The Genre I Was Missing

After well over a decade, you would think I know what I like when it comes to anime. Alas, if anything, 2020 has taught me a very important nerdom lesson already. And that lesson is: I'm just getting started.

When I was younger, I mostly watched Shonen and Mecha. As a young woman, I found my love for Shojo. Early adult life brought me Slice of Life. Now? As I find my self on the foot path to 30, I would like to say hello to a very underrated genre. Everyone say hello to the world of Sports anime!

It might be early to say that I am a true sports anime fan BUT my first experience with it has been incredible. It all started when someone suggested to Chase and myself that we might find some unexpected enjoyment from the little birdies shown above. Ahh yes, Haikyu!! has definitely been an incredible start. We started this journey out mainly as a joke. We agreed to give it a couple episodes, obviously it went well and turned serious because we finished all three complete seasons relatively quickly. And with the fourth season just starting its air date last month, I think it is safe for you to bet that we will be entirely caught up before long. And from there? I plan to check out more of this hidden gem of a genre.

Haikyu!! brings together what I like most about a lot of other genres combined. It has the suspense, it has the comedic relief, it has cute characters I want to put in my pocket and carry around with me, and it has great character development to counter that. The games aren't always predictable but are always outrageous and I wouldn't want it any other way. Haikyu!! has brought out all of my best and worst fan reactions I have probably ever had. Chase can attest that I have screamed, cried, clapped, cheered, swore, and have had to take a break due to my blood pressure rising. Yes, this has truly brought out the worst in me. James might even compare it to me watching hockey in real life, which should prove a point in and of itself. Even if you have never seen ME watch hockey, you all know a hockey fan and you know how they get. I will leave you with that image but replace the game with anime.

And it is that image that makes me wonder what else the genre might be holding out on me. After we catch up on season 4, Haikyu!!: To The Top, I think I will take on another big player to see if there is some consistency to this magical land known as sports anime. Maybe... Yuri!!! on Ice? I feel like whatever fans mingle between My Hero Academia and Yuri!!! on Ice will most likely come for my head since I am so late to the game and have the audacity to talk about these big names like they are new. But hey, at least I'm here now, right?

I am curious though how Haikyu!!, or any sports anime's for that matter, did as a manga. If I have not stated this before let me preface now. I feel about my manga to anime adaptation the same as I feel about my book to movie adaptations. The rule doesn't change folks: the book is ALWAYS better. But how does that work within the sports genre? Haikyu!!'s stunning animation. I just can't picture that still/not in motion. Shoyo's movements are so fluid and quick, how did it get captured accurately in comic form? However it was done, the creator, Haruichi Furudate, did it and he did it well. In 2019 Haikyu!! was the 8th best selling manga in Japan. With 41 volumes currently out and over 35 million copies in circulation (Note: this number might even be higher now). Not to mention both the manga and anime series have been recognized as top series in multiple awards categories in 2018 and 2019. Needless to say, if you are looking for a door into the sports anime or manga world, I highly recommend Haikyu!! as a good starting, middle and ending point.

With such a high recommendation I should tell you a bit about the series. Haikyu!! follows our main character, Shoyo Hinata, on his journey to play volleyball even though he is only 5'4". You get to know and follow the whole team of the Karasuno Crows, the fallen champs of their prefecture, as they try to take back their name. There are a lot of strong personalities in the high school volleyball world and you will get to meet them all. This anime is super passionate, fun, with games that are thrilling to watch. You are going to love the action as well as the characters, I guarantee it .

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Before we end for today, I also wanted to highlight another new anime I recently completed. This one we have talked about here on Nerdom before. Next week we will be going over the results from the 2020 Anime Awards but before then I wanted to vent my thoughts on one of the nominees for Best Anime: The Promised Neverland. I talked about this nominee in my original article regarding the awards show, "Who Will Win?". It is nominated for 8 different categories and in that article I stated that based on the first episode, this was my pick to win. I predicted Demon Slayer would win but I wanted The Promised Neverland.

I come to you now, having completed The Promised Neverland and am making my way through Demon Slayer, pleading with the universe. The Promised Neverland, hands down deserves to win. It is incredible and deserves most of the awards they are nominated for. James, Chase and I all screamed, all cried, all were so convinced we would have nightmares based on this show and we loved every minute of it. It has made its way onto all of our lists of favorites and is one of the most captivating animes I have ever seen. I am confused why the genre is listed as Shonen, please don't let that deter you. It is, to me, more fit in the Thriller genre than anything else. I highly recommend you check it out [unless you really don't like creepy].

It is my dearest hope that this show gets the recognition it deserves. The second season will be coming out in 2020, in the mean time, I will probably just be desperately trying to get my hands on the manga because James and I have decided, we simply cannot wait that long to know what happens next. And this makes me all the more thrilled to watch the 2020 Anime Awards which will be airing this Saturday, February 15th on Crunchyroll.

On that note, thank you so much for joining me tonight for another dose of Nerdom here on My Mess. I hope you all are having a good week and have a very happy Valentine's day! If you don't have a Valentine, make sure you treat yourself on the real holiday, the 15th, to some just as sweet half priced candy! I hope to see you all back on Sunday for a very special installment of The Mess. Stay nerdy, stay chocolately, and stay messy friends!