Reviews for 2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team

I’m going to get straight to the point, if you the reader is going to try to compare this animation to Haikyuu, don’t do it. Yes, they are both about volleyball, but they are completely different. I’m just saying that, if you expect this to be on equal levels to Haikyuu, it unfortunately won’t meet that high level of expectation. After all this animation has a different storyline, character characteristics, and vibe. It’s something new and refreshing to the sport animation category. So far I have seen the 4 episodes that have currently aired. So far, I like it. There are some awkward parts to thestory, but they can be overlooked. The music (opening and ending) is pretty good.

Overall, it’s not bad. This animation has piqued my interested ever since I learned about the making of this animation. So I’m going to continue to watch it. For those who are wondering weather or not it’s worth your time to watch it. Either you don’t watch it, watch it as it continues to air, or wait till all of the episodes have aired.

When I write reviews, I like to end on the note. That the worst thing that’s going to happen if you watch an episode and you don’t like it, you’ve only wasted around 23 minutes of your time. If you don’t like it, don’t continue to watch it. But if there’s something that may have caught your eye, continue. Never let other people comments influence what you should or should not do when your trying to find an anime that fits your style.

This review is spoiler free :D 2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu is quite standard. It doesn’t make you feel much watching it. The direction is...okay? The animation is pretty bad, except for the insane spikes that David Production will occasionally pour the whole budget into. The show just lacks substance. It lacks that “oomph” that propels it over being ordinary. It feels flat. It doesn’t come to life on your screen like a good anime should. That’s not to say the show itself is bad. There are some good plot points, some likeable characters, and some interesting dynamics. I enjoyed the dual perspective of thetwo main teams, Seiin and Fukuho, as I constantly flip-flopped on who I was rooting for. Like I mentioned earlier, there are times where the animation IS great, feeling more like David Production’s other amazingly animated shows. There are times where the rivalry feels real, and there are times where I care about what happens to the characters. The thing that brings Seiin down though is that all of these times where I actually feel something are short lived. They feel like glances to a better show. It feels like the show is struggling to wedge itself out of the hole of mediocrity, but is only able to peak its head out. It feels frustrating going from that back to the usual bad animation and poor writing. Seeing the glimmers of satisfaction in a show is not very satisfying when they simmer out.

This show is ambitious in the fact that it has a background narrative behind the volleyball. At least, at the beginning it does. I couldn’t even tell you what it was now. Maybe that’s another reason this show feels half-baked. Somewhere along the line, it transferred from being a show about flawed characters who happen to play volleyball, to just volleyball. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching dudes hit balls as much as the next guy, but the show can’t expect to make that switch when the volleyball isn’t even that good. The narratives of the first few episodes are what drew me and many others to this show, and it just feels like a huge disappointment to somewhat abandon it.

If you asked me if you should watch this show, I’d say “how much free time do you have?” There are definitely better anime out there, better sports anime, and obviously better volleyball anime. But at the end of the day, I don’t regret watching this one. At its higher points, it was good. At its lower points, it wasn’t necessarily unwatchable. So, if you have some free time and are just yearning to watch a sports anime, sure, this one’s alright.

Overall, I think this show is the epitome of average. It's not good, but I wouldn’t say it's bad either. There are times where you laugh about how shitty the writing in that episode was, but there are times where that Demon Bazooka is just so damn cool. Give it a watch if you want. I probably wouldn’t redo it again, but I don’t regret watching it either.

This anime isn't that great. I came for at least a decent anime with episodes containing good volleyball matches and interactions between interesting character. I just finished watching episode 4 and as for now, this anime is very disappointing. Story : 3 Just boring, generic and predictable. No good interactions between characters. Art: 6 Looks pretty good cannot fault it here, it looks a bit scruffy but overall its not bad and pretty good Edit: The art looks really good but the animation is pretty horrible to watch, especially during games (as i just watched episode 7) Sound: 7 The opening for this anime is incredible. One of the best openings I'veheard over the past year (its on the level of the jujutsu kaisen opening imo). The ed is pretty good aswell. Other sound is just ok.

Character: 1

Absolutely shocking. These characters are all so boring and I struggle to like any of them. The two main characters are boring and have awkward interactions that make me cringe. And all the other characters are just basic and nothing special. This is one reason the show is a let down.

Ep5: still hate kuroba

Ep6: New guy (ace) is a decent character, the head coach for the other team is another wimp.

