Black & Orange A Haikyuu!! Character Zine
Introduction
Haikyuu!! is a Japanese shounen (boys) manga series written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate, and publishes weekly in Shounen Jump magazine. It is an emotional sports action/comedy that follows the main character Hinata and his high-school volleyball team Karasuno. Their goal is to be the best team in Japan (aka: beat the National Tournament in 1st place). The name Haikyuu!! translates to Volleyball!! in English. This is a zine for the Karasuno team in Haikyuu!!, minus the coaches. It talks about character interpretation and observation. Keep in mind (for the sake of length) that most of these topics will be brushed upon or show a general outlook on each character (or group of characters) that I have observed within the series. I would recommend at the very least (if you’ve never read or watched this series) to look up volleyball terms and positions, as I will not be explaining them. Since this is an ongoing series, all information taken from Haikyuu!! will be capped off at chapter 232, which means this contains SPOILERS leading up to the cap. If you’re not caught up in the series, please take caution when reading this zine.
Navigation 4 Hinata Shoyou 8 Kageyama Tobio 12 Daichi Sawamura 16 Sugawara Koushi 20 Asahi Azumane 24 Tsukishima Kei 28 Yamaguchi Tadashi 32 Nishinoya Yuu 36 Tanaka Ryunosuke 40 Enoshita, Kinoshita, & Narita 44 Kiyoko & Yachi 48 Closing Statements
Hinata Shoyou
H
inata is the main character of the series, as well as one of the shortest characters. His favorite food is egg over rice and he is the most identifiable character with his bright orange hair. This is a driving force in the series, as the story focuses on Hinata overcoming his height and improving his (highly instinctual and unrefined) volleyball skills. Loud, bright, and optimistic, Hinata shines whenever he plays volleyball (literally, he gets sparkles around his face when he hits Kageyama’s toss for the first time). He tends to either make good friends upon meeting new people, such as their manager Yachi, or makes them his rival, like with Ushijima and Kageyama. Sometimes it is very much like his friendship with Kenma, having a mix of both freindliness and rivalry. Because he makes friends so easily, it’s hard to determine if he has a best friend or not, but it is important to note that (in canon) he considers Kageyama as a teammate and it has not yet been addressed whether or not he considers him a friend. Hinata’s original motivation for playing came from when he saw “the little giant” play on TV. It gave him very intense emotions towards the sport and the belief that he too can play at such a high level despite his own small height. As the series go on, “the little giant” is mentioned less and less, but Hinata’s motivation remains the same: to play at a strong level of volleyball and to be the best (with the added motivation to help support the team as much as he can).
Despite being super enthusiastic about playing and his own strengths of jumping and quick reflexes, Hinata is very bad at playing volleyball in the beginning. He often gets huge bouts of anxiety before matches and suffers severe stomach pains as a result. This usually sets up hilarious encounters that Hinata has at the bathrooms before each match, usually with other players from their opposing team, and becomes a running-gag for the series. Despite his anxiety, if a player or match challenges Hinata to a certain point he gets into intensity mode and challenges them, which sometimes unsettles his opponents, some teammates, people watching the match, and maybe even the reader of the series. This intensity leads to his breaking point later in the series, as Hinata starts to compete and challenge his own teammates on the court and in practice. This was always the case with Kageyama, but this was most notable when Hinata started to challenge Asahi for the ace position on the court. Hinata would go after tosses that were clearly marked for Asahi and would give him intense glares, often reserved for opponents. This leads him into the current arc of the series after the Shiratorizawa match, where Hinata is constantly working to refine his instincts in volleyball and better his intuition and skills so that he becomes a better player and asset to the team, rather than just having the primary skill of “jumping” and “hitting Kageyama’s tosses”.
Kageyama Tobio
K
ageyama is the other main character in the series, with his role as Hinata’s main rival and Karasuno’s main setter. His favorite food is pork curry with slow cooked eggs, though he is almost exclusively seen drinking milk throughout the series. Kageyama lives and breathes volleyball, his personality and attitude revolves around the sport. It’s to the point where if something has nothing to do with the sport, he doesn’t really pay attention to it (especially academics, his grades almost as low as Hinata’s). He spends most of his free time practicing and perfecting his techniques. While it’s not addressed directly in the series, it’s implied that up until he joins Karasuno, Kageyama had little to no friends, and even then it’s debatable whether or not some of his teammates can be considered friends.
