Volleyball Couple Reaction to Haikyu!! S2E4: "Center Ace" 

The sound cutting out for Bokuto's Hey Hey Heys is an absolute tragedy.

Sarah's annoyance with Lev is the same as Ushijimi's annoyance with Hinata lmaoooo

#justice for ubugawa guy

In this episode we see the seeds of one of Hinata's most interesting character traits IMO: his sheer GREED. He wanted to be the ace, settled as a "decoy"; but that doesn't stop him from wanting to be the most powerful on the court. Hinata's greed is interesting, it's both constructive (he wants to get stronger) but destructive as well (he'll be selfish even if it means hurting others). His greed comes from the pure ego of an athlete who loves the sport and wants to stay on the court - at any cost. Hinata is grappling with his identity, trying to understand who he is - does he want to be the Little Giant, or the Ace, or the Ultimate Decoy? As he evolves, will his ambition be too self-destructive (as it was for Kageyama?) Will his desire to stay on the court clash against the team's? This is a key arc of his story - and one that is super interesting to watch! Side note: 3rd year Yaku's precious "KENMA'S ACTUALLY TALKING EVEN THOUGH HE'S SHY" is so adorable 🤩🤩 one very underrated dynamic of Haikyuu is the adorable junior - senior dynamic we see in all teams. very remininscent of all team sports!!! ALSO: what's really funny about Hinata and Kageyama (and presumably one of the reasons they are bad at school lol) is how literal they are. they cannot understand any symbolism or metaphors, they say exactly what they mean. which is why most "idioms" (Saoko's detour line, or Takeda's motivational speeches) fly way over their head. on the bright side - they understand each other perfectly because of this 😅😅

Looking at his photo I think Adam is more like one of important characters in S4.

31:44 A bit of perspective: If we weren't following through Hinata & Karasuno's POV, Hinata harping on about being an ace in S1, then claiming he'll beat Ushiwaka after just losing to Seijoh... he would sound just as cocky and BS as Lev is. At this point in time, Hinata is only able to consistently score because of Kageyama's talent of perfectly syncing to Hinata's raw instincts. Hinata is closing his eyes EVERY TIME he spikes the freak quick!!! We get used to it because it's an anime, but that's just insane LOL. It speaks about how Hinata scores consistently ONLY because Kageyama exists. When Suga subbed in in S1, Hinata lost points as much as he scored, and Suga used him less. Overall, Hinata became less of a threat as a decoy because the quicks coming his way were slower without Kageyama as a setter, and he scored less. Lev right now is almost as green as Hinata was at the start of S1; having a lot of practice but no real game experience. Even now in S2, both of them are focused on offense and have below-average fundamentals. Hinata has his speed to beat blockers, while Lev is slower but taller. But Kenma doesn't have Kageyama's talent of pin-point tossing to ANY spiker. If they exchange setters, Hinata and Lev's success rate in spiking/scoring and our perception of their potential would suddenly flip. 33:00 The blockers from Fukurudani were following Kenma as he covered the ball. Kenma isn't very accurate on B or C quicks especially after Kenma has to run for the ball himself. It's probably because of Nekoma's high count of A passes that has "spoiled" Kenma of not having to run a lot. So when Kenma does have to cover a ball, it's rare for him to toss to a spiker at the end of the court, and it was even a back toss. Since Nekoma and Fukurudani (both Tokyo teams) have been training together, they have competed against each other in official games for years, and Kenma has been the official Nekoma setter for almost 2 yrs...Fukurudani is already aware of Kenma's usual tendencies. They thought Kenma would toss to a spiker closer to himself, probably to the back spiker. Kenma tossing to Lev at the far side of the net after Kenma covered a ball is unusual. It's also why Kenma tells Lev after that he can't always accommodate when Lev does something spontaneous; Kenma's aware of the limits of his own skillset and that he finds it difficult to sync with Lev's instincts on the fly. On another note, Kenma still took the risk of tossing to Lev. Lev's energy and spontaneity is already bringing new "blood" to invigorate Nekoma and its "brain" to try new things.

Adam's mind :Suddenly adds about 30 people to the draft pool?Okay Okay……give me some time👌

People might have different ideas about the concept of an ace since even in Japan it's not exactly something set in stone afaik, and personally I vibe with the way Sarah sees it. I feel like Lev's understanding of the role comes at least partly from his naivety as a 1st-year and little experience with volleyball still (and his desire to get better, which is good). It also reminds me of Asahi and Hinata's conversation back in S1, when Asahi told Hinata how the things Sarah listed are usually in the ace's job description and that it is usually outside hitters, but also how, no matter what you're called, it's really cool to be one of the intimidating players on the roster, the one other teams would really watch out for, which Hinata also agreed with. If you look at aces throughout Haikyuu, even just up to this point, there also seems to be a rather clear trend there. There's point getters, and then there's aces. I can imagine "center ace" being its own thing but not quite The ace, though it's still interesting to consider.