Enjoyment: 3

The only enjoyment i got from this is vibing to the opening and seeing the ball get hit but other than that it was not very enjoyable

Overall : 3 (average is 4.0 but the opening isnt really good enough for me to give this score)

To begin, I want to say before watching Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu, I was not a very big fan of sports anime at all. I love sports in real life but have not found myself very interested in sports animated. HOWEVER, I fell in love this this show very quickly. I feel like it focuses a lot on the characters, instead of simply the sport. The show really got even better with every new episode. So, if you are not content with the first couple of episodes, I promise it gets better if you keep watching, and I will tell you why you should below. Itdoes start a little slow, and the main characters seemed a bit aggravating at first, but it really paid off later with the development the characters showed. I found myself very impressed with how some of the characters changed over the course of the season. Everything just felt very realistic, it shows the immature and selfish side of a high schooler, and how sometimes being on a team and working together can change you for the better.

The art and animation are of course very nice, David Pro back at it again. Obviously, there is no need for crazy animation or sound, but it all looked very clean. The sound effects and the animation during the volleyball matches were amazing and consistent throughout the season.

Oh boy the opening, what an amazing song. The beat and vocals by Yama on the Opening song are what honestly got me hooked on the show first. I found myself excited for the new episode just to hear the song. The ending song by Soushi Sakayama is also a very nice song that I like a lot. As far as OSTs go, they were very fitting. They do not necessarily need to stand out if they are nice and fit the theme, which they did.

I think the characters and how they progressed was my favorite part of the whole show. Towards the later part of the season, I found myself being torn between who to cheer for because I loved both teams and did not want to see either lose. Kuroba and Haijima are both wonderful characters. They start of as very immature and selfish boys, but through volleyball they learn to deal with past discrepancies and do what is best for the team and each other.

At first, I thought Subaru would step in and be a bland villain type character who the Seiin boys would have to overcome, but that was dead wrong. Subaru really made the show so much better. Though dealing with his own past and very uncertain future, he put all that behind him for the time being so he could take his team all the way. He had lots of pressure on him as the best player on the best team, but he took not only his own dreams and aspirations, but those of this teammates, fans, and best friend with him as far as he could. Subaru had me cheering my heart out for Fukuhou even though I loved the Seiin team as well. What a wonderful cast.

I think it is safe to say I really enjoyed this show. What started out as me being interested simply because of David Productions, turned into me loving the opening song, and eventually turned into one of, if not my favorite seasonal this winter. Such an incredibly consistent show that got better each week. If you are a fan of sports anime, or even if you are not, you should give this show a chance because it is so much more than that. Thank you, David Productions, and everyone involved for making 2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu such a good experience. It has really opened my eyes towards sports anime. I really hope David Pro does a second season so we can see these boys grow even further as athletes and men.

Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu gets 10 spike serves out of 10 from me.

Thank you for reading. <3

When I saw the first teaser of this anime, as an volleyball player I immediately got interested in watching it, but my first impression was actually not that good. Even though I knew the story would be a bit "dark", in the first episode my only reaction was getting shocked with the plot itself and, honestly, I couldn't help but compare some character backgrounds with another volleyball anime. Still I decided to get rid of any comparation and keep watching. All I can say is that I didn't regret that decision yet. On the second episode the story finally caught my attention, but it still gota problem: the development is super rushed. And that's a problem that I know will keep happening until the end. By the episode 3 I was already interested enough in the story but since the pacing is not good I got so confused with some stuff that I decided to read the novel. After that I came to that conclusion that yes, the adaptation is super rushed.

Despite all this problem with the development, I still think the story is catching and the characters are realistic. I already know that many people will not like the characters since this is an anime that didn't hold back in showing all characters worst sides. Some people may even find it exaggerating, but from my point of view watching imperfect characters gives an realistic aspect that only adds to the plot. That said, don't watch that anime hoping for perfect and morally correct characters.

I'd say that the same way sports can show you your best parts, sometimes it wakes up your worst and I like how that anime portrayed that part. Specially when you're a teenager some unexpected feelings can appear out of nowhere and considering that playing team sports can be pretty stressful sometimes, it's only natural to anxiety, jealousy and other unwanted stuff to show up. They're all teenagers making teenagers mistakes.

About the art, all I can say is that I found it very good. The animation in the game parts is high quality, but outside the court it lowers the level a bit. The characters don't have anything special on the design part but for me that simplicity matches the idea of this realistic part of the story.