Though Kageyama is extremely passionate towards volleyball, this affects his personality negatively as he has a hard time relating and talking to other people. He has problems expressing emotion correctly, with his smiles coming off as sinister and scary, and he has trouble reading the mood of a situation without being told what’s going on. He starts off the series as authoritative, short-tempered, and a volleyball perfectionist—to the point where he’s aware of any problems and changes in his body, and how it’ll affect his playing (he even meticulously maintains his fingernails, saying that it affects his playing if they’re not filed down at a certain point). So far in recent chapters, Kageyama is still a perfectionist with himself but is trying to work on becoming a better team player by listening to his teammates, understanding that they have their own way of playing, and adapting to said play style. He is extremely afraid of rejection and mistrust, due to his experiences from his middle school volleyball team, and works towards leaving himself open to advice and criticism from Karasuno.
Despite his short-temper towards some members of the team (Tsukishima and Hinata mostly), Kageyama is starting to trust his teammates more and rely on what they have to offer to volleyball, rather than attempt to carry the team through his setting. He even tries openly complementing his teammates’ abilities, though usually with some awkwardness due to his lack of communication skills. It gets to the point where from early on in the series to more recent chapters, Kageyama goes to Suga for advice on how to talk to people, since Suga is the more empathetic setter of them.
a r u
m a i w a h S aic D
D
aichi is Karasuno’s third-year captain, and is an unwavering pillar of support for the team, even standing in as their coach when Karasuno didn’t have one. He is kind, strong-hearted, stubborn, and incredibly patient (you need to be when dealing with a majority of his team). He looks out for all the younger team members, buying them meat buns after practices to bring the team closer together. Despite his association with meat buns, Daichi’s favorite food is actually shoyu ramen. His best friends in the series are Suga and Asahi, and he is incredibly close with both of them. While most of the characters participate in slapstick humor, Daichi only does so with Asahi, “criticizing” him for being so cowardly and downtrodden. With Suga on the other hand, Daichi becomes the target of the slapstick, and his reactions towards Suga shows how friendly they are with each other. Daichi’s true age also comes out with his friends, his mannerisms and personality appearing to be more mature towards people who aren’t as close.
Daichi leads the team throughout their matches, despite not being at the forefront in his position as a receiver. It’s through this position that Daichi supports the team the most. His skills as a receiver are incredibly solid. Because Daichi is in his third-year of high school, this is his own final chance at bringing the team to nationals, which is the main force behind his motivational speeches. This becomes a major factor in the match against Johzenji, where he gets put out of the game due to receiving an accidental injury from Tanaka (no concussion, but he did lose a molar tooth). As a result, the team’s mrale suffers initially, worrying about their captain and wondering how they’ll do against Johenzi without him. They do, eventually, thanks to the support of Suga and Enoshita.
Sugawara Koushi
S
uga is Karasuno’s Vice-Captain, enjoys eating super spicy mapo tofu, and provides the team with emotional support and tactical advantage. Polite and kind, Suga has a gentle simile, with a seemingly sweet personality to match—though his teammates know just how diabolical and playful he can really be. He is intelligent as much as he is kind, giving valuable insight into how to approach opponents and using their habits against them—as well as his own habits. Suga is closest to Daichi and Asahi, his fellow third-years, but is also pretty close with the other members—joking around with the second-years and quickly befriending the first-years. Suga is relatively calmer compared to most of the other team members, and has an interesting role of either reigning them in (particularly at practice matches) or encouraging their shenanigans (mostly Hinata and Noya). Despite his kindness and intellect though, Suga is shown to be envious—even salty towards players who show extreme amounts of skill and talent at volleyball. Some players include Ushijima and Oikawa.
