Rivalry and Mutual Respect
The relationship between Hinata and Kageyama is characterized by a blend of rivalry and mutual respect. While they start off as rivals, their dynamic evolves into one where they push each other to improve. This rivalry is not just about competition but also about understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses. Hinata helps Kageyama understand his role as the "king of the court" and how to behave [1:1]. Their relationship remains in a gray area between friendship and rivalry, emphasizing communication over traditional friendship
[1:2].
Growth Through Challenges
Throughout the series, both characters face challenges that contribute to their growth. For instance, Hinata's experience during the quarterfinal match against Kamomedai highlights his determination to take volleyball seriously and improve himself [2:3]. Similarly, Kageyama's background reveals the external pressures he faced, yet he persevered through rejection and continued to pursue volleyball
[4:1]. These experiences reinforce the idea that their relationship is built on pushing each other to overcome obstacles.
Communication and Understanding
A key aspect of their relationship is the development of communication and understanding. Initially, Kageyama struggles with expressing himself and feels jealous of Hinata's natural talents [4:2]. However, as they spend more time together, they become attuned to each other's physical and emotional states, motivating each other even if it doesn't always manifest as typical friendship
[1:4]. Hinata's initiative in seeking advice from others, including Kageyama, showcases his willingness to learn and improve
[5:1].
Character Flaws and Growth
Both Hinata and Kageyama are portrayed with realistic character flaws that contribute to their growth. Kageyama's self-centered nature and difficulty seeing others' perspectives initially earn him the title "king of the court," but he gradually learns to appreciate Hinata's unique qualities [4:3]. Hinata, on the other hand, lacks direction and support early on but demonstrates initiative and a desire to learn from those around him
[5:2]. This portrayal of flawed protagonists adds depth to their relationship and emphasizes personal growth.
Shared Passion for Volleyball
Ultimately, what binds Hinata and Kageyama is their shared passion for volleyball. Kageyama's search for someone who shares his enthusiasm is fulfilled when he meets Hinata, whose dedication matches his own [3]. Despite their differences in upbringing and initial misunderstandings, their mutual love for the sport drives them to support and challenge each other, creating a dynamic that is both competitive and collaborative.
So I’m an anime only and I just wanted to talk about a personal nitpick that I had with their relationship: they don’t stop being rivals. (As far as the anime goes) Hear me out, I personally don’t ship them, but I find it frustrating that their relationship kinda stagnates between being teammates and rivals and having some sort of mutual respect for each other. I would like seeing their relationship grow in a different way and not necessarily in a romantic one, if that makes sense. I didn’t really think this trough, just wanted to post how I felt in the moment, what are your thoughts?
I personally love the fact that they don't become friends in a typical sense of the word. That would have seemed kinda cliche and forced, and it makes it seem like there's always a duality between being friends or hating each other's guts.
But in real life, there's a huge gray area between those two things, and I'm glad this show leaves Kageyama and Hinata somewhere in the gray. Plus, it goes to show that what's truly vital is developing communication, even if that doesn't necessarily then grow into a friendship.
When you rewatch season 1 you can see some of their friendship I would say. Like when Hinata gets really nervous Daichi asks Kageyama if Hinata's going to be ok, even though they didn't like each other at the beginning. I think Daichi saw that they are together alot, and you see that in season 1. And I think ppl sometimes ask Hinata about Kageyama (although I forget). In my opinion season 1 is where Hinata and Kageyama's friendship/rivalry/teammate blooms. Its the season where they make that promise. And as the storyline progresses their relationship becomes stronger.
> ask Hinata about Kageyama
Kindaichi asks him after the training camp in S4.
But it's also Hinata that understands Kageyama the best. When Kageyama is trying to process the 'goody two shoes' remark, it's Hinata that lectures him on being king of the court, and helps him understand how to behave.
I think it is important to keep in mind that they are friends, just not in the typical sense of the word.
They spend most of their time together, staying late to practice, studying, hanging out later to pay their bets, being paired together to do stuff etc, it's hard to do all that without developing a sense of companionship.
They're always super aware of each other's physical and emotional state, being able to tell when and why something is off or when they're in a specific type of mindset, they actually know how to keep the other motivated (even if their approach to it doesn't make sense to literally anyone else), they communicate with honesty (which is one of the reasons they bicker so much), so I think it's fair to say their relationship goes way beyond just mutual respect, they're really meaningful figures in each other's lives, but, and that's one of the reasons Haikyuu is so amazing, the foundation of that relationship will always be their rivalry, because this is what pushes them into enjoying the thing they both love to the most - and that's something they will always be grateful they had the each other for, every small improvement one pushed the other into as rivals, every little conquest they have as teammates, there's a meaning to all of that.
Their relationship might develop and change through the years, but that will always be its basis, the biggest role one will play in the other's life.
So if you're waiting for some big meaningful moment of recognition or a solid demonstration of their bond, you will have to look for it on the court.
maybe i'm still emotional after the last episode, but this was beautiful. <3
It’s hard to remember since we’ve been invested in their relationship and story for years but in universe Hinata and Kageyama have only really known each other for, at most, 9 months by the time of the national tournament.
Hmmm do you do competitive sports? Rivalry is a relationship that I think is similarly intimate to best friendship, but not really comparable because it’s so different in nature.
Before I was on a swim team in college, I’d stagnated for a year or two, didn’t really feel like I could push much improvement out even when I was throwing up at practice or getting up at 5am to do weight workouts. But when I got to college, there was one dude who for some reason I kept racing against at every practice. Even if I was hitting my goal times and improving my technique, I’d want to get back in the water if I hadn’t beat this guy. To have one person you desperately want to beat, and see them desperately want to get you back when you do is a really, really rare thing to come by, and it’s even harder to sustain. I improved more in one season than I did in half of high school, because I was just so focused one day at a time on beating that rival.
By the end of the year, every practice I’d make sure that guy was there before I’d look for or say hi to any of my close friends. It’s something I probably ended up feeling was as valuable as any of the best friends I had, and it’s something a person can only really have one of.
