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Characters / Haikyuu!! - Miyagi Prefecture Schools

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Karasuno High | Other Miyagi Prefecture Schools | Other Schools

This is a partial character sheet for Haikyuu!!, containing characters from different schools around the Miyagi Prefecture, where Karasuno High is located. These schools compete among each other to determine the representative for Nationals.

Spoilers from Seasons 1-3 of the anime are unmarked.


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Aoba Johsai High

    General 
  • Always Second Best: Despite being an elite team, Aoba Johsai never manages to make it to a national tournament with Oikawa on the team because they always get defeated in the qualifying finals by Shiratorizawa.
  • Every Year They Fizzle Out: Despite being a talented team, they never manage to make it to a national tournament because Shiratorizawa is always the roadblock they can never get past.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: Aoba Johsai pulls some surprise techniques twice over the course of their three matches with Karasuno.
    • In their practice match, just as it looks like Karasuno is cruising over to a win in the final third set, it's revealed Aoba Johsai has been playing with their backup setter. When the actual main setter Oikawa (who's initially absent as he's recovering from his knee injury) gets subbed in as a pinch server, he makes Karasuno work harder for their win and it's lampshaded that they might not have won if Oikawa had been there from the start. Sure enough, when the teams have their first official showdown at the Interhigh Preliminaries with Oikawa back at 100%, Karasuno ultimately loses due to Oikawa being the better setter that day.
    • In the teams' rematch at the Spring High Preliminaries, when Karasuno is about to clinch the first set, it turns out Aoba Johsai has one more ace up their sleeve, Kentarō Kyōtani, who had not played in their previous two matches. Although it takes a while for him to get into the groove, he proves to be very dangerous and Karasuno struggles to fight him off.
  • The Rival: The first primary rival to Karasuno introduced in the series and one of their toughest opponents.

    Tōru Oikawa 

Tōru Oikawa — #1

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (JP), Chris Patton (EN)

Played by: Kōsuke Asuma

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oikawa_7813.jpg
Position: Setter
Height/Weight: 184.3cm/72.2kg
3rd Year

"Spikers are all different. Once you're able to bring out 100% of the strengths of each and every one of them, that's when you'll be a true setter!"

Oikawa is the captain of Aoba Johsai's volleyball team and is widely regarded as the ace setter. A former member and setter of Kitagawa Daiichi, he won the "Best Setter Award" in the Miyagi prefecture during his third year in junior high.

Favorite food: Milk bread.
Current concern: When he tried to talk to Karasuno's manager, Shimizu, he got utterly ignored. (But she must just have been shy, and it's not like he's all that bothered by it, not even a little bit, not at all - Oikawa said to himself.)

  • Always Someone Better: Kageyama feels very self-conscious towards Oikawa, who he considers a superior setter. This is enough to make him panic and throw him off his game when playing against him at the Miyagi Interhigh Preliminaries.
  • Beauty Is Bad: One of the few male characters outright stated to be attractive, and also the one with the most antagonistic personality.
  • The Bus Came Back: Oikawa stops making significant appearances when the series enters the Nationals arc, only showing up in cameos while watching the matches on his phone. He makes his proper reappearance in the next arc during a flashback of Hinata's first year in Brazil, much to the latter's shock. He actually helped Hinata get out of his funk, since the latter was struggling to adjust at the time.
  • Butt-Monkey: Not well respected among his teammates of the same year, who even threaten to make him pay their food if he misses a serve. They do respect him as the captain and as a player and trust him during the game, though.
  • Can't Catch Up: He worries that if he teaches Kageyama what he knows, he would become this to him. He also admits that it's probably going to happen anyway, since Kageyama evolves very fast.
  • Chick Magnet: Oikawa's looks and charming personality have made him quite popular among the females. His fangirls often cheer for him during games and surround him off court (much to the dismay of Iwaizumi, Tanaka and Nishinoya). They also offer him homemade goodies while they are crowding him and Oikawa humors them — even offering to take pictures with them.
  • Childhood Friends: Got into volleyball with Iwaizumi when they were very young. They've remained close ever since.
  • Cool Uncle: Implied with his young nephew Takeru. He keeps him company at the kids' volleyball class, and the anime shows he has photos of him in class on his cellphone. His nephew (who doesn't even bother with honorifics and calls him just Tōru) isn't above calling him out when his uncle is being childish, though.
  • Death Glare: His glares aren't as angry as Kageyama's, and usually more of a "time to get serious" gaze, but the intensity of his flares makes one wonder if he didn't teach the latter a thing or two in junior high, after all.
  • The Dreaded:
    • He's able to induce an Oh, Crap! face in Kageyama of all people right on his introduction, which immediately puts Karasuno on their guard.
    • Played for laughs with Kyōtani, of all people, who seems to have a innate unease towards Oikawa and so mostly keeps a distance from him. The rest of the team, Oikawa included, is rather amused by this.
  • Determinator: Defeating Shiratorizawa and going to Nationals is his main goal. He has been at it for years and would've overworked himself during junior high in order to achieve it, had Iwaizumi not intervened. Also note that his personal motto is "If you're going to attack, keep it until your opponent breaks."
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: While he doesn't like to show it, Oikawa has a lot of deep rooted fears in his ability to succeed in volleyball, from never being able to defeat Ushijima to his "mentee" Kageyama being more naturally talented than him. Add to that, Oikawa isn't actually a nationally recognized setter like Kageyama and Atsumu are since he never got to Nationals. Oikawa is nevertheless hardworking to the end and goes as far as to relocate to Argentina to go pro. After a rough start there, he is considered the center piece of the Argentinean National Volleyball team by the time they appear at the Olympics.
  • Establishing Character Moment:
    • When Oikawa arrives in the practice match between Aoba Johsai and Karasuno, Kageyama's first reaction is to get alarmed and tell the team about his former upperclassmen's aggressive style of play and bad personality. Coming from Kageyama, who up to that point is considered in-universe an incredible setter despite his temper, this tells both Karasuno and the audience that Oikawa is at the very least a powerful enemy on court. Oikawa's own team is also visibly relaxed once he arrives, a hint later confirmed that they trust him as their captain and setter.
    • Oikawa's introduction also shows his fangirls' screaming even before showing his face properly, which immediately cements him as a Bishounen and a Chick Magnet.
  • First-Name Basis: Despite Oikawa's chummy personality and fondness for nicknames, Kageyama is notably the only player he refers to by his first name (and in turn is initially the only character to refer to him as such), flip-flopping between "Tobio-chan" and no honorifics depending on whether he's mocking him. Although Oikawa respects him and was his captain back in middle school, he clearly does this to invoke Terms of Endangerment rather than with good intentions. By the end of the series, he also refers to Hinata as just "Shōyō" out of genuine friendship, something he first started doing in the Brazil flashback after spending time with him.
  • Foil:
    • To Sugawara. They're both third year setters outshined by Kageyama, but their treatment of Kageyama is very different. Since Oikawa resented Kageyama, he never gave him advice or helped him when they were teammates. Sugawara, on the other hand, is jealous of Kageyama but he holds no animosity towards him; he always treats him with the kindness Oikawa never gave him as an upperclassman and rival setter.
    • To Kageyama himself. They're both skilled setters from the same middle school who tend to grate on people, but Kageyama started out as a talented prima donna continually frustrated by his teammate's failure to keep up with him while Oikawa gained his skills from hard work and has a knack for getting the best out of anyone he plays with.
  • Friend to All Children: On Mondays, Oikawa volunteers teaching volleyball to young children.
  • The Gadfly: He loves to push Iwaizumi's buttons, which 99% of the time results to the latter yelling at him, hit him or both.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Oikawa seems to be driven primarily by jealousy, mostly of Kageyama and at least partially of Ushijima. He continually laments his inability to truly surpass Kageyama, and strives to defeat him before graduating high school.
  • Hard Work Hardly Works: The tropes does not look like it applies to Oikawa at a glance, as he's considered the top setter in the area and is a dangerous threat in matches, seemingly with little effort. However he laments he's no natural talent and that he would hardly be half as good as he is if he didn't work as hard as he did. While the hard work certainly pays off, he resents the fact that he still can't win against Shiratorizawa which is led by the powerful Ushijima, and it's implied that Kageyama, his naturally-gifted junior, will one day surpass him. Best exemplified in the final chapter, where his Olympic introduction cites that his academic volleyball career was unremarkable and he remained a relative unknown until he moved to Argentina, solely because his teams never made Nationals (despite his old rivals being full aware of his prowess).
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Almost always seen with close childhood friend Iwaizumi.
  • In-Series Nickname: Hinata calls him the Grand King, as a reference to him being a senior on Kageyama's junior high team. It's also a punny nickname: the original phrase is 'Daiou' (大王) which is a title often associated with Alexander the Great, whom Oikawa shares his birthday with. They are also both mentioned to have outstanding leadership skills, but a bad personality.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Not an extreme example, but he's prone to feeling anxious about how inferior he potentially is to other talented players like Kageyama or Ushijima. His smugness and blasé exterior hide feelings of resentment and insecurity.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Likes to openly razz people, especially opponents, has a very childish side and is fiercely competitive. For all his smugness, however, Oikawa is very dedicated to his team and believes in each one of his teammates. He also coaches volleyball to children during his free time.
  • The Leader: The talented and charismatic captain of Aoba Johsai. He's a very serious threat whenever other teams play against them. Despite his irritating personality, he's an excellent leader who brings out the best of everyone on the team because he understands them well. His team put a lot of faith in him, and he returns the favour.
  • The Nicknamer: He usually addresses people by nicknames, be it the suffix -chan (e.g., Iwaizumi, Kageyama, Kunimi) or something he came up with himself ("Mad Dog" for Kyōtani and "Mr. Refreshing" for Sugawara). He also doesn't call Hinata anything but chibi-chan (translated as "shorty", "shrimp" or similar).
  • Nonuniform Uniform: As a third year, Oikawa's shown wearing a white brace instead of a knee pad on his right knee with his uniform. Justified since he's just recovered from a knee injury.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: For all of his swagger, Oikawa actually isn't recognized for his talent on a national level thanks to always getting beaten by Ushijima and then losing to Karasuno (with Kageyama as their lead setter), thus consequently never making it to the National tournaments. Then the series introduces Atsumu Miya aka the top high school setter, leaving Oikawa in the dust. Ushijima even bluntly states that he believes that Oikawa's talents are being squandered on Aoba Johsai. However by the series end, Oikawa does manage to become a renowned international player on the Argentinean team so all of his hard work and effort does eventually pay off.
  • Pet the Dog: Despite his childish behaviour and frequent provocation of people outside his team (and not even they're immune), in a flashback Oikawa kept Hinata company when the two ran into each other in Brazil, treating him to dinner (something he offered to do even before finding out Hinata lost his wallet) and joining him in beach volleyball afterward. He earnestly explained his reasons for going to the Argentinean league and genuinely enjoyed catching up with Hinata, which was especially nice considering Hinata was starting to feel homesick.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Kageyama goes to him for advice after his falling out with Hinata over how they should handle their quick attack, Oikawa is quick to call it Kageyama's selfishness being the root cause of their breakdown. He tells Kageyama that he's falling back into his old tyrannical ways, prioritizing his personal comfort over Hinata's actual independent growth as a player.
  • The Resenter: Being someone who has bloomed mostly through hard work rather than innate talent, Oikawa seems to resent geniuses in general and Kageyama in particular. Doesn’t help that he used to perceive Kageyama as a direct threat to his position as setter during junior high. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it doesn't seem like he completely grew out of it, as he can be very immature when Kageyama is concerned.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: Following Aoba Johsai's loss to Karasuno, Ushijima tells the Oikawa that his choice to attend Aoba Johsai, his plays during the second Karasuno vs. Aoba Johsai match, and his pride is what in the way of his team's victory. Oikawa however doesn't let his words get to him and
    Oikawa: What was it you said about useless pride? I can't recall. Listen up, Ushiwaka. I've never thought my choice was a mistake. And my volleyball career is just getting started. This worthless pride you speak of? Make sure you never forget it.
  • Signature Move: His killer jump serve is dreaded by the teams he plays against. This powerful serve is said to be even more accurate than Ushijima's, and Kageyama developed his own jump serve by watching Oikawa's.
  • Significant Birth Date: Oikawa shares a birthdate with Alexander The Great (July 20th), which is fitting given Hinata's nickname for him is "the Great King."
  • Sore Loser: Downplayed. While he does acknowledge his opponents' strengths, taking a loss well isn't one of Oikawa's best qualities. When Aoba Johsai loses to Karasuno and he accompanies Iwaizumi to the crows' subsequent match against Shiratorizawa, Oikawa bitterly claims that he isn't cheering for any of them and that both should lose.
  • Stepford Smiler: For all of Oikawa's cheery charm, Iwaizumi notes that these expressions are rarely genuine.
  • Terms of Endangerment: Frequently calls Kageyama "Tobio-chan", which is quite overly familiar even for him. Given Oikawa's Jerkass nature and the fact that he sees Kageyama as a rival, this is generally a form of provocation on his part.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Iwaizumi. Oikawa is often pushing Iwaizumi’s buttons on purpose, and Iwaizumi returns it, usually physically. Despite that, they still have what Oikawa describes as a "perfect trust" in each other.
  • When He Smiles: A flashback of him receiving the best setter award in junior high school has him give a rare genuine smile, which Iwaizumi lampshaded (despite Oikawa's argument that his smiles are always honest and pure).
  • Worthy Opponent:

    Hajime Iwaizumi 

Hajime Iwaizumi — #4

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (JP), Benjamin McLaughlin (EN)

Played by: Yuuya Hirata (2015), Allen Kohatsu (2016 - 2018, 2021)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iwa_5126.jpg
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 179.3cm/70.2kg
3rd Year

"Someone who can't see the opponent standing right in front of him, can't defeat the opponent that lies beyond!"

The ace spiker for Aoba Johsai. Iwaizumi is a close friend of Oikawa, the two seem to have a deep sense of trust in each other. However, Iwaizumi does not approve of Oikawa's more childish antics and often prevents him from doing petty acts.

Favourite food: Agedashi tofu.
Current concern: Just 1cm more... or 7mm, at least...!

  • Affectionate Nickname: Oikawa, his childhood friend, refers to him as "Iwa-chan".
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Iwaizumi is not afraid to insult or physically hit Oikawa, but he cares deeply about him and always watches his back so he chooses the right path.
  • Childhood Friends: Got into volleyball with Oikawa when they were very young.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Frequently snarks in a deadpan tone, almost exclusively towards Oikawa.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: He gives a headbutt variant to Oikawa during his moment of weakness in their junior high third year after he almost hits Kageyama and emotionally breaks down.
  • Jerkass to One: Downplayed. The only person Iwaizumi insults or hits is Oikawa, but he's his best friend and he cares a lot about him.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: No thanks to Oikawa, he's usually shown to be annoyed or provoked in some way.
  • Height Angst: Played for laughs, his current concern is his annoyance at being 7mm away from being 180 cm tall (about six feet).
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Frequently appears with close friend and teammate Oikawa.
  • Insult of Endearment: He often calls Oikawa "shitty" or "crappy", sometimes even mixing it with his name (such as "Shittykawa"). Not quite endearing, but they are still good friends and Oikawa grudingly allows it.
  • The Lancer: He can almost be considered Oikawa's second in command. Just like him, Iwaizumi is highly respected by his juniors and he's Oikawa's more mature and level-headed emotional pillar.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: While Oikawa has a family, Iwaizumi has been his friend since childhood and has a positive soothing influence on him; if it wasn't from him, Oikawa would've made terrible decisions, possibly injured himself and put pressure on himself to get better at volleyball.
  • Manly Tears: He breaks down into tears when Aoba Johsai loses to Karasuno, ashamed to even call himself the ace when one of his spikes got blocked by the other team at a vital time.
  • Meaningful Name: The "iwa" in his name means "rock", and he is literally Oikawa's rock.
  • Morality Chain:
  • Mr. Fanservice: Iwaizumi is very muscled, and there are scenes of him training and wearing only tank tops to fully highlight them.
  • Nice Guy: He's a good mentor figure to his underclassmen and he was nice to Kageyama in his Kitagawa Daiichi years.
  • Significant Birth Date: Iwaizumi's birthdate is on June 10th, the date of death of Alexander The Great, which contrasts with Oikawa's birthdate which is Alexander The Great's birth (July 20th) and the fact that the latter is often compared to Alexander The Great.
  • Tsundere: He's a nice guy, but when it comes to Oikawa, he can go from giving him pep talks to insulting him and physically hit him when he's being too much of a jerk.
  • Use Your Head: Iwaizumi uses his head to literally knock some sense into Oikawa.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Oikawa. Oikawa is often pushing Iwaizumi’s buttons on purpose, and Iwaizumi returns it... usually physically. Despite that, they still have what Oikawa describes as a "perfect trust" in each other.
  • Worthy Opponent: To Oikawa's dismay, Iwaizumi is the only person on the team Kyōtani listens to... because every time Kyōtani challenged him in physicality, Iwaizumi would win.

    Shigeru Yahaba 

Shigeru Yahaba — #6

Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi (JP), Jeremy Gee (EN)

Played by: Masanari Wada (2015), Kaito Yamagiwa (2016 - 2018)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shigeru_yahaba_5.png
Position: Setter
Height/Weight: 181.9cm/69kg
2nd Year

A second year and reserve setter. He takes Oikawa's place in the practice match against Karasuno since the third year was recovering from a knee injury at the time. Afterward, he acts as a pinch server in official matches.

Favourite food: Ikura don.
Current concern: Filling Oikawa-san's shoes is tough...