Suga’s kindness reaches out to all of his teammates, shown in the beginning of the series where he helps Hinata practice receives during lunch breaks, and helps Kageyama in learning how to become a better setter—through connecting with team members, rather than technical skill. He offers personal support to individual team members in some way shape or form, and has connected with them so it benefits his role as a setter. Suga is dedicated to playing volleyball, despite no longer being the main setter for Karasuno. He stays on the sidelines and observes how his team plays against their opponents, putting together strategies and plays that will give them the advantage to help them win.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that he is content with being put on the sidelines, especially since he is a third-year and it is his last year. Suga takes any chance he can get to play on the court, and manages to become a key part of an ingenious strategy called the “synchronized attack�. This attack has both Suga and Kageyama on the court, where they have every single player spike the ball minus the setter, who is unknown to the other team until the ball gets tossed to them. This allows Suga (or Kageyama in some matches) to set the ball to a large multitude of players and disorient the opponents.
Azumane Asahi A
sahi is Karasuno’s Ace player and is the strongest in terms of power and build. His looks often have him being mistaken for an adult, scary thug, or drug dealer (much to his terror). Asahi’s favorite food is tonkotsu ramen, and he often wears his hair in a bun (season 1) or kept back with a sports hairband (season 2 +). There’s also a joke among the team members that he looks like Jesus Christ—thanks to his long hair and beard. In terms of personality, he’s cowardly and has a glass heart, taking everything said about him personally, which fuels his depression and anxiety—which Daichi and Suga tease him for. Despite Suga and Daishi’s jabs at his weak personality, they do support him as his closest friends and try to remind him of his place as Karasuno’s strong ace. It is through Karasuno’s support that Asahi is able to gain better self-confidence.
In the beginning of the series, before his introduction, Asahi had forfeited his position on the team and has stopped playing due to a huge loss against Date Tech where he was the main spiker. He couldn’t get any spikes past the other team. This was a huge blow against his confidence, and he allmost didn’t rejoin the team until Kageyama and Hinata intervene and remind him of how much he loves playing volleyball. Upon his rejoining, he makes up for how much practice he missed and works towards new techniques for serving. He also makes up with Noya, who took his departure the hardest and resented Asahi for not taking his position as ace “seriously”.
Asahi actually gets most of his self-confidence help from Noya, who constantly reassures and cheers for him during games and makes it a point that he trusts Asahi as Karasuno’s ace and main powerhouse. In turn, Asahi trusts Noya as the libero and his skills at receiving the ball to support the team. By the time Karasuno is about to participate in the Spring Tournament, Asahi is signifigantly more confident in himself and his skills than in the beginning. It actually creates conflict with Hinata when he starts to challenge Asahi for the ace position, and he gets more intense about playing. Asahi, with his better confidence, makes his stand against Hinata and keeps his position as ace.
Tsukishima Kei
T
sukishima is the tallest player at Karasuno, despite his standing as a first year. He’s a popular side-character who’s gets more focus as the series progresses, and has an in-series personality as a jerk who likes to goad certain teammates and competitors into frustration with witty remarks and snide comments. However, he does know when to stop or actively avoid making certain characters mad (like their team captain Daichi). Tsukishima’s favorite food is strawberry shortcake and is usually seen wearing headphones when he’s not practicing or playing volleyball. His best friend—and only friend—is Yamaguchi, who is the only person that gets to call Tsukishima by the nickname “Tsukki”.
Originally, he is introduced as not caring about the sport (especially compared to volleyball fanatics Kageyama and Hinata), playing it out of obligation due to his middle school experiences with volleyball. However, later in the series due to several events where he is called out on his behavior towards the sport—by rival members of other teams, and his own best friend Yamaguchi—he starts to take the game a little more seriously, and starts to find fun in playing the sport. This disinterest in the sport started when his older brother Akiteru lied to him about being the ace of his High School volleyball team. Seeing his brother work day and night, so hard at the sport he loves and not have anything come out of it made Tsukishima dishearten about the sport, and the idea of putting effort into anything if you won’t get anything out of it (especially if you don’t have the initial talent for it). This makes him extremely adverse to Hinata and Kageyama, who are volleyball fanatics that are stubborn about doing their best and have inherent abilities that make them talented for the sport.
