History Manga / Haikyuu

* ADayInTheLimelight: Due to the large casts, many characters other than the main duo Kageyama and Hinata get some attention and development at some point, especially the other members of Karasuno and the star players of their rival teams. Every team they play against generally gets to have perspective shots and flashbacks to when they were practicing and stating their ''own'' goals, which usually are very similar to Karasuno's own, to the point that there are large fan followings that hope Karasuno ''loses'' to give those players a shot at winning nationals.

* BookDumb: Tanaka, Hinata, Kageyama, and Nishinoya are talented regulars of the Karasuno volleyball club, which contrast with their terrible school grades. They're forced to amp up their studying when they find out the supplementary exam period clashes with their first trip to the practice games in Tokyo – while Tanaka and Nishinoya scrape by, Kageyama and Hinata fail one exam each and miss part of the trip in order to retake the exams.
** It's worth noting that Hinata is pretty dumb, but the exam that he failed was due to skipping a line on the answer sheet accidentally. Yachi was near tears because his answers were almost all correct, just lined up incorrectly.

** Daichi's playstyle doesn't stand out much and mostly consists of receives, but he's a very good all-rounder and probably the most stable player on the team. Opponents are often annoyed by how frequently he thwarts their attacks and comment that Karasuno's defense would be a lot weaker without him, [[spoiler:and when Tanaka accidentally collides with him and forces him from the game due to injury, his absence is ''very'' solely felt.]]

* BrokenBase: In an unusual example for a sports manga, there's a large part of the fandom that hopes Karasuno will lose on their way up to/at nationals. Some of them want [[RealityEnsues a more realistic journey to the top]], some of them are appreciating the other team's flashbacks and think they deserve it a little more, some of them have favorites on the other teams (Oikawa comes to mind), but some of them just outright dislike Karasuno as a team and think that their motivation to reach the top is pretty superficial.
* CallingYourAttacks: Downplayed. On-court members of Karasuno will mentally yell out their synchronized attack whenever they plan to carry out this technique, which is justified because it needs everyone to work and if someone isn't on the same page the attack loses 1/4 of its effect.
** Nishinoya likes to call his rolling receives "Rolling Thunder," which no one but Hinata thinks is cool considering it's just a normal receive with a roll added.
** At one point in an omake, Satori Tendo decides to name his block 'the shooting star.' And then promptly calls it....while missing the block and falling the wrong direction.
--> "Wow, that really does look like a shooting star."

** Spectators regularly mistake Hinata and Kageyama for this, considering how fluidly they play together.

** Karasuno's performance at the Tokyo training camp. [[spoiler:End result was 70 losses, 4 wins.]]

* DarkHorseVictory: The unexpected result of the Spring High preliminaries. [[spoiler: ''No one'' in the Miyagi prefecture sees Karasuno coming since everyone's focused on powerhouses like Shiratorizawa and Seijoh and Karasuno didn't get past Aoba Johsai in the Fall Tournament. When Karasuno defeats Seijoh, the TV news focuses on Seijoh's loss and laments how they wouldn't be participating in the finals. When Karasuno wins in the finals, the audience is completely stunned since Shiratorizawa were the expected victors.]]

--> '''Akaashi:''' Didn't ''you'' teach him that, Bokuto?

* IdiotCrows: Crows appear in the anime after Hinata and Kageyama realize that they've run too far and have no idea where they are, crying "Aho! Aho!" and flying away, leaving them all alone.
** A [[StealhPun steal pun]] for some of the dumber members of Karasuno.

* RememberTheNewGuy:
** Asahi and Nishinoya, two very highly capable players, appear out of nowhere after 15 chapters/7 episodes to play for Karasuno. Not only that, but they play the exact positions Karasuno needs to round out the team. The explanation given is that Asahi quit volleyball after being discouraged due to having a terrible game in the previous tournament and Nishinoya was suspended from club activities due to breaking a vase while arguing with Asahi about this in a school hallway.
** Later on, Nekoma has a new starting player, Lev, in their second appearance. The explanation given is that he wasn't with them in their first appearance because he was still a newbie and they only took their main squad to training camp. In the two months between their two appearances, he developed enough to become a starter. The OVA of the first season helps introduce the audience to Lev and the struggles of him syncing up with Kenma.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Due to the large casts, many characters other than the main duo Kageyama and Hinata get some attention and development at some point, especially the other members of Karasuno and the star players of their rival teams.

** The 'shiratori' kanji in 'Shiratorizawa' means 'swan'. Interestingly enough, Ushijima is shown symbolically with an eagle.

-->'''Yamaguchi:''' Motivation? WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED THAN PRIDE!!!

* BookDumb: Tanaka, Hinata, Kageyama, and Nishinoya are talented regulars of the Karasuno volleyball club, which contrast with their terrible school grades. They're forced to amp up their studying when they find out the supplementary exam period clashes with their first trip to the practice games in Tokyo -- while Tanaka and Nishinoya scrape by, Kageyama and Hinata fail one exam each and miss part of the trip in order to retake the exams.

** Daichi's playstyle doesn't stand out much and mostly consists of receives, but he's a very good all-rounder and probably the most stable player on the team. Opponents are often annoyed by how frequently he thwarts their attacks and comment that Karasuno's defense would be a lot weaker without him.

** Shiratorizawa is an example of what happens when this trope is taken to its logical extreme. Oikawa says out that they use "all that is tried, true, and tested," while Ukai Keshin 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. Their moves are flashy, but their overall playstyle is not.
* CallingYourAttacks: Downplayed. On-court members of Karasuno will mentally yell out their synchronised attack whenever they plan to carry out this technique.

** Kenma and Kuroo. Kuroo and Kenma were each others' only playmates when they were young, and Kenma brought Kuroo out of his shell as a child while Kuroo convinced him to join and continue with volleyball.

** Prior to the Spring High preliminaries final, any high school volleyball team in the Miyagi prefecture are usually on the receiving end of brutal scorelines when faced against the powerful Shiratorizawa Academy.