Since I don't have anyone to talk to, I wanted to share my excitement here. I started watching Haikyuu about a month ago. I continued with the manga as soon as I finished the anime and the movie. I'm currently at chapter 370. The rest of the article contains spoilers, I don't want to spoil the fun of those who haven't read it. The nickname "The Greatest Decoy" suits Hinata so much that I loved it. The scene where he says "The Little Giant" nickname can be yours" was very funny. Now let's talk about the match, I never thought it would end like this. Frankly, I thought we would win the quarterfinal match against Kamomedai. My eyes really welled up while reading it. It was very sad that Hinata couldn't be on the field. They were all so sad that I'm sure I would cry while watching these scenes in the cinema. Kageyama's line "I wanted to win with this team" touched me very much. And in the end, Tanaka got permission to carry Kiyoko's bag! I think Kiyoko gave permission because Tanaka was sad, but I think we all know what will happen after that. It was the beginning of a big step, I think. I have many feelings that I couldn't put into writing. I will continue from chapter 370. A 5-year time skip. Let's see what this period has brought to our characters. I love the Haikyuu universe. I became a big fan in a short time. If you want to comment and express your ideas, I would be very happy and read it with great excitement. Please excuse my English, I am writing some parts using translation.
I’m a fairly new fan too. Watched the anime in November last year and started reading the manga in January. Just finished volume 42 last Friday (I’m a slow reader because of work and well, life) while on a flight, and I know how you feel about not having anyone to talk to about your excitement and all your feels ‘cause I was crying my eyes out in the plane when I was at the part about >!Hinata’s brief breakdown in Brazil!< but I had to keep everything to myself!
Always glad to see someone else fall down the Haikyuu rabbit hole rather quickly just like myself haha 🧡
Haikyuu is definitely a wonderfully written series. There are dozens of reasons to be a fan. I think it's amazing how far we've come in such a short time. After finishing the quarterfinal match in the manga, it was a bit sad that I had no one to share those feelings with. I would have loved to share that excitement with someone. I thought I could write here and talk to a few people. Thank you very much for your comment. ‼️status update: like you said, my eyes filled with tears when I saw hinata like this, it was absolutely heartbreaking.
Yeah that really was a tough scene to get through 🥲 The good news is, it only gets better from there lol! I’m halfway through the second to the last volume and maaaan it has been a really fun journey with these guys. They’ve kept me so happy these past couple of months!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! I’ve reread the manga so many times because it means so much to me. Regarding the match against Kamomedai, au remembering first reading and thinking ‘wow I have no idea who will win?!’ And then it’s took an unexpected yet very necessary turn. It sounds weird but I’m glad Hinata went through that because it most definitely cemented how serious he was going to take volleyballl (not that he wasn’t serious before but ykwim) but seeing him grow and become a well rounded person is so rewarding!! I love haikyuu so much and I’d be glad to hear how you find the rest and end of the manga :))
First of all, thank you very much for your comment. I am sure that losing the match will definitely affect their character development. I felt that they reached a level of maturity as soon as the match ended. Although the result was sad, as you said, it had to happen. I will definitely let you know when I finish reading the manga🥹
When I finished the manga, I went back to restart it and noticed in Chapter One, before they even play the match, Kageyama tells Hinata, "Guys who don't watch their health shouldn't talk big either!" I knew there were comments where Hinata is told he should be wearing his jacket that are said to show that he didn't take good care of himself, but seeing this, I just thought, wow, Furudate really plays the long game!
I didn't know about this detail. I finished the manga completely yesterday. Hinata started taking better care of herself during her trip to Brazil. She learned the importance of taking care of her health the hard way during the quarterfinal match, but this definitely had to happen.
I think a lot of us saw THE kagehina edit on TikTok but watching it made me look at their relationship in such a different light????? Like I didn't really get the flashback scene of Kageyama the first time around, but this whole time he was alone and just waiting for someone who showed as much passion as he did for volleyball. I mean obv he met people like Oikawa, but they didn't have that gravitational pull towards each other or the same amount of passion. When he saw Hinata for the first time, he felt what his grandpa had told him that someone better would come and find him. I think deep down Kageyama felt like he finally found his person except Hinata's skills were subpar, so he probably felt disappointed; I feel like that's why Kageyama lashed out at Hinata. He felt like he would finally have someone who wanted to stand on the court as much as he did. I think it just makes their whole relationship so much more meaningful and that they were destined to cross paths. You can also see their relationship transform again when in nationals Kageyama is scared of doing certain plays with Hinata but Hinata is constantly pushing him. The person better than him is pushing him to his limit. Their final match as well just gets me in my feelings because that really showed he found his person to fill the void he had for so long because he had no one. He wanted someone who felt the same amount of passion and pushed him to his limit.
IDK if this has been talked about enough on here forgive me if it has. I just wanted an excuse to talk about haikyuu with someone T-T
I like your commentary. Do you mind linking the tiktok you mentioned as I haven't seen it?
This is the tiktok they are talking about https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRoRPPnT/
wow that’s a pretty…epic edit
Can't access tiktok, is there anywhere I can watch this?
commenting to see the link as well 😭
same lol need the link
During the final match we get Kageyama's background, we see him holding the ball since he's a baby and we also see how his grandpa was crucial in his upbringing. We can't deny he had passion for the game since a young age, I think, but his environment also played a big role in his upbringing, with his grandpa being a coach and also training him since he was young. And then moving to Kitagawa Daichi and so on.
That's something that Hinata never had. He had nobody by his side who played volleyball, didn't have a club where he could grow, and even fell in love with the sport during primary school.
That's something that Ushiwaka instead realizes, when his father preserved his left handedness, and the big impact it had on him, with the "ace" discussion they had. I don't remember where (I haven't read the manga in a while) but I think Ushiwaka says that out loud to someone else.
All of this to say during the manga, sometimes, Kageyama's behavior towards Hinata irks me, just because, he had luck and chances that Hinata never had.
But that's most likely also the point of Hinata's journey, to show where someone with no experience and help whatsoever can go with persistence and passion, and luck too.
Maybe I'm wrong. Do you agree or not?
I think Kageyama’s attitude toward Hinata at first was because he couldn’t express himself well and felt jealous of Hinata’s natural talents like speed, instinct, and jumping. He also felt like Hinata was wasting those gifts, not realizing Hinata had nobody to play with. Later it turned into a healthy rivalry where they pushed each other, like the “I’m going ahead” moments. In the end, Kageyama always wanted the best for Hinata, he just wasn’t great at showing it.
That's a fair take. Communication during the manga has always been an issue for Kageyama.
One thing i love about Haikyu is how it made the protagonists flawed in a way that other sports manga don’t or only do for antagonists.