  • Beware of the Nice Ones: Yahaba is generally polite and friendly. When he can no longer tolerate Kyōtani's reckless behaviour in the match against Karasuno, however, he slams him against the wall and furiously says he won't forgive him if he screws up the match for their upperclassmen. Kyōtani is surprised, having thought Yahaba was more shallow.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Yahaba gets a lot of focus during the Spring High Preliminaries match against Karasuno, getting substituted in the game a few times and also slapping some sense into Kyōtani.
  • Serious Business: He makes it clear to Kyōtani that it's the last year the third years get to play, and that it means that he won't allow anyone to get in their way to win.
  • Sympathy for the Hero: Downplayed with fellow Miyagi rivals Karasuno. Despite being bitter over the loss to the protagonist team, he openly cheers for them when watching their Nationals match on TV against Inarizaki and angrily yells at them to try harder when they're on the verge of defeat.
  • Tsundere: Cheers for Karasuno when watching them play at Nationals. When he can feel Kyōtani and Kunimi staring at him, he gets defensive and claims he's only doing it because they're the only team he knows at Nationals and seeing them lose early would look bad for Aoba Johsai.

    Yūtarō Kindaichi 

Yūtarō Kindaichi — #12

Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (JP), David Matranga (EN)

Played by: Kōta Sakamoto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kindaichi_58.jpg
Position: Middle Blocker
Height/Weight: 189.2cm/74.3kg
1st Year

Kindaichi is a middle blocker from Aoba Johsai. He is also one of Kageyama’s former teammates from Kitagawa Daiichi. Because of Kageyama’s difficult temper during middle school, Kindaichi used to clash with him a lot and still thinks poorly of him.

Favorite food: Grilled corn.
Current concern: Girls in his class said that "Kindaichi-kun kinda seems more "lanky" than "tall", right?"

  • Anime Hair: The way his hair naturally spikes up can only be explained by anime physics. He's called "Shallot Head" for a reason.
  • Butt-Monkey: A minor example. In a CD Drama, the team gives him tons of embarassing nicknames to his dismay.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: First appeared as a teammate of Kageyama in junior high school, frequently clashing with him. In the present, Kindaichi is revealed to be a member of Aoba Johsai, a team Karasuno will come to play a few times in the series.
  • In-Series Nickname: Hinata refers to him as "Shallot Head" or "Turnip-Head".
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's somewhat condescending towards Hinata and Kageyama in earlier chapters, but he greatly respects and admires his upperclassmen; and during the training camp at Shiratorizawa, he's less of a jerk towards Hinata and even asks about how Kageyama is doing.
  • Rejected Apology: Immediately rejects Kageyama's implied attempt of apologizing for his former behavior, claiming that they were never friends in the first place. This however seems to settle, rather than worsen, things between the two of them.
  • The Resenter: A Downplayed Trope towards Hinata. He holds no ill will towards Hinata, but seeing Hinata function fine as a player on the same team as Kageyama unintentionally makes Kindaichi feel like he and his team's past falling out with Kageyama reflects worse on them.
  • Those Two Guys: A mildly significant supporting character who frequently appears alongside Kunimi. The two were teammates with Kageyama in junior high, but his tyrannical ways soured their relationship and is why both of them dislike him in the present. Together, they're invited to the Miyagi First Years' Training Camp.
  • Tsundere: Shows concern for Kageyama now and then but refuses to admit it. When the Miyagi first year camp training finishes, he tries to ask Hinata about Kageyama's wellbeing as uncaringly as possible, with little success. He claims to just be making small talk, but does show some relief when Hinata reassures him Kageyama's fine and it's natural to have disagreements as teammates like the two of them did in Kitagawa Daiichi.

    Akira Kunimi 

Akira Kunimi — #13

Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru (JP), Mark Laskowski (EN)

Played by: Shōtarō Arisawa (2015 - 2017 "Winners and Losers"(, Masakazu Kanda ("The Strongest Team" (2018) - 2021)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kunimi_3454.jpg
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 182.8cm/66.1kg
1st Year

One of Kageyama's teammates back in Kitagawa Daiichi.

Favorite food: Salted caramel.
Current concern: "Staying awake during class is hard..."

  • Brilliant, but Lazy: At the first years' training camp, he clearly puts in the least effort of anyone there. However, as Hinata's observational skills improve, he realizes that the seeming apathy is a result of Kunimi playing with a rock-solid composure and no wasted energy, making him one of the most dangerous players in the camp and the one with the best winning record in doubles. Oikawa also puts his trait to use, encouraging Kunimi to save his energy so that he can rely on him later in the match.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: First appeared as a teammate of Kageyama in junior high school, being on the receiving end of the King of the Court's frequent criticism. In the present, Kunimi is revealed to be a member of Aoba Johsai, a team Karasuno will come to play a few times in the series.
  • Lazy Bum: Avoids putting in effort when he can. Kageyama would tell him off in junior high school if he didn't think he tried hard enough to chase a ball, whereas Oikawa turns this trait into an advantage in the present and has Kunimi reserve his energy for later in the game. Played for Laughs in Haikyuu-bu!! when he purposely puts himself through suspended animation multiple times to save energy when Aoba Johsai is stranded and is the only member not exhausted at the end of the incident.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Always has a deadpan frown on his face.
  • Not So Stoic: Kageyama is astonished when the usually stoic Kunimi smiles normally during the match against Aoba Johsai, something that he, as a former teammate, had never seen Kunimi do.
  • The Stoic: He has a tired or unimpressed expression on his face most of the time.
  • Those Two Guys: A mildly significant supporting character who frequently appears alongside Kindaichi. The two were teammates with Kageyama in junior high, but his tyrannical ways soured their relationship and is why both of them dislike him in the present. Together, they're invited to the Miyagi First Years' Training Camp.

    Kentarō Kyōtani 

Kentarō Kyōtani — #16

Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi (JP), Michael Wronski (EN)

Played by: Kento Kitamura ("The Strongest Team" (2018))

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_hq_kyoutani.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 178.8cm/70.8kg
2nd Year

A player from Aoba Johsai, nicknamed "Mad Dog" by Oikawa. He was rather famous in junior high, and has the best skills of his grade, but is a very difficult person to deal with.

Favorite food: Hamima chicken.
Current concern: Lawson's new "Karāge-kun" is hard to throw away.

  • Alliterative Name: Kentarō Kyōtani.
  • Character Development: During the match against Karasuno, he starts to understand the value of teamwork and and how important is to have people to rely on. Particularly noticeable when he starts exchanging high fives with his teammates after some initial confusion.
  • Defeat Means Respect: Iwaizumi is the only person on the team that he'll listen to, as Kyōtani challenged him multiple times and lost every time. Yahaba slamming him against the wall shortly before asking him to help them out on the court appears to have a similar effect.
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: In his first year he regularly slammed his third year upperclassmen for not playing well, even telling one of them they played like shit (much to the team's horror and Oikawa's amusement). His attitude remains the same when he returns to the club, expressing his surprise that the third years haven't retired yet (horrifying the first and second years and pissing off the third years).
  • The Friend Nobody Likes:
    • His bad attitude was enough to make his fellow first years avoid him like the plague. It seems that the only reason he hasn’t been kicked out of the club is because he is a very good player.
    • A flashback shows that he had a similar relationship with his team mates in junior high, although it's ambiguous as to whether it's this trope or All of the Other Reindeer, given that it's framed as him overhearing their comments about him.
  • Guy Liner: Has dark lines around his eyes to emphasize his intense glare.
  • In-Series Nickname: Oikawa calls him Kyōken-chan (狂犬), literally "Mad Dog", derived from his name (though with different kanji).
  • Jerkass: Doesn’t seem to have much respect for anyone, save for Iwaizumi. He appears to gain some respect for Yahaba after being slammed against a wall by him.
  • Lightning Bruiser: He's a fast and strong player, and his spikes are just as aggressive as him.
  • Perpetual Frowner: He's rarely not seen scowling.
  • Remember the New Guy?: Has been in Aoba Johsai since his first year but is only introduced in the series in the Spring High Preliminaries arc. Not even the first years know who he is, leaving Yahaba to explain the situation to Kindaichi. Justified in that despite technically being in the team, he wasn’t attending club activities. It’s implied that he was waiting for the third years to graduate before coming back.

    Watari, Matsukawa and Hanamaki 

Shinji Watari (#7), Issei Matsukawa (#2), Takahiro Hanamaki (#3)

Watari voiced by: Arthur Lounsbery (JP), Blake Jackson (EN)

Watari played by: Kenshin Saitou

Hanamaki voiced by: Toru Sakurai (JP), Jack Ivy (EN)

Hanamaki played by: Sonde Kanai

Matsukawa voiced by: Yusen Isamu (JP), Paul Locklear (EN)

Matsukawa played by: Ryo Hatakeyama (2015), Judai Shirakashi (2016 - 2018)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watari_matsukawa_hanamaki.png
Positions: Libero/ Middle Blocker/ Wing Spiker

Other notable members of Aoba Johsai who make up te rest of the starting lineup. Wing spiker Hanamaki and middle blocker Matsukawa are third years, while libero Watari is in his second year.

