2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team – The Complete Collection at a superficial glance sounds like another volleyball anime trying to cash in on the enormous success of Haikyu!!, but the reality is it throws a slightly more josei approach to the storytelling that helps it stand out as unique.
Set in the regional prefecture Fukui, 2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team follows the path of timemates (and estranged childhood friends) Yuni Kuroba and Kimichika Haijima reconnecting through their mutual love of volleyball. After several trials, the duo find themselves paired in the underdog boys volleyball team at Seiin High School chasing their dreams of becoming the best in Japan and to travel the world as global athletes.
The plot reads like a typical sports anime, and to degrees it follows a lot of those archetypes. There’s the underdog competition, silly testosterone rivalry between regions and at-times melodramatic play-by-plays as the series progresses. We also get the boot-camp experience too, and the miracle rookie/savant whose passion for volleyball is part of his plans for global domination or something.
I might be exaggerating that last point a little… maybe…
For me, the strengths with 2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team relate less to the on-court drama and the slightly more mature gaze it passes over what’s happening around it. The series is set in a regional area beyond the typical concrete jungles that typify high school anime narratives, but what’s interesting is the undercurrent of despair in the broader characters caught up in what feels like a dead-end town. It’s a contrast of sorts to the small-town, regional setting in Super Cub which came off as sweet and inviting, with town where Haijima and Kuroba are living coming off a bit run-down and more remote in comparison.
This setting allows 2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team the opportunity to lean harder on the realities faced by the team members if they want to avoid falling into delinquency by focusing on their studies and volleyball to get them out of the countryside and provide opportunities for them in the future. This is where the josei elements kick in, and to be honest the series would have benefited by providing a bit more time and attention to this side as the series went on. During the early phase of the story this was a heavy focus, but as the episode count pushes hard to close off the gap we see those interesting, auxiliary elements left aside to emphasise the sports anime model.
Despite its issues, I do believe this is a suprisingly engaging anime. It manages to balance the action sequences with solid art direction that does an excellent job expressing life in a regional Japanese town to juxtapose it against the hustle of Tokyo. The emphasis on bishounen cast members is sure to delight many people too! There’s plenty of detail put into the volleyball itself, with a healthy dash of hyperbolic action (and associated commentary) wherever it’s needed. While I haven’t watched Haikyu!!, from what I’ve been exposed to I’d imagine the energy with 2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team is quite different on the whole which should prove engaging, and hopefully the josei-nuanced themes are a nice contrast.
For the local release Madman have gone with the Funimation Blu-Ray release for 2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team. This means tight encoding, bilingual audio and some rudimentary extras with ops/eds and previews. Not surprisingly, this also means we get the usual cardboard sleeve which I love!
2.43 – Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team tries to extend itself beyond a typical sports anime mould and often does so quite successfully with its distinctively josei take on the format. While it doesn’t always succeed, it was refreshing to see its take on things and should prove an interesting companion piece to more established properties, such as Haikyu!!.
A review copy was provided by Madman Entertainment to the author for the purpose of this review.