* CuteSportsClubManager: Attractive amicable female students acting as the manager are very prevalent amongst the boys' volleyball teams, including Karasuno and the other teams at the Tokyo training camp. The boys often have crushes or soft spots for them, and teams without female managers usually bemoan their lack of this trope. Although played straight, the focus and development of Karasuno's managers remind the audience that their jobs genuinely are important: Shimizu takes her duties very seriously which is what spurs her to look for a successor, and one of the first things Yachi does as manager is to make a poster advertising Karasuno to raise funds for their trips.
* DarkHorseVictory: The unexpected result of the Spring High preliminaries. [[spoiler: ''No one'' in the Miyagi prefecture sees Karasuno coming since everyone's focused on powerhouses like Shiratorizawa and Seijoh. When Karasuno defeats Seijoh, the TV news focuses on Seijoh's loss and laments how they wouldn't be participating in the finals. When Karasuno wins in the finals, the audience is completely stunned since Shiratorizawa were the expected victors.]]

** Tsukishima is initially a believer of this thanks to his older brother Akiteru's unpleasant experience in high school volleyball. Despite being an ace player in junior high and putting a lot of effort into his training, Akiteru was not deemed good enough to be a proper member of Karasuno's team, which made him break down after Tsukishima found out as a chikd. As a result, Tsukishima is rather half-hearted in his high school volleyball training and matches and even sincerely thinks Hinata will surpass him with his natural talents; it takes an ArmorPiercingQuestion from Yamaguchi, nagging from Kuroo and Bokuto, and a heartfelt talk with Akiteru for him to give up this belief and put more effort into his training.
* HateSink: Nohebi Academy. In a series where almost every opposing team is treated as [[WorthyOpponent sympathetic and honorable]], they stick out for having a SmugSnake as a captain and using dirty tactics like provoking their opponents with trash talk, deliberately obscuring the view of the flag referee, and sucking up to the net referee. Considering that their match is a direct followup to the Nekoma vs. Fukurodani match, between two teams of [[FriendlyRival lovable rivals]], it makes quite a contrast.

* HuddleShot: A shot of the team huddling together is a prerequisite before matches.

* {{Irony}}: In the practice match against Aoba Johsai, Oikawa points out that Karasuno is still very inexperienced at receives, and repeatedly aims for their weakest receivers (Tsukishima and Hinata). In their Spring High preliminaries match, Aoba Johsai loses their decisive and last point thanks to an unsuccessful receive, and from Oikawa, no less (although [[JustifiedTrope it is pointed out]] that if Aoba Johsai's block hadn't touched the ball therefore changing its course, he might've received it well).

--> '''Tsukishima:''' Hello. I'm the ''ordinary one''. A one-man time differential may be able to fool our team's wild child, but it won't have any effect on me, so please go right ahead.
* LargeHam: With the boys' volleyball teams often being rather ''colourful'' in personality, it's not unusual to have at least one member who acts over-the-top in everything they do. This varies from Nishinoya and Tanaka from Karasuno to Bokuto of Fukurodani.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The author will name every player from every team that shows up with very rare exceptions, even if Karasuno only plays against them once (though sometimes they come back). They all have generally distinct faces and sometimes even backstories to boot.

* NightAndDayDuo: This motif is present in the contrast between Karasuno's two first-year middle blockers, Hinata [[note]]written with the kanji for "sun"[[/note]], who is friendly, vibrant, and warm, and Tsukishima[[note]]written with the kanji for "moon"[[/note]], who is cold, aloof, and distant. It's [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/9e/58/3f9e584f0171ca4f66b3ddd2eaf0b942.png acknowledged]] in-series.

** Kenma and Hinata. Kenma's shy and lazy nature greatly contrasts with Hinata's loud, extroverted personality (not to mention they’re from rival teams). Despite this, they get along surprisingly well.

** Nishinoya and Tanaka are ''delighted'' to have ''-senpai'' added to the end of their names by Hinata and Kageyama.

* SneezeCut: To the point of becoming a RunningGag. Nearly every time a character, usually someone from Karasuno, mentions a player from another team, there’s a panel showing said player sneezing and a teammate suggesting they caught a cold, and then it goes back to the original scene.

** When the first years join the team, Asahi and Nishinoya are not present despite being members. Asahi quit after losing to Datekou; after his supension for accidentally hitting the vice-principal during his fit of rage against Asahi is lifted, Nishinoya refuses to come back if Asahi doesn't. A practice match convinces them both to come back.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Kageyama, of all people, reassures Hinata (albeit in a rough manner) in their practice match against the nierboughooud association team when the latter starts feeling that his power as a decoy isn't good enough compared to a real ace’s height and power.

** Tanaka, Nishinoya and Nekoma's Yamamoto are all hot-blooded boisterous guys with similar personalities to one another. Tanaka and Yamamoto clash initially due to this, with their similar habit of picking fights with opponents over trivial things. They all also bond over their admiration for [[{{Bishoujo}} Shimizu]].

** Snakes for No''hebi'', which comprises rather unpleasant players.
** Foxes for Inarizaki.

* DefrostingIceKing:
** Kageyama, after starting off rather difficult and conceited, slowly starts to warm up to Karasuno and put more faith in his teammates. After what happened at his last junior high tournament (his entire team abandoning him), he realizes that he needs to trust his teammates more and not just do everything himself.
** Shimizu is a lighter example; she's introduced as quiet and stoic but warms up when Yachi joins the team.

* RemembertheNewGuy:

** When comparing Hinata's height (roughly 160 cm) to Hyakuzawa (roughly 200 cm), Yachi and Yamaguchi remark how there's a whole [[Franchise/HelloKitty Ketty-chan]] or [[[Franchise/Pokemon Tekachu]] size difference between the two of them.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Due to the large casts, many characters other than the main duo Kageyama and Hinata get some attention at some point.
** Tsukishima gets a couple of chapters that focus largely on him and his personal history in the Summer Training Camp arc, and he has a big presence in the later stages of the Shiratorizawa match when his skills and intellect become vital.
** Yamaguchi has some decent focus in the Summer Training Camp arc when his history with Tsukishima is revealed and he tries to snap some sense into him. He also has more significant focus whenever his jump float serve is concerned, such as the Spring High preliminaries match against Aoba Johsai where he finally lands one in a match for the first time and helps Karasuno score five straight points.
** Ennoshita, who is not a regular, is called in a match for the first time when Sawamura gets injured in the middle of their match against Wakutani South and has to be replaced. He plays for the remainder of the match and there's a lot of focus on his skills and history as a Karasuno member.