Favourite food: Boiled eggs (Watari)/ Cheese-filled hamburg steak (Matsukawa)/ Profiteroles (Hanamaki)
Current concern: He'd like to build up more muscle (Watari)/ He's been told that his school uniform doesn't suit him (Matsukawa)/ No matter how hard he tries, he can't beat Iwaizumi at arm wrestling (Hanamaki)

  • Affectionate Nickname: Like most of the other members, they get cute nicknames from Oikawa — "Watachi", "Mattsun", and "Makki".
  • Bit Character: They have distinct personalities and do well in matches, but they otherwise aren't fleshed out like other members.
  • The Gadfly: Matsukawa and Hanamki enjoy poking fun at Oikawa, such as rooting for him to lose his serve so that he'll owe them ramen.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: Watari was formerly a setter and can set from his position as libero, catching Karasuno by surprise. This inspires Nishinoya to also learn how to toss so he can help set up some surprise attacks for the team.
  • Sweet Tooth: Hanamaki's profile states his favourite food is profiteroles, and Haikyuu-bu!! has him craving cream puffs to the point of hallucinating them when the team is stranded.
  • Those Two Guys: Matsukawa and Hanamaki are usually seen together, and their primary roles are to establish themselves as the two other third year regulars that sometimes tease Oikawa.

Date Tech

    General 
  • Friendly Rival: Date Tech is introduced as the second primary rival for Karasuno in the Miyagi Prefecture. Although Karasuno feels a lot of anxiety with them at first due to their brutal defeat prior to the series, after their Interhigh Preliminaries match the two teams develop a more positive relationship as rivals; Karasuno takes an interest in their match with Aoba Johsai and converses with the now-retired third years, and the two teams even organise practice matches together to prepare Karasuno for Nationals.
  • Stone Wall: The team is known as the Iron Wall due to their ability to use their defense to smother the opposing team's offenses. Their loss to Karasuno during the Interhigh Qualifiers seems to inspire them to better improve their offense as well.
  • Took a Level in Badass: By the time of their rematch with Karasuno in their practice match, Date Tech has greatly improved their defense strategies. It gets revealed during the Time Skip montage that they even defeated Karasuno in the finals of the Interhigh Qualifiers the following year and placed in the Top 16 in the national tournament.

    Kaname Moniwa 

Kaname Moniwa—#2

Voiced by: Takashi Onozuka (JP), Patrick Poole (EN)

Played by: Minami Tsurimoto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moniwa.png
Position: Setter
Height/Weight: 176.3 cm/67.5 kg
3rd Year

The captain of Date Tech during the Interhigh Preliminary tournament. After Date Tech's defeat against Karasuno, Moniwa retires as the captain and passes the baton to Futakuchi.

Favorite food: Gohandesuyo Nori paste.note 
Current concern: The second years.

  • Apologizes a Lot: Frequently apologises due to the trouble his juniors get in with other teams.
  • A Father to His Men: Even if he lacks the composure and sternness to control his juniors' behavior, he's still very respected by said juniors and always encourages his team and help them keep going forward.
  • Nervous Wreck: Downplayed as he holds his composure pretty well, but his team is definitely stressing him.
  • Nice Guy: A nervous, but well-meaning and friendly guy.
  • So Proud of You: He boasts about his juniors and goes out of his way to watch them even after retiring. His tearful smile is full of pride and joy when he watches his juniors win the Miyagi Interhigh Preliminaries in the flashback shown during the Time Skip.
  • Team Mom: He worries a lot over his team, and he's devoted into boosting their confidence when they need to and apologizes for their behavior when they mess with other teams.
  • Tearful Smile: Despite his loss against Karasuno, Moniwa keeps a smile on his face as he cries over his last volleyball game as a high schooler.

    Kenji Futakuchi 

Kenji Futakuchi — #6 (during Interhigh) → #2 (during Spring High)

Voiced by: Masatomo Nakazawa (JP), Mark Ivy (EN)

Played by: Atsushi Kimura

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/260075_7832.jpg
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 184.2cm/71.5kg
2nd Year

A wing spiker from Date Tech, often seen with Aone. Futakuchi is an easygoing young man that is considered a rather problematic underclassman by his upperclassmen.

Favourite food: Sour gummies.
Current concern: He has to go and get his wisdom teeth pulled.

  • The Chains of Commanding: Futakuchi is a lot less laid-back once he becomes the captain, and comes to understand just how much his relaxed attitude used to trouble his upperclassmen.
  • Friendship Moment: Or perhaps Teamwork Moment. When Moniwa says that Futakuchi and Aone have overpowered Karasuno up to that point, Futakuchi asks him to say we instead, as in, they have all done it together. Given his difficult personality, his upperclassmen are very much surprised (and touched) at this.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Loves to mess with his upperclassmen and provoke their rivals, including Asahi who got Curb Stomped by their Iron Wall prior to the story. However he also genuinely cares for his team; he's disheartened when the third years announce their retirement and when he sees them crying after their match against Karasuno, and he makes an effort to keep Koganegawa under control.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Light-hearted Played for Laughs version. Futakuchi is very mouthy to his volleyball upperclassmen and frequently gives them trouble due to his bad personality. When he becomes the new captain, he receives the short end of the stick when dealing with Koganegawa's mistakes and overwhelming personality. The third years find this hilarious, lampshading that this is payback for all the times he's annoyed them.
  • The Leader: Takes over as captain after the third years retire from the team. He does an efficient job at looking after the team although he grumbles at how much he has to take care of Koganegawa and feels slightly guilty for causing problems for the prior captain Moniwa.
  • Rank Up: He takes up Moniwa's role and becomes captain after the third years retire from the team to concentrate on graduating for the remainder of the school year. This forces Futakuchi to cut back his lax attitude and become a mentor for his team, especially towards Koganegawa.
  • Stone Wall: Whenever someone mentions the Iron Wall, they’re usually referring to Aone and Futakuchi. Futakuchi might not be as tall as Aone, but is just as skilled in blocking. Downplayed as his offensive skills aren't bad at all — his blocks are just that superior.

    Takanobu Aone 

Takanobu Aone — #7 (during Interhigh) → #1 (during Spring High)

Voiced by: Hiroki Matsukawa (JP), Mike Haimoto (EN)

Played by: Sho Arai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aone_8030.jpg
Position: Middle Blocker
Height/Weight: 191.8cm/88.2kg
2nd Year

"Those who are tall and strong aren't the only opponents who are difficult to block."

A middle blocker from Date Tech. Aone is a vital part of the "Iron Wall" — Date's impressive “wall” of defense.

Favourite food: Kuri kinton.note 
Current concern: When he's riding the train nobody wants to sit on either side of him.

  • The Comically Serious: His sincere attempts at being friendly or polite humorously clash with his stoic and intense demeanour, including when he tries to break up fights between teammates or gives Moniwa a high five.
  • Face of a Thug: Has a very intimidating look and always frowning, plus his huge size doesn't help. However he's a gentle and polite student, striking up a friendship with Hinata after the two first meet.
  • Friendly Rival: His team is considered a big threat by Karasuno but he's also very amicable off the course, which goes hand in hand with him being a Gentle Giant. Aone considers Hinata to be his Worthy Opponent.
  • Gentle Giant: Despite his intimidating appearance (he is nearly 192cm, or 6'3") and serious demeanor, he gets along with the other members on the team, is quick to greet Hinata after Karasuno defeats them, and is quite the good-natured guy. It turns out that that's just how his face is naturally. According to the character book, his current concern is that nobody will sit next to him when he's riding the train.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Despite his towering stature, Aone is incredibly fast and matches his strength with the stamina to keep up his focus-intensive read-blocking throughout entire matches without breaking a sweat. He's fast enough to keep up with Hinata's first-tempo attacks easily and can adjust to his and Kageyama's "oddball quick" with only a couple reps, and he can block Asahi's power spikes outright.
  • No Brows: His lack of eyebrows is noted by other characters, including Hinata when he first meets him in person.
  • Odd Friendship: Aone is intimidating, stoic and quiet, while Hinata looks harmless, is loud and also very Hot-Blooded. Despite the differences, they develop a very deep mutual respect for each other after Karasuno defeats Date Tech at Interhigh.
  • Perpetual Frowner: He doesn't show much emotion other than the slight frown on his face (which is only because he's super serious and not because he's angry).
  • The Quiet One: He's clearly a man of few words. Members are surprised whenever he talks.
  • Signature Move: Known for his excellent read blocking, which Karasuno has trouble countering. He's part of the reason why Asahi felt troubled after their match prior to the story and temporarily quit.
  • Stone Wall: Because of his height, he is his team's best blocker and is a vital part of the team's "Iron Wall". Downplayed as his offensive skills aren't bad at all — his blocks are just that superior.
  • Worthy Opponent: Hinata is frightened of Aone at first thanks to his freakish blocking skills in their match, and maintains his respect for him even after winning the encounter. Aone in return sees Hinata as a respectable opponent, shaking his hand, objecting when his teammates badmouth him, and even going as far as to tell Koganegawa that it isn't always the big ones that you have to watch out for. Particularly noticeable because of how little he generally talks.

    Kanji Koganegawa 

Kanji Koganegawa — #7

Voiced by: Shouji Masayuki (JP), Mason Butler (EN)

Played by: Louis Hatomi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kanji_koganegawa.png
Position:Setter
Height/Weight: 191.5cm → 193cm/80.2kg
1st year

A relatively new setter after the third years retired. He's an energetic but well-meaning guy.

Favorite food: Katsudon.
Current concern: He can't pull off dump shots in a way that looks cool.