What you’re describing is one, perspective, you have it as a reader but kageyama as a character doesn’t. At least not initially. He doesn’t know what hinata has been through, just like hinata doesn’t know what kageyama has been through.
Second, kageyama is just flawed and he grows. Kageyama is self centered, intense and has a real difficulty seeing others perspectives. It’s how he ended up has “the king of the court” in the first place. He couldn’t understand that others couldn’t just go at his pace.
Kageyama never understood what Oikawa was going through for example. The whole moment of Oikawa almost hitting him went completely over his head. He doesn’t know or understand why Oikawa doesn’t like him.
And a last thing, Kageyama is the first and the person who believes in Hinata the most. When he was telling Hinata “what have you been doing”, it’s not an attack, it’s acknowledgement.
He means “you’re so talented, why haven’t you been training more?”. He’s just terrible at expressing himself and doesn’t understand how his words can impact others.
Just my perspective, but I appreciate the post.
Kageyama is the character I relate to the most in the show so I think I can give my two cent here. No, I don't think Kageyama doesn't realise how lucky he is, at the end he thinks fondly of his grandfather and look forward to his saying that there is a worthy rival out there who will come and find Tobio.
Growing up as a talented kid is not a lucky thing. When you grow up in the right environment, have the right support, everyone assumes you have to grow up talented, kinda what you think but in a more extreme way, especially in Asian culture. And everyone always associate your success to that background, leading to the kid himself think he has no own talent, yet achieving everything based on hard work and family background.
Another thing about being a talented kid is it's harder to see your own improvement. It can be really frustrated sometimes seeing your peer improving from 4 to 7 in a year and you can only bring yourself from 8.5 to 9. Despite that frustration, Kageyama has always been supportive of Hinata's growth, hence all the moment of "you can jump even higher". In their first encounter, I believe Kageyama was amazed and shocked by Hinata's pure athletic talent that he thinks he doesn't have. He asked Hinata what he had beem doing in the last 3 years probably means Hinata should have been much better with that level of innate talent (that Kageyama thinks he doesnt have)
You can see how everyone in the show just remembers Kageyama being a genius without mentioning how hard he train.
Yeah, so I generally agree with some things, I disagree with others. First off, as you relate to Kageyama the most, I actually relate to Hinata quite a bit for different reasons, so again, I'm probably biased.
I mean luck in a different way. Just the randomness, the chances that you've had that others didn't simply have because of the environment and other factors.
What you've said about the expectations that people put on talented kids, I think that's often true, but I'm not sure that applies to Kageyama. Kageyama is really aware of his talent, and he works hard at the same time, because of his incredible passion for the sport. Again, true, people almost never say that Kageyama works hard as well.
Also, to talk about Kageyama's improvement, during the series, i don't think Kageyama has to improve much technically, he's shown to be already very skilled from the beginning, and he knows that, it's more about mentality, and communication, and other things. So I don't agree that Kageyama doesn't think he has that innate talent. It's just that he thinks he wasted three years doing nothing.
Yeh but that kind of external pressure discourages a lot of gifted kids from trying, which you can see in real life a lot of them just give up. You will see the scenario of "oh the smartest kid in my class is not that great now" all the time. The fact that Kageyama pulls through all that, and how he was rejected in middle school to keep going with volleyball proves that he is worthy of his success for trying so hard, and that he is better than the other "gifted kids"
My point is what you see as kageyama's luckiness is also his unluckiness. I still agree with you that he is "lucky" in a way to have good condition of upbringing, and he knows how much his family drives him. It's just a bit unfair to say that he is ungrateful for his situation because he does acknowlege his grandpa. The reason I relates to Kageyama the most is that the thing I hear the most whenever I did something after so many hours of hard work is oh yeah of course you can do it because you're just smart. Kageyama clearly doubts himself after what happened in middle school, that's why he treasured his friendship with Hinata and I don't think anything he says to Hinata is ill-intended, and Hinata knows it the better he knows Kageyama. Kageyama is so aware of his skill that he became a goody two shoes and lose his sharpness in volleyball. so in a way he is unaware of his insecurity even though he may seems confident to you. That's why I acknowledge him for his hard work and his determination to pull through hardship while I don't think he is ungrateful for his family situation.
Hinata had the opportunity to make his own luck but he was too proud to put his ego aside. If he trained with the girls team for 3 years he would have at least been able to learn some basics. He could have looked for a club outside of school. His lack of time in volleyball is his own doing.
Kagegama is right to question why he's wasted so much time all these years. Almost all players aren't going to be as lucky as Kageyama was but they went out of their way to find a way to still play.
Maybe, but at the same time he had passion and talent, but no direction and support from anyone else. I don't think that's a small thing.
I also don't agree that almost all players went out of their way to find a way to still play. Many already had an environment that supported that, or relationships that helped. Kageyama's backstory, Oikawa with Iwaizumi since they were young, Ushikawa and his dad, Kuroo and Kenma, Atsumu and Osamu. They were more lucky, and had an environment where they could grow.
Are we talking about when he’s like 11-13 years old here?
I wouldn’t mention “ego” for a kid at that age but who knows
I disagree with this take. No pro-level athlete will realistically think of themselves as lucky to have started out younger or in an environment conducive to their sport because, realistically, most if not all pro athletes started out super young and had somebody very supportive of them. Hinata is a freak exception, and most people well-versed in sports, especially volleyball, agree that Hinata's story is unrealistic and would most likely never happen in real life. This is not to take away from the anime-- fictional stories should be a bit unrealistic to be entertaining. But Kageyama's background is honestly less supportive than most athletes of his level (no parents pushing him to practice, no supportive coaches or teammates, no older siblings who continued pursuing the sport).
During the ballboy arc, >!he asked Ushiwaka what he thinks about when receiving. We would later find out it's about the follow up attack.!< On the surface, it seems like this helpful advice was merely handed to him, but another way of seeing it is that Hinata took it for himself. He was shown to seek receiving help from Nishinoya early on, but a libero who doesn't attack couldn't have given him that advice. Just after the practice match with Date Tech, >!he asked Kageyama the same question, but only got an unhelpful answer of how he would kill the ball!<. This idea would later be reinforced in the >!Brazil arc!<.
Had Ushiwaka not given him that advice, Hinata would have gotten it from someone else. We would see this pay off in the final arc.
