"I remember exactly who you are."
Of course you do, Kageyama, of course you do.
This week, rainbow and em cover season 1, episode 2 'Karasuno High School Volleyball Club' and talk about the amazing Karasuno senpai, go into detail on the early stages of kagehina's rivalry, and do a character spotlight on everyone's favorite sunshine boy. Over in the spoiler zone, em shares a sad headcanon and rainbow talks about connections to other characters. Finally, they discuss what kind of fandom nerds the characters in this ep would be.
55:38 - Spoiler Zone Begins
1:04:40 - Spoiler Zone Ends
Podcast Socials:
twitter
bluesky
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Email us at flyhqpod@gmail.com
Transcript available on our website, if not included in your podcast app: https://flyhqpod.buzzsprout.com
If you have the means, please consider donating to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Humanitarian Fund
"I remember exactly who you are."
Of course you do, Kageyama, of course you do.
This week, rainbow and em cover season 1, episode 2 'Karasuno High School Volleyball Club' and talk about the amazing Karasuno senpai, go into detail on the early stages of kagehina's rivalry, and do a character spotlight on everyone's favorite sunshine boy. Over in the spoiler zone, em shares a sad headcanon and rainbow talks about connections to other characters. Finally, they discuss what kind of fandom nerds the characters in this ep would be.
55:38 - Spoiler Zone Begins
1:04:40 - Spoiler Zone Ends
Podcast Socials:
twitter
bluesky
instagram
tumblr
Email us at flyhqpod@gmail.com
Transcript available on our website, if not included in your podcast app: https://flyhqpod.buzzsprout.com
If you have the means, please consider donating to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Humanitarian Fund
Hello everybody and welcome to Fly a queer Haikyuu podcast. My name is Rainbow.
em:And my name is em. I was ready.
rainbow:You were absolutely ready. You definitely didn't have to look over and grab that mic. [em] Oh no, things aren't falling apart. We're fine, Everything is fine.
rainbow:[rainbow] Everything is just fine Because you are here for our episode two, where we will be discussing season one, episode two, Karasuno High School Volleyball Club. But first we have some housekeeping to do because, um, we recorded episode one and we were so excited that we completely forgot the format of our show that we had decided. So we have a few things we're going to be doing in this episode that we meant to do in episode one and we plan to do in episodes moving forward. So one of those things is our character spotlight, which I think we mentioned in episode zero that we won't be doing a character spotlight every single episode, but when a new significant character is introduced and we want to talk about them, we're going to spotlight them. So you'll find out who that will be later on in this episode. We also forgot to do our fun who in HQ scenario that we were really excited about. So we will be doing that at the end of the episode after the spoiler zone.
rainbow:One thing is, we could not pronounce the name of Hinata's middle school last episode, so I looked it up. It's Yukig aokai is the name of Hinata's middle school. I'm pretty sure that's how it's pronounced. I looked up the hiragana to make sure I was getting that pronunciation right. But I'm also American and barely know Japanese at all, so that could be wrong, but that's the best of my ability.
em:Although at some point you need to brag about your Duolingo levels with Japanese. [rainbow] Yeah, it's Duolingo, though, so I still can't hold a conversation.
rainbow:I do think I could find my way to a train station or a hotel, but yeah, I'm a linguist nerd like a linguistics nerd, and one day I am going to grab hold of this microphone and talk about the Japanese language at some point. But that day is not today, because we have lots of other things to talk about, including something else I forgot to mention in last week's episode, which is regarding, at the very beginning, when we see the little giant on the national stage on the TV and he's going to spike the ball, we see somebody do a back set to him. It's somebody with a bald head and the number two Karasuno jersey, and I was wondering if that's Ukai. Maybe that's something people know and that's out there and we just haven't been aware. But we know Ukai plays on the same team as the little giant, right, like they were on the same team. Do we know that? I think they were there in the same era. At least they were there in the same era, and so I wondered if that was Ukai, because you know, furudate loves to just slip in a little like, hey, this seems like it doesn't matter right now, but then it's going to matter.
rainbow:So I wondered about that, and if anybody else is aware, or they know for a fact, or they've had that idea as well, why please hit us up on social media and send us an email, because I want to know if you also thought this. So now that we've got an hour housekeeping out of the way, we are going to move on to our next section, which is the 30 second recap. And now, listeners, last week I did the 30 second recap very badly and, to be fair, I was doing it off the cuff. I was just doing it straight off the dome piece, if you will. Just remembering things in the episode, I think I probably made it through the first like five minutes of that episode, really. But em is doing the recap this time and she pre-wrote it, which feels a little bit like cheating to me.
em:Maybe I forgot that we were just doing them off the cuff, I don't know. And then as I was watching it, it just came to me and I started to write it down. So we're going to try both ways. We agreed. And then you guys will like put up a poll in a couple weeks and you guys can kind of vote which one you prefer. Do you want us to just go off the cuff and do our best or do you want us to pre-write them? You know, we'll give you a taste of both.