  • Adaptational Early Appearance: In the manga he first appears in his match against Aoba Johsai. In the anime he appears earlier on, during team practice prior to the Spring High Preliminaries. It's not very obvious, however, since only the back of his head can be seen and he has no speaking lines.
  • Anime Hair: Has three strands of black hair over his head that defies gravity.
  • Apologizes a Lot: Frequently apologises in matches, since he's new and still makes a lot of mistakes.
  • Birds of a Feather: He gets along well with Hinata during the first years' training camp at Shiratorizawa, due to their similar energetic personalities.
  • Cat Smile: His mouth is always in a slight shape of a three, which suits his cheerful and energetic self.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: The back of his head can be seen during Date Tech's practice in the anime while Fukutachi teases his upperclassmen. He makes his official on-screen debut later in their match against Aoba Johsai.
  • Hot-Blooded: Gets a lot more pumped up than necessary in matches, which can sometimes make him lose sight of the situation.
  • In-Series Nickname: Hinata and most of his teammates refer to him as Kogane.
  • Remember the New Guy?: Is not seen with the rest of Date Tech at all during the Interhigh Preliminaries, only making his series debut during the Spring High Preliminaries as the team's new setter in the starting lineup. The retired third years are left to explain to Karasuno who he is.
  • Stone Wall: Despite lacking in technique, including in the offensive area, his height and blocking is great enough for him to become part of Date Tech's famous "Iron Wall" after the third years retire. Oikawa himself is thrown off by him in Aoba Johsai's match against them.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Koganegawa is physically gifted and is strong enough that even Aone struggles to brace him during tough blocks, but he's very raw and unpolished, and often gets hung up on the idea of doing cool things instead of playing consistently. He's also outright reckless enough to put his teammates in danger, as shown when he nearly flings Futakuchi into the net pole during a block against Aoba Johsai.

Kakugawa High

    Yūdai Hyakuzawa 

Yūdai Hyakuzawa — #9

Voiced by: Shouta Yamamoto (JP), Jovan Jackson (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuudai_hyakuzawa.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 201.2cm → 202cm/88.2kg
1st Year

Kakugawa's relatively new wing spiker who boasts a height of over 200cm.

Favorite food: Yakisoba.
Current concern: Receives are difficult.

  • Adapted Out: He's absent from the stage play adaptation, although he's given a brief gag reference in the first Spring High Preliminaries when the narration mentions fighting Kakugawa and shows Hinata squaring off against "Hyakuzawa" (aka one guy sitting on top of another guy while wearing an oversized jersey, clearly making a joke about his height).
  • Crippling Overspecialization: Hyakuzawa was recruited by Kakugawa specifically due to his height and build, making him an ideal blocker and spiker. Unfortunately his other skills still need more work; Karasuno take advantage of his limited abilities and he initially struggles to keep up at the Miyagi training camp, with a few guys comparing his skill level to that of a middle schooler.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Hyakuzawa is a character plagued with a lot of crippling self-doubt, convinced that his only worth as a volleyball player is his build and fear that he can't live up to everyone's expectations. A pep talk from Hinata during a training camp helps to motivate him to build more confidence and take better strides in improving as player. By the end of the series, not only is Hyakuzawa one of the few players from the Miyagi Prefecture to become a Division 1 player note , but he's also among those selected to represent Japan for the National Team in the Olympics.
  • Foil: Like Hinata, Hyakuzawa gets recruited by his school's team for a very specific reason, in this case his height making him an excellent blocker as well as convenient spiker. Unfortunately, he coasted on this and never bothered to try and expand his skills, compared to Hinata who realized early on the limitations of just relying on his quick attack. Kakugawa's loss to Karasuno does end up inpsiring Hyakuzawa to get better.
  • Gentle Giant: In comparison to his overwhelming height, he's generally pretty soft-spoken and respectful.
  • Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite being vital to his team, he initially struggles at the first years' training camp and doesn't think he has what it takes to be a good player. However, Hinata encourages him and says he should be proud of his good height.
  • Huge Schoolgirl: Gender-inverted. He's only a first year yet is over two metres tall. He's put on the starting lineup on the team despite not knowing much volleyball specifically because of the advantage of his height.
  • Took a Level in Badass: He initially lacks technique which leaves him unable to keep up at training camp at first, and he even feels guilty for "taking" Hinata's spot. After some encouragement and tips from Hinata, Hyakuzawa proves himself in the end and gains some confidence. After the Time Skip, he's improved enough to become a pro player for a Division 1 V-League team. Later the 2020 Tokyo Olympics confirms that he's good enough to be on the men's national team.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: His immense power combined with his height is what makes him a reliable spiker for his team, to the point that Kakugawa is considered Hyakuzawa's one-man show. However, he's new to the sport and his lack of experience often shows, such as his inability to control the direction of his spikes (which Karasuno exploits) and his struggles during the first years' training camp.

Johzenji High

Boys Volleyball Team

    Yūji Terushima 

Yūji Terushima—#1

Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (JP), Conner Borne (EN)

Played by: Masahide Funaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terushima_0.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 177.2 cm/66.7kg
2nd Year

The new captain of Johzenji's volleyball academy, whose childish personality and carefree leadership style clash with the school's established "simplicity and fortitude."

Favorite food: Sausage bread.
Current concern: The bread at school doesn't taste that great anymore.

  • Abhorrent Admirer: A friendly but obnoxious guy who frequently makes advances towards Shimizu despite making her disinterest very clear, which doesn't endear him towards Karasuno at all.
  • All Work vs. All Play: Terushima — and the younger members of Johzenji under his captaincy — fall hard on the side of "let's just have fun", as they are naturally athletic and gifted don't take the time to actually hone their techniques. This is how they got the reputation as the "party team". This contrasts with the previous members who were much more serious about training and took the "Simplicity and Fortitude" banner slogan to heart. Terushima doesn't realize the importance of the more "boring" plays until the match against Karasuno, where he finds Daichi's Boring, but Practical defensive plays completely uninteresting but later realizes how much these different playstyles compliment one another.
  • Awesome by Analysis: After watching Karasuno's synchronized attack he tries to replicate it, on Karasuno's set point in the first set. While the form is right, he completely undershoots the serve.
  • Cavalier Competitor: Terushima's Fatal Flaw is that he takes his and his team's talent for granted and treat high stake matches as just fine as along as they're having fun. He even complains to Hinata how dull he finds Daichi's playstyle compared to Hinata's more flashy fast-paced one, completely oblivious to the fact that Daichi is the backbone of Karasuno's defense.
  • Confusion Fu: The team's moves have been unorthodox under his captaincy, so Karasuno has to think on its feet to predict what they'll do next. This is in contrast to the previous leadership, who exacerbated "simplicity and fortitude," to the great dismay of their manager.
  • Ditto Fighter: He attempts to simulate Karasuno's synchronized attack after seeing it once. It doesn't work.
  • Manchild: Terushima is extremely childish and energetic despite being a high-school team captain.
  • Meaningful Name: The characters in his first name mean "playful child", which aptly describes his freewheeling personality.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Although he comes off as flighty, childish, and a little irrational during the Karasuno match, he still manages to force Karasuno to adjust their strategies to defeat them. He also is in Class 7, which makes him the most intelligent, at least in school, for his age out of the cast.

Managers

    Hana Misaki 

Hana Misaki

Voiced by: Ayami Fujimura (JP), Luci Christian (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hana_3.PNG
Position:Manager
Height/Weight: 163.2 cm/49.5 kg
3rd Year

The manager of Johzenji High. Unlike the retired third year players, she stayed with the team for their Spring High campaign.

Favorite food: Baby castella.
Current concern: She's been asked, "Shouldn't you let your bangs grow already?"

  • Cool Big Sis: Implied to be a older sister mentor towards Kuribayashi, the first year manager, in a similar way to Shimizu and Yachi. It's shown by how she asks the team to take it easy on her for the next years she will manage them.
  • Cute Sports Club Manager: She's a cute girl who helps manages the Johzenji's boys' volleyball team and takes her job very seriously. Despite their wildchild ways, the team does respect her greatly.
  • Nice Girl: The kind, devoted manager of Jozhenji's volleyball team.
  • Only Sane Woman: She seems to take the games of volleyball more seriously than her team, and at one point snaps and shakes some sense into them by berating them.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: She's usually quiet and doesn't voice her opinion often. But during the game against Karasuno, she surprises the whole team when she gives the team a blunt, bold speech about their recklessness and how they should focus on winning the game instead of fooling around.
  • Sweet Tooth: Her favorite meal is Baby Castella, a Japanese pastry.
  • Team Mom: She literally acts like a mother towards the team due to their reckless and childish behavior by apologizing for their antics to others or berating them during their game against Karasuno where they're messing around.

Wakutani South High

    Takeru Nakashima 

Takeru Nakashima—#1

Voiced by: Atsushi Abe (JP), Blake Weir (EN)

Played by: Rin Yanagihara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takeru2.png
Position:Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 173.4cm/65.8 kg
3rd Year

Captain of Wakutani South. Like Hinata, he is on the shorter side; his play style is said to be similar to the Little Giant's.

Favorite food: Zunda mochi.note 
Current concern: He feels like his father's hairline is retreating day by day.