In short, this improvement wasn't given to him, but rather earned through his initative. This might be obvious in hindsight, but easy to miss as I only noticed it during a rewatch.
It's part of Hinata's character, his goal is getting better and he does so by recognizing that he has a lot to learn and he gets advice from everyone about everything. I don't personally think he views people as rivals in the traditional sense of people he has to dislike "frenemies" as it were. I think he views them at people who can help him get better, because he never thinks he is better than the rest even at the end.
Nice connection!
!he asked Kageyama the same question, but only got an unhelpful answer of how he would kill the ball!<
It's helpful, just in a different way. >!Kageyama is a setter so his first thought is to how to make it the best dig for whoever has to set the ball!< because >!what use is thinking about your potential next attack if you don't focus on the dig and mess it up in the first place and don't even get to attack because of that?!<
Both points are important.
In short, this improvement wasn't given to him, but rather earned through his initative.
That's a mixed bag.
His initiative varies throughout the series (from being non-existent to being insatiable) and focuses on different things, often causing him trouble in a variety of ways. In middle school he doesn't do much but coasts and even after his match with Kageyama and when he takes his words at heart and wants to improve he does little with it.
Similar with everything beside spiking. He should have spent a lot of time on his fundamentals even if he focuses on spiking (simply by being a volleyball player, and not getting excused from other practice to solely focus on spiking, and necessarily playing back row during Karasuno practice matches) but it only becomes a thing he focuses on during the ball boy arc.
Somehow he managed to avoid learning anything about floor defence (while spending half of the match with the other substitutes) without getting "a talk" from the coach about about it. And the worst of it is that Ukai is written to blame himself for Hinata's single minded spiking focus to deflect blame and from the main character.
Also: >!The whole time skip and how it implied that Hinata learned nearly nothing in those following two years, besides being able to receive Kageyama's serve (a callback to their first meeting at Karasuno). For somebody this driven, with that much initiative, and who saw in Hoshiumi how much further he has to go, you'd expect him do much better than stagnate so a Brazil training arc seems like a reasonable option.!<
Whatever his drive or initiative is, the narrative plays it up or ignogres it as needed. There's a lack of consistency to how all-encompassing his single minded drive is supposed to be.
Our most favourite freak duo, excelling in most of the matches and bringing us surprises just like the opponents start gawking when they see their notorious quick attack.
Despite the fact that we know Kageyama and Hinata are sure the best Duo there exists, it's often seen from a standpoint inside of the court and not based on other factors.
In today's blogpost I want to present you 10 reasons why Kageyama and Hinata’s friendship is underrated and what more there is behind the amazing duo.
1) Rivals
Rivals?
Yes, rivals despite that we started this blogpost with friendship, teammates and duos Kageyama and Hinata’s relationship goes beyond the normal and simple friendship as seen in the later episodes.
They already started off as rivals but over time were forced to become a team, putting their rivalry aside seemingly being friends, yet the rivalry which they started off with never disappeared completely. Rather it was molded into something more complex as the grudge and negative feelings as well as the respect towards each other grew into a brighter light.
The rivalry that was casted aside still lingers in both of them and took another form, the respect that both of them do not show openly to the other person is the thing that drives them to always compete against each other and not wanting to fall behind despite that they both need each other in a game as like two gears that interlock.
Even in season four Kageyama is only seen to show his competitive side towards Hinata as he utters the words “I am going ahead” to Hinata prompting and challenging him as he left for the All Japan youth camp, which Hinata didn’t take as boasting but accepted the challenge and made sure to do something on his own as well.
Both of them show us the healthy amount of being rivals yet friends in a friendship that drives them to not sit down, but rather compete and always be the best versions of themselves in front of the other, starting from rivals on different sides and developing into rivals that work on the same team, pushing through their limits.
2) Partners
Rivals and friends is something we already established now, but there is one more thing that represents the relationship of Hinata and Kageyama, partners.
As Hinata mentioned in season two when he and Kageyama were fighting, he explained that he didn’t simply see Kageyama as a friend or teammate but rather as a partner he never had before.
Partner is a strong word that Hinata used to emphasize their relationship, because partners go beyond friendship, people who understand each other and seem to have close ties as they do not simply hang out with each other but are a big part of the other person’s life.
Which can be very accurate in their case, Kageyama was able to find a place he belongs to through Karasuno, but in order to completely fit into that place he mainly needed Hinata to do so since Hinata seemed like someone who didn’t take Volleyball seriously proved that he can be a very useful asset to Kageyama.
And from being an asset he became a valuable partner that helped him develop into something much more that opened his eyes, in the post where we talked about Kindaichi and Kageyama we already established why Kageyama failed to become a proper teammate in Kitagawa Daiichi and why it was possible he actually could in Karasuno.
Now to Hinata, he was someone who didn’t have a proper team nor a setter who could make him use his full potential, in Kageyama he found that very person who could give him wings to fly and use his abilities.
Not only that but in other times Kageyama even encouraged him as we see later in the blogpost, that he is just as valuable as the other teammates.
In the end we can see the development in Kageyama and Hinata going into the same direction as Iwaizumi and Oikawa, the ones who ended up like Iwaizumi said, “the partner I can boast.”
3) Do as you say (not)
Why is this point less mentioned than the others?
Because it is an important aspect in friendship to not always follow or do what a friend tells you no matter how much you respect him or how more experienced he looks.
Which is one of the many reasons why Hinata was able to help Kageyama find his footage next to him and become a proper member of Karasuno’s Volleyball team.
Kageyama’s nature of wanting to control everything, commanding people around and make them follow his ways was not possible even from the start in Karasuno, one of them was Hinata who was heavily dependant on Kageyama but still didn’t let him do as he pleases as Hinata is a free-spirit who doesn’t like to get commanded around especially by Kageyama who he started off with in a not so pleasant manner.
The whole fact that even later in season four when Kageyama was having an unstable mind due to him slowly going back to his king of the court mannerism, Hinata did not do as he said until he himself confirmed that they were according to his own match.
Something that may seem as rude mannerism is meaningful for Kageyama because firstly it showed him that there is no need to always come on to an understanding which in the end leads to new possibilities as we saw throughout the series.
Secondly it was more comforting for him to know that they may not listen to him but still accept him as a valuable player who has a sense for things making him an equal rather than putting him on the top of things and spoiling him.
