Haikyuu is a volleyball-themed manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Hinata Shoyo, a boy who admires Karasuno High School's former ace, the Little Giant, joins Karasuno High School in order to compete at the nationals, and together with his unique teammates, he advances through tournaments.
In this article, we'll be introducing the characteristics and special skills of the members of Aoba Johsai High School, Karasuno High School's rivals.
About Aoba Johsai High School
Like Karasuno High School, Aoba Johsai High School is located in Miyagi Prefecture. Its volleyball team is a powerhouse, reaching the top four in the prefecture and known for its well-balanced team. Many of the team members are former members of Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High School's volleyball team, and many of the current members were once on the same team as Kageyama. The team's main color is pale green, and the team's jerseys are pale green on a white background. The uniform is also pale green.
Toru Oikawa
Toru Oikawa is a third-year student and captain of the Aoba Johsai High School volleyball team. He plays as a setter and wears the number 1 jersey. Standing at 184cm tall and handsome, he has many female fans. He usually has a playful personality, but he hates to lose, and he's particularly hostile towards Kageyama, a talented setter, and the members of Shiratorizawa High School, whom Aoba Johsai High School has never beaten.
Toru Oikawa's Special Skills
Toru Oikawa is a top player with above-average skills, but his serve is particularly powerful, delivering serves with incredible force. He can seize the momentum of a match with just his serve, making him extremely troublesome. He also has incredible control over his serve, allowing him to aim for the corners or pinpoint the opposing player.
Toru Oikawa's Special Skill #2
Toru Oikawa is not only a master of serving, but also of tossing. He is able to maximize the abilities of his teammates by considering their current situation and state of mind. Oikawa's words and tosses, which seem both intimidating and trusting, enable other players to hit the ball in matches just as they did in practice. He also has the technique to toss the ball where he aims even when his balance is off.
Isshizu Matsukawa
Isshizu Matsukawa is a third-year student at Aoba Johsai High School, playing middle blocker. He wears the number 2 jersey and is tall at 187 cm. He has a pointed mouth and short, curly black hair, and Oikawa calls him "Matsun." In the story, he is known to be worried that his uniform doesn't suit him because of his old-looking face.
Issei Matsukawa's Special Skills
Issei Matsukawa is not a particularly prominent player at Aoba Johsai High School. However, he excels at blocking and spiking, taking advantage of his position as middle blocker and his height of 187 cm.
Takahiro Hanamaki
Takahiro Hanamaki is a third-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays the wing spiker position. He wears the number 3 jersey and is fairly tall at 184 cm. He has distinctive reddish-brown hair, and Oikawa calls him "Macky."
Takahiro Hanamaki's Special Skills
Takahiro Hanamaki didn't play a significant role in the first practice match against Karasuno High School, but he excelled in the Inter-High preliminaries. He not only used his height to spike the ball, but also worked with Iwaizumi to follow up and toss the ball in place of Oikawa, showing his versatility.
Iwaizumi Hajime
Iwaizumi Hajime is a third-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and serves as vice-captain. He plays as a wing spiker and wears the number 4 jersey. He is characterized by short black hair and a mean look in his eyes, and is fairly tall at 179 cm. Although he has a manly personality, he is strict with Oikawa and often makes harsh remarks. However, this is largely due to the trust they have built over their years as a team.
Iwaizumi Hajime's Special Skills
Iwaizumi Hajime's special skills are his combination with Oikawa, resulting in spikes that are impeccable in both direction and power. As the ace of Aoba Johsai High School, he is highly trusted by Oikawa and is an important source of points. Their long-standing friendship allows them to communicate with each other just by looking each other in the eye, and they can predict when Oikawa will come up to them, forming an extremely strong bond.
Hide Yahaba
Hide Yahaba is a second-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays setter. However, since Oikawa is the regular setter, he is a reserve player. He also serves as a pinch server in the series. His uniform number is 6 and he is 181 cm tall. He has gray hair and a straightforward personality.
Yagi Hide's Special Skills
Yagi Hide is a reserve player, so he doesn't often have a chance to shine. However, as a setter, his tossing ability is likely to be strong, even if not as good as Oikawa's. Furthermore, he is also skilled at serving, as evidenced by his role as pinch server during matches.
Watari Chikaji
Watari Chikaji is a second-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays libero. He has a distinctive shaved head and tanned skin. His jersey number is 7 and he is 171 cm tall. He has a calm, polite personality and is generally reserved. He also has experience as a setter.
Watari Chikaji's Special Skills
As a libero, Watari Chikaji excels at receiving. He is somewhat conscious of Karasuno High School's Nishinoya, who is in the same grade and plays the same position, but Nishinoya is currently considered to be superior. As a former setter, he knows that overhand tosses in the front zone are prohibited for liberos, so he possesses advanced skills such as jump tosses from the edge of the attack line.
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Kentaro Kyoya
Kentaro Kyoya is a second-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays as a wing spiker. He wears jersey number 16 and is 178 cm tall. Kentaro Kyoya's appearance is characterized by his intense appearance, black streaks across his blonde hair, and sharp eyes. He often displays a rebellious attitude, but he listens to Iwaizumi because he's always lost every match to him.
Kentaro Kyoya's Special Skills
Kentaro Kyoya is uncooperative and has difficulty coordinating with others, but he makes up for it with his immense power and extremely powerful spikes. He also has a cutting spike that he's learned to use on the inside, and although he often misses it, when it lands, it can change the flow of the game. He's a slow starter, but when he gets going, he's a formidable player.
Kindaichi Yuutaro
Kindaichi Yuutaro is a first-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays middle blocker. He is characterized by his long face and upturned hairstyle, known as "Rakkyo Head." He wears jersey number 12 and is the tallest student at Aoba Johsai High School, standing at 189 cm. He was on the same team as Kageyama in middle school and holds a grudge against him. Although he can be cold towards Kageyama at times, he is generally a good person, maintains a clear hierarchy, and is polite to his seniors.
Kindaichi Yuutaro's Special Skills
Kindaichi Yuutaro's special skills are his spiking and blocking, taking advantage of his height. He is one of Aoba Johsai High School's leading scorers. His spikes, which are hit from a high impact point, are extremely difficult to block, but Oikawa's tosses further increase his impact point, making him even more powerful. Despite still being a first-year student, he is a talented player who is active as a regular player.
Kunimi Hide
Kunimi Hide is a first-year student at Aoba Johsai High School and plays as a wing spiker. He has center-parted black hair and sleepy eyes, and while he's lazy, he's also polite and reliable towards his seniors. Hide Kunimi's jersey number is 13 and he is 182 cm tall. Like Kindaichi, he was on the same team as Kageyama in middle school.
Hide Kunimi's Special Skills
Hide Kunimi's special skills are his situational judgment and his ability to skillfully allocate his energy. He calmly assesses the court situation and knows when to relax and when to exert force, conserving his energy until the end of the match. While he sometimes gets scolded by his coaches, Oikawa sees through him and tells him to work hard in the second half.
Summary
This time, we introduced the members of Aoba Johsai High School, who appear in Haikyu!!. Although they lost to Karasuno High School in the Spring High Tournament, they are a popular high school, so we can expect them to do well in the future. They have many talented players, so we're looking forward to seeing them face off against Karasuno High School again.
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