Although the first episode of this one has heart, a potentially interesting dynamic between Shoyo and Tobio, and actually somewhat succeeds at making volleyball interesting, it has little else to offer that has not been seen in countless other sports anime. Indeed, it even seems content to wallow in the stereotypes; does anyone in real life athletics actually give out silly nicknames like that, for instance? Character designs that are unattractive (to put it nicely) do not help, either, nor do visual effects that bring out all of the worst sports anime clichés.