Lastly it takes away the fear of being left behind yet again, since that very mannerism caused his former teammates from Kitagawa Daiichi to leave him alone on the court which made Kageyama deeply afraid of it happening again but since all Hinata does is not caring at all and even start bickering with him that fear was taken from him as he accepted that despite his mistakes or rude behaviour the worst that could happen would be a comment or sarcasm.
Vice versa, Hinata sometimes has weird and impulsive ideas which Kageyama ignores at times for the better, since the former tends to want all the quicks and balls for himself when emerging into a game, letting him forget that he is not the only one there to spike.
Hinata doesn’t have bad intentions; it's simply that he wants to play as much as possible but needs to know his limits as well, as a team consists of 6 people.
4) One Brain
We know that fundamentally Hinata and Kageyama are totally different in the way they approach people, problems and also their characteristics, still in many occasions we see that they act as if they share one brain.
In any other friendships you may find one friend being the logical one and the other being the idiot sometimes, with Kageyama it seems like he is the logical part of the duo which is not wrong since we see that he mostly relies on the facts and what he sees, in this blogpost you get to know more about how Kageyama works in depth but for this blogpost we won’t use the MBTI as indicator for their relationship.
That Kageyama is not as logical as we see him on the court is clearly visible when exams come around, which Hinata also commented as Kindaichi asked him how Kageyama is doing and he answered that he is fine as long as there are no exams.
But also when it comes to common sense Hinata and Kageyama do look like they share the same thought process and easily agree as they share the same opinion and way of handling things.
For example, they do not get as nervous when a strong opponent approaches as they grow rather excited and take up the challenge, which they also state simultaneously sometimes or contribute their affiliation to what the other says when talking to the other team members.
In other cases Kageyama even states that Hinata doesn’t need to tell him certain things since he already knows and thinks the same way too.
Considering the academic career they both are more on the athletic side instead of using their brain muscles, so both of them react the same way when they have supplementary classes (which they also have to attend together), don’t get complex explanations as seen when Takeda talks in metaphors or visualizes something through his words, as well as they easily misunderstand things sly people try to tell them in order to provoke them but they simply don’t get them.
Concluding that despite their constant bickering, Hinata and Kageyama are much more similar than one thinks.
5) Without Words
Did you ever experience being in a room with your friend or someone you are close with, and instead of openly saying what is going in your head there are no words needed before you see them react to your reaction?
Kageyama and Hinata no matter how loud they may seem at times have several moments in which they are completely silent and only need their expressions or gazes to interact with each other.
May it be the urge for an attack, the feeling of excitement as they see a new challenger or going for a competition.
All they need is a gaze of affirmation and a nod to get going.
This is only possible if both are aware how the other feels and thinks about several processes, meaning that only in an established friendship where mutual understanding exists there can be exchange without words needed.
Hinata knows how strongly Kageyama feels about his pride and how competitive he is and also Kageyama knows how important it is for Hinata to play and be in constant movement, wanting to be seen as well as he without Hinata mentioning starts to talk about how important the strongest decoy is since he knew from one look what Hinata was thinking.
A way of communication that is often overseen when looking at the loud duo and very important in a friendship.
6) Your enemy is my friend
Just like they get along very well at times, Kageyama and Hinata are most likely to be found bickering or making fun of each other.
When an additional party enters the discussion it is very often seen that one of the two suddenly switches sides when the other gets attacked and only waits for an opportunity to make fun of each other.
Examples would be when Tsukishima is being sarcastic and starts bickering with Kageyama as Hinata is ready to add another slight comment to it or even push the drama.
But not only inside of Karasuno it is seen that either Kageyama or Hinata sides with another person, as seen in season four Kageyama joins in his little chit chat and uses it to make fun of Hinata and talk about the things he doesn’t like about him right in front of him leaving Hinata no chance to retort despite Atsumu being an enemy.
Still it never causes any grave damage but is a way to communicate with others as well as taking advantage of being able to shoot their friend down once in a while.
7) Push the limit
If a friend is not there to push you once in a while, who would do it then?
Challenging oneself is one thing but being challenged by someone you respect and view highly is another.
Kageyama and Hinata are very competitive and in constant competition against each other despite being in the same team as we saw before, but still there is a slight difference in the way they compete.
Of course, they want to be the one who wins in the end but if the challenger is not giving enough effort, where would be the fun?
Kageyama who saw Hoshiumi’s jump was impressed but not surprised since he already saw how Hinata jumps, yet he uses Hoshiumi as a reference and tells Hinata about him, so he could learn from it and become even better.
He describes the jump to him and they both are about to learn how to make use of it in order to enhance Hinata’s jumping ability which Hinata himself may not have realized that he could develop further but due to Kageyama giving him that push was even an option to begin with.
It was not only that time but many others where Kageyama wanted for Hinata to go beyond his own abilities, for example using his agility to become the best decoy or learning how to use the quick attack.
On the other hand, Hinata who already viewed Kageyama is making quick and big progress which everyone is watching, he fears that stopping for a moment would make him lose his head-start in his Volleyball career.
Hinata’s fierce nature, happy-go-lucky attitude and many other characteristics is something that Kageyama observes and we often see him being a bit irritated if he cannot communicate like Hinata does, example would be Tsukishima who is also a first-year and in the same team.
Through Hinata wanting to become more independent in how he spikes the ball Kageyama also learned valuable information as he pushed forward for Hinata’s sake and enhanced his own accuracy and ball handling to be able to properly toss the way Hinata wants it.
8) Even if you are not there
There is a saying that a true friend is the one who even defends you when you are not there.
If we take that and look at Hinata and Kageyama we often see that despite their bickering, insults and differences there were often times where the other had to talk about the one who is absent.
When Hinata is not there Kageyama might drop one mean comment or two, but he will always make sure and appreciate that he has Hinata around him when he is absent, he uses other people even as reference as he thinks of Hinata and how he could help him.
He also mentions he knows someone who can jump even higher and can match his tosses, as he in his own way praises Hinata.
The same goes for our smaller crow, when Kageyama is not around he may imitate him and describe him in ways where people would consider if that Kageyama he is talking about is really such a good person but he also will always state how amazing he is and that he is one of the best setters he had ever met, nobody matching him in his eyes.
One instance would be Kenma in season one when Hinata met him for the first time and talked about how he plays Volleyball with an amazing setter.
All in all, they may not be honest when facing each other but when the other is not around Hinata and Kageyama do not shy away to praise and compliment their friend, even if the other one is not aware.
