We Don't Need the Memories
Could the one to keep our eye on this match
be the one people are calling the top high school setter,
Inarizaki's Miya Atsumu?
Indeed. But we should keep our eyes on Karasuno's setter, as well.
Tsubakihara (Kanagawa) Karasuno (Miyagi) Inarizaki (Hyogo)
Karasuno High School's Kageyama Tobio...
He's another skilled player who was invited to the All-Japan Youth Camp this year.
We're definitely seeing a setter battle between the East and the West!
That jump was really good!
I forgot to hit!
How could I waste an opportunity like that?!
You don't need to be that depressed about it.
Isn't that the first time Hinata's been distracted by anything other than a toss
that went up?
If you ever do that again during a match, I'm never setting to you again.
You need to make sure you can do both.
You absolutely suck!
Got it!
Did something click with him
after he saw the real deal?
But...
Even if he's able to make that boom jump a success,
I didn't expect Hinata's contact point to change that drastically.
This is going to throw us off.
Haikyu!!
We Don't Need the Memories
Episode 14: Rhythm
I could care less if it's loud or quiet.
That's place is hard to reach...
And the receive is a bit sloppy. Tanaka goes in for the last shot!
Got it! Tanaka-san!
One touch!
Free ball!
Got it!
Miya Atsumu sets the ball on the first touch!
Then Ojiro Aran smashes it over the net!
Karasuno High has completely stopped in their tracks!
Aran
Nice kill, Aran!
Nice kill, Aran! Jump, jump, Aran!
We Don't Need the Memories
One more time!
Nice kill!
You scared the crap outta me!
Inarizaki's always breaking the mold.
The ultimate challengers...
Aran's not bad, though I'm better! Right, Akaashi?
Yes.
Of course that was a very direct surprise attack,
but they were also trying to say,
"We're not going to be overwhelmed by our first match. This is a piece of cake,"
and put pressure on them.
I can keep calm while watching them play, but it'd suck playing against them.
Wow, they piss me off.
Nice serve!
Right at the whistle?!
Sorry! That was a bit long!
He managed to rebound without turning around!
That was good!
There!
We're up against the ultimate challengers.
But...
We're just as much the challengers
when it comes to volleyball.
Hinata Shoyo ran out and got the point!
That's the Karasuno first-year duo's famous slide attack!
All right!
Yeah!
Huh?
Huh?!
Way to go, Hinata!
Absolutely terrifying.
Their first attack is always a killer.
Man, I almost ran into that guy with the scary face.
I almost fell for Hinata's feint, too.
Wow...
Inarizaki Karasuno
What the heck was that crazy shot?!
It sure was crazy!
That's called a slide. You don't see that much in boys' volleyball.
Huh...
So it's fast enough to break through a block...
Yet they didn't sacrifice any height, either.
How frickin' cool is that?!
That thing's even cooler to see in person!
What's your deal?
You always mentally regress, like, five years when we're in a match.
Shut yer trap!
We Don't Need the Memories
It doesn't really seem like we're applying pressure to them...
That four-eyes earlier was basically smirkin' the whole time.
I mean, you can try to distract my serve all you want, but...
Should we switch things up early?
Yeah.
We Don't Need the Memories
The whole team that placed second at the Inter-High
is giving it their all to beat us!
When it's my turn to serve...
It'll be hundreds of them versus me!
We Don't Need the Memories
They're going faster and faster.
That serve toss wasn't the best.
His first step was perfect!
They're going into a quick from there?!
We Don't Need the Memories
Nice kill, Ren! Jump, jump, Ren! One more time!
Holy crap!
You can tell with one look...
His first step was as refined as it gets.
That quick and accurate first step
gives the setter time to set up and figure out where his teammates are,
and gives them time to figure things out.
When the middle blocker scores the point, the middle scores right back.
Nice. Neither side is letting up.
Are they going to use every last bit of the eight seconds they have?
Nishinoya!
I was a half-step late!
Hell yeah!
Nice, nice, Ryu! Push it, push it, Ryu!
Cut them right off, Ina High!
Hey, Ryu-chan's not half bad.
Yeah. Their #10's feint was effective, too,
but he's got a good eye on the blockers and the floor.
He used to just smash the ball as hard as he could.
S-Sure.
She's staring way harder than I expected.
It's like that one thing...
Where people start syncing up their applause for, like, a long jump in track and field.
But it's way different when you start it yourself
than when people just randomly start it for you.
Even if the crowd means well, it may just end up provoking Karasuno.
Don't worry about it!
That's not good.
Huh?
That rhythm that keeps getting faster.
That pressure isn't obvious, but before you know it, they're setting the rhythm.
I thought we'd just have to worry about the booing,
but this is getting in the way, too.
First, we gotta be on par with our serves, or we're not gonna get anywhere.
Yeah!
We Don't Need the Memories
Nice serve, Aran!
Inarizaki Karasuno
Inarizaki High's managed their second service ace already this match.
Nice serve, Aran!
Go, go, Aran! One more time!
The difference in their scores just keeps growing.
Inarizaki doesn't seem like they're established champions.
They still have the feel of a team of upstarts that are climbing their way up.
Then they've got their support...
Inarizaki's cheering section
seems more like cover fire than just your usual support.
I see what you mean.
Both on and off the court...
They use sound and time
to expand Inarizaki's territory.
Well, their team's cheer squad is hella impressive!
Karasuno
Karasuno Taiko
Sorry to keep you boys waiting!
Haikyu!!
Nice serve, Aran!
Inarizaki High's managed their second service ace already this match.
Go, go, Aran! One more time!
Inarizaki Karasuno
The difference in their scores just keeps growing.
