Volume 13 Discussion Thread
Start Date: May 19, 2023
Previous: Volume 12 chapter 107
Home ThreadReading Schedule
| Reading | Page numbers | Reading start date | Read aloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 108 | 7 - 26 | May 6 | May 20 |
| Ch 109 | 27 - 50 | May 19 | May 27 |
| Ch 110 | 51 - 70 | May 26 | Jun 3 |
| Ch 111 | 71 - 90 | Jun 2 | Jun 10 |
| Ch 112 | 91 - 110 | Jun 9 | Jun 17 |
| Ch 113-114 | 111 - 152 | Jun 16 | Jun 24 |
| skip week | skip week | skip week | July 1 |
| Ch 115 | 153 - 172 | Jun 30 | July 8 |
| Ch 116 | 173 - 194 | July 7 | July 15 |
| Ch 117 | 195 - end | July 14 | July 22 |
| Watch along | ep 39 (s2e14) - TBD | July 29 |
vs. Jouzenji
Some personal thoughts:
Summary
I consider playing against a team like Jouzenji a personal nightmare. ^^’ Not so much because they’re particularly strong but because of their unpredictability.
Especially at a certain level of playing you’d expect some “rules” of how people are playing. It’s definitely not some fixed rules but more of a level of technique and various plays that get used, like a constant block, relative regular use of a quick attack, jump-serving, combination play … stuff like that. Mostly teams wouldn’t stray too much from what type of play you’d expect. All of Karasuno’s attack combinations for example are still way inside that “norm”, even Hinata’s and Kageyama’s special quick isn’t too outrageous (if you break it down it’s still a quick attack at the core, just super fast).
With a team like Jouzenji you have to expect anything however ridiculous it might be. Like what Terushima is doing on p. 37/38. You’d normally expect an underhand toss (like Tsukishima did expect) as that is just the safest option in that situation. Running after the ball, jumping and turning yourself around to attack from the back of the court is extremely difficult to pull of.
He’s also halfway swinging his arm above his head to the side which you can sometimes see in players trying to hit a straight instead of a cross for the first time: they’d just turn their arm instead of their body/approach. But fundamentally it’s bad technique because you can’t hit the ball as high and hard as if you did it properly. That being said it can sometimes be effective because, as I said before, at a certain level you’d expect a cross from the direction the approach run/body is facing (because you’re expecting a certain level of good technique) and instead suddenly get to deal with a straight.
Jouzenji is just hitting the ball over the net however they want. No predictability on their play and what to expect next (where to block next or line youself up for a receive) at all. It’s awfully frustrating and nerve-wrecking because you have to be even more alert than usual. Yachi and Takinoue on p.63, Ch.3 probably descibe it best. And often you can find youself being roped into that kind of play because the receive gets more difficult and you can’t bring the ball to the setter as you want, therefore also hitting the ball over the net however well you can in these situations. Somtimes down-right turning into “ping-pong” where you’d basically abandon the three-touch-play and almost constantly hitting the ball over the net at first or second contact, overall making the game faster. It’s like that saying: “Never argue with a fool: they drag you down on their level and beat you with experience.”
I’d definitely prefer playing against Shiratorisawa. Because while they’re definitely strong, they’re way easier to read and counter: good technique and reliable/consistent playing style. You can certainly train against strength but you can’t really train for unpredictability.
Of all the teams we’ve met so far, I think, the one most suited to counter Jouzenji would probably be Nekoma. They have a strong and quick defense and are used to bringing the ball to the setter in a reliable and consistent way no matter the attack. Datekou might be quick to block the more confusing attack-plays but they’d probably still have to do quite the running on the receiving end.