9) Ultimate trust
Closing one’s eyes and putting your trust into that person is the next point that literally involves our two crows.
Hinata’s full trust in Kageyama was seen as he hit the ball with closed eyes only jumping and leaving the rest to Kageyama as he delivered the ball right to his palm.
Does only Hinata trust Kageyama then?
No, Kageyama couldn’t do that if he wouldn’t believe and firmly know that Hinata would jump the fastest and highest with all his might to be there at the right moment.
The freak quick that we see in the first two seasons is something that was only possible because both of them trusted each other and couldn’t be handled otherwise.
Even later on when they changed the quick and it became a much more individual training in which both of them had to give their best in order to make it work, Kageyama needed to learn a special way of tossing the ball so it would be easier to hit for Hinata.
Hinata stated that he believed that Kageyama surely would do it and that he doesn’t doubt that fact even if he needed a bit of time.
Kageyama also is sure that Hinata would work hard and do his best to not miss a ball or chance to hit his tosses.
It’s also seen whenever Kageyama needs a bit of time to get used to a match like in season four Hinata is waiting with anticipation until he is ready not getting tired of waiting since trusts that Kageyama would surely come back to them.
When Hinata told Kageyama he was a ballyboy while he was in Youth camp, Kageyama simply grinned fully aware and believed that Hinata did a lot more than being a ballboy since he knew his partner very well that he cannot sit down.
That’s why in the end when it comes to ultimate trust, Hinata and Kageyama are one of the best duos that implement it.
10) Perspective shift
Last but not least, shifting one’s perspective.
If humans constantly interact but have no impact on each other it would be quite confusing to see that someone has no effect on another person especially when considered as a partner.
Same goes for Hinata and Kageyama.
Let’s start with our human tangerine first, someone who was not able to play in a team before, lacked technique and never imagined he could possibly stay so long on the court despite having such a big dream and working hard.
But with Kageyama as Hinata said, he was able to fly since he sends him the perfect tosses he needs and also made it possible for him to become an asset for Karasuno not only in agility but also after seeing how much he can bring out of himself having Kageyama around working on his own abilities from season two onwards.
With Kageyama leaving him for a week in season four and seeing how much he still lacked was as well a realization that hit Hinata hard, he firstly started to realize his own weaknesses through Kageyama once in middle-school and again in the ballboy arc, secondly the appreciation and fun he had with Kageyama was now something he is much more aware of.
Turning the wheel and looking at Tobio Kageyama, we also see a big difference from what he was and what he became.
We already made clear that he stopped being the former middle-school dictator but there was another major shift that he gained through meeting Hinata as he asked Oikawa for advice.
Setter, the one who touches the ball the most, the one who is in control.
Yet it’s not like he thought it was supposed to be, the setter is in control and everyone has to adapt, Oikawa made it clear as he as well affirmed that through Hinata Kageyama started to change seeing a big difference from his junior, but there was a problem in how Kageyama viewed his position.
“There is one thing you are wrong about, the shrimp is the one in control, not you.”
Those exact words were one of the most important things that made Kageyama review what he actually had to do as a setter and made him develop even more quickly than he already was, polishing not only his relationships with the people around him but accepting the fact that he should be the one accommodating the players around him.
Which he needs communication for and also understanding, something that Kageyama ignored up until that point making him much more open and chatty even a bit more considering when it comes to his teammates.
Something he may have acquired through Oikawa but only because Hinata was at his side in the first place he fully understood those words as he saw the limits despite Hinata being the only one who could hit the balls like he wanted them.
Concluding, Hinata’s and Kageyama’s relationship is much more complex and important than a simple teammate or friend, it is something valuable in which both strive to become their best selves yet need the other to come to that point of understanding which was lacking.
Fundamentally they are both completely different, yet so similar and simple when they want to come to an understanding.
In the end close to Iwaizumi and Oikawa or Akaashi and Bokuto, Hinata and Kageyama sure are the best duo but not only for skills but as we saw in this blogpost for far more reasons.
-Makii
Thank you very much for the hard work you put into this post :) I don't know if the two are really underrated ... I personally like the friendship between them very much. but your summary was very nice to read :)
Thank you very much for taking your time and reading it !
Ah yes underrated is not as in underrated in general since they get their time to shine ofc but for the points in their friendship that many overlook since sometimes I get the feeling people only view them as either Kagehina cutesy pairing or the strongest weapon of Karasuno but there is so much more behind their friendship which makes it beautiful
From this point of view, you are absolutely right :) thanks for the great contribution ... not many people take so much time to put together such a great summary ����
Totally agree their duo is AWESOME but underrated!?!?!? They are the duo of the show. I think they are appreciated.
Love the effort you put into this though.
Haha Thank you! Ah no I didn't mean underrated as in they do not get attention, but some people focus on different things considering their relationship while they have even more wonderful aspects that make the relationship so beautiful
this is exactly what i’m talking about! People sleep on their relationship because they think it’s gay, and even if it is gay, they have something of a special partnership which each other on the court which to me is truly beautiful
Exactly finally found someone who sees it the same way!
I appreciate you writing this and letting us read it!
Thank you so much this made my day, I really appreciate the time you took reading this and commenting making my day better, thank you so much!
Hinata is impossible not to love. He's a Japanese trope, like Gon Freecs: constantly cheerful, positive, encouraging, and loyal. He's like a giant puppy, and most people (even on opposing teams) end up liking him.
Of course, not everyone's going to -- I accept that. But the two characters who seem to dislike him the most make me sad.
[THIS IS WHY I MARKED SPOILER... JUST IN CASE SOMEONE HERE IS REALLY EARLY ON IN THE ANIME]
Tsukki has good reason to dislike Hinata, since his brother was stuck on the bench due to the Tiny Giant. He clearly fears to 'try his best' against Hinata, lest he fail, just like his brother. And I also get that Tsukki just isn't a very warm character. He isn't even overly nice to his own brother or best friend. But over the course of the show, I do wish he'd have warmed up to him a LITTLE bit. By the time he's snuck in to the training camp with Tsukki, he's about as nice as he's going to be. I guess he doesn't hate Hinata but they're never going to be friends. Which makes me sad, because I love Tsukki and of course I love Hinata!