As someone who is 37 and lived during the frosted tips era, Adam is spot on, it was a fad at the time and there's nothing to be ashamed of, it's something we can all laugh about now, just like all the goofy things we used to wear in high school to look cool and fit in, what a throwback picture though!

Sarah's eyebrows and eyes when she said "how are they going to get them there?" is PRICELESS 🤣

i always really appreciate the subtitles especially as someone who has problems hearing stuff sometimes! thanks for always including them

Sarah's immediate reaction to Ubugawa's Gora (seeing him again) lmao 8:46

I'm going to use Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (we don't know exactly where Karasuno is in Miyagi but Hinata and Kageyama were able to run to Shiratorizawa) as the starting location. The end location will be Nerima City, Tokyo. Google maps says it's 360km and would take about 5ish hours to drive.

Can we get Adam to bring back that hair at 100K subscribers?

This camp is one of my favorite arcs of any shounen series. It shows the process by which the MCs train to evolve, and it's kind of realistic.

We love our golden retriever boy Inuoka 😩❤️

I think the closest thing in the west to an 'ace' would be a 'clutch player.' Someone with the mental fortitude to perform consistently well in high pressure situations. So, basically what Sarah described. It's not quite a perfect translation, but I think it's pretty close.

Mild spoiler warning: When Sarah was describing her idea of an Ace, I spat food all over my monitor while yelling "THATS LITERALLY MY BOY USHIWAKA!!" I agree with Sarah but I also have a wing spiker bias because of him 😍

Hinatas funny hand movements combined with the naaandakore crack me up always

Poor Tarako, dude can't help how he looks. I relate to him on that front, don't be mean to him. :(

LMFAO sarah's face when adam called him a vegetable

My favorite character has finally been introduced, HEY HEY HEY!

ive always considered the ace.. not to be the one who scores the most points but the one you can rely on to get a difficult or pressure point. the one when things are rough you look to give the ball to knowing they can handle it.

Miyagi to Tokyo? It's about 5-6 hours. Although if memory serves correctly, the actual town that Haikyu is based off of is in Iwate prefecture, which is further north. That drive would probably look more like 7-8 hours. Although with Saeko's driving it probably would be much faster lol

For me the Ace is about the "aura", or the "back that gives insspiration to the team"

I love haikyuu and your reaction are GOLD. So excited every week for the upload! Note: I came from a non english-speaking country (and i'm not fluent in english) and i'm very thankful that by watching you guys frequently from the start, i can understand english better! The subs are so accurate, both of you are very charming speakers and comfortable to listen to, articulate every words very clearly and very informative!!! I just want to say thank you bcs ofc i'm happy with the reactions and the top of that i can learn A LOT from both of you. Love from ina 💕

In my own experience after going to japan where I was taller than everyone with my 181cm: I think being 1m94 in japan is probably like being 2m04 in the west

Literally love ts cause every Thursday night I go on break at work go to my car w my child n drink and simply watch Sarah Pavan Haikyu 😭🤣 don’t get no better

With the discussion of character appearences in this episode, I wonder what Sara's reaction will be to the young Nekomata and Ukai. Because damn they were dashing!

I love when Sarah is describing her definition of the Ace and I can only picture Ushiwaka

Can we get some "Hey Hey Heys" from Adam? Just to complete the whole Bokuto parallel.

I'm so excited for the next few episodes.It's training camp!There are so many things that coach Adam needs to do😂

Ubugawa catching the strays 😂

Oh Adam is going to love the next episode.