rainbow:All right, all right. So I will count you down. I will say one, two, three, go and on, go. You start your recap. [em] Okay, I'm ready. [rainbow] One, two, three go.
em:Here we are at episode two. Hinata has lost the one and only volleyball game he got to play in middle school, and now he has a new goal Get strong at Karasuno so he can beat the king of the court. Only, it looks like the king is also at Karasuno and the blue of his eyes is deeper than any ocean. We also get to meet our wonderful senpais the strong Daichi, the sweetie Suga and the bad kid Tanaka. Hinata, in all his earnest naivete, claims himself to soon be Karasuno's ace, which sparks yet another argument between him and Kageyama when he tells Hinata if he's going to talk big.
rainbow:You know I'm not going to lie, I really was loving that recap.
em:Thank you, Thank you, maybe 30 seconds isn't enough.
rainbow:Maybe 30 seconds isn't enough. Maybe I'll do. Maybe we can play around with 60 seconds. Maybe I'll put that in a poll. I'll put that in the poll as well. Do you want us to do off the cuff? Do you want us to do pre-written, or do you want us to change it up to 60 seconds instead of 30 seconds?
em:Yeah, tell us what you want.
rainbow:Yeah, it's all for you babies. [em] Can I finish it? I guess is that not fair, because you didn't finish yours. [rainbow] No, I didn't get to finish mine, so I don't think you get to finish yours, but maybe we will release your recap in a thread when this episode is posted.
rainbow:Does that sound good? Yeah, so we start off. We end up right where we ended in episode one, with Hinata pointing at Kageyama and shouting what are you doing here? Because he cannot possibly believe that the king of the court is at the same school as him. And I think Hinata's memory of Kageyama is hilarious. You can see his thoughts and it's just mean scowly Kageyama just being like what have you been doing the last three years? You're dumb, just being mean to him. And at some point later in this show we get to see Kageyama's inner mind and how he pictures Hinata. So I want us to keep note of this moment.
em:Yeah, I have a headcanon too, the way they probably thought about each other since that first match, because Kageyama says I remember you, even though he doesn't know his name, although I like to have a little headcanon that because all of his friends at the time were calling him Shochan. I don't know if I mentioned this in the last episode, but I like to think that Kageyama at least picked up that, so maybe in his head he's been calling this kid Shochan, but obviously he can't say that out loud. But yeah, obviously Kageyama left his impression because he was abrasive and mean. And then Hinata left his impression because he was so like the raw talent mixed with not knowing what the hell he was doing.
rainbow:Also, hinata still thinks Kageyama is like the coolest person who's ever existed. I think that's part of what makes Hinata so angry is that he's so mean. Oh, but he's so cool and he's so good at volleyball and so it just makes him so angry. I like to think that Kageyama just thinks of him as that runt in his head. I like the idea of like oh, shochan, but I like the idea of him just being like at least once a day. I would say he just thinks about that jump that Hinata did and he's like that little fucking runt. But yeah, that moment. Let's not gloss over how Hinata is like oh, you probably don't remember me, but we played a game last year and Kageyama is like no, I remember you, I remember exactly who you are.
em:And that's not usually. Kageyama usually doesn't remember anybody, which will be shown later on in the show. Yes, he doesn't typically remember people.
rainbow:No, no, no, he has. It's almost like he spent the last 15 years smoking weed himself, but we know he hasn't because he's an athlete. Yeah, we also get the first dumb ass from Kageyama to Hinata. That's one of his favorite nicknames for him, does he? Because I again, I'm watching the dub and you're watching the sub. Does he call him a dumb ass in the sub, or was that just a dub thing?
em:I don't remember.
rainbow:Okay, do you know what scene? Like the very beginning, it's like when, it's like their first little, like argument.
em:Well, I know like well I love in the beginning when they first see each other and then Kageyama, who keeps doing this, or in his head he's like there's that amazingly talented guy. And then, out loud, he's just like you're the guy that sucked.
rainbow:Yeah, he just really like, he just doesn't know how to communicate his thoughts and I think there's a little bit of like again. I think we talked about this last episode where, like Kageyama doesn't want to believe that Hinata is like capable of being as good as he is. I think there's a part of him that like won't let himself believe that. And there's, it's, just it's.
em:I don't know. He lost my thought. It's just too good to be true.
rainbow:It's just too good to be true, Um, but also just from the beginning you get to see their rivalry Like they are just the perfect rivals. I love them so much. They just like everything is a competition. They just they and they want to prove it to each other. Like Kageyama, like really doesn't have a lot to prove.
em:I would say no, he's very like self assured. He has that Like. I have a note in here about his easy confidence. I'm like taking on the senpai is in the two on two and all that.
