Haikyuu 2!! Episode 12: Let the Games Begin!

The matches they’ve been waiting for have finally started. Karasuno’s looking tough but in reality they’re trying hard not to puke in front of everyone, just as usual. Still, they’re getting attention after their match with Aoba Johsai and they probably turned more heads after their first match.

After singing about having to pee, Hinata makes a run-in with a player from the school he’s going to play against in their first match. At first the guy mistakes Hinata for a middle schooler but then Hinata introduces himself while also saying he’s going to Tokyo and the Nationals with that crazy look on his face. The player says it won’t matter because they’ll just lose to Ushiwaka’s school, so we already can see that this guy already lacks confidence and motivation, which we saw later.

So Karasuno plays against this school, Ohgi Minami. A team full of ruffians. Right off the bat Karasuno scores with Asahi’s power serve. And from then on, Karasuno proceeds to just…murder them. With all of their training and matches they had in the training camp, the team is used to receiving all kinds of attacks and so facing off against this team was no problem. With their new skills, they’re all in sync and playing magnificently. The player, Towada, knew he underestimated Hinata and losing against Karasuno brought up old memories of he and his team losing against Shiratorizawa, Ushiwaka’s team. And damn, I’d understand hating to be up against a powerhouse right off the bat. They’re supposed to be the best. In that flashback, Towada’s team was a point away from losing with a 10 point gap and when the ball was flying over him, he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach it so he didn’t make any movements and just accepted their loss, but his captain ran after the ball instead even though he didn’t make it. They were going to lose either way, but really the point was to never give up. Give it your all until the very end, even if it looks bad. If you’re going to lose, at least lose with dignity.

That actually reminded me of Kuroko no Basket. Even though he was in the winning end, it was with Aomine being too damn good of a basketball player and slowly hating basketball when teams would just give up in the middle of the game when the point gap kept getting wider. I guess this isn’t the same thing, but Aomine would have had more fun if people didn’t give up during the matches. You’re just too OP, Aomine.

ANYWAY…yeah, in the end Ohgi Minami loses because of course our main characters have to move on. After looking at the next match, they learn who their next opponents are. And the team has a guy who’s 2 meters tall, or 201 centimeters, or 6’6. Whichever you prefer. I always have to convert to feet because America *shakes fist* why we gotta be different for? But yeah, 6″6 is pretty damn big. And so Hinata of course is feeling pretty inferior after everyone tries to console him but not really by combining things on top of his head to match the other player’s height.