Well, I don't want to extend myself so all I can say about the sound is that for me this is the best opening from that season. The ending is also pretty good, but the sound effects are nothing special and I don't feel they match the emotion in some of the game parts.

Overall I'd say you should give it a chance. Probably not gonna be an anime that will captivate you to the point of turning it into a favorite, but still a nice story with realistic teenage characters and lots of drama going on.

I had high hopes for this ever since the first episode, but that quickly diminished as the series goes on. The story became a pile of rubbish, ruined by rushed pacing. The story itself is decent, but paired with bad pacing, then it'd be much much worst than it actually is. The characters are non-existent. Basically, anyone other than the two main characters and the two rival characters, aren't developed to make them "characters". There are the captain and the other guy (forgot his name cause that's all they are, forgettable) that got little development. But all their interaction and development are so stiff and unnatural thatwhen it comes to their friendship, it doesn't feel like friendship but as bromance.

Animation is average. But considering the studio behind it, David Production, I expected too much. Same thing happened with Hataraku Saibou season 2, but it doesn't seem like they are focusing on either anime since they don't have any fantastic animation.

Music is the only saving grace of this anime. And even then, it's just the opening and ending that are exceptional. The OST is average, and the timing is decent. The opening and ending are some of the best in this winter season.

Overall, it's a disappointing mess of a series that with a longer run, could have fix a lot of problems that I have.

(4.4/10)

Whenever shows that tend to be setting up on the wavelengths of superior ones before it, the most apt case of comparison will be the most unsightly one...and in this case, 2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team will get the most flack for looking like the "superiorally" inferior rip-off to one of the most prominent volleyball shows ever made: Production I.G's Haikyuu!. But yet, I implore you to hold off that comparison. Also, 2.43 is the height of the net for male volleyball: 2.43m, and the same could be said for the level of ambition for the show: too high, and when it drops, ithits the floor like a ticking time bomb.

Backtracking to when this show got its first PV, not gonna lie, despite the marketing that tries to show what 2.43 is at the hinds of its legs, some of us had the inkling that 2.43 is inherently similar to said show (at the time when Haikyuu! was all but wrapping up soon), especially with the volleyball setting. But while the show is heavily skewed in that direction, you could say that it was in actual fact a mix of that with some character drama, akin to Akane Kazuki's Hoshiai no Sora a.k.a Stars Align, but with the entire recluse of the original novel's setting that's similar to Summer 2016's Battery (similar settings, but a different sport of baseball).

It pains me to say this, but looking back at Battery and inferingly comparing to 2.43, there are indeed comparisons to be made: both are based off a novel, the synopsis of 2 guys (one strong and one weak, mentally) trying to recognize each other's radar of presence and support one another until they reach their objective and aim high for whatever they do. Yeah, you read that right: "grappling to find the true joy of the sport", and that's as much indicative for poorly mentally character-induced "drama" that just had a resolution with the many poutings and jealousies of the central duo that kinda rubs people the wrong way. You could argue that it's realistic, but I'd try to quote as much on the story and character fronts:

While Battery is not the standard hype-inducing kind of sports show that focuses most of its matter into the game being played, 2.43 inherently wants us viewers to see that the sport (which in this case, volleyball) is but only a medium platform to the plot...maybe too much, because it easily overshadowes the sport for a sacrifice for character development when hype-induced levels of animation like David Production's prove that it's effective to tell a story with great animation and visuals. And that right there is where 2.43 loses its hidden character drama plot, and I have an inkling that the production committee behind this show also knows it as well, and all they had to do was the get the best studio for animation effects, and it's DavidPro they've chosen to hide all these erroneously seemingly related-but-unrelated stuff to cover their tracks. Bad move.

Back to the whole character drama farce, it focuses heavily on the interaction between its characters, but also makes it glaringly rather difficult to say if it really even has much of a ‘story’ per se. Characters ARE a good source of material, and is one of, if not the most important agenda when it comes to character drama shows because of investment values for growth and development in the right stance. That being said, it's a disappointment that the characters doesn’t manage to carry themselves all that well, especially with the main Seiin duo Yuni Kuroba and Komichika Haijima. Both are physically efficient at what they do (and that's a good sign), but generically suck so bad at trying to relate with one another about their whims and getting along together (blame it mostly on the naive Kuroba) that unfortunately, isn't soakingly easy and is heavy to churn down on a one-way street. It’s like a never-ending struggle that feels like it could’ve been told better, but with the drama feeling so empty and everything feeling so bland (that is except the volleyball moments), it’s hard to really care much about anything that goes after the point of no return.

