Drama Digest
“2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team” is a Japanese sports anime series based on the light novel series written by Yukako Kabei. The title of the series, which includes 2.43, shows the height required for the net for male volleyball. The story revolves around Kimichika Haijima, who was a junior high school volleyball team member and was strong. He got into trouble with the team and had to move to his mother’s hometown. There, he reunites with his childhood friend named, Yuni Kuroba.
The Feel-Good Part
The characters in the show have excellent dynamics. The show is ambitious and gives us a proper background narrative behind the goals of the volleyball teams- the focus of the show is diverse and not only on volleyball. There are instances of character development and growth as it goes on. It will not give you a feeling of selfishness towards a particular team but lets you switch sides between them. The best thing about the show where the music and the enter and outro songs which were fun.
The Disappointing Factor
The show lacks substance and any necessary elements to make it better than ordinary. The story is decent, but the pacing is irregular. The show is more character-driven than the plot. The volleyball matches were dull and there were no effects on the surroundings. There were no explained or addressed strategies. There were fewer scenes showing the volleyball matches and they would eventually skip to the scores without information about how it happened.
In-Depth Analysis
Kimichika Haijima was a genius volleyball player. After an incident that happened within his school’s volleyball team, he was forced out of the team. He then moves back to his mother’s hometown, Fukui, from Tokyo, where reunites with his childhood friend, Yuni Kuroba. Kuroba is the underwear of his abilities and is currently a member of the boys’ volley team at Matshiro middle school. Haijima notices his abilities and forms a volleyball team with Kuroba as the ace player. But at the perceptual tournament, Kuroba couldn’t perform well because of pressure, and that caused the Monshiro team to lose. It also created a distance between Haijima and Kuroba. Now they are students at Seiin High School and encounter themselves on the same volleyball team again. Learning from experiences, Haijima now understands Kuroba and his performance anxiety and helps him to deal with it. Haijima helps him with his anxiety and becomes a player to carry the championship. The support from team captain Shinichiro Oda and Misao Aoki, the vice-captain, Seiin, aims to win the prefectural title and become representative of Fukui at the spring tournament. To achieve that, they need to defeat Fukuho Technical High School, the reigning champion of Fukui.
Star Power
A significant shoutout to David Productions for the outstanding animation and art. The character of Kuroba’s cousin, played by Megumi Toda, left an excellent impact, as she continuously reminded people to take their dreams seriously. Kensho Ono and Junya Enoki did a significant job of playing the characters of Haijima and Kuroba.
Overall Opinion
The show is certainly a mimic of volleyball anime without the volleyball. It tries hard to be part of the sports genre of anime. It is certainly nothing like Haikyuu but can be a decent volleyball anime. The show has many mixed reviews but is worth the time and watch.