The other one is Kageyama. I sort of see their relationship more as incredible rivals, or best frenemies - they do almost everything together. But there's rarely warmth between them (at least from Kageyama to Hinata. Hinata, of course, is mostly nice to everyone). Again, I get that Kageyama is just a bit of a cold fish and single-minded... I can't imagine having dinner with him or hanging out, because it seems like all he ever thinks about is volleyball. And I guess once in a great while he'll say something "nice" to Hinata (in Japan, saying "thank you" might be considered "extra nice" and shocking but his "nice" moments are really pretty understated by most European standards). But I do wish I could imagine them being "friends" and hanging out outside of volleyball... but like him and Tsukki, I just don't think they'll ever have that relationship.
Just to note the positive relationships, it's basically everyone else: I especially love Tanaka and Hinata's big-brother-little-brother relationship and Hinata and Nishinoya feed off each other like they're cut from the same cloth. Also Bokuto's taking of Hinata under his wing and Hinata being the only person Kenma (and Aoine) can really be bothered with. =) I just wish Tsukki and Kageyama would warm up to him a bit. Honestly, even though I love them both as players and smart characters, they're both sort of duds as people. LOL.
I think Kageyama just didn’t have many friends growing up, so he was the introvert trying to fit in and make friend. Volleyball was all he really had. So he didn’t know how to hang out with people nor talk about anything else.
I’m pretty sure being friends with his team was all new to him
You're probably right. I shouldn't forget that he was the King before, and had no idea how to be part of a team. The fact that he clearly cares about the rest of the team shows great growth for him.
Probably my favorite Kageyama moment is the meat dance, because it's so impulsive, goofy, and charmingly awkward for him. It shows he's part of them all, not just an angry lord ruling the court anymore. =)
It was him trying to fit in with them in a silly way ��
I liked when he was wanting to talk to Kenma to see how he was setting and was thinking all these questions and looked scary and Kenma ran away. It was like he was trying to say something but he didn’t know how cause he never was one to make friends, especially outside of his team
I liked that they got together but I wish that their relationship had a better buildup than just one movie.
I wish that Hinata as a character had better development as well like her getting stronger and eventually changing the way the Hyuga do things.
I think the romance blossoming could have started when Jariya died. She sees how Naruto is taking his death hard and wants to help him but is overwhelmed by her shyness that pops up very loudly every time she's around Naruto.
We get to spend some time with her as she has an inner conflict within herself about how she's always been the way she is, how she wants to be a stronger version of herself for HER. She sees shes in her own way and hates how her own inability to take action prevents her from doing things she really wants to do.
With these thoughts she decides to take the first step to overcome herself and that having the courage to not be as shy and dense with Naruto and support him right now.
She sees Naruto sitting on the bench with the popsicle melting in his hand and decides to sit with him. Asking him if he's okay and he probably tries to say it's nothing but then let's it all out after not being able to keep his emotions in and Hinata doesn't know what to do at this moment. Naruto is crying as if he were a newborn baby and she does the only thing she can do at the time ad that's comfort him. She gives him a hug and holds him, telling Naruto to let his tears flow, and that it's okay to cry.
she even gets him a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen after for Naruto and let's him reminisce about how him and Jariya ate her a few times. She listens intently and carefully and thinks it's sweet. Eventually they start up a conversation, idk what it would be but you could fill this portion in with what you think is fitting.
Hinata offers to walk with Naruto back to his place and he turns it down offering to walk her home especially since it's really late. As they get closer to where she lives Hinata stops at the front of her home and tells Naruto she hopes he feels better and whenever he needs someone to talk to don't hesitate to reach out. She reminds him that a lot of people care about him and don't want him to sit alone suffering. Naruto thanks her for being so kind and listening to him express his feelings on Jariyas death. He even says he will take her out for Ramen one day since she did the same for him and Hinata acts how she usually does and blushes because of those words and eventually they both head their separate ways for the day.
Let's hop to the pain arc where she uh you know does the thing. She's standing in front of Naruto trying to protect him from Pain. Things will remain the same as they were but except after these events Naruto acknowledges her feelings. Seriously guys it's crazy her confession was never touched on until LONG after like wth Kishimoto.
Let's say after the attack he meets up with Hinata and ask if shes okay. He already knows what hes going to ask her and is flustered to ask but he ask her. "Did you mean what you said? When you tried to protect me from Pain...did you really..mean that?" And after a bit of shock with a face full of blush she says yes. (I imagine she has a lot of thoughts running wild like this is your time to CONFESS and some negative thoughts until she quickly turns those negative thoughts down and decides to move forward confidently).
After she says yes Naruto probably doesn't say he outright loves her... but he acknowledges her feelings and that he feels strange being around her but in a good way. Naruto stumbles a bit to Hinata concerned face? Until he says he likes her and from there the timeliness goes the same with moments of Naruto and Hinata spending more time together. Not only that we see Hinata change the Hyuga clan somehow. Stopping the curse marks from being given to any member but also treating all Hyugas equally with love and respect. I would like to think she wants the hyuga to treat even non hyuga with much love and respect as well.
Bam the war arc happens, everything goes the same but that scene where Naruto and Hinata hold hands in the face of overwhelming odds becomes more significant and that these two are going to go through thick and thin in the future.
Now we get to the movie dedicated to Hinata and Naruto but I feel like this is gonna be more slice of life than action and that since Naruto and Hinata are basically a couple at this point Toneri takes Hinata by force and basically tries to force her to be his wife. Things stay the same.
Hinata and Naruto both at this point knew they deeply loved each other and as the story goes they get married and have children.
That's how I would have wanted Narutos and Hinatas relationship buildup to be.
Tbf there was more build up in the manga that the anime excised, specifically on Naruto's end where all the issues with their relationship comes from. At the end of the day this is a battle shounen and not a romance series so the fact they even got a movie focusing on their relationship is already better than what most couples in the genre ever get.
>her getting stronger and eventually changing the way the Hyuga does things.
The whole point in her conflict with Neji is that while he's tormented over his position in the Hyuga clan, she doesn't care much about her expected "responsibility" and frankly wants nothing to do with the clan. They effectively disowned her so their problems are not hers to bear or fix with this grudge carrying over into adulthood where she doesn't visit her father/sister unless it's for a special occasion, proving she does still care about them to an extent but remains at arm's length.