Hi, Sarah Apparently, Haikyuu movie “Haikyu!!: The Dumpster Battle” will be released in Canada and the US from May 31! I don't know where it will be released, but I really would love you to watch it. The movie is just amazing!!😆

I smell a malicious intent in the cut off Bokuto's "Hey Hey Hey" , Is this your doing Sarah? 🧐😂

I've always thought of the ace as the go-to in tough, out of system plays. So you usually want someone that is reliable against a triple block

uh oh episode where Ubogawa debut. here comes Sarah's trash talk

To me, an ACE is much more than scoring. An ACE as i see it is like a second captain on the court; they are relayable, consistent, and have a strong will. Hinata scores the most on matches (probably), but he wouldnt be called an ACE because he is so over-the-top, unexpirienced player that is not consistent enough. Its not about scoring, its about your team knowing that you will get through. No setter would think "my ACE is unrelyable and its such a drag to set them" as Kenma said about Lev (excepcion being probably Bokuto with Akashi, but no spoilers and also Bokuto is an special case). Everyone trusts your decisions and actions, with the certainty that you will overcome whatever it is to do good for the team, as a last resort, time and time again. Sure, scoring is important, but its more of a status than a competition; a good captain isnt good because they score, and a good ACE is not good only because they score either.

adam ate with that hair color idc

I live for these post episode discussions

@15:33 the look to camera to show Bokuto has arrived is great! 😂

Musings with Adam is gonna be the extra episodes released between each episode 😂

I think Sarah is right, I would say the Ace would be whoever you feel most comfortable setting to in a pressure situation, biases aside. Kageyama would set to Hinata because they have their thing but the rest of the squad would set to Asahi.

No spoilers here but so fitting that you both are starting the Tokyo Camps this week! I am visiting Japan and had some plans get cancelled so I took the moment to see the new Film in theaters! It’s worth the wait and amazing! Can’t wait to watch it with you in the future! Keep up the great content both around haikyuu and volleyball in general!

Fun fact, generally the manga and anime are divided into sagas and arch, generally a saga poses arch variations, which is a set of chapters that approach a specific theme of the one-time plot, are quite commonly used within the community of anime/manga fans.

I think "the way of the ace" shirt may help set more of the "ace" definitions into perspective later on

i loooveee the training camp arc so im so happy ceudvjbdesv

Adam can take a supplementary lesson like Hinata and Kageyama did, except on character and team names.

re: Ace topic; for me a lot can be considered as what an Ace is: - Anyone who can give a breakthrough FOR the team in any situation on the court - Not always necessarily a top scorer, but the score he points can be a huge morale booster - A hitter whose sheer presence is _still_ a threat for the opponent team (whether they're on tip-top form or not) - A hitter who can confidently scores on any ball he gets, even if they're in an awkward set

Adam’s reacting has gotten better.

Hey can i request you two to watch the ova "vs red marks" Before watching the next eps? I want you two to experience all the hq ova in their timeline order

the discussion about aces and what it means to be an ace has been an on-going thing since the first season, and will continue to later episodes/seasons too. I'm looking forward to when the topics comes around again 😁😁

THE FROSTED TIPS ARE A LOOK!!! Mad respect for committing! (also i am definitely on sarah's side in this great ace debate 🤷🏻‍♀️)

As far as remembering new faces and names goes season 2 is probably the hardest lol

HEY HEY HEY BOKUTO ENTERS THE FRAY Don't trust what Sarah says about Bokuto Adam, he's incredible. THE GOAT

As far as Lev is concerned, I think the way he sees the ace is like the strongest player on the court who drives it home, finishes that rally, and ultimately scores the point. I agree with Sarah; where the ace's responsibilities go more than just driving it home, it is also about the entire team trusting you with a panic ball or going against a triple block, among other things. From a technical perspective, I think it is uncommon for a middle to be an ace, as getting the ball to that position is tricky at times. However, if a really good player existed as a middle who could take on those responsibilities and could be relied upon, in my opinion, it is only fair to give the ace title to a middle, given the player's exceptional skill.

This episode is perfect with time when sarah upload too ,because next week on 11 the movie of KARASUNO VS NEKOMA will be air in HONG KONG THEATER ,iam so excited to wacth it ,let's go !!!

23:49 the guy touch Hinata fast attack must to be remembered

I can see where Adam's coming from, if Lev evolves into an ace player. But then would he still be considered a middle blocker? Or would he be then labeled as an all-rounder, like an opposite is. I think Nekomata-sensei would move him.

Hi Sarah and Adam, I have a question expanding the Lev discussion from the end of the episode. Lets assume Lev develops all the skills he needs as the "Center Ace" so that he's unquestionably the best scorer and player. He polishes up his defense, passing, serving, etc such that he's no longer a liability. Would it make sense to keep him in the middle position? Or would "Ace skills" naturally gravitate a player towards outside positions? And i guess alternatively, would it ever make sense if like Asahi was the best blocker to have him in middle? Or is it just very important to game flow to have the "Ace" in the outside position even if you have to sacrifice a different position? I don't know enough about volleyball to answer this, so I'm really hoping this wasn't a dumb question lol.