rainbow:Yeah, yeah, he's very I mean, he is very egotistical. Um, I think the read that Daichi has of him in the beginning is right, but like, again, like Kageyama doesn't have anything to prove, but I feel like he has to like it's this weird thing where he has to prove it to Hinata, and maybe we can talk a little bit about that in the spoilers zone, because I that might be connected to something that we learned much later on.
em:I also feel like their dynamic is just so strongly established right off the bat, the way that they do like yeah, they're arguing or whatever, but that's their way of really like lighting a fire under each other and you see that right away and how lost they get in it. And I just think it's also so funny and this will be more apparent as we go on. But, like, overall, like Kageyama is respectful to his senpai and other people and Hinata is really friendly and nice to like everyone except when it comes to each other, and I just love how much of an asshole Hinata turns into just for Kageyama. I think that's special.
rainbow:It's like they have their own special asshole language for each other. I also wanted to. We didn't point this out in episode one, but Hinata loves to receive with his face. It's the best thing for him, I think. He just he loves to just get hit in the face with a volleyball and I think it happens twice in this episode. It happens to him a lot.
rainbow:Yeah, and it happened in. I don't know if they really show it in the anime, but in the manga Hinata talks about how he only received one of Kageyama's serves, and it was just a simple overhand serve. But he also received that with his face, Like even in a normal serve. He's like nope, gotta take it with the face, Okay. So after we get some one-on-one time with Hinata and Kageyama in the gym, we get introduced to some members of the volleyball club, the senpai, also known as the upper classmen, and I don't know about any of you or you in, but I thought Daichi was the coach for the first, I don't know. Three, four episodes, what about you?
em:I think that that makes sense. He has a very coach like era about him and with some of the characters like and I think this goes for the dub as well but some of them, first of all, they just look older, like some of the players that come along look like they have two kids and a divorce under their belt. And Daichi, just he does, he looks older, he also like kind of just sounds older. So I, yeah it makes sense.
rainbow:Yeah, daichi carries himself like a grown man and so I really I thought he was the coach for a long time and to the point where, when Takada shows up in a later episode, I was like, who is this guy? I was like, oh, maybe he's just like they're like they have to have like a teacher who's also on it. And I was like, no, that's like the only coach they have. But Daichi basically is the coach and that's the thing is. I think Daichi kind of is the coach, though, like Takada doesn't know anything about volleyball. Daichi is the captain, he's the leader, he's always been a leader and he steps up to the plate and he like does his best. But he understands that they need a real coach. So I think it makes sense that that vibe comes off of him and that's what people read into the story.
rainbow:Yeah, for sure. Okay, so we meet Daichi, or what did you say?
em:I said the serious Daichi, the serious Daichi, the sweetie Suga, the sweetie Suga or the strange Suga, really, because he gives a lot of weird faces, in this one especially. And then the bad boy or the wannabe bad boy Tanaka.
rainbow:Okay, and this is something else that we have to talk about. You pronounce his name the way that you pronounce it.
em:Well, I kind of like Tanaka or Tanaka, Tanaka, yeah.
rainbow:I just go with Tanaka. She says Tanaka and they're both, I think, kind of accurate. But I don't know, because for me I hear Tanaka in the dub and in the sub and I don't really know which one is right. My ears are not good at telling those differences.
rainbow:Yeah, I mean it's fine If you hear Tanaka or you hear Tanaka, we're talking about the same character and his name has three syllables. It's Tanaka, so it could be Tanaka or it could be Tanaka. It really just depends on where you're putting the emphasis, and I personally don't know where you're supposed to put the emphasis.
rainbow:So if anybody knows if anyone speaks Japanese and has an answer for us. We're always looking to learn, anyway, but I fucking love him. He's just, he's such like. He's trying so hard to be such a jerk and he's trying to be like. This is how you are when you're an upperclassman. You're an asshole and it's just like. And Suga and Daichi are like stop, you're so dumb. I also thought Tanaka was a third year for a while, because he's with the other third years.
em:Yeah, I could see how that would be confusing.
rainbow:But no, he's a little second year and I think you can kind of tell, once you know, you can see the way that Daichi and Suga act with him and the way that he defers to Daichi and Suga as well. I think you can tell that he sees them as Senpai and they see him as Kohei. But I will say it's interesting, and this happens so often with Hinata, especially in the beginning, until he starts making waves, but these three come in and they're just focused on Kageyama. They don't even really notice that Hinata is there. Hinata is very overlooked and they're just talking about Kageyama and they're talking to Kageyama and Hinata will not stand for that. He's in the background, like maybe they don't hear me, maybe they don't see me, and he's like, hey, I'm here too, which is just so, hinata of him.
em:What Hinata really has to do through most of his first year is be like hello and really force his seat at the table, which I like better.
rainbow:He really does. Yeah, it's wonderful. And as soon as they notice him, suga and Tanaka are like oh yeah, you're the little, you're the short kid, that number one. Like you have a lot. Like. Your jumping skills were really good. Like you know, we can't wait to see what you do. And they're just being good, little good senpai.