It’s quite obvious that a bigger topic is trying to be discussed behind the innocent front of sports shows but it’s just too bad that the message doesn’t properly come across unless you genuinely make an effort to really reach out for it. If I'd have to take a wager, replace the entire Seiin team for the opposing team, Fukuho Technical High School (which is Subaru Mimura and his team), because their circumstances are much more relatable and doesn't feel all that forced than what's found at Seiin. Take my word that when the focus is skewed in the main characters' direction, the side characters will try to make their mark as relevant as possible, and while 2.43 certainly did that, it's more so for progressing the "victory" plot than actually addressing the hidden core problem that is character motivation that development-wise, falls flat on its face with little to no stronghold. I know that Stars Align definitely did a better job than 2.43 overall, that's for sure, even if the character demographic is vastly different (young teens vs. young adults).

The bad times are over, and onto the good ones:

For anyone who has ever watched an inkling of shows made by David Productions, you know that the studio has the animation power to excel, and I'm nonchantantly sounding like a broken record, but it absolutely delivers in the similar veins to Haikyuu! on a production level. Also, its presentation is made to look like Stars Align in the watercolour space, so at least you'd have a better reference than always going for the juggernaut.

The soundtrack is supposed to help in the downtimes of moments like these, but somehow I find that to be particularly lacking, not because I don't remember what happened in those scenes where charater alleviation is supposed to be mattered most, but...it's just lacking, there's that. In other case, the OP slaps volleyballs to a T. It's definitely the right song for the right moment, and that is easily a plus for me. The same could not be said for the ED, much less its watercolour and creative visuals. It just sounds so generic and repetitive.

In conclusion, to be maligned into such a time as this to deliver on what is already the strong backdrop of similar shows of yesteryears past, I can't say that I can't recommend 2.43 for what it is, because as much as the anime has shown, hype for one aspect cannot uplift the others. It's like a weighing counter that has feathers on one side that are counteracted by the weight of solid objects on the other, and that's no good of a balance. If you like it, then I'm OK with it, no hatred for such lengths, but personally, I gear towards Stars Align more than 2.43 for a better experience.

Title is 2.43 not Haikyuu *facepalm* if it ain't obvious....I'll reiterate it's NOOOOOT Haikyuu... and It's not aiming to be like it. TL;DR The Appeal here is Realism. Everything in this anime screams normalcy. Futsu. BUT "Normal" doesn't equate to "Meh" Sigh. The MAL rating for this anime made me logged-in into this semi-dead account just to make a review ~and pump the rating a bit.... This Anime deserves a better rating. I don't get why people would be complaining about the lack of action when GENRE is pretty straightforward: SLICE OF LIFE, DRAMA!!! So if you are expecting Shounen tropes (feel good, focused on exaggerated game plays,exaggerated leveling up, exaggerated characterization, exaggerated optimism... you know, the usual.. etc.) nope you ain't getting that here. This is not for you.

If you're itching for comparison... eeh... i'm not a fan of that but.. err the way i see it This anime has more similar vibe with Run with the Wind just add in more drama and less maturity, which is self explanatory if you compare the genres, the additional drama in 2.43 comes from it being a Slice of Life, lesser maturity is because 2.43 deals with Middle school/ Highschool whereas the other is college level.

anyway...Despite that, the 'drama' dilemmas are not overly stretched out that it risks becoming annoying. Problems surprisingly resolve pretty quick, so pacing is not that bad in that aspect. Others might find the pacing too fast but as for me, i prefer it this way.

School Drama if drawn out too long could appear petty instead and could make the characters appear too immature. This anime doesn't and that's a plus for me.

As for the Characters, you won't find anyone that's too stupid or overly acts like one for comical reasons. They are very much like normal teenagers traversing maturity like how every other teenager does; with naivety, self-doubt, flippancy, naive-arrogance/pride, carefree-ness, bravery. They are kids. They are brats. But they are learning.

Story wise: It's simple. I Like it! i like how how the story is progressing with just the right amount of tension and makes one curious enough to watch another episode. It's a pretty relaxing anime to watch

One setback, for me, is the animation. The Art is good but animation is quite inconsistent and not smooth through out. There are scenes that are very detailed, but then next panel would be awkward. But it's not so bad that It'll repulse one from watching. It's very tolerable.

