Title: Haikyu!! Season 4 To the Top on Blu-ray
Director: Susumu Mitsunaka
U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks
U. S. Release Date: 03/29/2022
Format: Blu-ray / 25 plus 2 OVA Episodes / 675 Minutes
Genre: Sports action and drama
Age Rating: TV 14
Overall Personal Rating: A
Synopsis:
Haikyu!! To the Top (Season 4) contains episodes 1-25 plus OVAs 1 & 2 of the anime directed by Masako Sato.
Once again, determination and teamwork have helped the Karasuno High School volleyball team to qualify for the upcoming Nationals. Then, just as everything is starting to gel, the team is temporarily broken apart as two members are asked to attend special training camps, with Kageyama attending the prestigious All-Japan camp and Tsukishima invited to a special camp for first-years in Miyagi.
While the rest of the Karasuno team doggedly continues their own practice matches, Hinata feels that he’s being left behind. His audacious solution, crashing the rookie training camp, catches everyone off guard, yet he somehow manages to talk his way into being allowed to stay… even if it is only watching from the sidelines. And that change of perspective may be just what Hinata needs to advance his game up to the next level!
Commentary:
Wow, they did it again. Haikyu!! is one of those series that just makes you smile. From the opening episode through the last minute you just want to thank the creators for giving us this feel good story. Haikyu!! transcends sports anime and enters the world of the human experience and the possibilities when a positive outlook can take you places you never expected. There are moments when you feel sorry for players on both sides because they are all shooting for the stars and other times you are elated for the team that was able to pull off a spectacular play. All the while the players are discovering things about themselves that helps them navigate the world in a way that leaves them wanting more. The flow of the story and progression of the action makes you feel like you are part of the family along for a ride..
Overall Grade: A
Haikyu!! Season 4: To The Top came very close to getting my top grade because of the strength of the story and the dynamic character development. Where it fell shy was the overall production quality. The action was done beautifully but the animation outside the court was flat and way to much like paper cutouts that relied on computer generated images to fill the screen.
The truth is that I wanted to give season 4 top marks of an A+ but with the production quality and strangely enough the ending that left me wanting more, I had no other option but give it a slightly lower A rating. This season continued the wonderfully high level of character development and a continued depth to each of the players and associated members of the team, from the coach to the managers. This awesome character development pushes me to want more. Haikyu!! is a great selection for the rest of the world to see and understand how the Japanese approach sports and life as a hole. If for any reason you haven’t experience Haikyu!! then you need to give it a chance and be sure to start at the beginning. If you are a fan you already know how good it is. So be sure to grab To The Top and fly along with everyone in this exciting offering.