** Owls for Fukurodani.

** Snakes for No''hebi''.

* AttackAttackAttack: With the exception of Daichi and Nishinoya, Karasuno's starters tend to have laughably weak receives. To compensate, their offense is very powerful, especially with the addition of Hinata and Kageyama, and most of the time they rely on their attacking power to score points. By the time of the Spring High national preliminaries, the team's receives are much better, with Asahi and Tanaka having solid receives as well, and Kageyama and Tsukishima not being far behind. Hinata is still terrible on average, but he manages to pull off several jaw-dropping receives when it counts. However, their attack strength is easily national-level by then, and is what most teams focus on countering when playing against them.

* BenchedHero: Sugawara used to be Karasuno's primary setter. However, when Kageyama joins, he reassures Ukai that Kageyama should take over if he's more likely to help Karasuno get the tournament results they want. Eventually, in addition to subbing in as a setter whenever Kageyama is unfit to play, he also gets put in games as a pincher server or to help carry out surprise attacks with the other members on court.

* BreakTheCutie: Yamaguchi, one of the more softer and timid members of Karasuno, is heartbroken when he fails his float jump serve when being brought into the Interhigh match against Aoba Johsai match.
* CallingYourAttacks: Nishinoya names his "special" rolling receive move Rolling Thunder (it's just a normal receive but he rolls over while doing it) and somtimes calls it out when warming up or during practice, clearly in an attempt to look cool. [[RealityEnsues Reactions are mixed]], and most of the team just wonder what the hell he's doing it for (and someone mentions it's really just a regular receive). [[HeroWorshipper Hinata]] on the other hand is usually quite impressed.
--> '''[[LargeHam ROLLIIIIIIIIING THUNDEEEEERRRR!!!!]]'''
* CantCatchUp: While Oikawa is still superior to Kageyama, he knows that he is no match for his former kouhai in terms of talent as a setter and that he will be surpassed eventually. This is why he's so aggressive with Kageyama, since he knows that even a hard-working average person is unlikely to beat an equally hard-working prodigy.

** Prior to the Spring High preliminaries final, any high school volleyball team in the Miyagi prefecture are usually on the receiving end of brutal score lines when faced against the powerful Shiratorizawa Academy.

* CuteSportsClubManager: Attractive amicable female students acting as the manager are very prevalent amongst the boys' volleyball teams, including Karasuno and the other teams at the Tokyo training camp. The boys often have crushes or soft sports for them, and teams without female managers usually bemoan their lack of this trope. Although played straight, the focus and development of Karasuno's managers show that their jobs genuinely are important: Shimizu takes her duties very seriously which is what spurs her to look for a successor, and one of the first things Yachi does as manager is to make a poster advertising Karasuno to raise funds for their trips.

* DavidVersusGoliath: At first, Karasuno is the underdog in nearly every match they play due to their fallen status. This trope is especially prevalent in their first match against Datekou, which pits small, inexperienced Hinata up against giant blocker Aone. They get better, and as Shimizu notes, have nationals-level offensive skills by the second season.
* DecoyAntagonist: In the beginning chapters, Kageyama is set up as TheRival. Flash forward a year, and we see both Hinata and Kageyama showing up for volleyball practice at their new high school, Karasuno.

** The Small Giant, Tanaka’s older sister Saeko and Tsukishima’s older brother Akiteru all attended Karasuno at the same time, with Akiteru being a year older. However only Akiteru and the Small Giant were acquainted with each other at the time thanks to being club members; Saeko had personally encountered the Small Giant just once, and she only knew Akiteru by his surname which she remembers when finding out Tsukishima (Kei) is on the current Karasuno volleyball team.

* FallenHero: The Karasuno team was considered to once be a remarkable volleyball team, having even gone to Nationals. However, with the departure of Coach Ukai Sr, they soon declined and were considered less than stellar by the start of the manga. Individuals in series would refer to the team as "The Flightless Birds" and "The Fallen Champions". The current Karasuno lineup work hard to overcome this so they can become powerhouses once more.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: 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? [[spoiler:''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.

** Hinata is frequently vomiting during bus or car rides (especially when he's nervous), which is playedForLaughs.

* ShoutOut: Kuroo and Yaku argue over their preferences, and somehow even end up which member of Music/{{Perfume}} they prefer.

* TheSouthpaw: An important part of Ushijima's dominance is that he's a lefty; the rotation of a lefty's spikes is different from a righty, and that makes them much more difficult to receive, [[DamnYouMuscleMemory especially if the receiver is accustomed to handling right-handed spikes.]]

* SpoilerTitle: Don't want to know who wins the Karasuno vs Aoba Johsai match at the Spring High preliminaries? Good luck avoiding the Season 3 title which is ''Karasuno High School VS Shiratorizawa Academy''.

* TeensAreShort: Averted. Teenagers in the series range from Yachi (4'9") and Nishinoya (5'2") to Ushijima (6'2") and Lev (6'4"). The cast is generally on the taller side, as height is advantageous in volleyball.

* TookALevelInBadass: Karasuno's skills and teamwork improve remarkably by the end of the Golden Week and summer vacation training camps.

* {{Transplant}}: Wakutaminami's captain Nakashima Takeru is originally introduced as the brother of Nakashima Makoto in ''Kiben Gakuha Yotsuya Senpai No Kaidan'', the author's previous work. Makoto herself appears as [[TheCameo a cameo]] as her brother's supporter.
* UnderdogsNeverLose: Zig-zagged. The fallen team Karasuno narrowly loses to powerhouse Aoba Johsai at the Interhigh preliminaries match but gets their revenge on them in the Spring High prelimanaries semifinal match, giving them the chance to top it all off with the reigning Miyagi champions Shiratorizawa in the finals. [[spoiler:To everyone's shock, they ''also'' beat Shiratorizawa, propelling them to Nationals once more.]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Yamaguchi doesn't have physical advantages like Hinata, Tanaka, or Asahi, nor skill like Daichi and Tsukishima, but he practices his jump float serve until he could use it at will. He shows how much he's grown against Shiratorizawa, [[spoiler:scoring multiple points and buying time for Tsukishima after the latter's injured]].