Later in the series, during the Tokyo Expedition practice arc, Tsukishima notices how Yamaguchi starts to train more and more to become better at the sport and take it more seriously— like his brother did. This comes to an emotional climax when Yamaguchi calls him out on his behavior, replying to Tsukishima’s lack of motivation on playing volleyball with “what more do you need than pride?!”. This later leads to Tsukishima’s phenomenal contribution and performance in the match against Shiwatorizawa, making game changing plays, and playing to the point where he finally gets that feeling of pride in himself and fun towards playing volleyball. His confrontation with Yamaguchi also strengthened their friendship even more, with Tsukishima actively complimenting and encouraging Yamaguchi more openly—and eventually the other team members.
Yamaguchi Tadashi
Y
amaguchi is Karasuno’s pinch server, entering a game when things get tough to try and turn the tide around. Yamaguchi is shy and kind, but also hardworking. He’s the only first year who didn’t get a starting position on the team, and is dispondent about it. This motivates him, however, to improve his skills in serving and contributing what he can to the team. Yamaguchi is Tsukishima’s best friend, whom he cares for very much and have known each other since elementary school. Though he is kind, Yamaguchi will laugh or tease others alongside Tsukishima, so long as it’s not too offensive or mean (and even tease Tsukishima himself). Yamaguchi, in the beginning, was a character that appeared mostly to support and follow Tsukishima, almost like a dog (ironically, Tadashi means “loyalty” in Japanese). However, as the series goes on he grows into his own character; showing concern towards teammates when they get hurt, cheering for his team on the sidelines, striving to become a better player, and becoming more confident with himself. He starts character development when the team has a match against the Neighborhood Volleyball Association (NVA); where he first learns about the jump float serve. Yamaguchi asks a member of the NVA, Shimada Makoto, for extra practice and help to perform the technique.
When the team enters the Inter High preliminaries, Yamaguchi gets put in for the first time as a pinch server against Aoba Jousai. Though he has been practicing with Shimada, Yamaguchi’s nerves get the best of him and serves the ball right into the net, which results in him needing to go back to the sidelines almost in tears. Since then, Yamaguchi practices his jump float serves constantly, to the point where he has much better accuracy and can even get past Noya’s receives. During the Tokyo Expedition practice arc, he also becomes a major pivotal point in Tsukishima’s development towards working harder at volleyball, calling out on his behavior and wanting to try and help Tsukishima get better. In the rematch against Aoba Jousai in the Spring High preliminaries, Yamaguchi becomes the star player of the match. His jump float serves managing to gain a huge lead against the opposing team. His hard work pays off and everyone on the team is proud of him, especially Tsukishima, even going as far as saying “he practiced the most out of everybody here”. And while Yamaguchi’s role in the match against Shiwatorizawa isn’t as big, he supports the team as much as he can, subbing in and cheering the others on—especially Tsukishima, of course.
Nishinoya Yuu
N
oya is Karasuno’s libero (the main reciever), and has the nickname “Karasuno’s Guardian Diety”. He’s the shortest member of the team (excluding their manager Yachi), spikes his hair up with a tiny tuft of it bleached near his forehead, and is fond of Gari-Gari Kun! (blue soda flavored popsicles). Noya is one of the main comic relief characters, the other being Tanaka, and is loud, boisterous, and energetic; on par with Hinata’s energy levels. His personality usually gets him into trouble, as he doesn’t filter his words, mostly saying what he thinks tactlessly, which gives him a bit of a temper. When playing volleyball however, Noya becomes focused and serious. He plays calmly to provide his team the support they need while playing, and to receive serves and spikes with extreme precision and control. Despite his skills at volleyball though, he doesn’t do well in school due to him filling in answers to written exams with advice or nonsensical answers that would be great advice for real people, but not the right answer for a quiz.
Noya is best friends with Tanaka, and they often scream together about how much they love and adore their manager Kiyoko, while also raving about how they are great sempai (upperclassmen). They also joke around the most on the team, with Noya often coming up with over the top names for his receives—such as “ROLLING THUNDER”. They also make up the “infamous” Kiyoko Protection Squad against other teams that take interest in her. Before he is introduced, Noya was absent from Karasuno due to a verbal one-sided fight between him and Asahi. He managed to break a vase in front of the vice-principal and scream in the halls about Asahi leaving the team. For such disorderly conduct, the vice principal suspends Noya from Karasuno for a week (and volleyball club for a month). Upon his return, Noya is livid upon finding out that Asahi still hasn’t returned, and refuses to rejoin until Asahi comes back because he doesn’t want Asahi to actually believe that they can be a team without their ace. Once Asahi does come back, Noya is absolutely thrilled, gives Asahi a stern talking to about his actions. Noya, despite his frequent outbursts and constant shenanigans, has massive respect from both the third and first year members. His skills in volleyball, and his dedication to help and support his teammates are paramount, and everyone on the team places an immeasurable amount of trust in him on the court and off.