em:They're very good senpais.
rainbow:And this is when Hinata very proudly states that he will be the next ace of Karasano, which is a bold statement, very bold statement, especially and he doesn't know this, but to say that in front of Tanaka, who's like, excuse me, I'm next in line to be the ace, and kind of, is de facto ace right now, I guess, yeah, okay, yeah, and so. And I think it's interesting because this immediately pisses Kageyama off Kageyama hears this and he's like oh, you think you're gonna be the ace? And I thought that was interesting. And what did I write here? I always said he has a lot to learn. He's really arrogant at first towards Hinata and I will say I don't know how much of the arrogance in particular is for me I'm hearing that in the voice performance in the dub, because the voice of Kageyama is doing a little too much for me. He's going a little too far. But what about you? Would you say that Kageyama comes off as arrogant when he's talking to Hinata about this? What's your perception?
em:I feel like he's just very. It's like we've been watching Love on the Spectrum. We've been talking about autism a lot and the adherence to rules and stuff, and I just feel like Kageyama is more just frustrated at Hinata because he kinda wants Hinata just, he's eager and he wants to skip 10 steps ahead and be the ace when he still can't even receive. So I think Kageyama is just frustrated because he's not following the rules of what you're supposed to do.
em:I think Kageyama has a lot in common with Ushijima and Kita in that way. There's a proper way to do things and you have all this talent but you're squandering it because you're a hyperactive little freak that just wants to. You can't just be the ace, you have to work hard at it and Hinata doesn't understand that, because Hinata does not have the same background and volleyball that Kageyama does, and that's another thing, and I think we haven't gotten to this part yet. But when they are thrown out they start to talk about like Kageyama actually realizes how Hinata really has no background and that was his only game, and so, yeah, I think it's more like misunderstanding and frustration from Kageyama's end. The arrogance more comes in when he's like I could just do it all myself. No, you can't. It didn't work and it's still not gonna work.
rainbow:So that's the lesson that he has to learn, but yeah, he's just a kid and he has a lot to learn, and I think sometimes Kageyama's character, growth and development gets overlooked in favor of Hinata's, because I feel like Kageyama's is so much more subtle and it's more like social and emotional and it's not necessarily the focus of the series, cause Hinata is the protagonist, kageyama is the deuteragonist, but it's still so important. You know, I think it's so important to look at Kageyama and the way he grows, because teamwork is just as important as skill, for especially for something like volleyball, where it is a team sport and it's six players on the court and they all have to be strong in order to win. I think I don't think it's here I'm kind of skipping ahead a little bit Daiji says something to Kageyama about like you can't do it on your own, like you're. The volleyball is a game where only one like you can't touch the ball two times in a row. The same person cannot touch the ball two times in a row, and for Kageyama to think that, because Hinata sucks, that he can just ignore him, is wrong.
rainbow:That's not how you are a good teammate and I Kageyama learned learned so much at Karasuno because of Hinata, and from Hinata, but also from everybody else on the team and I'm so excited to get into that. So they fight, yes, they fight, oh. But for we have to talk about okay, we have to talk about two things. Because in the manga, when all of the upperclassmen are talking to Kageyama and they're not playing attention to Hinata, before Hinata even thinks about like oh, they're not paying attention to me, he notices that Kageyama is taller than all of them.
rainbow:That's like a thought he has in his head. He's like wow, Kageyama is taller than all of them, and it's like what are you doing? And I guess that happens in the anime too, but in the manga it's just really like. It's just like a little thought bubble. Before he says anything else, he's just like his focus is always on Kageyama.
rainbow:Yes, always that boy lives in his head around, free for sure, all the time. So they decide to have a competition, because Hinata's like I'm gonna beat you and he's like you're gonna. At first he's like we'll just pass, we'll just pass back and forth. And Kageyama's like how do you win if you're just passing? And so Hinata's like well then you're like, serve the ball to me and I'll receive it. I only got to receive one spike from you last year and now I can do it. I've gotten better. I've trained Because, remember, he trained with the girls volleyball team, he trained with the women's intramural volleyball team.
em:I want an OVA of him training with these women. Yeah, we were robbed.
rainbow:We were robbed of that for sure.
em:Meanwhile. So they're arguing back and forth Meanwhile. Daichi's like hello, guys huh. And the principal's standing there too, like get control of your class. But they're too wrapped up in each other's bullshit right now.
rainbow:Yes, so the vice principal comes in wearing a toupee, which I think most of us spot that immediately, except for one of us, kageyama and so they fight and the volleyball it goes astray and it hits the vice principal in the head. The toupee goes flying off of him and lands on Daichi, which is the funniest thing that could have happened. A thousand comedy points, very sitcom, very sitcom-y. And yeah, they get. And then Daichi has like a half hour talk with the vice principal and I love that they don't get in trouble.