Alright.... I don't wanna give a too lengthy review, this hasn't finished airing yet anyway.

Key Takeaway: Learn to read Genre Tags.

Final words for now. Give this anime a chance it won't disappoint. It's easy to enjoy this show when you don't expect anything beyond it's genre. :)

EDIT: REMINDER!!! Watch the scenes after credits. I saw a lot of reviews saying the anime is confusing, time skips bla bla.. I am guessing some probably missed the tidbits after credits.. The next episode continues where the post credit scenes left off... lol

2.43 should be the overall score for this anime, just like its namesake. Am I the only only one extremely confused about certain parts of the ending? The flow of the story is basically nonexistent and is extremely choppy and unclear. Like someone else mentioned in their review, the time skips and such are very messy. The only likeable characters are Seiin's two third years, especially the tallest one who is actually quite amusing. It's quite hard to gauge any of the characters' motivations since they're so wishy-washy and vague with unnecessary outbursts. However I will see the anime through till its end just to give it the chance toredeem itself, I'm not holding my breath though.

I have to say though the opening is pretty good.

People really be throwing 2's and 3's on this anime. It's a good anime. If you think you're going to Japan and you'll be welcomed by ara-ara's then yeah, it's not for you probably. You guys need to stop butchering this anime. Maybe I pumped up the ratings a bit, but this anime does not deserve a 6.5 rating (18 feb). The anime resembles real life more than anything else that I've ever seen. I enjoy it, it just feels like something that would happen in real life. Don't compare it with the other volleyball anime, this one is more realistic. You won't be able to hitthe ball with your eyes closed.

It's a slice of life, but sports edition.

Don't be bothered by the reviews, just give it a try, it won't disappoint.

Many people are rating this low just because it's more realistic. That doesn't mean it's bad. It's not dragging out a training montage, it doesn't have unrealistic characters, it has real-life problems. Honestly, it's a really good anime. It's not THE BEST ANIME IN THE WORLD for me, but it's not bad like other people are saying. If you like unrealistic characters, unbelievably hyp moments, good things always happening, this might not be for you. If you're open to trying new things, like realism, like volleyball give it a try! The OP and ED is very good and some moments are so heartwarming ^^

THIS IS GOING TO BE QUICK AND SIMPLE First of all, don't compare this to other amine's with a similar genre, there is no point. When i started this show I had some sort of gut feeling that it could turn out to be great if possible a GEM? Am i right , i dont know yet, as it is still airing, am i worng well that's the question you'll answer when you consider to watch this. Personally for me, i think it hasn't jolted to that GEM spot , but is creeping upwards to one of my favourites this season. Reasons to back this up is thesheer beauty of the animation, no hint of CGI and there are no scenes where the studio cheap out, and degrade the fluidity of the animation. I think that the sole reason I didn't stop watching after EP 1 is the potential it has with its animation, it is noteworthy that a show with no much popularity has this sort of exceptional animation. So if your into good fluid animation, maby you'll like this.

Now for the plot. There is not much to say, as the plot is pretty simple and the characters involved, does fit with the plot. As for the main characters, their only purpose is to potentially reach the nationals and become someone who's talent is exposed to all and recognized by many. Its a bit meeeehh, but even tho its simple, it's simple to a good extent. Kinda reminds me of Ahiru no Sora.

Visuals are like i said exceptional, the voice acting is spot on, nothing to mention, but one thing you might not like is the slow start of the show with its frequent awkward scenes, that seem to have no meaning. At first they were a bit irritating, but it seems that it might also play a part for the character development as well. They are quite frequent so watch out.

In conclusion, i would advise you to perhaps watch this, but its your choice.

This is not a terrible anime, it is an average one, a mediocre average one at that I think. The best thing coming from this is probably the OP, its pretty cool I think. It feels bland to me, I never feel anything for the characters, I do not care for what happens to them. The story feels very bland-ish too. The main character is annoying, his personality is inconsistent. I've never seen haikyuu, but my sister, who is watching this with me, has. She has mentioned me a bit of things she sees similar to Haikyuu, but blander. The story, I feel, tries to besentimental or impactful, but it feels cheesy and bland, cant make me sad if I do not care for the characters involved.

