Harukana Receive


Harukana Receive is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nyoijizai. It was serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Forward issues from October 2015 to November 2020. The manga has been licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment in North America, with the first two volumes released in July and October 2018, respectively. An anime television series adaptation by C2C aired from July to September 2018.

Plot

In Okinawa, attractive high school city girl Haruka Ozora has an extreme complex about her tall height, while her cousin Kanata Higa is very self-conscious about her short height and flat chest. She also begins to have second thoughts about quitting volleyball all together. However, with help from their experiences, the two girls decide to form a volleyball club at their school.

Characters

Uruma High Beach Volleyball Club

Originally, the club consisted of the Thomas Twins, Emily and Claire; only being recognized as an extension of Uruma High School's Indoor Volleyball Club; much to Claire's annoyance due to her sister's by-the-book demeanor; meaning the club could not be its own official club until the club gets a minimum of five members. After witnessing Haruka and Kanata's rematch with Narumi and Ayasa, they are inspired to recruit them to the club; with Haruka being excited to join, while Kanata being apprehensive about accepting. After a local Junior tournament, Akari is inspired to join the club and after being challenged by Kanata, the sport inspires her to join the club, thus being the fifth member to make the club official. Despite not having a partner, Akari's demeanor inspires Kanata to nominate her as the club's Manager. After a talk with Claire, Claire and Emily's mother, Marissa, joins the club as the team's coach during her offseason. Unofficially, Haruka and Kanata's grandmother acts as the team's mascot.

Team Harukana

The pairing of maternal cousins, Haruka Ozora and Kanata Higa. Kanata was originally partnered with Narumi and hoped to become National Champions as a team. But, due to her parents' death and her short height complex, their team disbanded with Narumi reteaming with Ayasa Tachibana, and Kanata leaving the sport. As for Haruka, she is still technically a rookie to the sport, but has a natural talent for picking up the game.
;Haruka Ozora
;Kanata Higa

Team Eclair

The pairing of the Thomas Twins, Claire and Emily; who are daughters of Marissa Thomas, an American former pro player and current coach. Their team name is a play on éclair. They are ranked as the second best pairing behind Narumi and Ayasa. Originally, when Kanata and Narumi were a team, the pair was defeated by them, with Claire declaring them their rivals ; eventually, their mother became Narumi and Kanata's coach, with the Thomas Family becoming close with Kanata's family. However, when Kanata's parents died, they noted Kanata's broken spirit as the twins noticed this was not the fiery Kanata that defeated them prior. Marissa offers herself as Kanata's parental figure upon learning Kanata's return to the sport.
;Claire Thomas
;Emily Thomas

Fukuchiyama Academy

Located in the Kyoto Area, the school is known for having a strong volleyball program for both indoor and beach style. The most notable members of that group is the academy's "Valkyries", Narumi Tōi and Ayasa Tachibana.
;Narumi Tōi
;Ayasa Tachibana

Other members

;Akari Ōshiro
;Marissa Thomas

Other competitors

;Ai Tanahara
;Mai Sunagawa
;Youna Aragaki
;Kanna Aragaki

Other characters

;Sora Higa
;Grandpa Higa
;Kamekichi
;Akane Ozora

Media

Manga

Harukana Receive is a manga series written and illustrated by Nyoijizai. It began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Forward with the October 2015 issue, and it ended in the November 2020 issue on September 24, 2020. The chapters were collected and released in the tankōbon format by Houbunsha. As of October 12, 2020, ten volumes have been released. Seven Seas Entertainment have licensed the manga for a North American release.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation by C2C, aired from July 6 to September 21, 2018, on AT-X and other channels. The series was directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka, with series composition by Touko Machida and character designs by Takeshi Oda. The opening theme is "FLY two BLUE" by Haruka Ozora and Kanata Higa, while the ending theme is "Wish me luck!!!" by Ozora, Higa, Claire Thomas, and Emily Thomas. Crunchyroll simulcast the series with English subtitles, while Funimation streamed an English dub. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the dub was moved to Crunchyroll. The series ran for 12 episodes.

Video game

Characters from the series appear alongside other Manga Time Kirara characters in the 2018 mobile RPG, Kirara Fantasia.

Reception

Lauren Orsini from Anime News Network describes the greatest strength in Harukana Receive to be sharing "the story of that joy, skimming over anything that wasn't important" and highlighting that, in spite of the emotional intensity in some of the beach volleyball matches, messages of friendship and enthusiasm are strongly at the forefront in the anime, even if the stakes might not be as high as those of other series in the season. Orsini further characterizes Harukana Receive as being a solid summer anime, with a relaxing, warm story about beach volleyball and players who are passionate about the sport. Stig Høgset, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, praised the series for providing "dynamic fanservice" that showcase the cast's natural athletic build during the volleyball scenes that display "pretty nice animation work" through various maneuvers, calling it, "A fun, energetic sports show with lots of sportsmanship to spare."