rainbow:The vice principal is just like so embarrassed he's like you can't tell anybody that this happened, like just the delusion of like nobody can know that I'm wearing a toupee. Meanwhile, like when it comes off, kageyama is the only one who's like oh, that was a toupee. And Hinata's like we all figured that out at the entrance ceremony. And Tanaka's laughing and trying to tell them to shut up, and Suga's like Tanaka, you're not helping either, you shut up. It's just. This is like, because I feel like episode one doesn't really have a lot of comedy Because it's so it's about like the game and there's a lot more seriousness.
em:Yeah, you definitely get more of the silly side of the show in episode two.
rainbow:Yes, yeah, it's really when you start to get into like how funny the show can be, which I'm very excited about, I also. Oh, okay, so after I think it's after the stuff with the vice principal happens Daichi talks about how he decided to come to Kurosu. No, because he also saw the same game that Hinata did. It was when he was in middle school and he saw the game where the little giant played and Kurosu, no, went to nationals. And I love that Hinata and Daichi have the same motivation, like they well, similar motivation.
rainbow:Hinata is, it's a little bit more like I want to be the little giant and I want to prove to people that even though I'm small, I can be an amazing athlete. And for Daichi he's like I want to be on a team that wins and I want to be on a team that gets to stand on the national stage, and so they are both compelled to go to the same school for kind of the same reason, or they have the same like similar moment, I guess. And I also think something that you see, because when Daichi gives that speech he's like well, and we're going to go to nationals again, Like we're going to go and we're going to win and Kageyama is like. It comes off very blunt. It comes off like he's an asshole, but I don't think that's where it's coming from. I don't think that's his intention.
em:No, I think this is a genuine question.
rainbow:It's a yeah, he's like well, a lot of teams say that they can do that, say that they want to go to nationals, but you have to mean it. And Daichi gets that like look that he gets where. He's like no, I'm dead serious, we are going to go to nationals. And I think for Kageyama and maybe part of it is because he was on just these teams that were already so good and pulled in so many good players he didn't really get a chance to play with people who had the same drive that he did. I think Oikawa does. Oikawa has that drive. It's almost like a monster drive that they all have. Oikawa has that, but the other people on his team, like Kunami and Kandaiichi, didn't really seem to have that. They weren't at his level. And I think when he gets in Karasano, it's where he finds a team where pretty much everybody has kind of the same level of drive and commitment. And I think Kageyama recognizes that, because as soon as Daichi says that like I think if Kageyama truly were just like this arrogant asshole, he would have dismissed Daichi saying that. But I think he recognizes in Daichi that like oh no, this guy is serious, this guy does want to win and I appreciate that, I like that.
rainbow:I think what happens is Daichi comes in and like they talk about like the nationalist thing, and then Daichi is like trying to talk more about them needing to be teammates and Kagehina just immediately start bickering again. They just they cannot help but fight. And then we get angry Daichi, who we will see quite a few times and is legitimately terrifying. He has several faces that he makes and it's why he's called Daichi. At some point I will make the argument that I actually think Daichi and Suga are both moms for the team, but we can talk about that later.
rainbow:But I do understand why people call him Daichi, because he is just angry. Dad, do not piss him off. And what does he do him? He throws him out of the gym, throws him out of the gym and he locks the door and then Kagehima is like standing at the door. So it's like cutting between Kagehina outside, like arguing with each other, and then inside Daichi, suga and Tanaka talking about it. And at one point Kagehima is like standing at the door and it says I won't fight with him anymore. But Hina does like on the ground behind him because he clearly just threw him away from the door.
em:And it's like Kagehima, you fucking idiot. Well, and he can't lie, because Daichi then opens the door cracking and he's like are you sure? Look me in the eye and say that? And then that's when Kagehima is like I'd rather receive Spike and do everything myself than have to work with him. And then Hina is just like are you dumb or just stupid?
rainbow:I love that part so much, Like Hina is so mean to Kagehima, Like you already mentioned it, but I just love it when he's just like I think in the dub he says are you mean or just stupid?
em:And the way he says it he's just stupid, by the way.
rainbow:And that's the thing is, he is just stupid. I do have to say there is like Kagehima does have so much more like privilege than Hina to when it comes to volleyball. So it is a little bit like Kagehima being so mean to him does piss me, especially in the beginning, does piss me off, because I'm like you don't know. I'm basically like Koji at the end of episode one whenever Kagehima like shouts at him like what have you been doing the last three years? I'm like you don't even know. You don't know what he's been through, you don't know what he's had to deal with to get to this point. He's worked so hard.
em:Well, that's because he's a teenager, and teenagers have a hard time seeing outside of their own experience and perspective. Yes, exactly.
