This is certainly an ideal time for Seven Seas to release Nyoijizai’s Harukana Receive. Yes, you have the anime that’s out. Also yes, the weather now is scorching, so in that respect it makes sense. You look around, however, and realize that there’s not much, if any, sports manga about beach volleyball. Shojo FIGHT! is carrying the torch for indoor volleyball, but now here’s the perfect companion with beach volleyball!
This, however, totally brings the fanservice in a manner that’ll impress its intended audience.
Harukana Receive begins with the introduction of Ozora Haruka, a tall high school age girl who’s moved to Okinawa. Haruka meets her cousin, Higa Kanata, but after their initial introduction, she senses something’s off with Kanata. That’s temporarily thrown aside when they get to the beach, as Haruka strips and steps into the water (wearing her bikini). However, this eventually leads Haruka to meet two girls playing beach volleyball, and this ultimately brings in a new challenge for her, both physically and mentally.
Though at this point in the story, the mental challenge revolves around Kanata, who is great at beach volleyball, and how Haruka helps her out. While Kanata’s knowledgeable about the game, she soon lost her edge once taller players began to stop her. This affected her relationship with Toi Narumi, a fantastic player who ultimately paired up with someone new. In some cases, it even hurt how she acts around Haruka. So in general, this volume plays up Haruka’s excitable attitude, but it also delves a bit into insecurity about body types.
And not just Kanata, but also Haruka is being super conscious of how tall she is. Like the first time we see her, she’s affected by people commenting on how tall she is (saying she must be a model). There’s a later part of the manga where she reveals this to Kanata. I dunno if the manga will explore this much, but it was nice to see this looked at a bit.
As someone that doesn’t watch beach volleyball outside of the few times a certain US Olympic pair destroyed the competition, I at least figured you can only strategize so much in this sport.
In Harukana Receive, I’m right and mostly wrong at the same time. The right part is only in the fact that because you only have two players in the sand, you can’t save a spike. So knowing this, the game is a battle involving talent, wit, and strategy. And this manga (thanks Haruka!) explains the basics of the sport super well.
A great example of strategy is when Haruka and Kanata face off against Narumi and her partner, Ayasa Tachibana. Both Narumi and Ayasa are champions, so they clearly have the advantage in almost every area. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t think about what your opponents are doing, and Narumi figuring out her opponents would try something different at the right time isn’t just a guess — you only know that by reading the field, how the game is going, etc. You factor that with the weather conditions and you’re playing on sand, and then realize the strain it is to play three sets, and suddenly this sport is pretty interesting.
All in all, Harukana Receive does delve into the sport of beach volleyball a ton. I suspect it’ll continue with the introduction of the Thomas twins. But you do occasionally get reminded that beach volleyball has women in bikinis. For the most part this manga doesn’t go overboard, but then you get Claire Thomas, a blonde, pulling down the skirt of her sister, Emily. You then also get small arcs involving butts. There was one that was funny, but it goes to that well a lot, which will probably annoy a few. In the end though, if you’re looking for more sports manga, Harukana Receive is worth a look.