Tanaka Ryuunosuke
T
anaka is a wing spiker at Karasuno and is the second strongest spiker in Karasuno, next to Asahi. He is the other main comic relief character, with his loud personality and sempai complex, and both he and Noya form the Kiyoko Protection Squad screaming her praises and protecting her from other teams. Tanaka, like Hinata, Kageyama, and Noya, is also poor at academics, with him and Noya relying on tutoring from Enoshita to even pass their classes and participate in club activities. Tanaka often uses his shaved-head and scary faces to try intimidating opponents, much to Daichi’s annoyance. He’s also hotheaded and easily angered, and will pick fights with other player—though he sometimes channels this energy towards smashing spikes though opponents during a match, giving Karasuno a powerful edge. Though Tanaka may look and act like a punk, he is actually very caring and supporting towards his teammates. He’ll defend and support the third-years, and display protective behavior towards the first-years—especially Hinata. Tanaka gets especially frustrated if someone talks badly about any of his team members, and won’t hesitate to let them know how upset he is, even at the risk of being put out of the game or getting in trouble. His favorite food is melonpan.
Among his fellow second-years, Tanaka becomes the butt of their jokes due to his shenanigans, and they constantly jab at each other—in a way that only friends can. While Kinoshita and Narita do most of the joking around towards him, Enoshita is less tolerant of his antics and is the one who reigns in Tanaka’s outbursts and keeps him under control next to Suga and Daichi. Tanaka may not get as much character development as everyone else, the most being new jump serving and spiking techniques, but he is crucially important in that he’s a big source of encouragement and motivation for the first-year members of the team. He supports Hinata’s desire to become a future ace—though Tanaka will most likely become the next one once Asahi graduates, he tries to befriend Kageyama and help him bond with the other team members. He teases and jokes around with Tsukishima—even joining up together to tease opponents—and pals around with Yamaguchi to make him feel more comfortable with the team. Once Yachi joins the team as their other manager, he and Noya ,after pausing in silence at the shock of a cute girl in the gym, are quick to try and make her feel welcome, eventually giving her hi-fives during matches and being less hotheaded around her.
Enoshita Chikara Kinnoshita Hisashi Narita Kazuhito
K
nown as “the ungrateful second years”, these members are on the sidelines the most during Karasuno’s matches. Enoshita Chikara is a sleepy-looking guy ,even when he’s fired up, and is up to be the next captain once Daichi graduates. He’s a very average player, but has an excellent game sense, and is the most fleshed out character in this trio. Enoshita’s favorite food is vinegar-ed sea pineapple. Kinoshita Hisashi is very average looking, but is a good overall player during practice matches. He has yet to be in an official match, but he’s training to become another pinch server, like Yamaguchi, and is trying to perfect jump float serves. His favorite food is pickled ginger. Narita Kazuhito is tall and has a shaved head and is a wing spiker like Tanaka’s, but a much calmer and relaxed personality. He is usually seen cheering on the team, but he can spike at a normal level. His favorite food is omlette sushi. They all like to make jokes towards Tanaka and Noya, and they all feel extremely anxious at the thought of being put in an official match, due to their lack of experience. It’s hard to characterize this trio, due to their lack of appearances, but they do have their place on the team. They’re known as “the ungrateful second years” due to how they quit the volleyball club when coach Issei Ukai’s (a former retired coach who came back) training methods became too much for them. They went into the club because they liked volleyball and thought it was fun, but didn’t like how intense Issei was making them play. Eventually, after Issei had to retire again due to health complications, they came back to the team. However, they did feel bad about leaving though, and gave themselves the nickname “the ungrateful second years”.