rainbow:It makes sense, like if they were grown adults. It would be even more frustrating, but it makes sense. And I would say and we can talk about this in later episodes but I think within these first few episodes, I think Kagehima figures that out and Kagehima really learns that lesson and it really changes the way he interacts with Hina to when it comes to volleyball, and I'm excited to talk about that. Like again, if Kagehima really were just this selfish, arrogant asshole who's unwilling to change, we wouldn't see the growth that we see even in the first few episodes.
em:Yeah, and so when we're outside he does start to get an idea, because Hina to open up about that was his one game he actually got to play and it's their whole interaction is so funny. I don't know how it goes down in the dub, but Hina to talking about. I used to have to do practice in the hallways and he's like hallways.
rainbow:Yes.
em:And then and then he's like, and then when I was there for the first time I was like gua, and then inside he's like gua. So, like you know, he really he didn't understand that that was really like this is Hina's first real opportunity to really play, so I think that that softens him a little bit around the edges at least.
rainbow:Yes, absolutely, and there's more things coming in further episodes that I think continue to open his mind, and I think that's why, like, we don't talk a lot about we haven't talked a lot about fanfic on these episodes, but I really like fix about this, like beginning time period that are from Kageyama's perspective and kind of like people trying to put themselves in Kageyama's shoes, particularly people who, I feel like, understand Kageyama the way that I do. I think that's it's very interesting to think about, like what Kageyama's thought process is as he's getting to know Hina to as more than just some rival who was standing on the other side of the court, but as like a teammate and a potential ally. Mm-hmm.
em:How does that scene go down in the dub? By the way, the like hallway and the gua.
rainbow:It's pretty much the same. I don't remember if he says the like hallway part, I think it just kind of cuts to his face, being a little like confused and like processing it. But he does say the like gua part where he's like gua, okay good.
em:I just was curious.
rainbow:It's yes, and I mean the. The manga is even more like after everything. Hina to says there's a little bubble from Kageyama where he's like hallway gua, what Um. So that's very cute. But okay, this is also the part where we get introduced to another character and we have to talk about this character's entrance. Oh God.
em:Yeah, we meet Kiyoko, tits first, tits first, we don't even see her face.
rainbow:Yeah, tits, then ass then face, then face, very pretty face, and we don't get to see Kageyama's reaction to her because he probably doesn't have one. But Hinata is a little like Bleshy, he's like, oh, what a pretty girl. And I just hate it. Like we get introduced to Kiyoko in the manga in at the very end of chapter one, which I'll give them credit for this because we don't get to see any of the upperclassmen's face in that first episode, we only see them from the neck down. But in the manga we get to see her face.
rainbow:She's presenting the club forms to Daichi and she's not sexualized in this way and it's just really disappointing because I will say, I think, for a Shonen anime, Haikyuu treats its female characters with a level of respect that you don't always get to see. But this is just. I always kind of forget about this because we don't get this as much, but it is. Yeah, it's just like we see, like they focus on her tits and it's all like shiny and pretty and it's like, oh, here's the girl, here's a pretty girl, and like that's really all she's characterized as, for a long time, is she's just the shy, pretty girl who Tanaka is clearly in love with, and like she wants nothing to do with him, and it's just really disappointing because and she does get more characterization later it's just when we first meet her she is literally just an object for the boys to ogle we don't even know what she really does.
em:Yeah, there's a lot of conversation to be had about how Haikyuu treats women, cause, like I love Yachi and I love that she never gets like paired off with anybody, and but yeah, the way they treat Kyoko is very disappointing to me. Kyoko is a victim a lot of the time.
rainbow:Yeah well, you will talk a lot more about Kyoko and she's like a strong character.
rainbow:I will say one thing I like about her is the cause. It almost feels like it's like this thing where, like it's a Shonen manga, it's a Shonen anime, so we have to show like boys drooling over her. But I think her reactions to it are very interesting and like she doesn't like she doesn't get all like blushy and like, ooh, the boys like me, but she doesn't get all angry and like, oh, don't, don't talk to me, she just very much just shuts it off. She's like no, she's like I don't care about this, she doesn't engage in it, she doesn't indulge in it, and I do think that there is some strength in that and I think that's cause. Personally, that's my favorite way to handle that kind of stuff. I think giving anyone like an outsized reaction is sometimes like feeding the flames, where if you are just like very impassive and just shut it down bluntly like people don't know what to do with that. So I think she's an interesting character. It just makes me sad that she can introduce that way, you just can't escape it with anime.
rainbow:Sometimes you really, you really, I mean it's not even just anime, it's just media. It's media that's geared towards boys and men. There's just often this male gaze that's put on to female characters because of patriarchy and misogyny, and the world sucks for women, but it is what it is. But Kiyoko's here, and she does have. She has an important role in the overall story and there are certain episodes and certain chapters where she has a really important role and she moves the plot forward and certain things in the show wouldn't happen without her, and that matter. She's not just there to be a pretty object, she just also happens to be a pretty object. Yeah, exactly.