  • The Ace: He's the star player of Wakutani and one of the best players overall in the region. His talent along with his small stature has gotten him compared to the famous Little Giant.
  • The Clan: Parodied and Played for Laughs in Haikyuu-bu!! when his extended family is invited to watch one of his team's match. It turns out those who came fit in five buses, they even invited their respective extended families to boot, and one of them even comes from an unknown nationality. In addition, Iwaizumi and Ushijima are shown to be his distant relatives, although later on it's shown that Iwaizumi is a friend of said relative, and only in an Alternate Universe is Ushijima related to Nakashima.
  • Foil: To Hinata. They share the Height Angst and the admiration for and desire to surpass the Little Giant, but while Hinata is Hot-Blooded with little technique, Nakashima is level-headed and far more technically skilled.
  • Height Angst: Downplayed; Nakashima is on the shorter side (173 cm/ 5'8") in a sport where height is a massive advantage, and is occasionally reminded of this disadvantage when up against tall players. It's for this reason that he looks up to the Little Giant and emulates his playstyle.
  • The Leader: The levelheaded and talented captain of Wakutani. His composed attitude keeps his team in check, and he does his best to motivate or comfort them during matches so they can play their best.
  • Nice Guy: Is a comforting presence to his team, constantly encouraging them. He is also shown to be close to his family.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: By virtue of being a third year player, Nakashima doesn't get anywhere near the amount of focus that the other younger players in the Miyagi prefecture does. Even his bid to be considered the next Little Giant ultimately gets overtaken by the more impressive Hoshiumi during Nationals. After the timeskip, while Nakashima has gone pro like several others have, he's revealed to have switched to libero which suggests he's not considered good enough to stay a wing spiker; contrast the wing spikers and fellow short players Hoshiumi (who got to keep his position) and Hinata (who finally made the switch after being a middle blocker all of high school, as it was the only acceptable position for him at the time).
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Although significantly shorter than most players of his position in a sport where height is a massive advantage, he's one of the most capable players in his region.
  • Signature Move: Spiking on the enemy blocks but at angles that will lead to the ball ricocheting outside the court, resulting in points for his team.
  • Transplant: Nakashima can be seen in the author Furudate's previous series Kiben Gakuha, Yotsuya-senpai no Kaidan., where his little sister Makoto is the protagonist. Makoto herself also reappears in Haikyuu!! when cheering for her brother at his matches. Haikyuu-bu!! gives a nod to this in Wakutani's debut chapter, when Makoto gets Yotsuya-senpai to "wish" her brother good luck.
  • Worthy Opponent: Karasuno considers him to be a force to be reckoned with. Coach Ukai specifically tells Hinata not to face him in direct air battles, and after the match is over Hinata himself admits that he couldn't beat him 1v1. Nakashima himself also does not treat Karasuno (especially Hinata) lightly, fully aware of how dangerous they are.

Shiratorizawa Academy

    General 
  • Badass Crew: Shiratorizawa had previously ranked among the top 8 schools in previous tournaments and they are by and large the strongest team in the Miyagi Prefecture.
  • Boring, but Practical: Shiratorizawa is an example of what happens when this trope is taken to its logical extreme. Oikawa says outright that they use "all that is tried, true, and tested," while Ukai Jr. points out that their attacks are ridiculously simplistic, being "addition" compared to Karasuno's "multiplication". However, they're still the strongest team in Miyagi because they have incredible players and amazing individual power, and so their strategy just boils down to "give the ball to the player who can smash it." Their moves are flashy sometimes, but their overall style of play is pretty easy to understand.
  • Early Installment Character-Design Difference: All the starting players other than Ushijima look drastically different in their proper debut when playing against Karasuno compared to their previous appearances in the background, presumably because their character designs weren't finalised yet. Tendō's initial design for example looks a lot more mundane compared to his more wacky look in the Karasuno match.
  • Fatal Flaw: More of a Downplayed Trope but their offense is incredibly reliant on Ushijima's might. While he never does get burnt out or injured, what does ultimately turn the tide of their match against Karasuno is that the Karasuno players slowly adjust to countering his monster spikes.
  • Purple Is Powerful: Shiratorizawa's uniform is primarily purple, a colour befitting a powerhouse school that boasts a Top 3 Ace and has represented Miyagi at Nationals for many years.
  • Strong and Skilled: They have incredible power overall as a team, but that doesn't mean in the least that their skills are lacking. It's just that their power (specially Ushijima's) compensates for most of their strategy.
  • Technician Versus Performer: Shiratorizawa has a more simplistic approach in their game, but it hardly matters since their technique is faultless and Ushijima's overwhelming power more than makes up for it. This is a contrast to Karasuno who pull the most unconventional attacks and can be left vulnerable due to their high-risk game and lop-sided basics. The match is seen as a "Battle of Concepts", with Shiratorizawa using a simple traditional playing style against Karasuno's innovative and reckless playing style.

    Wakatoshi Ushijima 

Wakatoshi Ushijima— #1

Voiced by: Ryota Takeuchi (JP), Joe Daniels (EN)

Played by: Kenji Arita

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ushijima.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 189.0cm/?kg
3rd Year

"An excellent seedling needs suitably excellent soil. It can't yield first-rate fruit on barren land."

Ushijima is a wing spiker and also the ace of the strongest school in the prefecture, Shiratorizawa.

Favourite food: Hayashi rice.
Current concern: None.

  • The Ace: Ushijima is Shiratorizawa’s ace spiker, and apparently has been so since middle school. The star player of Miyagi, he’s recognized as one of the top three high school aces in the country — and it's implied that he's considered the best out of the trio.
  • Always Someone Better: As one of the best high school aces and volleyball players, even other talented players can't help but feel lacking when comparing themselves to him. Oikawa in particular frequently feels threatened by him thanks to always losing to him since junior high and made it a goal to one day defeat Shiratorizawa while he's still in Aoba Johsai.
  • Animal Motifs: The eagle, a larger and more solitary bird to contrast the Karasuno flock of crows.
  • Break Them by Talking: His words, which are often very critical, have a habit of shaking his opponents' mentality. Whether it works or not depends on how confident the responding player is; Oikawa only laughs at his overconfidence when Ushijima berates the choices that led to Aoba Johsai's loss to Karasuno, while Hinata is stunned for a few moments when Ushijima points out that the former's clumsy technique is only exacerbating the disadvantage he already feels in height against the latter.
  • The Bus Came Back: After his loss to Karasuno, he appears at the Miyagi training camp to help out the first years but then disappears for the rest of the Nationals arc (not counting a short cameo). After the Time Skip he makes his brief return during Hinata's flashback of his first year in Brazil, and properly returns in the current timeline when his team is about to play Hinata's team.
  • The Comically Serious: He is proper and unflappable to the point of absurdity, like when Tendō lends him a manga magazine and he reads skin-care tips from the pharmaceutical ads instead of the comics. Played up in Haikyuu-bu!! where he's hilariously unfazed by all the supernatural events surrounding him and his team (who are all freaking out in comparison).
  • The Dreaded: Due to his overpowering spikes befitting of a Top 3 Aces, other schools from both Miyagi and other prefectures fear playing him (and him specifically, rather than Shiratorizawa itself). Karasuno's Round 1 opponents at Nationals flat-out say they're lucky to not be facing Ushijima. The Season 3 opening depicts the Shiratorizawa match as Karasuno playing again Ushijima by himself; and during the last set there's an artistic shot of a giant Ushijima pushing Tsukishima and Hinata down while Daichi, Asahi and Tanaka help them lift him off.
  • First-Name Basis: The third years refer to him by his first name. Notable than Ushijima himself is the only third year who doesn't follow this.
  • In-Series Nickname: Well-known by the nickname "Ushiwaka", an abbreviation of his full name in Japanese order.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Is pretty blatant to the point of people thinking he's mocking them or using of Brutal Honesty, when he's actually just being honest about what he thinks.
  • It's All About Me: Downplayed, but volleyball-wise, he seems to consider himself the most important asset of his team (which he's not necessarily wrong about). He outright says to Kageyama that Shiratorizawa has no need of a setter who can’t devote themselves to him.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: Ushijima is a ridiculously powerful ace, has spikes that even Nishinoya struggles to receive, and has excellent ball control as well as a skillful receive of his own. Surely he can't become any stronger, right? Dead wrong. By the end of the game, he's doing ridiculous moves like timing his jump to screw up the blockers just enough so that he spikes over them and pulling off a perfect cross even under the worst possible circumstances. Even up to his last play, he continuously gets more and more amazing. Bonus points for him actually being a southpaw, which is ironic to the trope name, considering it makes him stronger against receivers used to a right-handed spin on the ball.
  • The Leader: The captain of Shiratorizawa, and the team is very reliant on his superb skills. Despite his stoic nature he's effective at leading the team and keeps a watchful eye on all the members, as seen when he gives every underclassman a piece of advice after their loss to Karasuno.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • His given name, Wakatoshi, means "young advantage"; Ushijima has always been left-handed since childhood, which his father stated that this will become his strength growing up.
    • His nickname, Ushiwaka, was the nickname of Minamoto Yoshitsune, a Japanese Genji Warrior known to have incredible jumping skills.
  • Not So Stoic: Despite his very stoic nature, he will occasionally show other emotion, whether it be his Slasher Smile after encountering Hinata and Kageyama or the way he gets fired up in the latter stages of the match with Karasuno.
  • The Rival: To pretty much every other team in the series, but especially to Oikawa.
  • Significant Birth Date: His birthday is on August 13th, the International Left-Handers Day; Ushijima is left-handed.
  • Slasher Smile: Gives a terrifying grin after Hinata vows to defeat him and get to Nationals, which riles him up and makes him excited for their future face-off.
  • Southpaw Advantage: Is left-handed, which the family on his mother's side resented at first. His father was influential in preventing young Wakatoshi from being forced to use his right hand, arguing that this uniqueness will prove to be his strong point.
  • The Stoic: Usually has a very serious expression on his face and nothing else. In his character profile, it's stated that nothing concerns him.
  • We Can Rule Together: Ushijima strongly believes Oikawa should have gone to Shiratorizawa alongside him, and he often berates him for making the "wrong" decision to go to Aoba Johsai instead of the aforementioned top Miyagi team.
  • When He Smiles: He genuinely smiles when talking to his team in one of the timeouts of the final set, leaving them all stunned.
  • Worthy Opponent: Ushijima considers Oikawa to be the only noteworthy rival in the entire prefecture. And by that, he means only him, attributing even Aoba Johsai's success to having Oikawa as their setter. This is why he strongly believes that Oikawa should had come to Shiratorizawa instead.

