
The Interhigh Arc is the second arc of Haikyu!! and features Karasuno High after they form their team. They are still new, clumsy, and full of excitement. They want to play their best, but They are facing some very big obstacles. The second part of Haikyu!! features three great matches. Karasuno faces and defeats Tokonami High, a team that makes up for its lack of skill with a lot of effort.
Next, Karasuno played Date Tech and met Iron Wall, featuring Aone Takanobu. After barely edging them out, Karasuno faced their first challenge that they couldn't win in Aoba Johsai. Kageyama's former teammate and one of Haikyu!!'s best volleyball players, Oikawa Toru, dominated the other side of the court and showed just how good some volleyball players can be. Haikyu!! is at its best when Karasuno plays like a well-oiled machine. However, in the second arc, they're still trying to figure it out.
The Last 5 Palaces
Everyone is grown up now
The final arc of Haikyu!! doesn't actually have Hinata, Kageyama, or Nishinoya playing together for Karasuno. Instead, it takes place a few years after graduation and shows what the players are doing after graduating from high school. It still has the characters playing the same sport as the rest of the series, but It feels different when Hinata and Kageyama play on opposite sides of the court. Part of what makes Haikyu!! so enjoyable is the temporary emotions that can come from high school sports.
Teams are temporary, but moments last forever. However, in the world of professional sports, Haikyu!! splits most of the main cast into smaller groups that aren't as fun as when everyone is together. While The Final Arc still has a lot to offer, It doesn't really compare to when Karasuno plays like one of them. Still, there's no bad ending in Haikyu!! and the ending is still a pretty satisfying conclusion to the series.
4 Karasuno High School Team
The Beginning of One of the Best Sports Anime Ever
The first season of Haikyu!! is a great one. It introduces viewers to Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama, two of the most ambitious young volleyball players and also some of the most fierce rivalries in sports anime. Hinata doesn't have much of a team in middle school and instead assembles a makeshift team through sheer excitement. Kageyama is the complete opposite, dominating his skilled squad like a tyrant. The two eventually meet at Karasuno High School, where they mature and become nearly unstoppable.
The Haikyu!! anime is produced by Production I.G., the group behind hits like Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass.
While the first arc, the Karasuno High Team Formation arc, doesn't have the high-profile battles that later in the series, it does have some healthy bonding moments. No great team is formed overnight, and it's interesting to see the beginnings of both Kageyama and Hinata as they overcome their differences and learn to work with each other's strengths for the benefit of the team.
3 Tokyo Expedition
Small town boys come to the big city to fight
The Tokyo Expedition Arc is one of the most interesting arcs in Haikyu!!. This arc features Karasuno as they are invited to a training camp with a lot of great players from other teams. The most notable team invited to the training camp is Fukurodani Academy, a team that has one of the best players in the country, Bokuto Kotaro. Bokuto is widely recognized as the fourth best ace in Japan and his wisdom has been a great help to the Karasuno players, none more so than Kei Tsukishima. Tsukishima is usually a reserved character, too cold to show emotion, but Bokuto brings out the best in him.
One of the funniest moments in this arc is when Karasuno discovers that their reward for playing so many games is a meat-filled lunch. The characters' reactions to adding a little more protein to their diet are hilarious. The meal worked as the Karasuno players entered the stadium in a slightly more upbeat mood, knowing they were about to enjoy such a delicious meal.
2 High Spring Preliminary Arcs
You can't get the crown without facing the king.
Ushijima Wakatoshi is probably the best volleyball player in all of Haikyu!!. Unfortunately for the great Ushiwaka, volleyball is not just a one-on-one game. Spring High's preliminaries feature Karasuno facing off against their biggest threat yet. Not only does this arc have the second best match in Haikyu!!, but the setup for the game is also phenomenal. The arc starts with Karasuno arriving in Tokyo for the preliminaries. During the warm-ups, Hinata and Kageyama get lost and are found by Ushiwaka himself. He invites them to his school to see where he trains.
They go to Shiratorizawa and investigate their future opponents. Ushijima, unfazed by their presence, mocks them for “coming from concrete” because to him, they are nothing more than country bumpkins. In a moment of exhilarating defiance, When Ushijima jumped into the air to catch a stray ball, Hinata jumped in front of him and grabbed it. Ushijima was shocked when Hinata gave him the ball and introduced herself as Hinata from concrete, who will defeat Ushiwaka.
1 Tokyo National Circuit
Karasuno vs Inarizaki High is Haikyu!! at its best
The Tokyo Nationals arc is the best arc of all Haikyu!!. It hasn't even been animated yet, and one of its most important matches has been adapted into a movie, but that doesn't matter. The volleyball match between Karasuno High and Inarizaki High is the greatest volleyball match in Haikyu!! and in all of anime.
The Miya twins are two of the greatest players Karasuno has ever faced, and together they pulled off moves that would have left Hinata and Kageyama gasping for breath. One of the strongest points of this match is the sound design. While all the matches in the series have had great, booming background music, Karasuno vs. Inarizaki sounds fun.
The jazz here is so great that Cowboy Bepop fans will be jealous. As the Miya twins fly through the air, the arena sounds like a dance floor. The smooth saxophone and sharp trumpet sounds make this game feel like a party. Even on screen, sound is used to create a sense of tension for Karasuno players.
The Inarizaki band was playing a symphonic tune before the team's pitch, when Atsumu Miya raised an open hand in the air. He suddenly closed his hand, clenching it into a fist, and instantly silenced the entire band. Astumu conducting the band before the pitch was one of the most chilling moments in the series, contrasting with the heated match unfolding in front of him. All of this combined to create the Tokyo Nationals Arc. Haikyu!! best bow