Imagining Adam watching again this chapter, pausing and taking notes like the couch he is makes me smile. I dont know about the Ace thing, but I think that I would like more a mix of your ideas: the Ace could be in whatever position and have to be good in pressure moments... Not only score. Read about the most defensive player be named like guardian make me happy, in a group sport all deserves their athlete value.

Adam looks great with the frosted tips! He should do it again!

ok now I really need a "Hey Hey Hey" from Adam!

Yes! I missed those Ubugawa guy reactions.

HEY HEY HEY

Sendai -Miyagi to Tokyo is around 4 hours in car. 3 hours in the bullet train

As someone who has zero professional volleyball knowledge and all haikyu volleyball knowledge.....my opinion is That anyone who wants to be the ace can be the ace if the can bring the skills to the table. And i get sarahs points on it being difficult to get the ball to the middle blocker everytime but....if theyres a play you think is impossible then the playstyle just hasnt been made yet. Some team could comeup with an unorthodox olaystyle to support theyre middle blocker esp if the middle blocker would be competent enough. Like karasuno lets hinata run around like a maniac they would change theyre form to support theyre secret weapons. So yes Lev could become the ace. Do i think he has the skills as of now not so much.

I recommend you guys should do the Ova “vs bad grade” before ep 5

i don't know if i'm asking something that's been asked before but do sarah and adam ever watch the opening and ending credits songs by themselves? 'cause haikyuu not only has perfect storyline, characters and animation, but it also has the most amazing soundtrack :))

To be fair to you Adam, Sarah was the same viewpoint her first watch through that the basics were what they needed not any of the things they’re going to learn this season. But I can’t say more until we get there 😂

about the ACE debate, me personally, i think the ACE is the most important player in the team *regardles of the position or if he score the most* . the definition of ACE in almost every language means "very good" or "perfection" and etc, so to me that can be every position! if you dont get what im saying its like: being a good player and THE BEST player of a team means that you are the very pillar of this team and this team can grow stronger around you more than anyone else, so why would you not call someone like this a ACE? for exemple, imagine removing kenma from nekoma, its like breaking a chair leg, the team would fall to the bottom because everyone there depends or plays around kenma. So yes, to me kenma is a ACE because without him nekoma would not score or be so much of a powerhouse like it is today. that is of course my opnion and way to see it, even if it sound dumb im very passionate about it lol. Also, sorry for my english im brazilean so i know im very bad at writing, so forgive me for some errors ;D

Adam my guy we need a "Hey, hey, heyyyy!" from you

It's always weird for me to see tests in anime since passing grade in my country is actually 70

I am currently reading the manga and really enjoy watching the anime with you! Also gives me an excuse to keep buying and reading the volumes to keep ahead and not get spoiled by these videos 😇

I can see Sarah's point about the center ace but I can see Adam's point as well. I think im more on Sarah's side though, given the players now I think the only one that would ever be capable of being a center ace would be Hinata if he ever became good at all the other skills since I feel like Kageyama could definitely get him the ball anywhere on the court. Oh well I'm loving the debates and looking to see 👀 what new ones come up for the episode.

5:45 I had a teacher that told us that one of his colleges, when he was taking the exams to be a teacher in a public school, realized at the end of the exam that instead of leaving a space in the question that he didn't know, he put the next one.So all his answers were displaced and he didn't have time to change them. He had to try again the following year. It can happen to anyone 😂😂

FINALLY!!! BOKUTO

Hey Hey Hey!!!

Frosted tips was big deal in Europe too. At about the same time where Adam looks like Bakstreet Boys

Simon and formerly Muserskiy are about as close as modern middles get to being their teams go to. Loser is on a fast track there too. I agree with Sarah though in that the “ace” should always be available. I also get adams masculine urge to agree that the point getter is the “ace”. In real life the only time we use ace is off a serve hahaha

It's OK to take time recognizing names, don't be so harsh on it Adam. And as the main characters will be there in following seasons, it would be easy to recognize them by personalities!