    Eita Semi 

Eita Semi — #3

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (Japanese), Alan Brincks (English)

Played by: Yuusuke Sera

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/semi.png
Position: Setter
Height/Weight: 179.5cm/70.5kg
3rd Year

Shiratorizawa's former official setter, who was replaced by Shirabu sometime before the Spring High Preliminaries. He gets called in as the pinch server when needed.

Favorite food: Tekkamaki.
Current concern: Tendō told him that he looks uncool in casual clothes.

  • Attention Whore: Downplayed and implied to be the reason why he got replaced by Shirabu as the setter. He's very skilled (on par or even better than Shirabu), but he admits he likes to show off and be reckless which goes against Shiratorizawa's playstyle. He makes use of this whenever he's called in as a pinch server, since he's free to show off as much as he wants when serving.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Tendō starts calling him "Semi-Semi" during the first year training camp. Semi finds this offputting and tells him to knock it off.
  • Perpetual Frowner: He always appears with a small scowl on his face.
  • The Resenter: His annoyance and criticism of Shirabu isn't subtle, which is strongly implied to be due to his resentment of the second year replacing him as the setter. However, he’s aware of his differences in their playstyles and Shirabu’s dedication, willing to assist and mentor the second year to further polish his skills.

    Satori Tendō 

Satori Tendō — #5

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English)

Played by: Ken Katou

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tendo_3.png
Position: Middle Blocker
Height/Weight: 187.7cm/71.1kg
3rd Year

A middle blocker from Shiratorizawa with a lax personality.

Favorite food: Chocolate ice cream.
Current concern: None of his teammates want to talk to him about Shounen Jump.

  • All of the Other Reindeer: Tendō was rejected by his peers as a child for supposedly looking "like a monster" because of his large eyes.
  • Anime Hair: His hair is looks like a blown up red flame.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: His guess blocking is based partially on intuition and partially on reading the opponent's nonverbal cues.
  • Calling Your Attacks: At one point in an omake, Tendō decides to name his block "the shooting star". And then promptly calls it... while missing the block and falling the wrong direction, pissing the coach off.
  • Combat Commentator: Provides some commentary to Goshiki when the two watch some of the Nationals matches together back in Miyagi.
  • Fiery Redhead: Has bright red hair and is extremely loud and hammy, even out of the court.
  • First-Name Basis: Suiting his casual and chummy nature, he calls everyone on the team by their first names, sometimes with a -kun attached if being extra affectionate. This includes Ushijima aka "Wakatoshi-kun" (a stark contrast to the more respectful Ushijima-san from underclassmen or plain Wakatoshi from other fellow third years) and his elderly coach Washijō aka "Tanji-kun".
  • Foil: To Tsukishima in terms of play style. Tendō thinks blocking is based on instinct while Tsukishima relies more on strategy.
  • Friendless Background: Due to his monstrous ability, his teammates during elementary school years distanced themselves from him.
  • In-Series Nickname: He's called the "Guess Monster" due to his ability to block spikes on instinct.
  • I Shall Taunt You: He consistently taunts the Karasuno players when he's on the front line in order to rile them up. This is a signature of his, judging by how many of the Aoba Johsai third years personally dislike him, and only him.
  • Large Ham: He's very loud and expressive, and sometimes even comes with impromptu songs during games.
  • The Nicknamer: Tends to throw random nicknames at others, such as suddenly referring to Semi as Semi-Semi (much to the aforementioned guy's disdain). The frequency and chance of coming up with a nickname for someone rises with the amount of irritation he feels towards the player in question - he comes up with plenty of nicknames for Hinata and Tsukishima because they're the players that piss him off the most during the match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa.
  • No Indoor Voice: He's prone to shouting a lot, especially during a game.
    Tendō: (when he gets tricked into blocking at a wrong spot) I MADE A MISTAAAAAKE!
  • Signature Move: He's known for his guess block, giving him the nickname Guess Monster. The move is unusual as a wrong guess can easily put a blocker in a bad position to block the ball; Tendō just happens to be really good at guessing.
  • Smug Snake: He likes to taunt players and does it often. This carries into his playing style (if he doesn't guess completely wrong regarding where the ball is going) - his position dictates that he shouldn't just be aiming to block - he should also be aiming to slow the ball for receivers if he is unsuccessful. However, he explicitly states that "one-touches aren't enough for him, it has to be a complete block so he can look down at [the blocked player]'s despair".
  • Sweet Tooth: He loves chocolate ice cream and is very passionate when talking about convenience store pudding in a light novel. After the Time Skip, he's become a chocolatier and even shows up on television.

    Tsutomu Goshiki 

Tsutomu Goshiki - #8

Voiced by: Shimba Tsuchiya (Japanese), Howard Wang (English)

Played by: Shuuji Kikuchi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goshiki.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 181.5cm/69.5kg
1st Year

"Only those able to pull off miracles can be called aces."

One of Shiratorizawa's wing spikers, he's an emotional freshman who's eager to do well.

Favorite food: Boiled flounder.
Current concern: Wants to be able to hit a sharper cross.

  • Attention Whore: A less irritating example. He adores being praised, and sometimes specifically shows off just so he can bask in someone else's compliments. But when Hinata showers him with compliments, he's genuinely surprised after getting used to indirect praise, if any at all, from the rest of his own team.
  • The Baby of the Bunch: The only first year in the starting lineup. The other members tend to roll their eyes at his Hot-Blooded and Large Ham moments, and scold people like Tendō for coddling him.
  • Butt-Monkey: Is frequently on the receiving end of the coach and older members' scolding. During the Nationals arc, his upperclassmen also constantly bother him despite him wanting to watch the tournament in piece. Even after the Time Skip, his former teammates still gather at his place uninvited to watch Tendō and Ushijima on TV.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Despite being a Large Ham and treated like a child in his team, he is the only first year in Shiratorizawa's starting line up. He's also invited to the Miyagi First Years' Training Camp.
  • Hot-Blooded: It's extremely easy to get him fired up in a match, which can bring out some easy mistakes out of him.
  • I Just Want to Be Badass: His dream is to be recognised as the team's ace just like Ushijima.
  • Large Ham: Loves to boast about being the next ace of the team, to the point of annoying some members like Shirabu.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: The fave that Goshiki managed to make the starting line up of the defacto strongest team of the Miyagi Prefecture speaks volumes to his skills. Despite this he's still very much a freshman and make a number of mistakes during their match against Karasuno. Part of this is self-imposed because Goshiki likes to envision himself as the future ace of Shiratorizawa, but given that this team is also home to arguably the best wing spiker in the entire series, he's also perpetually in Ushijima's shadow.
  • Took a Level in Badass: After the Time Skip, Goshiki is among the former players, one of the few from the Miyagi prefecture to boot, who have managed to become Division 1 pro players.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: In Haikyuu-bu!!, while the whole team has their fair share of scares, Goshiki is one member absolutely terrified of ghosts or anything supernatural. With the series being a gag manga, he becomes a victim of many of the paranormal events that happen.

    Kenjirō Shirabu 

Kenjirō Shirabu — #10

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Japanese), Alejandro Saab (English)

Played by: Nobunaga Satou

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shirabu.png
Position: Setter
Height/Weight: 174.8cm/64.4kg
2nd Year

Shiratorizawa's reserved setter.

Favorite food: Shirasu (whitebait).
Current concern: Wants to be taller.