''Haikyuu!!'' (meaning [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Volleyball"]]) is written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate, and is currently being published in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shounen Jump]]''. An anime adaptation aired during the Spring2014Anime season for two cours produced by Creator/ProductionIG, and has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in America. The second season aired as part of the Fall2015Anime season, and the third season aired as part of the Fall 2016 season. In December 2018, the fourth season was announced. Starting in October 2015, a stage play called Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! was released in Japan.

* ActionDuo: Kageyama and Hinata.
* AdaptedOut: Narita, Kinoshita, and Shimizu in ''Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!!''. Narita and Kinoshita are {{Bit Character}}s to begin with, and Shimizu's role (which was admittedly small early in the story) is delegated to the third-years and Ennoshita. Shimizu and Yachi are added in the later installments.
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** Tsukishima gets a couple of chapters that focus largely on him in the Summer Training Camp arc as well as in [[spoiler: the later stages of the Shiratorizawa match]].
** Opposing teams almost always get this as well.
** Yamaguchi gets this during [[spoiler: the second match against Aobajousai. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/poorbby.png It doesn't end well]]]]. And in the Summer Training Camp arc as well, related to Tsukishima.
** Ennoshita gets one [[spoiler: when Daichi gets injured in the middle of the match against Wakutani South and has to be replaced]].
* AnimalMotifs: So prevalent that it could be considered a signature of the series. Nearly every team has its own animal motif, with some characters in those teams having their own distinct animal motifs.
** Crows for ''Karasu''no. The Karasuno players are compared to crows several times, notably: the fact that like small birds breaking the egg's shell and learning to fly, they're continuously trying to evolve; they eventually learn how to unify the team's strengths like a color blend that achieves pure black (black, naturally, being the color of crows); finally, due to crows being omnivorous, which relates to the team's hunger for victory and evolution.
** Cats for ''Neko''ma. In their very introduction, Ukai compares them to cats due to their flexibility (in the context, [[StoneWall their power of defense]]). They also have other similar motifs inside their own team, with the "Inu" in Inuoka meaning "dog", [[spoiler: fitting to his role as Hinata's 'chaser' during the practice match against Nekoma]], and Lev meaning "lion" in Russian, owing to his large build and seeing himself as Nekoma's ace.

** Snakes for No''hebi''
** Foxes for Inarizaki
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[spoiler: Yamaguchi, of all people]], to Tsukishima in Chapter 88.
-->[[spoiler:'''Yamaguchi:''' [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tadashipls.png Motivation? WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED THAN PRIDE!!!]]]]
* ArtShift: The manga can go from chibi-like drawings to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/you_mean_this.png amazingly stunning artwork]] in one page.
* AttackAttackAttack: With the exception of Daichi and Nishinoya, Karasuno's starters tend to have laughably weak receives. To compensate, their offense is very powerful, especially with the addition of Hinata and Kageyama, and most of the time they rely on their attacking power to score points. By the time of the [[spoiler:Spring High national preliminaries,]] the team's receives are much better, with Asahi and Tanaka having solid receives as well, and Kageyama and Tsukishima not being far behind. [[spoiler:Hinata is still terrible on average, but he manages to pull off several jaw-dropping receives when it counts]]. However, [[spoiler:their attack strength is easily national-level by then, and is what most teams focus on countering when playing against them,]] so the trope still fits.
* {{Backstory}}: A whole lot of them, starting with the main characters, all the way to players from a team that has only appeared for three chapters. You can bet that every character who says a few lines has got some sort of backstory.
* BenchedHero: Sugawara used to be Karasuno's primary setter. However, when Kageyama joins, he [[spoiler: gives up his spot. Eventually though, they become a sort of team and Sugawara is put in games as a backup when needed.]].

** Tanaka and Nishinoya, and also Tanaka and Nekoma's Yamamoto. The latter duo even clashes initially, due to their similar habit of picking fights with opponents over trivial things. They then bond over their admiration for [[{{Bishoujo}} Shimizu]].

* BookDumb: Tanaka, Hinata, Kageyama, and Nishinoya are this. [[spoiler: It causes Kageyama and Hinata to miss the first day of the practice games.]]

** Daichi's playstyle doesn't stand out much and mostly consists of receives, but he's a very good all-rounder and probably the most stable player on the team.
** Nekoma's entire play can count as this. They have no outstanding moves but the steadiness and precision of their receives make it hard to predict who the ball will be tossed to.
** [[spoiler:Shiratorizawa]] is an example of what happens when this trope is taken to its logical extreme. Oikawa says out that they use "all that is tried, true, and tested," while Ukai Keshin points out that their attacks are ridiculously simplistic, being "addition" compared to Karasuno's "multiplication". However, [[spoiler:they're still the strongest team in Miyagi]] because they have incredible players and amazing individual power. Their moves are flashy, but their overall playstyle is not.
* BreakTheCutie: When Yamaguchi [[spoiler: fails his serve when being brought into the Aobajousai match.]]
* CallingYourAttacks: Nishinoya does this once, clearly in an attempt to look cool. [[RealityEnsues Reactions were mixed]], and most of the team just wondered what the hell that had been for (and someone mentions it was really just a regular receive). [[HeroWorshipper Hinata]] on the other hand seemed quite impressed.

* CantCatchUp: While Oikawa is still superior to Kageyama, he knows that he is no match for his former kouhai in terms of talent as a setter and that he will be surpassed eventually. [[spoiler:This is why he's so aggressive with Kageyama, since he knows that even a hard-working average person is unlikely to beat an equally hard-working prodigy.]]
* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: As with any sports anime.

