As per usual I should be doing work, but I'm here shouting about HQ!! again. Since the anime is coming towards the end of the Ballboy arc, I reread the Brazil arc for comparison and a few things dawn on me.

1. I remember how much fans were freaking out because it seemed like Furudate-sensei was moving to end the series too fast too furious. But now looking back, the Brazil arc is only 1-2 chapters shorter than the Ballboy arc (I didn't count the practice match against Dateko). --

-- And this is because the Ballboy arc also included Kageyama's youth camp. Perhaps because we were so used to the 3 back-to-back matches' slower pacing that the faster pacing of training arcs threw us a little.

2. The Brazil arc is really really really great. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but upon rereading, I have grown to like it more and more. The Brazil arc is a fantastic continuation of the Ballboy arc.

The Ballboy arc started with Hinata's rush decision to crash the 1st year training camp. He didn't consult with anyone, jumped in at the deep end all by himself, and had to deal with the consequences.

The Brazil arc, on the other hand, started with Hinata asking for advice and directions from his coaches. He no longer rushed headlong into things, but took time to think and formulated a concrete path and goal. Character development checked.

Hinata of course is not the only one achieving his character development in the Brazil arc. Washijo also gets his moment here too, and suffice it to say that that moment is pretty awesome.

The Brazil arc also echoes some of the tenets made in the Ballboy arc, especially the "he who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom".

My only criticism of the Brazil arc is the flashbacks. The 4-5 year time skip has served its purpose of shocking and keeping readers on their toes, but it came with the price of having to use several flashbacks, which makes it difficult for readers to keep track of the timeline.