It's a good anime to pass time, but its nothing new or good. There are probably some better sports anime out there I hope

Do not miss this one due to its rating or some other silly reason! Regardless of what you think about the story and characters, there are at least three separate reasons to watch this show: 1) Some of the characters talk funny. Supposedly this is the dialect local to the town of Fukui, where the story takes place. I cannot comment on the authenticity. Perhaps it is silly and ridiculous to native speakers, let alone people familiar with the dialect. To me, however, it is very pleasant to the ears and certainly a unique feature of the show. As a bonus point, part of the localculture is explored as well.

2) Besides the voice acting, the entire sound department of the series is great. The subtle background tracks, the music, the OP and ED, everything is well made and, most importantly, well placed. Harmonious, tasteful, well-measured. If nothing else, this alone should merit your attention.

3) The directing and the way the story is told are great. The events of the story are sequential and causal, naturally, but the flow of time feels inconsequential or some such. It's really interesting and refreshing. The focus seems to be exclusively on the important parts of the journey, the trivia is omitted, and this makes not only for an exciting viewer experience, but it also makes the characters and their interactions shine.

1. Story (1) Unoriginal plot, cringey dialogue, unrealistic goals, neverending cliches, confusing story line and structure 2. Art (6) Yuni looked pretty good in some scenes, I would've rooted for him more if he wasn't such an asshole MC 3. Sound (9) Amazing OP, never skipped it at all, decent ED except for the out-of-tune verse, amazing chorus, emotional OST that the anime didn't deserve, not a 10 bc exaggerated volleyball SFX, the volleyball hitting the ground sounded like a gunshot is this a sports anime or a mafia thriller 4. Character (1) disgusting character design, superficial motivations, shallow personalities, redundant dialogue, contrived interactions, unmemorable/irrevelant extras, nonexistent character development, whereis my redemption arc??

5. Enjoyment (5)

stuck with this anime for 12 episodes for 12 weeks, which says something

6. Overall (3)

decent music barely balances out the terribly executed plot and bland characters, OP is honestly the highlight of each episode

Read on for more dissing and hate :c

*** sorry, not spoiler free ***

1. Story (1) PATHETIC

why is this story pathetic? one, their team barely qualifies for the prefectural tournament in past years, but the anime follows their delusional goal of defeating the top contender aka the red team (theyre so irrevelant that i cannot remember their HS name for my life) but what are their skills? NOTHING, they have a so called "a c e" yuni who has limited/nonexistent volleyball skills and absolutely zero passion for the sport

follows their lame, undeep, one dimensional school drama instead of focusing on training and developing experience is this a homoerotic slice of life or a SHOUNEN SPORTS ANIME MY GOD

time line structure - in the first part of the anime, their ages were super unclear, I could not understand if they were in middle or school high school, first year??? second year???

training arc is a slideshow of the calender pages turning or the clock ticking instead of, yknow, ACTUAL TRAINING

so hard to follow the plot when there is no clear time structure, no deep motivations/goals of the characters except "to win" yeah wow everyone wants to win youre not special captain (i can't even remember his name)

2. Art (6) FAIR

The visuals in the OP were beautiful - amazing lightning and nice color scheme

the backgrounds in the anime were decently detailed, if only they could be like that the entire anime but no budget

Character designs are sketchy and it's painfully obvious that they are a ripoff of another popular sports anime

for a volleyball anime, their budget should go to the games/matches but those scenes were the sketchiest Ex) the blocks in this anime were so lame, the hands moved up robotically like a slideshow instead of the characters actually jumping

there was also a painfully obvious lack of muscles on these "athletes" but that is personal peference

instead of explaining specific volleyball techniques and their distinctive features, the characters force themselves to drop the title 2.43 every other line as if it is something deep but it's literally just a measurement of the volleyball net like why is that profound exactly its not

3. Sound (9)

OP is great, ED is great, emotional OST that regretfully doesn't fit the cringe dialogue

4. Character (1) PATHETIC

1) Yuni, our "MC" he heard first his buddy haijima went through a tough time with his "buddies" in middle school, but guess what he does at their first match together?? HE DITCHES HAIJIMA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MATCH WHILE THEY WERE LOSING BC HE COULD NOT GET HIS SHIT TOGETHER DESPITE BEING THE "ACE" even though he consistently received support/encouragement from haijima

furthermore, instead of apologizing for sabataging their team, he shits on the poor dude to the rest of his teammates like a snake, wow were they really childhood friends he DID HAIJIMA SO DIRTY

btw, this asshole never apologizes to him ever trust me i watched the whole anime

then in the second half of the anime, he became a background character with one line per episode talk about inconsistent