** Sawamura, Ikejiri and Michimiya went to the same middle school and are shown to still be good friends.
* CombatCommentator: The benched players and coaches (sometimes from other teams) usually fulfill this role, but some spectators do as well, like Shimada and Takinoue, [[spoiler:and Saeko and Akiteru]].
* CrowdChant: The more established teams tend to have these at matches.
-->GO GO LET'S GO LET'S GO DATEKOU\\

* CurbStompBattle: Happens whenever any high school volleyball team in the Miyagi prefecture faces Shiratorizawa Academy.
** Hinata’s first match against Kageyama counts as this as well. Hinata’s team was composed mostly of amateurs, while Kageyama’s team was the championship favorite.
** Karasuno's match against Datekou the previous year, in which even Asahi, the ace, couldn't fight against their height.
* CuteSportsClubManager: Shimizu is competent, composed, and noted to be beautiful, although she's more quiet than the usual example. Yachi is a straighter example, as she directly interacts with the boys more. As seen at the Tokyo training camp, the Tokyo teams have them too. Other teams without female managers bemoan their lack of this trope as well.
* DarkHorseVictory: [[spoiler: ''No one'' in the Miyagi prefecture saw Karasuno coming since everyone was focused on powerhouses like Shiratorizawa and Seijoh. When Karasuno defeats Seijoh, the TV news focuses on Seijoh's loss and laments how they wouldn't be participating in the finals. When Karasuno wins in the finals, the audience is completely stunned since Shiratorizawa were the expected victors.]]
* DavidVersusGoliath: At first, Karasuno is the underdog in nearly every match they play. This trope is especially prevalent in their first match against Datekou, which pits small, inexperienced Hinata up against giant blocker Aone. They get better, and as Shimizu notes, have nationals-level offensive skills by the second season.

** Kageyama. After what happened at his last junior high tournament (his entire team abandoning him), he realizes that he needs to trust his teammates more and not just do everything himself. He is slowly starting to do this at Karasuno.

* DesperateObjectCatch: Desperate Diving Saves are common during the climaxes of matches. One particularly notable example is during [[spoiler: Karasuno's first official match against Aobajousai -- Hinata's spike gets blocked and ''three'' people try to save the ball as it does a DramaticDrop, but all of them fail]].

** Iwaizumi does this to Oikawa often, and threatens him with it more often.
** Kageyama tends to grab people's head and squeeze as his version of this; Hinata is (unsurprisingly) the most common target.

** With Karasuno's first official match against Aobajousai. [[spoiler: They lost, but the score goes into the ''thirties''.]]
** Taken UpToEleven during [[spoiler:their Spring High preliminary final against Shiratorizawa, taken to a full five sets ''and'' Karasuno having to fight through deuces for every set they won. They won the match - after 35 or so chapters.]]
* EpicFail: The Jouzenji team’s attempt to imitate Karasuno’s synchronized attack can come off as this, especially because the build-up hints that a really badass moment is coming… and they just fail spectacularly.

** The Small Giant, Tanaka’s older sister Saeko and Tsukishima’s older brother Akiteru all attended Karasuno at the same time.
** Same goes for Ukai, Shimada, and Takinoue, who were probably even teammates.

* EyeCatch: Rotate around different ones each episode, and consist of players attempting to hit the drink bottle on the other side of the net with the ball with various results and reactions (such as Kageyama succeeding and getting excited about it, and Hinata failing to even get the ball over the net with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi snickering beside him).
* TheFaceless: "The Small Giant", who’s only seen from the back or with his face hidden. We do get one shot of his eyes however, which look eerily similar to [[spoiler:Hinata's]] when he's in the zone.
** [[spoiler:Subverted in Chapter 338, where he shows up to the finals match to watch and turns out to just be a pretty normal guy. Hinata even gets to have a conversation with him.]]
* FallenHero: The Karasuno team was considered to once be a remarkable volleyball team. However, with the departure of their coach, they soon declined and were considered less than stellar by the start of the manga. Individuals in series would refer to the team as "The Flightless Birds" and "The Fallen Champions."

* FlippingTheBird: Tanaka is a regular offender.

** Karasuno and Nekoma. Their teams have had a great relationship even before the events of the series.
** Everyone in Karasuno has this sort of relationship towards each other to some extent, and is actively encouraged by coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei because [[EnemiesEqualsGreatness having a worthy rival prevents them from stagnating]].
** Also Nekoma and Fukurodani, and more broadly, the teams from Fukurodani Academy Group's training camp. Although being localized in the same region means they'll definitely play against each other at some point, they all seem to be in very friendly terms with each other.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: [[MoralityChain Iwaizumi]] does this to Oikawa after the latter [[spoiler: loses it and tries to hit a younger Kageyama, who had only asked for guidance, out of resentment for having lost to Shiratorizawa]]. It works.
* HairContrastDuo: Used to contrast several pairs of characters.

** [[TeamMom Suga]] has ash gray (lighter in the manga) hair, while [[TeamDad Daichi]] has dark hair.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks:
** Subverted with Oikawa. All he is comes from tireless practicing, since he's no natural talent, and he would hardly be half as good as he is if he didn't work as hard as he did. Despite this, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter he still can't win against Shiratorizawa]], and all points to [[TeenGenius Kageyama, his naturally-gifted junior]], one day surpassing him. However, his hard work was ''far'' from being in vain, as he is widely considered the best setter of the region [[WorthyOpponent even by the opponents he feels inferior to]], capable of improving any team he plays with even if he has no familiarity with them, which is an incredible deed that even Kageyama considered out of his league. And according to Oikawa, [[spoiler: his career in volleyball would not stop in high school]]. So, while his hard work couldn't make him a genius (and not being gifted impacted his self-esteem for a good time), he's still a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and is one of the best players of the manga.
** Tsukishima is a believer of this at first, but it was really played straight with [[spoiler: his older brother, Akiteru]].
** Subverted across most of the series as a whole. Hinata's absurd stamina comes from him biking up and down a mountain to get to school every morning and evening, he and Kageyama both stay after and practice until they're forced to leave, etc. Even Oikawa's main issue wasn't that he was a hard worker against a prodigy – it was that he was a hard worker against hard working prodigies.

* HeightAngst: Smaller players such as Hinata tend to angst a bit about their height. (Not so much Nishinoya, as he's already a very skilled libero, but he is shown to be annoyed when Hinata points it out). Justified as volleyball is a sport where height is advantageous, and it's extremely difficult to face off against players who are 6+ feet when you're below 5'8" or so.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A light example during the Summer Training Camp arc. Bokuto [[BigBrotherMentor decides to teach Hinata]] a “special finishing move!” (a feint). Guess what technique Hinata uses effectively against Bokuto's team, Fukurodani, during the last practice match of the training camp, leaving everyone, including Bokuto himself, incredulous?
* HotBlooded: Hinata and Kageyama; Tsukishima even comments on it.

