#haikyuu 398

[thethingsido4]

Quiobi is the most read SW ship on AO3?!

I had no clue! I am flabbergasted!

The most read Quiobi series has 2 398 596 hits!

In comparison: Destiel’s “Twist and Shout” only has 1,491,158 hits!

Only other juggernauts like “Harry Potter”, “My Hero Academia”, “Dream SMP” (that one surprised me), or “Haikyuu!!” have higher numbers. (Their numbers are breathtaking!)

It took some while to tot up all the numbers of the many parts that story has with the original story having 1 085 841 hits and the sequel having 1 312 755 as to date.

It would have been better if the ficcer had just thrown all those parts into one part, honestly. With 81 parts I surely won’t do the maths a second time. LOL

I am somewhat curious how that one Chinese story with only one chapter managed to get over two million hits. But I don’t speak Chinese.

[becomehaikyuu]

Haikyuu Chapter 398: He Who Would Climb A Ladder Must Begin At The Bottom

REFLECTION:

That ball heading for Hinata's face? Remembering his beach training, he leans back like Dhalism and receives like a fucking legend. The chapter ends with the ball still in the air. The match is still on.

[simplyfx]

He receives~ 😬 Hbd Hinata Shouyou~

[haikyuusetters]

everyone else reacting to hinata vs sakusa reacting

[ilunaren]

Beautiful

Proud Atsumu ♥

[yonasterin]

THE FACT THAT CHAPTER 398 CAME OUT ON HINATA SHOYO'S BIRTHDAY AND IT WAS E V E R Y T H I N G HE DESERVED??????

[fonmythenmetz]

You know what I mean

Hinata just imagined showing his favorite beach volleyball to the man of his love ok

[rhetorical-ink]

Haikyuu!! Observations: Chapter 398 - Respect the Sun!

**BIRTHDAY SPOILERS BELOW**

I wonder if Furudate knew that the arc would be at this point in June, especially with Chapter 398 coming out on Shoyo’s official birthday. Either way, after reminding us in Chapter 396 that the manga is slowly but surely entering its final stages with the “party is almost over,” still in the denial stage, there is one thing we can confirm with Chapter 398: Shoyo Hinata deserves all of our Respect. 

I love panels like this, where we see a rare glimpse at our eternal ball of sunshine showing competitive fierceness -- hell, even a rare scowl here -- as he forces himself to get up and ready for the Adler’s counter attack, after he receives and sends back Ushijima’s spike from the end of Chapter 397. He’s not some happy-go-lucky teenager just excited to be invited to the game. 

He’s hungry, and wants to win. 

And he’s not the only one. Kageyama doesn’t even have to look to feel the energy radiating off of Ushijima during the Adler’s own version of the Synchro Attack. We know who he’s sending the ball to. Ushijima is as demanding as Hinata with how much he wants that set. But as cool as this moment is -- 

--it’s THIS shot that just made me sit back in silence and awe at Furudate’s mastery. You can almost feel this happening in the anime; the screen blinking white and then fading into this moment. Hinata so in the zone, remembering his training on the beach, the work he’s done to be good at receiving...because he HAD to be good to keep playing and moving forward. I also want you to note the look on Hinata’s face in this panel below. Because I’m going to come back to it. 

I love how Suga-mom is about to cry again, this is why Asahi brought tissues, and how Daichi, Captain of Receives, is able to comment alongside Ukai. But it’s Takeda, with his misty, nostalgic eyes, who really brings this chapter to its core: 

Remember that face in the panel above? With Shoyo looking up into the air? When I saw that, I immediately thought of this panel: 

 It’s fitting that the chapter featuring the last high school match we see Hinata play mirrors the chapter featuring Hinata’s last middle school match. It’s also a parallel of two similar looks with different emotions: The one from Chapter 365 represents every ounce of fear, anxiety, guilt, and disappointment Hinata is experiencing all at once having to leave the gymnasium. The look in the frame of him about to receive Ushijima’s spike is one of serenity, calm, understanding, and acknowledgement of his own skill and that he can overcome the obstacle in front of him. 