There was less build up in the manga lol they talked like five times during the whole post time skip era
Haven't seen the "they've never even talked to each other" argument in awhile but yes, in the manga there was a bit more build up (I'm talking a couple seemingly minor details the anime removed in Part 1 like Naruto holding her hand after her fight with Neji and later on really wanting her validation for beating him) and a lot less ambiguity over Naruto's romantic interest in general. Pretty well known the anime added mixed signals that weren't there originally.
Easy way to make the buildup better, especially given that she's apparently a fiend for ramen as shown in early Boruto:
Have her visit ichiraku ramen often as a way to escape the pressures of life for a bit, just like Naruto
Build up could have been better... especially after the pain arc... it was completely ignored
Ooooh, lemme add to your story. Let me change the whole dynamic. Instead of team 7 going after sasuke, let hinata replace Sai, and when Naruto goes 4 tails he hits hinata instead of Sakura. And he feels bad but she tells him don’t worry bout it, and it causes him to check up on her frequently. Builds something there, callback to when she gave him ointment after his kiba fight, but he didn’t need it cause ninetails chakra.
(Big nejis been dropping hints too, but Naruto’s dense)
Before the pain arc. let them have a saga about her confessing to him that she likes someone, an being Naruto he’s clueless telling her all the stuff he’d like a girl to do for him, cause he hasn’t had that yet in the story, then she takes it all in but doesn’t say anything to him. And she just thanks him and moves on, he’s like “I hope it works out for ya”.. then boom he’s on the floor she steps in, gets put in the walls of Jericho by pain, he goes 6 tails, but she dies so it’s justified. And when nagato brings everyone back, he sees her in the crowd goes to her and hugs her and cries a lil bit.
Then when the cloud ninjas come and what’s her face is giving Naruto that two piece special with a biscuit for sasuke attacking killer bee, she steps in and forces them to stop. Hyuga main family style. And that causes them to back off. Don’t want a war with one of the main families of the leaf. Then we progress further and then the war happens, neji dies but gives Naruto that final go for it with hinata. Then they hold hands and whatnot finish the war and id change the movie to them already dating. But that’s just me, off the top of the imagination..
Guys do you think as me that there's so much similarities between Hinata and oikawa characters about their passion and love for volleyball? I mean they both not that talented like other players they both work so hard to became better at volleyball..everytime I repeat haikyuu I noticed this ..and I don't if it's just me or there are other who thinks the same way?
I love how they become close friends with each other. So much so that when they meet again in the Olympics, Oikawa yells Hinata's name first and comes over and hugs him.
Nah I loved this
Oikawa and Hinata’s struggles with “lack of talent” are very different. Oikawa’s inferiority comes from a skewed self-perception that he has when he compares himself to others (specifically Kageyama). If you look at him objectively, he doesn’t really particularly lack in talent any more than the other players. He thinks that because he isn’t a prodigy who can set perfectly, that he isn’t talented. Oikawa’s character arc is more about him learning to get over his inferiority complex and his perception of himself.
Hinata’s inferiority is much more about how everyone else perceives him; they see him as a short player who lacks technique and experience (which is all true). Hinata’s journey is about him proving his worth by learning the skills he needs to build himself up as a player, so that he can stand on equal ground as his rivals.
Hinata’s inferiority is much more about how everyone else perceives him
and about him starting the sport later than most and always feeling the need to catch up.
Hyakuzawa and Lev are probably the only character who start at a similar time. Hinata technically starts before them but not seriously.
My 2 favourite characters of Haikyuu. Love them. I hope the studio respects and does a decent final movie. It would be sad if not.
Yeah that was unexpected and wholesome
So the controversial big fight between our fav duo happened in >!S2 ep 5. They finally started talking to each other properly after 3 whole weeks during the last day of Summer training camp, when they evolved freak quick finally worked!! !<Then end of S2 (ep 25), Yachi reflects on the time she helped them practice and they fought....but they both don't recall the fight that happened between them.
Do they really or remember or were they pretending not to remember as they were embarrassed?
Its difficult to believe that they don't remember as, >!tears were shed, Kageyama talked the most to Hinata and they suddenly didn't.....they couldn't even sit next to each other in the bus (n they always sit together during bus rides)!<
What do u guys think?
They don't consider it a fight. It was a constructive discussion that led to improved play for both of them. The yelling and anger were just necessary to communicate, there was no malice.
I agree, but people don't know what they're saying, if they don't know volleyball (when I say they don't know it's to say something xd) they think they're idiots when their way of communicating is yes, let's see if it's true it could be a fight and no or a strong argument in volleyball it could be yes too and no JSHAHAHA, it hurts yes, you don't know how to tell yourself if the discussion is necessary or not but if it was thanks to that then it's wonderful if one realizes how the other feels and one also helps oneself by talking things at least there is communication 🤣 whatever way it is I piss myself
They're idiots.
Getting hit in the face by high speed balls doesn't help on this part.
Lol XD
the pfp made this comment so much better
the only correct answer
Cause it’s not that much of a big deal for them and their brain only knows volleyball.
Only thing in their brain is volleyball
there brain is a volleyball, looks big, but empty and full of air, and constantly pounded
they got over it because they worked out their problems through volleyball. its like how naruto and sasuke "talk with their fists". these guys communicate with sport
Hinata and Kageyama relationship development
Key Considerations on Hinata and Kageyama's Relationship Development:
Initial Rivalry: Hinata and Kageyama start as rivals, with Kageyama's strict and serious demeanor clashing with Hinata's energetic and enthusiastic personality. This rivalry sets the stage for their growth.
Mutual Growth: Throughout the series, both characters learn from each other. Hinata's determination and instinctive playstyle help Kageyama loosen up and become more adaptable, while Kageyama teaches Hinata the importance of precision and teamwork.
Trust and Communication: As they train and play together, their relationship evolves from rivalry to a strong partnership. They develop trust in each other's abilities, which is crucial for their success on the court.
Key Moments: Significant moments, such as their collaboration during matches and training sessions, highlight their evolving dynamic. The "quick attack" becomes a symbol of their synergy and understanding.
Supportive Friendship: By the end of the series, their relationship matures into a supportive friendship. They respect each other's strengths and weaknesses, showcasing a deep bond that goes beyond just volleyball.
Takeaway: Hinata and Kageyama's relationship is a central theme in "Haikyuu!!," illustrating how rivalry can transform into a powerful partnership through mutual respect, growth, and teamwork. Their journey emphasizes the importance of communication and trust in any relationship, whether in sports or life.
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