Vibe Check #28 (January 2026)

Welcome to the first edition of our Vibe Check for the year 2026 (our 28th Vibe Check overall)! For people who are new here, we have a monthly vibe check to see what's been going on in Japan, anime, Japanese culture, or anything that's on the top of our heads! I hope you have a good reading~

Check #1: First Look at Haikyuu

It's the start of the new year, and I should try some anime I've put on hold for quite some time. The one anime series I tend to put on hold was Haikyuu because there were tons of other anime series I've wanted to watch, such as Ao Ashi or Blue Period. 

Even though I just finished watching the first 5 to 6 episodes, it was enjoyable to watch since Haikyuu made volleyball a lot more exhilarating to watch. The fast twitch of Hinata made me sat down and watch it even more because I was impressed by his freakish speed and lightning reactions.

Plus, it does paint a picture of a lot of anime MCs: raw potential that you don't see anywhere else, but needs to be polished. Although it's one of the most common clichés in anime, it doesn't fully disappoint, and it can relate to anyone. Having some raw potential that not many people can see every day, but needs some help being polished with basic learning and tactics.

Would I keep watching Haikyuu? Of course, but with Ao Ashi giving me more attention,...and Netflix constantly increasing its prices for its membership, it can be challenging to binge-watch the entire first season in one week. 

Check #2: Milan Olympics

For a good number of people around the world, the main focus in the sports world is the Milan Olympics next month. The reason I am saying this is that, as of now, there are OK amount of commercials that are talking about the Olympics and the athletes themselves. Now, for the Winter Olympics, I am not a big fan of it since I live in Louisiana and we just had a semi-pro hockey team. That's the closest thing we have for something strictly dealing with a winter sport. So, I am more into the Summer Olympics since there are tons of sports I am into and have a decent understanding of how the sport works.

Winter sports, such as ice-skating, are something I can't fully understand, and how the scoring works out. Plus, the timing for some of the events that I might watch interfer my work and my sleep. So, sadly, it might be this Olympics I would have to skip.

Hopefully, the United States and Japan would do well in the Milan Olympics.

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That's all the time I have for this month's Vibe Check. Tune in next month to see what's been going on. Thank you for reading this month's Vibe Check~