* HuddleShot: A prerequisite before matches.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: 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? [[spoiler:''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, [[spoiler:which is ironic to the trope name, considering it makes him stronger against receivers used to a right-handed spin on the ball]].
* IdiotCrows: They appear after Hinata and Kageyama realize that they've run too far and have no idea where they are, crying "Aho! Aho!" and flying away, leaving them all alone.
* {{Irony}}: In the practice match against Aobajousai, Oikawa points out that Karasuno is still very inexperienced at receives, and repeatedly aims for their weakest receivers (Tsukishima and Hinata). In the second official match between both teams, [[spoiler: Aobajousai loses their decisive and last point thanks to a poor receive. From Oikawa, no less (though [[JustifiedTrope it is pointed out]] that if Aobajousai's block hadn't touched the ball therefore changing its course, he might've received it well)]].

* LargeHam:
** Nishinoya nearly all the time. Tanaka has his moments of it too, especially after scoring a point. Both of them together, often combined with Hinata, absolutely counts.
** Bokuto also counts, even more so in the anime.

* ManlyTears:
** After the [[spoiler: painful loss to Aobajousai, Ukai takes the Karasuno team]] to share a meal together. While eating, most of the team goes on a conjunct silent crying.
** Also Oikawa and Iwaizumi shed these at the end of their middle school lives, while swearing to defeat Shiratorizawa in high school.
* MeaningfulName: Has this in spades, whether as part of ThemeNaming or to highlight certain characters being {{Foil}}s to one another.

** Aone and Hinata, despite also being in rival teams. They develop a very deep mutual respect for each other after [[spoiler: [[DefeatMeansFriendship Karasuno defeats Datekou]]]].

** Bokuto and Akaashi from Fukurodani. They act straight-up like a [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine Boke and Tsukkomi routine]], with Akaashi snarking in a completely deadpan way while Bokuto is hot-blooded and energetic to a fault. However, Akaashi has great respect for Bokuto's abilities, and in a flashback he looks like he's practically ready to tackle him in delight after Bokuto's straight spike wins them a difficult match. He also goes along with Bokuto's outrageous demands and excessive training, which likely isn't something you'd do for somebody who isn't your friend. Bokuto, in turn, will frequently do his best to see Akaashi's point of view and remind him that he's allowed to rely on others.

** Hinata, when he realizes he accidentally served the ball into the back of Kageyama's head.
** Another for Hinata, [[spoiler:during the second Aobajousai match, when he jumps to avoid the blockers and ends up ''way'' too close to the net. Ends up fortunately though, as Kageyama's idiotic brilliance combines with Hinata's awkward position to create a new technique.]]
* OneHeadTaller: Nishinoya (the team's short, brash libero) and Asahi (the team's tall ace spiker).
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Hinata yells something along these lines to Kageyama, after the latter [[spoiler: is subbed out during the game against Aobajousai]]:

** Kageyama tries to go scout around Aobajousai in such an obvious disguise that it would only make him stand out ''more''. Thankfully, Yachi convinces him to change to more discreet clothing.
** Oikawa [[spoiler:turns up in the final set of the Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa in preppy clothes and a pair of glasses. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Whether it is due to him actually requiring glasses or this trope is unknown,]] but the clothes are most likely just his plainclothes]].
* RemembertheNewGuy: Asahi and Nishinoya, two very highly capable players, appear out of nowhere 7 episodes/15 chapters in to play for Karasuno. Not only that, but they play the exact positions Karasuno needs to round out irsteam. The explanation given is that Asahi quit volleyball after being discouraged due to having a terrible game in a recent tournament and Nishinoya was suspended from club activities due to breaking a vase while arguing with Asahi about this in a school hallway.
** Later on, Nekoma has a new starting player, Lev, in their second appearance. The explanation given is that he wasn't with them in their first appearance because he was still a newbie and they only took their main squad to training camp. In the two months between their two appearances, he developed enough to become a starter.
* RousingSpeech: Takeda is fond of using these, with plenty of analogies, though sometimes he ends them wondering if his words were too flowery or pompous for the boys to understand. [[BookDumb Hinata and Kageyama]] indeed sometimes don't quite get it, but intention is what counts.

** Hinata's vomiting, as well as him running into people from opponent teams while going to the restroom before a match. It even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in Chapter 108.
** People from other schools misreading the kanji in Karasuno as "Torino".

* SignificantBirthDate: Almost ''all'' of the the characters with listed birth dates are significant in someway, listed [[http://icechain.tumblr.com/post/86946731768/haikyuu-birthday-meaning here]]. Here are some that stand out:

** The first opening spoils that there are two more Karasuno players, Nishinoya and Asahi - when the 1st years joined, Asahi had quit and Nishinoya was briefly suspended from club activities [[spoiler:because their match against Datekou the previous year left Asahi depressed and Nishinoya accidentally hit the vice-principal when he got too angry about him leaving. Both come back.]]. It also spoils Ukai becoming Karasuno's coach, [[spoiler:first as a temporary one after giving in to Takeda's pestering, then their official one after he becomes determined to win again Nekoma.]]

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Characters are free to monologue on the court. Most noticeable when they're in the air for a spike or block or when a setter is waiting for the ball to come to them.
* TeamHandStack: Comes with the sports anime territory.

** The second-years Ennoshita, Narita and Kinoshita dropped from the club at one point because they couldn’t take Coach Ukai’s training. They eventually came back.
** Asahi and Nishinoya. Asahi quit [[spoiler:after losing to Datekou]] and after Nishinoya's supension [[spoiler:for accidentally hitting the vice-principal during his fit of rage against Asahi]] is lifted, he refuses to come back if Asahi doesn't. A practice match convinces them both to come back.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Shimizu is the only girl in the team, acting as the manager. Which is justified considering it's about ''boys'' volleyball team. When [[spoiler: Yachi arrives, it becomes TwoGirlsToATeam]].

* TookALevelInBadass: Karasuno by the end of the Golden Week and summer vacation training camps.
* TrainingFromHell: Coach Ukai Sr. apparently is a specialist in this type of training and put Karasuno through one of these.