Though their role is mostly to be background characters, they each contribute something to the team (Enoshita moreso than Narita and Kinoshita due to his more frequent appearances). Kinoshita, as stated earlier, is training to become a pinch server to offer more strategy options during matches. Narita and Suga play off each other very well, and his spikes are amplified by Suga’s familiarity with his playing style. Enoshita is the unofficial wrangler of Noya and Tanaka, and is somewhat in charge of the second years. When Daichi had to leave the match against Johzenji because of his injuries, he becomes their pseudo captain and leads the team for the rest of the match. Even though he starts out pretty rocky, he grows into the role quickly. Enoshita manages to quell Tanaka’s guilt for injuring Daichi on accident, and encourages him to play at his very best. He also gives Yamaguchi an encouraging speech, praising him for his hard work and to not give up; mentioning how he, Narita, and Kinoshita did and regretted it. Now, before the National Tournament, he’s even trusted to watch over the team while Daichi was out at a meeting with the coach. Suga was offended by this, as he is the vice-captain, but Daichi reasons that Suga is not as stern with the underclassmen compared to Enoshita.
Kiyoko Shimizu
Yachi Hitoka
T
he managers of the Karasuno team, they provide support to the team and keep track of how they play, provide towels and water bottles during matches and practice, and encouragement during matches. Yachi Hitoka is a first-year who’s extremely clumsy, anxious, paranoid, and shy; frequently intimidated by others—especially if they’re bigger than her, which is easy because she’s shorter than Noya. She has a bad habit of thinking of how she’ll die in whatever scenario she’s currently in due to her overactive imagination. Though she’s timid, she’s also very kind and will always try and cheer someone up if they’re in a bad mood. Yachi even tutors Kageyama and Hinata during their lunch break and off practice days, and makes quick friends with them. When Kiyoko graduates, she’ll take on the role of head manager. Yachi’s favorite food is fugashi. Kiyoko Shimizu is a third-year who’s quiet, a bit shy, and very passionate about her position as team manager. She’s had past experiences in track and field, with hurdles as her specialty, and as a result is quite athletic—showing it best when deflecting flying stray balls during practices. She’s a respected member of the team, even if Tanaka and Noya are always screaming about their love for her. She only stops them when they get really out of hand. Most people who see her think she’s extraordinarily beautiful and get flustered.
Up until Yachi joins the team, Kiyoko was more quiet and reserved, not expressing emotion often. She is most frequently seen handing out water bottles, keeping track of times and strategy elements, and helps the team out with practices. Right before the Inter High Tournament, Kiyoko surprises the team with a banner to cheer them with that says “FLY”, and tells them to “do your best” in a quiet voice before running off. This causes everyone but the first-years to cry their hearts out and vow to do their best at the tournament—a comical and heartwarming moment. While looking for a potential manager to take her place once she graduates, she finds Yachi and Kiyoko begins to open up more, laughing and smiling often, and even joking around with her. Though Yachi didn’t intend on joining the volleyball club at first, she has a hard time saying no to Kiyoko and goes through a testing period. Once she meets the team, she’s intimidated at first, but quickly befriends Hinata thanks to his ability to make friends quickly. Yachi is reluctant to join the team, thinking that she doesn’t have anything worthwhile to contribute or offer, and doesn’t want to join if she isn’t going to be dedicated to it. However, after attending more practices and getting advice from Kiyoko (how becoming dedicated to the team took some time, but came naturally to her), Yachi became more certain that she wanted to join. When she told Hinata that she’s struggling with a decision, he tells Yachi that even if she has a small role, she’s important to others, and this cements her decision to join the team.
Closing Statements I created this zine because of my love for Haikyuu!! and my desire to share that love with others. While this zine is mostly understandable to people who are familiar with the series, I also wanted to write it in a way that could be easy to digest by someone who isn’t. This has been something that I’ve wanted to tackle for quite some time, going over the manga and anime over and over to get events right, and reading various blog posts to see if I missed some inherent aspect of a character and scene. I hope you enjoyed reading this, I hope to produce more content like this, combining my love of publication design with anime! I also hope that if you haven’t seen or read Haikyuu!! yet, I hope this inspires you to go check it out.