Episode 13 of Haikyuu!! To the Top, is the final one of the season. Karasuno runs up against one of the favorites to win the tournament, Inarizaki High. In a meeting, Ukai focuses the team on the ace of Inarizaki. Aran Ojiro is a third-year wing spiker. He has height and power. Just outside the top three, he is going to be a major threat. The goal, use the same tactics against Aran that they did against Ushijima. If they can focus on defense, they might be able to stop Aran from getting the ball. The next threat is Rintaro Suna. A second-year middle blocker, Suna, is short compared to his peers. However, he’s exceptional. Ukai notes that he’s likely to use the “quick attack.” Finally, there’s Atsumu Miya. The number one high school setter, he’s also known for his service. He can use spike serves and jump float serves. Meaning Karasuno will have a hard time reading his serves.
Let the game begin
At the warm-ups, Karasuno watches Inarizaki. The twins, Atsumu and Osamu, set and spike. As Karasuno begin their warm-ups, Hinata impresses with the height of his jump. The game begins. Atsumu serves, despite being disrupted by cheering girls, he hits an ace. His next serve, however, is out. For team Karasuno, Asahi is next to serve. The loud Inarizaki cheering section begins to boo. Ukai states that they’re trained to be “perfectly quiet for their own teams serves but make a commotion when the opposing team goes to serve.” Asahi dumps the ball into the net.
Hitoshi Ginjima serves next. He also dumps his serve into the net. The game so far starts with a lot of nervous serving. When a rally finally starts, Hinata is excited to reveal his new jump. Too excited. He misses the ball or I should say forgets to hit it. Hinata jump still manages to impress Atsumu with its height. He now counts Hinata as a threat, along with Kageyama. While this episode was largely just set up for this match, I think that it was well executed.
Personally, the romantic storyline between Tanaka and Kanoka wasn’t interesting. I’m not sure it really mattered. Haikyuu!! To the Top has always included the female volleyball team, but I think it’s distracting. Kiyoko Shimizu and Hitoka Yachi are apart of the team (as management), it would have made more sense to focus on them. Maybe give Hitoka more to do. Anyway, I’m looking forward to this match between Karasuno and Inarizaki. While it possible Karasuno loses I think Hinata and his new jump will pull through. Haikyuu!! To the Top will return in July.
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