Anime Challenge #5 Anime that you’re ashamed you enjoyed: Haikyuu!!

The reason there’s been such a gap between this article and the last in the challenge series is because I’m not ashamed to enjoy anime. It’s my main hobby and if I enjoy a show it’s because it does at least something that I think is good about anime more generally. How then, did I come to choose Haikyuu!! as the one anime I’m ashamed to enjoy? Well before I say anything about the show, I’m going to share a little something about me…

I haven’t watched anime for all that long a time. In fact besides Yu-Gi-Oh (which is great) and Pokémon (which is fine) I didn’t watch an anime in full until I was 19 (i.e. roughly 3 years ago). Compared to most of my friends, I could hardly be called a nerd/geek/anything else along those lines. Fortunately for me, my girlfriend, who I can’t convince to watch any anime (tips in the comments please!), didn’t really care. We live a life where anime is ever present, but rarely spoken about.

So with that in mind, imagine my shock when, while watching an anime she arrives to laugh and ask ‘Are you watching this for it’s ironic value?’

You guessed it, that anime was Haikyuu!!.

I don’t particularly watch sports anime, and my only past experience (Prince of Stride) was less than impressive but Haikyuu!! is completely different. I won’t review it here, but suffice to say that it centres around  the Karasuno high school volleyball team and their attempts to improve and reach the national championships. The characters are flawed allowing for plenty of development, the plot is far from predictable (to my initial surprise they don’t win every game) and the soundtrack is incredibly catchy.

MAL seems to agree, with all three seasons of the show in the top 50 with the lowest being ranked 43 with an average score of 43. So all in all I have no reason to be ashamed of enjoying this festival of animated volleyball madness. I’m enjoying the third season at the moment and will continue to do so.

I think if you enjoy anything you shouldn’t worry about what other people think about. Everyone enjoys different things whether it be anime or otherwise, and that’s no bad thing. Just remember not to let people get you down – haters are always gonna hate!