The sports manga "Haikyu!!," currently serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, is finally entering its final chapter. Its passionate volleyball-themed story has garnered overwhelming support, especially from young women. In this article, we'll take a deep look at Ukai Ikkei, the former head coach of Karasuno High School, where protagonists Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama attend, and grandfather of the current coach. We'll tell you everything from Ikkei's past to his present, as well as his passion for volleyball!
Ukai Ikkei Profile
Ikkei is the former head coach of Karasuno High School's boys' volleyball team, currently 69 years old. In the story, he is also the grandfather of Ukai Keishin, the coach of Karasuno High School. Ichitsugu was known as "Karasuno's Ukai" and made a name for himself as a great coach. He was the coach when the team was a powerhouse, featuring the "Little Giant" that Hinata admires, and it was rumored that he "kept a ferocious crow as a pet"...
He retired from coaching once, but made a brief return last year. However, he later fell ill and was hospitalized, so he is no longer coaching. Ichitsugu was so strict that some of the second and third year students he coached ended up quitting the team. Incidentally, even Kageyama decided to enroll at Karasuno High School after hearing that the great coach Ukai was returning!
Ukai Ikki's Volleyball Strategy
Ikki's volleyball strategy, which is the very essence of Karasuno today, is "always exploring new things." This approach was criticized by Shiratorizawa Academy's Coach Washio, who values absolute volleyball strength, such as individual strength and "height." These two men have fundamentally opposing views on volleyball.
Once Karasuno realized that Hinata and Kageyama's "weird quick attack," which would have been sufficient enough in games on its own, was being stopped, they quickly abandoned it and made improvements. Other examples include a "synchronized attack" in which all Karasuno members are set up to spike. These attacking methods are exactly the "new things" that Ichinosuke loves! It seems that Tsuyoshi has truly inherited his grandfather's ideas.
Nekoma High School's Coach Nekomata is a sworn rival!
In fact, Ichinosuke and Nekoma High School's Coach Nekomata have been sworn rivals since middle school. Coach Nekomata lived in Miyagi Prefecture during his junior high school days, and would play against Ichitsunagi in practice matches and regional qualifiers. One time, Coach Nekomata scored a ton of points from a single pass, and after the match he said to me, "I think my reputation has gone up thanks to you. Thank you." From that moment on, Ichitsugi vowed to himself that one day he would beat Coach Nekomata.
However, that wish remained unfulfilled, as Coach Nekomata transferred to Tokyo after his final middle school game. Later, in his second year of high school, Ichitsunagi finally competed in the national tournament. Though he spotted Coach Nekomata at the match venue, they were both eliminated in the first round and were unable to face each other. And so, the two never competed in the national tournament.
The two coaches have a fateful reunion!
And then, a few years later,Ichitsugu and Coach Nekomata discovered that the other was coaching the volleyball club at their alma mater. From then on, they began to arrange practice matches whenever their schedules aligned. Before long, matches between Karasuno High School and Nekoma High School came to be called the "Battle at the Garbage Dump," since they were "crows and cats." However, they were never able to face each other in an official match, and both teams retired.
The "Battle at the Garbage Dump" finally begins in Volume 33!
Ichitsugu is not the manager of Karasuno, but his grandson, Tsunagi, is taking part in the games as a coach, so his joy must have been all the greater. I won't go into the details of the match results here to avoid spoilers, but one particularly memorable scene was when the players lined up after the match and Ichitsugu struck a handshake pose in front of the TV.
Ukai Ikkaku Summary
Ukai is a legendary coach who once built Karasuno High School into a powerhouse! Even now that he's retired, his style lives on at Karasuno. Now, Karasuno is facing off against Nekoma High School, where their former middle school rival, Nekomata Ikushi, is now their coach! I think this will be quite a sight for Ichitsunagi as well. Coach Nekomata was never able to win on his own... Will his grandson, Tsunagi, be able to fulfill his long-held dream of defeating Nekomata Ikushi?
