Haikyu!! follows the protagonist Hinata Shoyo, who despite his less than average height does not give up on his dreams of playing volleyball. Hinata’s rival in middle school (from the only game he was able to play) is Kageyama Tobio. Kageyama is the last person he expected to see at Karasuno High School, which was the school Hinata’s idol “The Tiny Giant” attended. Now, Hinata and Kageyama have to learn to work together as a team instead of against each other.
So why should you read/watch Haikyuu!!?
A storyline that’ll inspire you whether you like volleyball or not.
Relatable characters who exhibit immense change and development.
Realistic portrayal of loss and characters’ vulnerability.
Inspirational Storyline
I am a sucker for protagonists, especially in anime/manga. They’re almost always my favorite character because the writers hook me in and get me obsessed with the character’s story and success. Amazing protagonists don’t even have to be all that relatable to win over a reader. I could care less about sports yet Hinata’s story melts my heart and makes me root for him because it is so inspirational.
At the end of the day, it is simply a story about someone doing all they can to follow their dreams. The story teaches us how we need to ignore the negative that people tell us and chase after the life we want.
“He who climbs the ladder must begin at the bottom.” (Chapter 211, Volume 24)
“You can fly even higher.” (Volume 25)
This show will most likely make you want to play volleyball in some shape or form. I mean how would you not want to play after seeing the look of pure bliss on Hinata’s face when he is admiring how red his hands get after having the opportunity to hit the ball.
Dynamic Characters with Amazing Character Development
Kageyama Tobio experiences a lot of character development by going from a controlling “King of the Court” to becoming someone who is a team player. In middle school, his teammates left him alone on the court, finally tired of his harsh demands. Now, he calculates his sets exactly to each player constantly learning how to communicate with and read his teammates.
Karasuno High has a long-standing rivalry with Nekoma High. Whenever they compete against each other it is called the dumpster showdown between the crows (Karasuno) and cats (Nekoma). Most of the characters on Nekoma are parallel characters to the team members on Karasuno. A great example of this are Tanaka Ryūnosuke from Karasuno and Yamamoto Taketora from Nekoma. They both are comedic relief characters who are always seen drooling over whatever girl happens to be in their sights. The main girl who gets their attention is Karasuno’s manager Kiyoko Shimizu.
Oikawa Tooru is another amazing character who would make an interesting protagonist himself. Oikawa is essentially the opposite of Kageyama when it comes to people skills. He observes someone’s skills and betters them, pushing them to improve.
I think Oikawa’s motives and internal thoughts would be an incredible aspect to spend more time on in the anime and manga. It is evident he is excruciatingly hard on himself and watching Kageyama (who he trained in middle school) do better than him and go further than him clearly hurts. Oikawa doesn't have natural talent, he puts in countless hours to be at the level he is and still is not where he dreams of being.
Ushijima Wakatoshi is from Shiratorizawa Academy and one of the best volleyball players in Japan. Ushijima constantly tells Oikawa that he should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa instead and essentially invalidates all of Oikawa’s life decisions. I find it beyond irritating but Oikawa simply continues down his path and is determined to prove everyone wrong. He is incredibly relatable yet often overlooked due to his egotistical personality at times. This arrogance and smug nature are simply what makes him more realistic though. There is not a single character who is perfect, they all have their flaws.
Spoilers: Aoba Joshai (Oikawa’s high school team) loses to Karasuno in the Spring High Preliminary and that is where his high school volleyball career comes to an end. Instead, his protégé Kageyama moves on to Nationals and he watches someone else live his dreams on a TV screen.
However, this is truly where Oikawa’s life begins. He leaves everything behind in Japan and joined Club Atlético San Juan in Argentina. This takes an insane level of bravery to make such a drastic change. He later represents Argentina in the 2020 Olympics and faces his old rivals on the Japan team. The story is fictional but produces a sense of pride in fans. The manga comes together so beautifully for all the characters, but Oikawa’s specifically is a story that is very dear to my heart.
Realistic
The protagonists lose and continuously are shown losing. They aren’t perfect and they make mistakes, often. Hinata literally receives with his face because his instincts instruct him to move but his skills do not measure up to that standard yet.
Specifically, the Training Camp Arc is the perfect example of this. The number of penalty laps Karasuno had to do as a consequence of losing was quite embarrassing. This is what makes it so real. I hate watching shows where protagonists get everything they want when they want it because that is definitely not how life works. Through them being more real, it is what makes the progression of their skills and personalities more meaningful for fans.
I rarely see shows that show men crying in such a natural way. While popular culture and society, in general, are improving, a common stereotype and expectation for men is for them to never cry because it shows weakness and is seen as a feminine act. Haikyu!! does an amazing job at making crying seen as something natural and normal, whether it is sad or happy tears.
Fun Extras
Take this small quiz I made to see which Haikyu!! character you are most like!
Playlist for one of my favorite characters: Oikawa Tooru
Fly High,
Alexa