What the heck? Inarizaki's already taken over the arena.
Atsumu... That first serve of yours was a bit off.
Did you let the cheering squad distract you?
If only you guys had beaten Nekoma, you'd be playing here, too, Suguru.
Nohebi Academy Volleyball Team Former Captain Daisho Suguru
Y-Yup, Mika-chan.
Wow, they're so cool!
Talk about pressure... Glad I'm not playing against them.
Karasuno Taiko
Hey, Japanese taiko drums.
That's awesome!
Fly
It's Saeko-neesan!
Her awesomeness is lethal...
That's definitely a new way to die.
Thank goodness they made it in time.
Yeah...
You're late!
My bad! We sorta got lost!
I just figured you were drinking until morning again.
I mean, I was drinking until 5 AM, but we still left on time.
Nice serve!
Yes!
Thanks!
Wow! He's so fast!
The national tournament is scary!
Nice serve, Hinata!
It's always ideal to have it be silent when you're about to serve,
but I really want to stop them from taking over the rhythm!
It doesn't have to be loud enough to overpower them.
As long as we can get a rhythm besides
what Inarizaki is playing into the server's ears...
Let's go!
That one time really pissed me off.
But our job here isn't to beat the opponent's cheer squad.
We might not even be able to give our boys the push they need.
Because they're gonna keep moving forward on their own.
So we just need to regain the balance in here a bit.
I suddenly feel like... I can hit the best serve ever!
Despite all of Inarizuki's provocation...
Karasuno's #10 isn't showing even a bit of panic.
It almost looks like he's smiling a little.
What kind of serve is he gonna do?
A spike serve? A jump floater serve?
Or a completely normal one.
Aran!
Got it!
A double quick...
A super quick one from the side...
Tsukishima's gonna close in that cross.
It hasn't touched the ground. It hit his foot.
The hell?!
Is that even allowed?
According to the rules, yeah. It's just...
Super embarrassing, probably.
It's that guy again!
Use your damn hands!
I totally missed!
Great job getting to the ball, Shoyo!
I've gotta regain my dignity!
Back tempo!
Daichi-san!
Fly
Nice, nice, Daichi! Push it, push it, Daichi! One more time!
Sawamura moves in from the right!
Nice set!
I totally yelled, "Back tempo!" in my head!
I honestly thought the toss was going to Hinata Shoyo again!
Maybe Inarizaki is watching Hinata-kun a little too closely.
I can't say I blame them, though.
Inarizaki Karasuno
Looks like Karasuno's getting back into a rhythm!
I thought he was totally going for Hinata, but he stopped.
He was trying to lure me in.
It totally looked like he was setting to Hinata just now, huh?!
Yes, it did.
Simple decoys won't work on read blockers.
But the first touch went up in the center of the court,
and it looked like he was setting to Hinata, but it went further right.
It's not just that Kageyama's got everything in his field of view.
He probably knows how his opponents are viewing him.
Also...
Hinata's so tiny, but he sure makes himself known on the court!
Indeed.
Man... That totally looked like it was for me.
You moron! Kageyama, you moron!
Not only did they place second in the Inter-High,
they also have that overpowering cheering squad.
But we may have been overestimating them far more than necessary.
It'll be okay. If we approach each problem one at a time,
we'll be able to figure this out.
Yes.
Inarizaki Karasuno
Nice kill, Hitoshi! Nice kill, Hitoshi!
We Don't Need the Memories
Jump, jump, Hitoshi! One more time!
And there's the dual wielder again.
What's that mean? Is he gonna use two balls?
No!
He can hit a spike serve or a jump float serve...
Basically, they won't know if they're gonna get Azumane's serve, Kageyama's serve,
or Tadashi's serve right up until he actually hits it.
Ack!
And depending on which one it is, the positioning for receiving will be different.
If they're even a step off,
that delay can prove fatal when the serve comes in at over 100 km/h.
Miya Atsumu-kun is a dual wielder when it comes to serving.
Does that mean we won't know
which serve is coming until he actually tosses the ball?
No, you can tell them apart.
Count his steps. When he's serving,
he routinely measures his distance by the number of footsteps.
When he's going for a jump floater, he's four steps from the end line.
When he's going to do a spike serve, it'll be six steps.
That's how you'll be able to tell them apart.
It'll make a huge difference if we can tell which one he's going for.
They don't really show all the movements that go into doing a serve on TV, do they?
I'm surprised you were able to figure that out!
I did a lot of research!
I looked at videos online and videos my buddies took, too.
Thanks!
That's four...
A jump floater.
Bring it!
You may have figured that out...
but that's just the starting line.
It was only an instant!
And it ended up in his face!
Yet another service ace!
Nice serve, Atsumu! Nice serve, Atsumu! Go, go, Atsumu! One more time!
Miya Atsumu has two incredibly powerful serves under his belt!
That was an excellent serve!
Powerful serves can make the team powerful, too.
If they don't cut this off soon, Karasuno is going to be in trouble.
Inarizaki Karasuno
Damn, that serve was insane!
Wow...
All right, guys.
We've dealt with intense serves in the past, too.
Now's not the time to panic.
Right!
Huh...
Inarizaki High School
Say, Samu.
Yeah, Tsumu?
We can't miss a chance to score. Am I right?
Four steps.
Another jump floater?
Yes!
Asahi-san!
Got it!
This position... This timing...
This angle!
It's perfection!
We Don't Need the Memories
Nice kill, Osamu!
Nice kill, Osamu! Jump, jump, Osamu! One more time!
The ball really did just show up.
Hell yeah!
Th-That was almost like...
Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun's
weirdo quick?!
Episode 15: Found
Next time: "Found."