2) Hajima(the most decent character in the whole series), our boy deserves better but for the whole anime he carries his shitty ass team in middle school and high school

his ahole BFF Yuni the snake rats out on his "mistake" to the rest of the team, so now everybody hates him, but guess what his mistake was - it was just strongly telling his ex-teammate to get his shit together, and that dude "tried to commit suicide" which was LATER REVEALED TO BE FAKED so yuni just made haijima look bad for no reason

hajima also has an unhealthy dependency on yuni and overestimates him too much, saying that yuni is his "limbs" and dreaming about them going international when he needs to open his eyes and see and that yuni has zero (0) passion and laughable talent for the sport

3) the captain of seiin

he wants to win and has the passion, but so little skill that he isn't even a regular...how is this man the captain if his team can't even consistently depend on him?? (yes, he got booted off the team and became a bench warmer/floor sweeper who doesnt even join the team huddles because hes BUSY MOPPING THE FRICKING FLOOR LIKE A PEASANT), but bc haijima and yuni helped him realize his dream of winning the prefectural finals, he suddenly thinks he can go to nationals

His "character development" is making the match point against that subaru dude which doesn't even get fully shown bc the animators also think hes irrelevant

He's also a pushover by letting hajima dictate the team strategies and position, like is he the captain or not, grow a spine, dude

4) Subaru and his BFF manager kun

he was refreshing at first but became annoying as they milked his tragic past injury and relationship with manager kun

subaru's goal is to get his bff to nationals and constantly forces his goal onto his teammates like bruh do his teammates really care abt their captain's bf's tragic backstory to make it their high school goal

Manager kun's Incident In The Snow - pathetic, embarrasingly overprotective of subaru to the point where he would try to save him from falling on the frickn snow and breaking his neck seriously what a waste of club funds to compensate for his injury, they didnt spend enough club funds on strengthening the team to go to nationals, which is why they had enough to pay for the ambulance to take him to the ER PATHETIC

childish behavior - endorses a first year stalking their "rival" and disturbing practice - poor sportsmanship

5. Enjoyment (5) Mediocre

Honestly I only got through this by watching one episode per week but it was pretty entertaining seeing how the plot deteriorated exponentially each week, roasting the poor execution of plot quickly became a comedic pastime in this household

6. Overall (3) Poor

Never watching this shit again.

This anime is what we call "Peak-Mid". Its story is mid, characters are mid, animation is mid, direction is mid, artstyle is mid, voicing is mid, music is mid. The anime seemed less into Sports Action but more into Sports Drama/ SoL. However, the issue with this is that the viewers aren't here to see tons of characters just talking to each other for 90% of the episodes 90% of the time UNLESS you got an incredible story/ character writing which ofcourse was not there and ended up being MID. The characters kept on talking and talking and talking and trying to make viewers understand theiremotions, and here I'm like Bro I can't connect with you.

In the 2nd last episode our genius MC said "I don't want this match to end", and here I'm like, Bro I need to watch the next anime, please end! I came to see something like Haikyuu! and you're not even giving something like Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru. Neither action nor drama/ SoL.

The MC...the genius guy whatever his name was...looked like we got Kageyama's personality and Tsukki's height and face in one character (both are characters from another volleyball anime Haikyuu!). And we got another tall guy, our other MC called Kuroba who again looked MID in all aspects. His height was pretty exaggerated to be tall but didn't felt like he was tall as most of the teammates were themselves tall LoL.

Its made by David Production, the studio behind works like JJBA and Fire Force, both being incredible with their sound designs but here's where this anime lacks. It had only one good sound design, i.e., "The Devil Bazooka". Now, from the name one may think it sounds like a...BAZOOKA?...no it sounds like a bullet. Ok......can't be helped. The studio had so many things they could've done to sell this anime besides making 4 different MINI ANIME that no one will watch. Some good sound design or atleast hype animation nowadays works, but they went for everything MID. Looks like they just wanted to remind people that they do make anime besides JJBA and Fire Force.

Overall, skip this anime. If you want to watch some good sports anime, just watch Haikyuu!, Hajime no Ippo, Ashita no Joe, Slam Dunk, One Outs, etc. there's lots there. PEACE ✌.