* UnderdogsNeverLose: Zig-zagged. Karasuno loses to Aobajousai [[spoiler:the first time around but beats them ''and'' Shiratorizawa -- the regional powerhouse -- in the Spring preliminaries, something nobody saw coming.]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Yamaguchi is guilty of this, but he makes it work for himself. He doesn't have physical advantages like Hinata, Tanaka, or Asahi, nor skill like Daichi and Tsukishima, but he practices his floater serve until he could use it at will. [[spoiler:He shows how much he's grown against Shiratorizawa, scoring multiple points and buying time for Tsukishima after the latter's injured]].

** Karasuno and Nekoma fondly consider each other this, though neither are in their times of glory anymore (though Nekoma is still in better shape than Karasuno when the story begins). Nekoma's coach hopes that with Karasuno's recent improvement, both teams will revert to this trope.
** Ushijima considers Oikawa to be the only one in the entire prefecture. And by that, he means ''only'' him, attributing even the latter's team Aobajousai's success to having Oikawa as their setter.
** Aone sees Hinata as one, shaking his hand, objecting when his teammates badmouth him, and even going as far as to tell [[spoiler: the new member of his team that it isn't always the big ones that you have to watch out for.]] Particularly noticable because of how little he generally talks.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Kageyama, of all people, delivers (perhaps a rather rough) one of these to Hinata in Chapter 23, when the latter starts feeling that his power as a decoy isn't good enough compared to a real ace’s height and power.

This story is written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate, and is currently being published in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shounen Jump]]''. An anime adaptation aired during the Spring2014Anime season for two cours produced by Creator/ProductionIG, and has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in America. The second season aired as part of the Fall2015Anime season, and the third season aired as part of the Fall 2016 season. In December 2018, the fourth season was announced. Starting in October 2015, a stage play called Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! was released in Japan.

* FallenHero: The Karasuno team was considered to once be a remarkable volleyball team. However, they soon declined and were considered less than stellar by the start of the manga. Individuals in series would refer to the team as "The Flightless Birds" and "The Fallen Champions."

** Subverted across most of the series as a whole. Even Hinata's absurd stamina comes from him biking up and down a mountain to get to school every morning and evening. The genuises never get to rest on their laurels, and Kageyama and Hinata especially are shown endlessly practicing after everyone else has quit. Oikawa's main issue wasn't that he was a hard worker against a prodigy – it was that he was a hard worker against hard working prodigies.

* HeightAngst: Smaller players such as Hinata tend to angst a bit about their height. (Not so much Nishinoya, as he's already a very skilled libero, but he is shown to be annoyed when Hinata points it out). Justified as volleyball is a sport where height is advantageous, and it's extremely difficult to face off against players who are 6+ feet when you're shorter.

** Nishinoya nearly all the time. Tanaka has his moments of it too, especially after scoring a point.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: A rather sad example. After losing to Karasuno in the Inter-High preliminaries, Ikejiri comments that if they were in a work of fiction, those that won and go on to nationals would be the protagonists, and those who lost and had their season cut short were just the extras.

** Bokuto and Akaashi from Fukurodani. They act straight-up like a [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine Boke and Tsukkomi routine]], with Akaashi snarking in a completely deadpan way while Bokuto is hot-blooded and energetic to a fault. However, Akaashi has great respect for Bokuto's abilities, and in a flashback he looks like he's practically ready to tackle him in delight after Bokuto's straight spike wins them a difficult match. He also goes along with Bokuto's outrageous demands and excessive training, which likely isn't something you'd do for somebody who isn't your friend.

** Oikawa [[spoiler:turns up in the final set of the Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa in preppy clothes and a pair of glasses. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Whether it is due to him actually requiring glasses or this trope is unknown]]]].

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Character's are free to monologue on the court. Most noticeable when they're in the air for a spike or block or when a setter is waiting for the ball to come to them.

* AttackAttackAttack: With the exception of Daichi and Nishinoya, Karasuno's starters tend to have laughably weak receives. To compensate, their offense is very powerful, especially with the addition of Hinata and Kageyama, and most of the time they rely on their attacking power to score points. By the time of the [[spoiler:Spring High national preliminaries,]] the team's receives are much better, with Asahi and Tanaka having solid receives as well, and Kageyama and Tsukishima not being far behind. [[spoiler:Hinata is still terrible on average, but he manages to pull off several jaw-dropping receives when it counts]]. However, [[spoiler:their attack strength is easily national-level by then]], so the trope still fits.

** [[spoiler:Shiratorizawa]] is an example of what happens when this trope is taken to its logical extreme. Oikawa says out that they use "all that is tried, true, and tested," while Ukai Keshin points out that their attacks are ridiculously simplistic, being "addition" compared to Karasuno's "multiplication". However, [[spoiler:they're still the strongest team in Miyagi]] because they have incredible players and amazing individual power. While their moves are flashy, their overall playstyle is not.

* CantCatchUp: While Oikawa is still superior to Kageyama, he knows that he is no match for his former kouhai in terms of talent as a setter and that he will be surpassed eventually.

** Kenma and Kuroo. Kuroo was Kenma's only playmate when they were young, and is the reason Kenma still plays volleyball.

** Same goes for Ukai, Shimada and Takinoue, who were probably even teammates.

* {{Foil}}: Nekoma to Karasuno contrast each other, as rivals tend to. Initially, Nekoma is as stable and blended just as Karasuno is scattered and mostly unaccustomed to working together due to the new first-year players; Nekoma's biggest strength is their steady receives, which are Karasuno's immediate weakness since only Nishinoya and Daichi are particularly good at them; Nekoma is a team that works together in order to support their setter, whereas the Karasuno team is essentially unified by their own talented setter.

* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: [[MoralityChain Iwaizumi]] does this to Oikawa after the latter [[spoiler: loses it and tries to hit a younger Kageyama out of resentment for having lost to Shiratorizawa]]. It works.