em:Yeah.
rainbow:Also just again Kageyama. No reaction to a pretty girl. Tobi-o is just doesn't understand the big deal. He's like well, she's not a volleyball.
em:So why do I care?
rainbow:Why do I care?
em:about that. She's the girl version of me with glasses.
rainbow:Yes, I literally have red fix where they make Kageyama and Kiyoko cousins because they look so much alike and I love that and they're both like quiet, yeah. And then I wrote they're so stupid in reference to Kageyama, but I really should have put why I was saying that. But just, whatever they're doing, they're just dumb, they're stupid idiots.
em:And we love them. So they eventually come up with the brilliant idea of Kageyama, really comes up with the idea of challenging them to a two on two to demonstrate their teamwork. And then it's funny because then we cut back to the gym and I don't know if it's Tanaka who is like I bet they'll challenge us to a three on three or whatever. And then so then they open the door and they're standing there and they're like say no. And then they say at the same time like we'd like to challenge you. It's so adorable. They literally share one brain cell.
rainbow:They're really, it's really cute. Well, cause they in the manga they're like, right before they say it, hina just like don't mess this up. And Kageyama was like you don't mess this up. And then they say at the same time like we challenge you to this, and then they like go to say another thing and they both say like one, two, and then they say it at the same time and they're so in sync and it's so cute and so funny and like the upperclassmen are just like losing their minds to Naka's, just like laughing hysterically as soon as like you guys are so stupid.
rainbow:But Daichi agrees to it. Daichi is like okay, we have two more first years who want to sign up for the club and we usually do like a three on three to test them out and see where they're at. So we'll do that with all of you and there are some stakes for one of them, not for Hinata, but you know. So if they win they both get to be back on the team. But Daichi says if Hinata and Kageyama's team loses, that Kageyama is not allowed to be a setter for as long as Daichi is there, which is only one year but is the worst possible thing that Kageyama could imagine next to not being able to play volleyball at all, because why?
em:Because setter is the coolest position, it's the most dominant, you get to touch the ball the most, so, yeah, so you know he's freaking out about this consequence and Hinata doesn't fully understand why, like, at least you still get to play volleyball. You can do other positions, but Spiker is cooler anyway. And then that sparks this whole impassioned speech about why setter is the coolest thing to do. And you also, like I like to say, like you know Kageyama-Tobio, you have Kageyama and then you have Tobio, and Tobio is like just the cute little volleyball fanboy and you really get to see that when he's like talking about like the game and what the setter gets to do and it's very cute. I love how, like after his little speech, hinata's like okay, yeah, I get it now, like the one. Like, as much as they argue, they do share the language of volleyball.
rainbow:I do feel like there's a little bit of Hinata being like okay, I get, why you like setter. I still think being a Spiker is the coolest thing. Like cause, hinata is always willing to stand his ground. He's not like fully, like, okay, okay, setters. Like it doesn't change his mind. He doesn't want to be a setter. He's like okay, I understand, it's important and I think there's this. There's this kind of theme in volleyball. You know, like connection is so important. Reading the manga really reminds me how much connection is important and at some point we need to talk about when we get to the Nekama episodes. We can talk about them being the team, about connection and how that makes them like the perfect rivals for Karasano. But where was I going with this? Oh, okay, so there's in volleyball, it's like there's no. It's like there's no spikes without sets, but there's no sets without receives. It's all connected, it's all connected, and but there's no receives without serves. Like everybody has to be strong, everybody has to know, like, the role that they play.
rainbow:And a lot of them have to learn, have to eventually learn how to do other things as well, Like they have to learn to adapt and be versatile and it's just, it's cool and that's just always there under the surface is this idea of connection. All of the plays have to connect, but then also all of the people have to connect. And going back to the Kagama yelling about setter being the best position I have cost, I wrote Kagama being too intense about his special interest. He is like like.
rainbow:This is what happens when I talk about Haikyuu. I get too intense about it and I'm like no, what you don't understand, it's about connection. You know, Kakehina should have a volleyball podcast.
em:Oh my God, that would be such a mess. They would just get into arguments.
rainbow:Well, you know, kenma or somebody would be like their editor and would make it sound great. That would really be like be like Rosemary's baby. It's all about the editing. That's a deep cut. Look it up. So when they are deciding to do the three on three match Hina to bring up, he's like wait, there's only two of us, so who's going to be our third player?
rainbow:And Daichi volunteers Tanaka. And Tanaka is like what, I don't want to play with them. And Daichi is just like a little bit manipulative here. Well, he knows how to play his team. He knows that. Yeah, this is why he's such a good captain, cause he's like oh well, I thought a tough guy like you would be able to whip them into shape. And then Tanaka is like oh yes, I absolutely all whip them right into shape. And then he just goes into being like a great Simpai. He immediately helps them.