There’s a lot of callbacks to Chapter 365 in Chapter 398, particularly with how Hinata remembers Takeda’s speech to him, and we suddenly see the impact that moment had on him. In this gorgeous double-spread, we see in dark gray the moments of defeat Hinata suffered that were his trauma: Losing that first official match, the loss to Aoba Johsai, the collapse during Quarterfinals...and then we see what he did with Takeda’s words. 

Not only did he train, but he took care of himself. Hinata throughout his whole first year was shown to be on a constant adrenaline high, running nonstop without any adherence to his physical well-being. I nearly teared up seeing the “Mastery Series: Sleep” books, because it shows that Hinata REALIZED he had an issue with himself that could become a problem down the road, and worked towards fixing it; albeit through meditation, self-help, etc. 

In the top left, we see that one moment in Rio when Hinata started to despair (I’m going to do a whole other post on Oikawa and his relation to this, don’t worry), but then there’s that callback to Takeda’s words in Chapter 365, and how Hinata decided instead of sinking into despair, to make it a moment to grab towards self-improvement. 

And Hinata transformed that advice from his coach into reality. When presented with the challenge of Ushijima’s spike, one that few ever receive head-on, Shoyo Hinata was “at the front of the line when that opportunity came knocking:” 

But here’s where we get into the heart of Chapter 398:

If the death of his grandfather and the subsequent ending of his middle school volleyball experience were Kageyama’s central trauma, they were addressed in Chapter 387. Kageyama kept referring back to that one moment over and over. 

For Hinata, his ultimate trauma was the Kamomedai game and his collapse and removal from the game in Chapter 365, since we don’t see any other moment in his high school career have near the impact, and Chapter 398 addresses it. 

Just like Hinata’s “I’m here!” was what brought Kageyama back to reality and the possibility of moving forward, so were these words to Hinata from Kageyama at the ending of the Kamomedai game: 

Shoyo Hinata reminded Kageyama of his grandfather’s promise, that someday someone better WOULD come along and spurn him forward to become a better player. 

And likewise, Kageyama reminded Hinata of his own promise, to stay in the game the longest, and that by leaving the Kamomedai game early, he hasn’t fulfilled that promise...yet...so he HAS to keep moving forward and become a better player, too.

From Chapter 365′s darkest moment --

To the end of Chapter 398, calling back and seeing the same moment from a different angle, his coach’s words followed by a fulfilled action: 

“Concentrate on what you need to do to win.” 

Which is just what Shoyo is doing. Thanks to years of practice, dedication, the promise to his greatest ally and opponent, and the advice he received as a first year from his Coach, Ittetsu Takeda. 

BONUS: The chapter title calls back to the Boy Ball Arc, forever cementing it and the Rio mini-arc as some of the most important moments in this series. I will defend this to the ends of the Earth.  

BONUS BONUS:��Y’all, I’m glad Shoyo’s in his twenties now in the series, because...I’m not going to lie...Furudate, your drawings of him this whole game just have me thinking:

Happy Birthday, Shoyo Hinata, you absolute GOAT. 

[watevermelon]

I can’t imagine being a Sakusa stan — only know ONE other member of his team, him being his cousin, and only getting crumbs of him in the background while haikyuu is imminently e*ding

[fluffysparklyham]

We might not play like Hinata, we might not be physical fit like Hinata, but can someone tell me how to master SLEEP like Hinata. 

[commandermardukas]

"He who climbs the ladder must begin at the bottom."

He understood and took it to heart Sensei.

[bokuto-beam]

Haikyuu!! 398

I am literally Suga. Im tearing up just reading this chapter and how far Hinata has come with his journey in volleyball.

[kpop-haikyuu]

[owlsetter]

[snekdaishou]

hinata managed to receive one of ushijima's crosses AAAAHHHHHH it seemed to be very powerful as well but he managed to bump it cleanly and everyone is so proud of him! coach ukai takes note that his form and balance was unwavering, hinata also flashbacks to noya's advice on receiving. takeda sensei thinks back to the the time during the nationals when hinata caught the fever and he had to convince hinata to be mindful of his health from then on.... it's such an emotional hinata chapter..

[fruti2flutie]

haikyuu 398