Kageyama about to show Sarah how a center can be an ace in the Nekoma match😭

Video Start: Ok, I know this is usper late school has been crazy and I am very much behind but now is the time for catch up before I get swamped by finals Love the casual putting Hinata in his place from Adam in the speculation We all love Townsperson B Episode Start: Love the country kid's reaction to being in the "big city" Hinata having just over half what was needed, but hey, he at least doubled his previous best The intense mohawk comment I love The teacher cares, its so sweet Tanaka sister clutch Crazy driving is dope Coach Nekomata is so clutch in Karasuno's growth Bokuto appears Diving drill penalties make their first appearence Hinata has so small pupils in the car "Whoops" is a great moment Kageyama is instinct man Sarah has wierd ugly standards I love the you lose you do drills thing Love the Bokuto spike and Kenma running away YES THE TIPS The frosted tips on Adam actually look pretty good Love seeing Ubuguwa talk about Karasuno with the Fukorodani guy Kuro's shade at them being late is awesome I still think Sarah is the only one who has such a crazy viceral reaction to the ugly guy Love all the reactions once once Kageyama and Hinata are playing Innouka is dope Whip arm And the conversation after they loose is great The boys chatting on their mats Lev is super new and still sucks Kenma talking to Shoyo is perfect Amd the team being happy he has a friend ITS ALWAYS THE BATHROOM! Hinata turns into Tanaka when hight is mentioned YOU ARE NO ACE LEV!!!!!! He certainly is being "too honest" and hell he is full of himself Love Adam picking up on coach Nekomata compliment of Karasuno The block was late because Bokuto had to change direction Kenma being real with Lev is so awesome Episode End: Like Adam's point about evolution but I think he may have missed the intent of the comment, its about passing up on stablility to have the higher highs as opposed to a consistantly higher low I love the clarification from Sarah Lev is acting like a kid who hit a homerun in his first baseball game and is now wanting to lead off the order Love the back and forth about being able to be the go to from the middle, I think both have intreseting interpretations of the game I had never thought of Adam's take what makes the ace being different in the play level No there is not a right or wrong answer Video End: Sorry for being so late school got crazy and I got way behind.

Hey hey hey!

i think i live for sarah's vendetta against that one guy from ubugawa 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

being a ugly guy myself everytime she say lil bro is ugly its like a punch in the gut for me 😭lol

I think the "Ace" is whoever the MVP is, who is also usually the most clutch. This idiomatic expression is often used outside of sport too such as the Ace of the marketing team or the Ace of the Sales team. Basically, when playing cards e.g. poker, one would usually withhold playing their Aces until the crucial moment, then you play your Ace to secure the win ♠♦♥♣. Applying that in sport, then basically it is any player who you can trust to get you that win when you need it the most. It is not fixed to a defined position, but it just so happens that just as Sarah said, the wing spikers normally gets this responsibility with having the power and skill to score for sure.

For the Ace's definition.Well it's interesting ,I think both of you are right. I agree with Sarah's definition that Ace is not the one gets more points but the one who can deal with 24 to 23 situation(teammates believe he/she can deal with tough situation).But I also agree with Adam that the Ace is not about the position.(like for me,I think Date Tech's Ace is middle ） It's interesting .It took me a few minutes to think if the one gets more points and the one deals with 24 to 23 situation is different ,then who is the Ace？？？😂

from Miyagi Prefecture to Tokyo takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes by Shinkansen (bullet train), but a normal drive from a mountain-adjacent suburb to the city center of Tokyo would realistically take something like 4 hours.

Kiyoko is fr Yashi's approved big sis lol

For the outside having to be the ACE talk I would like to ask who is the ACE for Date Tech? I personally would argue it is Aone. It could not be but I think he is a solid argument for being the ACE of that team

yukawa koji must be tired carrying the entirety of ubugawa with his dashing good looks

5:48 I once misaligned my answer in an exam too. but my teacher was kind enough by just deducted 5 marks from my overall mark. Kudos to her but i still felt very upset for a week. so yea i totally know how that feel like

RE: Ace - I agree with Sarah, but also want to add that being the ace isn't just about scoring, it's about all-around dependability. No MB in Haikyuu! can truly be an ace because they swap out with the libero in the back row so they don't have to play defense. Yamamoto says it in this episode and it gets echoed by other aces in later seasons - you can't call yourself the ace if you can't play defense.

Sarah's instincts kick in the moment and 'ugly' character is on screen.

Hey Hey Hey

162.8 when he first entered. So yeah, Sarah's right. But that's still 32 cms difference. Which mean's he's nearly a foot and an inch shorter than Lev.

I mean the series itself doesn't have a concrete, rock-solid definition of the "Ace." Even more, the story is told from Hinata's viewpoint so basically he just wanna be the coolest player around

very high level answer on the ace situation, I think at the level they play the mindset they have is expected tho but if lev can't do what sarah said by college or at least have way thru highschool to be the consistent clutch player then he is not an ace.