At the time of this review, I have read volumes 9-18 in the omnibus volumes, but I will try and focus on this omnibus for volumes 13 and 14.
A Boy-Targeted Manga
I think I was once told that manga comes in two flavors: shonen and shojo. Shonen is targeted at boys and shojo is targeted at girls. While Haikyu does have certain bathing scenes with girls, this series, especially this volume has more of those scenes. I am not a fan of that, because it is uncomfortable for me. It feels like it is close to certain word beginning with "p," especially with women having two private areas. I mean I get squeamish when books show a male butt and I skip over those pages. I am not sure why they were deemed necessary.
Training Montage
I like training montages, because they can be really interesting and exciting depending on what new skills/tricks that they learn. This time we get to see ALL of our main characters training or at least attempt at something.
Summoned
"No, it's just...I've been summoned." -Kuroko
When Kuroko said this line, it made me think of Girl Meets World when Eric says slightly creepily "I've been summoned." Except, this summoning was not from a lovable teacher to get his kooky, wise brother to help him. Oh, no! That was not happen here. It was more like a meeting of the minds to confirm a vow. I do not like what this vow could be, because we know how things are like between the minds in this summoning. It's never good to end a meeting with "When we next meet...it will be in battle." Why?! Why do we have to battle?! What's with guys and fighting when it comes to disagreements in books and movies? Does this happen in real life among some boys?
To-oh vs. Seirin
Here we go! Rematch between Aomine, Kuroko, and Kagami! As the game sets up, we see who will be watching this game, which includes Riko's Dad. This scene with Riko's Dad on pages 129-130 had some implications and it would be neat to see that backstory. Basically, Riko's Dad acted like Ukai senior in Haikyu!!. Kuroko learned a new skill. Based on the explanation, it seems like this skill is possible according to physics, but the question is whether a human could do it in real life. If a human could then I would say this adds another tick in the reality column.
I believe pages 167-177 was like Sherlock Holmes' fight Moriaty in Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows, but it was hard to tell. I just love how nonchalant Hyuga sounds when he says this line: "I guess I'll have to sink a shot from outside. [Krak (his neck)] Pass the ball to me, Izuki." He just makes it sound so easy. To quote/paraphrase Haruichi Furudate, "Everyone has to be their own brand of crazy." 215-217 we have finally get the secret behind Kuroko's vanishing drive. Based off of this, I think Kuroko's nickname should be "3 Card Monty" or just "Monty."
"Your shadow can never beat...MY LIGHT." -Tadatoshi Fujimaki Chills! This line and the panels just made you feel trap. Yet, we see someone lose his cool a bit. Pages 236-248 were a bit heartbreaking, but we get a pep talk: "Wasted effort, my butt. Everyone believes in you. We believe you'll make your comeback. There's no giving up this time. So for now, lemme teach him...That There's No Such Thing As Wasted Effort." Then we get a line about friendship: "It's not that I'm doubting him, really. If he doesn't come back...we're gonna be in some serious trouble. The little guy...has already saved me more times than I can count. I believe in him...but I didn't expect anything from him. If and when he comes back...and its already too late; then none of it matters. This isn't about beating Aomine. Not anymore...THIS TIME, IT'S MY TURN TO SAVE HIM!!"
This series has some interesting things when it comes to having skills/talent for sport, friendship, and teamwork, especially on pages 260-266. 312-323 we get Kuroko's and Aomine's backstory on their friendship as well as how Kuroko became involved with the Generation of Miracles. Page 324 had an interesting line from Kuroko. I am not going to say what it is, but I will give Kagami's response: "I thought, perhaps, that if we won this game...then maybe...Man...you can never tell with stuff like that. People just aren't that simple. There's no telling if he's suddenly gonna change if we win. But if we lose...you can be sure that nothing's gonna change."
Riko's Dad has this curious line: "If they really wanna win HE'S the key...but can he do it?" Well, that's the 50 billion dollar question besides who is "he"? I think I know who it is, but then Momoi does some soul-crushing. While she does not play basketball, she is scary in her own right. DO NOT DOUBT THE ANALYST! Just saying. The more I look at Kuroko's style the more I think about how it is like the movie Shaolin Soccer. Except, it is more like basketball illusions. I'm quite serious when I say if Kuroko did not love basketball he could totally use those skills to do illusions and magic tricks.
Verdict: Very exciting!