  • Boring, but Practical: He strives to be the setter that "stands out the least", a contrast to the more flashy Kageyama and Oikawa. Although his tosses are simple, they do well to bring out the team's power, especially Ushijima's, and are considered reliable enough for him to be the main setter instead of Semi (who is implied to be just as good but shows off too much). Tsukishima specifically targets Shirabu as part of his counterattack against Ushijima's spikes.
  • Brutal Honesty: Doesn't hesitate to voice out his criticism or concerns, and even if it comes off as rude there's usually some truth to it. He's especially brutal towards Goshiki, often reminding his junior to not get too haughty.
  • Combat Commentator: Joins Tendō and Goshiki when they're watching Nationals and comments on the matches.
  • Death Glare: Sometimes glares with great irritation when someone's bothered him. Goshiki is his usual target.
  • Grin of Audacity: Gives a couple of grins during the intense moments of Shiratorizawa's face-off with Karasuno.
  • Hero-Worshipper: He notes that team-based playing like what Oikawa and Iwaizumi do never appealed to him, and he prefers playing with individually strong and powerful people. For this reason, he wanted to go to Shiratorizawa in order to play with Ushijima, even changing his play style somewhat in order to accommodate him.
  • Not So Stoic: He appears rather unflappable but is actually rather emotional. He gets increasingly irritated and starts to lose his composure the more Karasuno fights back, something Tsukishima exploits during their match.
  • The Stoic: He usually looks indifferent (with a hint of annoyance if anything else). While the other starting members show some sort of Hot Bloodedness, determination or acknowledgement to the the crowd when they're called out to the court for their match against Karasuno, Shirabu just runs in a completely deadpan motion.

    Coach Tanji Washijō 

Tanji Washijō

Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao (JP), David Harbold (EN)

Played by: Taiyou Kawashita

The elderly head coach of Shiratorizawa who believes that "simple is best". He played volleyball as a student but wasn't put in matches due to his short height — this is why he prioritises overwhelming power in his team and shows some resentment to Hinata due to seeing himself in the first year.

Current Concern: It seems to him that there are now fewer students who are independent.

  • Character Development: Shows remarkable change throughout the series for a coach. He has low opinion of anything that goes again traditional gameplay, hence his dislike for Ukai Sr; in particular, thanks to his youth, he believes that one is hopeless without height and so thinks poorly of short players like Hinata, even deeming him unsuitable for the Miyagi Camp (despite another coach having recommended him). However, Hinata's performance in the Shiratorizawa match and Nationals, as well as his determination at the Miyagi Camp, does catch Washijō's eye and slowly makes him reconsider his beliefs. By the time Hinata plays in the Kamomedai match, Washijō whole-heartedly roots for him and comes to realize that it is indeed possible for short players to fight with their own strengths. During the Time Skip, he's the one to recommend Hinata to a beach volleyball coach in Brazil and admits he's had a change of heart towards him. When he watches the V-League game after the Time Skip, he's more invested in all the unique plays everyone comes up with (especially the two short players Hoshiumi and Hinata) than he would have been in the past.
  • Combat Pragmatist: His style of coaching as well as how he picks the players who end up on his team. He picks physically fit (tall), individual powerhouse players that can earn points with their own ability, and outright tells a young Tendō that he doesn't care how points are earned, as long as he earns them. Washijō's past shows that his view regarding the heights of his players stems from his own time as a player in high school in which he was told that "height is a barrier [Washijō] can never overcome."
  • Drill Sergeant Nasty: Strict with his training of his team. He frequently yells at them from the bench in matches, doesn't hesitate to make them practise a hundred serves, once made the team run back to school after a match, and is implied to even use physical discipline (if we can trust Shirabu saying he would had been slapped in a practice match for his mistake).
  • Foil:
    • Both he and Ukai Sr are/were elderly Drill Sergeant Nasty coaches of their respective schools and have led their powerhouse teams to Nationals. While Washijō dislikes unconventional tactics and sticks to tradition, Ukai Sr as a coach always looked for new ways for his team to fight. The two would constantly mock each other for their strategies whenever their teams had practice matches in the past, and they still scoff at each other's ideals in the present.
    • Like Hinata, Washijō wasn't looked at favourably by his school team because of his lack of height, despite his determination. While Washijō never made it to the starting lineup, accepted this and went on to build a team based on simple strength, Hinata succeeds in becoming a regular and frequently fights with his jumping power and speed. Hinata being outstanding enough to be a starting member on his team yet still too lacking to truly compare himself to other talented players is what frustrates Washijō, and is why he refuses to have him participate in the Miyagi First Year Training Camp. Despite their frequent clashes, the two slowly gain respect for one another, with Hinata improving himself as a player thanks to Washijō and the elderly man rethinking his volleyball philosophy thanks to the teen.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Washijō is harsh but he usually brings up valid criticism. In particular is when he forbids Hinata from taking part in the training camp and says he's worthless without Kageyama as his setter. Although he makes his distaste for him very obvious, he is nevertheless correct in pointing out that Hinata is still quite reliant on Kageyama at this stage, which spurs the Karasuno first year to stay at the Miyagi camp as a "ballboy" and use his observation skills to improve his own technique.
  • Miniature Senior Citizens: Downplayed. He's always been short, which is the reason why he suffered from Height Angst as a player and why he values taller players on his own team. However, he's shown to be slouching most of the time in the present, which makes him look even shorter in comparison to other older coaches seen in the show such as Ukai Sr. and Nekomata.
  • Pet the Dog: Usually acts as a Drill Sergeant Nasty towards his team, such as threatening them to run back to school if they lose their match against Karasuno. When Shiratorizawa does narrowly lose to them in the final, Washijō gently tells them to just hop on the bus (indirectly telling them they didn't lose, but rather Karasuno won) and have a meeting... and to do a hundred serves.

Nīyama Girls' High

    Kanoka Amanai 

Kanoka Amanai — #6

Voiced by: Saori Onishi (JP), Genevieve Simmons (EN)

Played by: Ai Hashizumi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kanoka_amanai.png
Position: Wing Spiker
Height/Weight: 182.5cm/62.4kg
2nd Year

A childhood friend of Tanaka. She's a regular on the team and plays wing spiker.

Favorite food: Tuna rice balls.
Current concern: Her serve receive isn't really improving, she's very conscious of how she's bad at hitting straights, her shyness can’t be cured, also... (cut for length)

  • The Ace: Tanaka calls her an upcoming ace, at least. To make it as a regular on Miyagi's "Queens" who have been Miyagi's girls' representative multiple times would say a lot of her skill. A panel shows her in a magazine article.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: While the other kids made fun of her height, Tanaka saw it as a good thing and considered her perfect for volleyball. This is implied to be why she fell for him.
  • Buxom Beauty Standard: When Tanaka takes notice on how She's All Grown Up, he's specifically staring at her chest. Nishinoya also doesn't seem to mind when he's about to have a Funbag Airbag accident with her, but she stops him in his tracks.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: Has known Tanaka since they were in primary school, and it's implied she's been crushing on him ever since. She likes Tanaka a lot to the point that Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita notice it when they first meet her. Unfortunately for her, when she reunites with Tanaka at Nationals he's already crushing in Shimizu, although he does still blush and feel nervous around her. Despite the Ship Tease moments between the two, the Time Skip ultimately reveals Tanaka's married Shimizu. The two of them cheering for Kanoka on TV at the Olympics implies the two friends are still on good terms.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In Chapter 108, the Nīyama Girls' volleyball team briefly shows up during the Spring High Preliminaries and the back of Kanako's head is shown. She's properly introduced over 100 chapters later during Nationals, where both her name and relationship to Tanaka is revealed.
  • Huge Schoolgirl: Fitting for a member of the top Miyagi volleyball girls' team, Kanoka boasts a height of 182.5cm. She was teased for her tall height when she was a kid, but Tanaka thought it was cool and got her into volleyball so her height would become a weapon.
  • Informed Ability: She's hailed as a talented ace of Miyagi's top girls' team and even appeared in a magazine, but the manga sees little of her skills on-screen. She's at least good enough to play for the national team at the Tokyo Olympics.
  • She's All Grown Up: Tanaka only realizes mid-conversation how much Kanoka has physically grown compared to when they were kids, causing him to blush.

Yukigaoka Junior High alumni

    Kōji and Izumi 

Kōji Sekimukai and Yukitaka Izumi

Kōji voiced by: Seigo Yokota (JP)

Izumi voiced by: Kyousuke Ikeda (JP)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yukitaka_izumi_kouji_sekimukai_2.png

Hinata's friends from middle school who helped him out in their only volleyball match together against Kitagawa Daiichi in the prologue. They were on the tennis and basketball teams, respectively.


  • Affectionate Nickname: Being close friends since junior high, Izumi and Hinata call each other Izumin and Shō-chan.
  • The Bus Came Back: Disappear after their debut in the first chapter/episode, but finally reappear later on to cheer Hinata and his team in Karasuno's match against Shiratorizawa.
  • Demoted to Extra: In the manga, they often make comments in the audience as the Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa match progresses. In the anime, nearly all their lines are given to other characters in the audience such as Saeko and Yachi, giving them almost nothing to do in this season.
  • Put on a Bus: Kōji and Izumi are not seen for a long time after Hinata enters high school. Justified since they go to different high schools and Hinata has only contacted them via text.
  • Those Two Guys: The two friends are always together in the few appearances they've made. They are supporting characters at best who help Hinata out in junior high and cheer him on in his match against Shiratorizawa.


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