I gave the show a chance since it is a sport anime and I really like them. While I would have love to see how the team finds success, it was just painful to watch since characters are so annoying. They feel really forced and even if something happens which should have give them some sort of character development, they brush it of and go back to their core. E.g,. One of the main characters (who is supposed to be the innocent type, just wanting to play Volleyball with a certain someone) just causes trouble and then denying that its his fault. Or him takingVolleyball too seriously and wondering why he can't see eye to eye with a certain friend, who is all serious and passionate about it. It just repeats itself.

There are other characters who behave sort of forced for the sake of drama. I quit. Sorry it's just not to my taste, since I have been spoiled with fantastic characters and their development in Haikyuu.

Nonetheless I hope others will at least give this show a chance and make a call for yourself.

I decided to drop it.

This anime is definitely far far far better than Haikyuu in all aspect. I am a big fan of sport anime and at the first time I watched the first episode of 2.43, I was really mesmerized by the opening song, animation, story, and everything about it compared to shitty anime like Haikyuu. Moreover, the character development of each character of this anime is clear and meaningful, not like Haikyuu who use super technique like volleyball version of Captain Tsubasa. Please watch at least 4 episodes first before giving rating or review because you'll regret your decision if you drop this anime before you know how worthit is!!

For some of you who believe that Haikyuu is better than 2.43, just stop watch anime!!!

I would not recommend watching this. I came into it with high hopes, and a motivation to not compare it to other sports/volleyball animes. I really tried my best to not compare, but some of the backgrounds of characters made it extremely hard not to look to one other anime in particular. Overall, the plotline is just kind of messy. It's hard for me to follow, especially when it headed into episode 5. I don't know if it's just me, but the way it jumps around without a clear motive of where the story is heading is irritating. The timeline is SUPER rushed. One of thefirst episodes (I think the second one?), it took me almost half way through the episode to understand the time had skipped a year forward. Extremely annoying.

The OP is really good! I do enjoy that as well as the animation.

Again, as I started this review, this anime is simply not worth wasting your time on.

I wanted to write this review earlier but I thought it'd be better if I left a review after the show finished airing and, boy howdy, am I glad that I did because if you'd have asked me what I thought of this show like three weeks ago, my opinion would be so different to what it is now... Story: 7/10 Although a little rushed in places (probably to fit into the 12 episode season) I personally thought that the story of 2.43 was pretty strong. Although cliché for a sports anime, newbie weak team dreams of going to nationals and has to go up against thelocal powerhouse to get there, it made me feel as if it was completely new to me and that I'd never seen a story like this before. I won't go into the story too much, for spoiler reasons, but there were moments that absolutely blew me out of the park. It does get dark at times though, handling topics like suicide, so I recommend you go into this show feeling ready to handle stuff like that.

Art: 7/10

The art style of this show was, I'll admit, a little basic. It looks pretty much exactly like some of the other shows I've seen. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing. You shouldn't fix what isn't broken and, personally, I think that the not-so-flashy art style suits this show. I like it. The animation is patchy at times but, overall, it's pretty good to!

Sound: 7/10

I don't really pay much attention to sound when watching a show. Like the name implies, it's background music. However, thinking about it, I do think that the sound complimented the show well. It was good.

Character: 8/10

I've seen a lot of people rag on the characters in this show. While their opinions are totally valid, I beg to differ. The characters in this show are surprisingly complex and interesting. There's Kuroba, who may come off as just your average himbo who gives up easily but is actually a little insecure (from what I can tell) and has trouble believing in himself which is why he struggles to persevere, and Haijima, who originally comes off as your average full-of-himself talented jerk but is actually riddled with anxiety and struggles in social situations. I'll admit, there are members of the supporting cast who are forgettable and it's hard to even pinpoint a single aspect of their personality, but those of the supporting cast who do get development are really strong and likeable characters.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I'll be honest, there were times towards the beginning of the series when I considered dropping the show but I am so glad I persevered through it. This show is my newest hyper fixation and it's safe to say that it's my new guilty pleasure anime as well. There were a few episodes (*cough* episode five *cough*) that stopped me from rating enjoyment as a 10/10 but just persevere through the bad episodes because, man, that ending is so worth it.

Overall: 9/10

I'm not entirely sure what to put here other than I recommend giving this show a watch. Even if you don't like it as much as I did, it'll keep you entertained for at least a couple of days.