When I’ve read Irina’s review of this episode and saw that she had some confusion because of the French meaning of the word ‘Piton’, I went “Me too!”. Though, I don’t know any French so my momentary confusion was in relation to Turkish. ‘Piton’ are the snakes that belong to Pythonidae family and although it dawned on me soon that it’s written as python in English, I still thought to myself what could be the snake reference about. It had been a while since Nohebi match was over and we were left with Suguru and his cute girlfriend Mika as our narrators. Way to go Haikyuu for the multiple language confusion!
We finally get a glimpse of what Inarizaki’s school motto means to them. I’ve mentioned before but out of all the mottos, Inarizaki’s “We don’t need memories.” is the best. At first glance, it has a modernist feel to it, in the sense of constant re-examination of self and the things you do, experimentation with the traditional form, continuously destroying and rebuilding. It also has similarities to the way Inarizaki plays, and Kita saying he doesn’t like their motto, is again in line with his character considering he sticks to his routine almost religiously. However, when we hear Osamu saying (I’ll be paraphrasing, kind of) that all of those yesterdays are actually contained withing their bodies as muscle memory, I thought that they are not really abandoning the past. They just don’t cling to it, whether it be good or bad. With the power granted by that past, they ask themselves the important question: What are we going to do today?
Things don’t look very good for Karasuno. The score difference is only 2 points, but winds are against the crows. As we are constantly being reminded of how important the mental momentum is, the wild card Hinata is back on the court. I love how the cheering squad expect something from him, they don’t know what, but just…. Something. It‘s true that not going through the same path as, for example, Kageyama did with volleyball and learning it from an early age in a regular club with a coach and all has stalled Hinata a great deal, but it’s not 100% lost. Not learning the skill through a fixed path may have its perks. And Hinata is learning how to use it to his advantage, all the while polishing himself in areas where he is lacking. Karasuno manages to score and have Kageyama serve, however, to quote Hinata, a whaaaaam-like score do not follow and the mood is still lukewarm. And then, that happens.
It’s barely 3 minutes but one of the most cathartic moments in the season. Starting with Atsumu’s intervention from the back and setting the ball to Osamu, Tsukishima reading that and going in for the block, Osamu surprising us with another set to Alan. He spikes powerfully, but on the receiving end, there’s Hinata. Everyone, even his teammates or previous opponents watching the game are surprised that he managed such a perfect save and it’s these rare but non-miraculous moments that every player strive to experience during a game. And this moment not only gives you the strength to carry on, but to your teammates as well. I actually…. Have a lot to say about Hinata. But I either have to wait until the rest gets animated or write a separate post.
Although we haven’t neared the match point, we see an amazing rally between both teams. Yet, even these little building blocks do not secure Karasuno a point. When Coach Ukai takes a time out, all of the Karasuno members go back to the benches in a dejected mood. Well, all except one. Hinata is rightfully in bliss after his save and of course he wants to squeeze more compliments out of Kageyama while he can. What he gets from him, is another story. But these adorable dorks being themselves lifts up the gloomy clouds surrounding them and it even attracts Osamu’s attention. His hunger analogy has been used for Hinata in the past, and it’s not just his hunger towards getting better and more all-rounder, Karasuno looks like they are having a picnic day. Or the barbecue they had after the camp. Sharing a meal together with the people you love is a happy and refreshing occasion indeed. It also raises one’s appetite.
Another episode that had me standing straight with excitement on the couch! I’ll be leaving you with my favorite moments from the episode and see you soon ~
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