** Subverted with Oikawa. All he is comes from tireless practicing, since he's no natural talent, and he would hardly be half as good as he is if he didn't work as hard as he did; despite this, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter he still can't win against Shiratorizawa]], and all points to [[TeenGenius Kageyama, his naturally-gifted junior]], one day surpassing him. However, his hard work was ''far'' from being in vain, as he is widely considered the best setter of the region [[WorthyOpponent even by the opponents he feels inferior to]], capable of improving any team he plays with even if he has no familiarity with them, which is an incredible deed that even Kageyama considered out of his league. And according to Oikawa, [[spoiler: his career in volleyball would not stop in high school]]. So, while his hard work couldn't make him a genius (and not being gifted impacted his self-esteem for a good time), he's still a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and is one of the best players of the manga.

* HateSink: Nohebi Academy. In a series where almost every opposing team is treated as [[WorthyOpponent sympathetic and honorable]], they stick out for having a SmugSnake as a captain and using dirty tactics like provoking their opponents with trash talk and sucking up to the referee. Considering that their match is a direct followup to the Nekoma vs. Fukurodani match, between two teams of [[FriendlyRival lovable rivals]], it makes quite a contrast.
* HeightAngst: Smaller players such as Hinata tend to angst a bit about their height. (Not so much Nishinoya, as he's already a very skilled libero, but he is shown to be annoyed when Hinata points it out). Justified as volleyball is a sport where height is advantageous.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: 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? [[spoiler:''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.

** Kageyama delivers [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome a pretty awesome one]] to Oikawa on Chapter 49 (Episode 19 in the first season of the anime). After the latter scores by delivering a dump shot (in volleyball terms, a bold surprise attack executed by the setter), he tells the Karasuno players to "pay attention, because I'll be doing the same thing next time". Not long after, Kageyama ''also'' scores with a dump shot and repeats the ''exact'' same line to Oikawa.

This story is written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate, and is currently being published in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shounen Jump]]''. An anime adaptation aired during the Spring2014Anime season for two cours produced by Creator/ProductionIG, and has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in America. The second season aired as part of the Fall2015Anime season. A third season, to be part of the Fall 2016 Anime season, was announced shortly before S2 finished airing. Starting in October 2015, a stage play called Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! was released in Japan.

->''"Before my eyes, it blocks my path. A high, high wall. What sort of scene is on the other side? What will I be able to see there?"''

** The 'shiratori' in 'Shiratorizawa' means 'swan'. Interestingly enough, Ushijima is shown symbolically with an eagle.
** Snakes for Nohebi

** Vibrant, HotBlooded Hinata's personality matches his bright orange hair, and contrasts with the dark-haired, aloof, and collected Kageyama. Together, their hair colors are orange and black, which are Karasuno's official team colors. When they're paired with Tsukishima (Karasuno's other freshman starter) or Yachi (their second manager, whom they befriend) it becomes BlondeBrunetteRedhead.

* LightDarknessJuxtaposition: ''Hinata''[[note]]"sun"[[/note]] and ''Kage''yama[[note]]shadow[[/note]] have this in their names to drive home just how different they are. This also reflects in their appearances and personalities, since Hinata is a cheerful redhead and Kageyama is an aloof guy with black hair.

* NightAndDayDuo: This motif is present in the contrast between Karasuno's two freshman middle blockers, Hinata [[note]]written with the kanji for "sun"[[/note]], who is friendly, vibrant, and warm, and Tsukishima[[note]]written with the kanji for "moon"[[/note]], who is cold, aloof, and distant. It's [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/9e/58/3f9e584f0171ca4f66b3ddd2eaf0b942.png acknowledged]] in-series.

** Oikawa was also Kageyama’s senpai in junior high and still considers him his kouhai, but coming from him and given that he used to flat out reject Kageyama's requests of teaching him to serve, which goes well against a proper sempai's behavior, it's almost certainly an example of TermsOfEndangerment. To take it further, now that he attends Karasuno, Kageyama himself addresses Oikawa only as the more distant "Oikawa-san".

* TheSouthpaw: An important part of Ushijima's dominance is that he's a lefty; the rotation of a lefty's spikes is different from a righty, and that makes them much more difficult to receive, [[DarnYouMuscleMemory especially if the receiver is accustomed to handling right-handed spikes.]]

--> Hinata: Crap... Kageyama isn't yelling at me. That means he's really angry.

* AdaptedOut: Narita, Kinoshita, and Shimizu in ''Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!!''. Narita and Kinoshita are {{Bit Character}}s to begin with, and Shimizu's role (which was admittedly small early in the story) is delegated to the third-years and Ennoshita.

* CastOfSnowflakes: Every single player on a team gets a name and has very distinct features. A lot of detail is put into the spectators too.

* UnderdogsNeverLose: [[spoiler:Averted in Karasuno vs Aobajousai match.]]

* HardWorkHardlyWorks:
** Subverted with Oikawa. All he is comes from tireless practicing, since he's no natural talent, and he would hardly be half as good as he is if he didn't work as hard as he did; despite this, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter he still can't win against Shiratorizawa]], and all points to [[TeenGenius Kageyama, his naturally-gifted junior]], one day surpassing him. However, his hard work was ''far'' from being in vain, as he is widely considered the best setter of the region [[WorthyOpponent even by the opponents he feels inferior to]], capable of improving any team he plays with even if he has no familiarity with them, which is an incredible deed that even Kageyama considered out of his league. And according to Oikawa, [[spoiler: his career in volleyball would not stop in high school]]. So, while his hard work couldn't make him a genius (and not being gifted impacted his self-esteem for a good time), he's still a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and is one of the best players of the manga.
** Tsukishima is a believer of this at first, but it was really played straight with [[spoiler: his older brother, Akiteru]].

** Subverted with Oikawa. All he is comes from tireless practicing, since he's no natural talent, and he would hardly be half as good as he is if he didn't work as hard as he did; despite this, [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter he still can't win against Shiratorizawa]], and all points to [[TeenGenius Kageyama, his naturally-gifted junior]], one day surpassing him. However, his hard work was ''far'' from being in vain, [[{{Badass}} as he is widely considered the best setter of the region]] [[WorthyOpponent even by the opponents he feels inferior to]], capable of improving any team he plays with even if he has no familiarity with them, which is an incredible deed that even Kageyama considered out of his league. And according to Oikawa, [[spoiler: his career in volleyball would not stop in high school]]. So, while his hard work couldn't make him a genius (and not being gifted impacted his self-esteem for a good time), he's still a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and is one of the best players of the manga.