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Haikyuu's second season continues with its excellent high-quality storytelling that made many fall in love with the first season. While Haikyuu is most certainly a sports anime at its core, it's also an extremely well-crafted tale of the trials and hard work that every player goes through. Most importantly, Haikyuu makes you actually care about what happens in the show. Whether it's a loss or a victory, Hinata or a player on the opposing school's volleyball team, the show manages to grasp us as viewers and force us to invest heavily in the fictional world of Haikyuu.

With most sports anime, the pacing of the story ... is hard to bear. In some shows, a match can last nearly half a season. With Haikyuu, it never felt this way. Each episode had a succinct amount of storytelling and the pacing was perfect. From the training camps they attended, to the matches that were played, every episode was a thrilling ride that always managed to be satisfying. One of Haikyuu's biggest strengths is how it properly sets up each story arc with the necessary back stories to each character. This type of information provided is exactly why this show is so good. It gives you the “why should you care” for nearly every aspect of the show. Haikyuu also mixes the elements of a story masterfully. Comedy, action, shounen, it's all there and perfectly balanced. Comedy was put in at the right times and had me rolling on the floor on more than one occasion. The action is thrilling in the big matches and the shounen aspect of “improving” is so engraved in the viewer, it just feels so good to root for Karasuno. The attention to detail in the story is by far one of the best of any shows I've seen and it truly makes for a great watching experience.

Production I.G has done a great job with the animation for Haikyuu. The animation quality is top-notch and most importantly, consistent. In fast-paced action scenes, the animation becomes incredibly intense, but it's very well done and gives a much needed “oomph” for climaxes in the story. Character design is varied and unique as well. Far too often in other anime shows, the characters all look alike. Haikyuu does not experience this with its large cast of characters that are appealing and uniquely designed.

Haikyuu's voice acting, background music and OST are, like the rest of the show, great. The OP and ED are fitting for the theme of the show. The background music in scenes are also utilized very well. Some other shows try to force insert songs in scenes that do not fit well but Haikyuu does not suffer from this. Haikyuu's OST is near perfect and manages to help emphasize the emotions experienced in the show. Google Haikyuu's OST and prepare to be blown away (or just listen to it while watching).

The characters of Haikyuu are most definitely its strongest point. I briefly mentioned this earlier, but Haikyuu fully develops each character in the show. The characters all grow throughout the series. None of them are 'perfect' from the start and altogether gives it a certain type of realism. Most people like to root for the underdogs and that's essentially the same feeling you get from Haikyuu. There is no 'Gary Stu' as each person has their strengths and weaknesses. Even the seemingly perfect Oikawa Tooru has his own weaknesses in that he is not a 'prodigy' but someone who worked his way up. I also appreciated that each character in the show has an impact. For example, Yachi, the manager, is not someone who just stands on the sidelines cheering Karasuno on. Haikyuu shows you her back story as well as her perspective. This greatly adds to the storytelling and to her character in general. Same goes for Tsukishima. His backstory is fleshed out and tells us why he acts the way he does. Each character is important to the overall story and is truly a 'cog in the machine' for Haikyuu.

My initial thoughts upon seeing the preview for the first season of Haikyuu is that I couldn't possibly find volleyball interesting. Now, 50 episodes later, I can't fathom how I'm going to wait for the third season. Haikyuu is not 'perfect' and of course has certain elements like 'they can't be losing all the time' armor plot. But again, Haikyuu is a fictional anime with the sole purpose of entertaining you. In this case, it is very much about the journey, not the destination. If you only care to look at the small conveniences that a story may take, you'll miss out on everything else that makes it great. For me, Haikyuu was an enjoyable show that I looked forward to watching every Sunday. With fully developed characters that you can care about, a great OST and masterful storytelling, Haikyuu is worth your time as it is an excellent example of just how entertaining anime can be.

What started off as what seemed to be a bland-version of Sword Art Online turned out to be one of the hidden gems of anime shows. Log Horizon starts off slow with the usual setup of a "no-faults" main character, but with a slight difference. That difference is how the main character, Shiroe, strategically approaches each situation that makes Log Horizon an exciting show to watch. Shiroe isn’t the typical shounen main character that powers up throughout the story and then overpowers his enemies. Rather, he’s the guy in the background, the “villain in glasses” who controls the flow and direction of battle. Overall, Log ... Horizon is a genuinely fun show without all the pitfalls that we've come to expect from a shounen-type series.

The story begins by introducing a set of typical MMORPG rules/restrictions that many viewers are familiar with. But what's not so familiar are the way these rules are manipulated, opening paths to feats that were previously impossible. When one thinks of rules and boundaries, one would assume that it would limit whatever it governs. Ironically, these strict rules expand Log Horizon's story from a generic show to a well thought-out strategic adventure. It's an extremely appealing story given the relatability to many of its viewers. Having played games like World of Warcraft, I and many other viewers understand how the core mechanics of questing, leveling, raiding and more work. That’s why when other possibilities that greatly affect these game mechanics are discovered, Log Horizon truly becomes special. It also feels completely plausible. It is NOT a “power of friendship defeating the boss that was previously kicking your ass.” It’s fundamentally sound and really becomes an intriguing show.

Although some may disagree, I really thought that one of the show’s biggest strength is how the characters all have defined, unique roles. Where Shiroe is the leader in the shadows, Crusty is the leader in the spotlight. Where Akatsuki is loyal, quiet and small, Naotsugu is the loud, pervy and funny big guy. And you also have... Rundelhaus, who's in a category of his own when it comes to goofiness. These kinds of distinctions allow Log Horizon to have all kinds of interactions between characters and the possibilities become endless. To me, the characters are one of the biggest strengths of the show.

The story is what makes Log Horizon quite different from a typical shounen show. It has heavy political/economical themes that tie well into one of the show’s biggest points: building a world. In fact, there are a few episodes where the dialogue gets quite heavy and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. With that being said, I genuinely enjoyed the dialogue and found the story to be engaging. Log Horizon also executes its' story quite well. I found the pacing and structure of the arcs to be satisfactory and enjoyable.

Art is decent, it's not UFOtable amazing, but not terrible either. It's consistently pretty decent and not "inconsistent" like some other shows. Nothing else to be said here.

Sound is decent as well, the opening and ending songs are quite good but take time to get used to. The background music, while not bad, is overused. You'll know what I mean when you get halfway through the season.

With all that being said, Log Horizon is not a perfect show. For example, why does no one care about what's happening to their bodies in the real world? You'll find yourself asking this question as you watch the show. It's almost as if the topic of what's going on in the real world is completely forgotten. Also, some people may find that the interactions between the characters become quite repetitive, especially with Henrietta, who has a loli fetish for Akatsuki. Her interactions with Akatsuki are always of the same manner and it gets boring very quickly. It seems that Akatsuki's character is reduced to mere loli humor later in the show.

On a side note, I really feel that it's important to point out that Log Horizon is not a combat-heavy show. That in itself already distinguishes itself from other shounen shows. But what's really important is how the show focuses on actual strategy and manipulating the rules within the game world that the characters live in. If Log Horizon's story didn't have these elements, I really believe that Log Horizon would not be an exciting show to watch, it would just be another okay show.

Log Horizon is not your typical show. It has firm grounded roots of realism in a world of fantasy that is genuinely exciting to watch. From diverse characters, to bending the rules in a world most of us are accustomed to, Log Horizon is a good show and is worth your time. With that being said, it is by no means a perfect show. It's a rather simple show in terms of concepts, as well as having plot holes in the overall story. But Log Horizon more than makes up for it in terms of its pure enjoyability (isn't that why we watch anime in the first place?) and execution of its story.