Now that we’ve caught up to where the anime ended and the girls were victorious in their tournament， surely we’ll be slowing down on the volleyball side of things。。？ I mean， we certainly wouldn’t jump straight to a match that this series has been promising from the start。。。 right？Obviously that’s exactly what happens and it’s smart plotting on the author’s part。 For one， it delivers some cracking volleyball action as per usual for this series。 Seriously， they thank the volleyball consultant at t Now that we’ve caught up to where the anime ended and the girls were victorious in their tournament， surely we’ll be slowing down on the volleyball side of things。。？ I mean， we certainly wouldn’t jump straight to a match that this series has been promising from the start。。。 right？Obviously that’s exactly what happens and it’s smart plotting on the author’s part。 For one， it delivers some cracking volleyball action as per usual for this series。 Seriously， they thank the volleyball consultant at the end of the book and they really deserve it。It also does a bit more with Akari’s character and once again has her providing insight into the match， while also having her find a really good friend in a particularly charming fashion。 Poor Akari’s really gotten the short end of things by being the fifth wheel so that was nice， even if I bet they’re not so chummy in a few chapters。 Because reasons。The match itself is equally important because it not only shows how far Haruka and Kanata have come， but how far they have to go， while also offering a little lip service to how implausibly quickly Haruka has turned into a volleyball powerhouse。 It’s clearly laying the groundwork for the series finale and while it’s obvious， it’s done well。We also get some extended backstory on how Narumi and Ayasa actually got together after Ayasa and Kanata fell apart as a team。 I don’t know that it was necessary， but it’s fun and certainly shows what Narumi sees in her partner and how they developed into the team they are now。The series indulges itself a little in its typical fan service and yuri baiting， but the latter is so off to the side that it’s hardly worth batting an eyelash at （other series have done it far worse and I feel like here it’s pretty clear nothing will ever happen）。As for the fan service， I think it’s actually barely there beyond a couple of shots。 You could argue that this book is nothing but fan service， but it’s baked into the setting。 As somebody who is actually a fan of beach volleyball （women’s AND men’s， thank you very much）， nothing here is atypical of regular play。Also I think the mangaka doesn’t draw the players half as over the top as they could， so I’ll take it。 I genuinely think of this as a sports manga first and foremost。Oh， I’m giving this four stars。 I am here to watch Haruka and Kanata play volleyball and learn to kick some ass and I don’t care a lick if the story is following a clear path。 It’s fun， the characters are genuinely enjoyable， and the action is really well drawn。 It’s probably not quite worth the rating but sheer contentment while reading counts for a lot。 。。。more