rainbow:You know like they, kagama and Hina to aren't allowed to use the gym during practice hours, and so they're like okay, well, when are we going to be able to practice? And Tanaka is just like oh, he like really it's what's the term I'm looking for Unskillfully is trying to like give information to Hina, tanaka and Kagama through the window. He's like oh, what time is our practice? Tomorrow morning, 7 am. Oh, so the gym will be empty before then, interesting. And so Kagama and Hina are like okay, tomorrow morning at 5 am, and then we get into their first race. Yes.
em:This is the first time they race. Yeah, they love to race each other. It's really a metaphor.
rainbow:Yes, it very much is. They're always racing each other.
em:They start like running away from the school and then Hina does like wait, I forgot my bag. And then the next other, next morning and this is another thing too where, like I always think about, like these logistical things and shows that I know don't actually matter, but like they decide on 5 am and I guess Tanaka also just knew to show up at 5 am the next morning.
rainbow:Well, I think he heard that. He probably heard them through the window because he was still right by the window. Yeah, it's true. So, like we get kind of like a little flashback to the night before because, like he loves to do it, it's like here's this thing that you could have seen five minutes ago while it was happening, but we're actually going to show it to you at a different time, but it's.
rainbow:Tanaka is thinking about what Daichi said about Kage Hina, because Suga is like, hey, do you think maybe you're being a little harsh on them, like you know, like they just got here, like this is you know they need to learn about teamwork. And Daichi is like, yeah, they do need to learn about teamwork because I think if they can work together, they're going to be amazing. I mean not as amazing as they end up being, but he thinks that they'll be good together. He recognizes that they're soulmates, but he recognizes that Kage Amma is a very good setter who's really fast, and he needs a spiker who can keep up with him, and he recognizes that Hinata can be that spiker. He just knows that they have to get over this block that they have with each other and I think for and I think maybe Suga recognizes that Kage Amma needs to learn that, like, Hinata doesn't have the same privilege that Kage Amma does. He didn't come from a school with a great volleyball team. He didn't come from a school with a volleyball team at all.
rainbow:And I think I also think that because Hinata is mad that he doesn't get a punishment if they lose the three on three, he's like what about me? You forgot about me? Like, oh, kage Amma gets a punishment, which it's like Hinata, shut the fuck up, you actually don't want to get a punishment. But I think that is Daichi recognizing and I think this is true that, yes, hinata is reacting to Kage Amma and is like if he weren't so hyperactive, he could maybe step back and not fight with Kage Amma. But it is Kage Amma instigating this stuff, like Kage Amma is the one who's coming from this place, of not thinking that Hinata is willing to put in the effort, whereas Hinata is like, no, I'll put in the effort, like I can fly, like one more time, like I will go for the ball. And so I think Daichi giving the punishment just to Kage Amma is because he knows he's like Hinata is reacting to Kage Amma. If we can get Kage Amma to stop being such a jerk to Hinata about this.
em:Hinata then won't be reacting back and things will work better, and I think that's absolutely true, yeah, I think, daichi, he sees the potential and is like this is how we're gonna draw it out.
rainbow:Also, just while Daichi is giving his little speech about how Kurasno could be a great team, there's like the scene where, like it's like the wind is blowing and like crows are flying in the background and it just looks so cool. You know, anime is so cool. I think all three of the upperclassmen recognize, you know something in like, see something in them, especially Daichi. And then Tanaka still doesn't quite believe it, but he does, he shows up for them.
em:Well, you know, I think he really respects Daichi too, and that's another thing with like just anime in general. But I was so fascinated by the Senpai and Kohai relationship, especially like here in America. We just don't have that, especially in schools where, like I can tell, there's really like this sense of responsibility that the upperclassmen feel for their lower classmen and it's like we just bully them over here.
rainbow:Yeah, well, there's. It's interesting that you say that because my the high school that my brother and I both went to when my brother, my brother's five years older than me, when my brother was a freshman they had like a senior freshman buddy program where they would have, like you would get for like a week you got paired with a senior and then that senior was supposed to just kind of like help you get to know the campus and like help you navigate things and, like you know, help you socially.
rainbow:but they had to stop that program before I got there because the seniors were abusing it and they were using it as a chance to like bully. The freshman, like my brother, had like kind of like Bieber hair in middle school, like when he went into ninth grade, and like part of like his like senior buddy week thing was. They sat him down in a chair and like buzzed all of his hair off. I think they buzzed it to like a shitty, like like mullet in the back and then he like and he had to wear it Like I think they did that first thing in the morning and they had to wear it all day in school and then he, when he came home, my mom had to finish cutting it off because it looked stupid. But yeah, like they would just do stupid shit like that and it wasn't about like. The seniors just took it as not all of them, of course. I'm sure some of them did take it seriously, but too many of them took it as an opportunity to bully their underclass.
em:Wow, I mean that just highlights the difference between Western and Eastern values, because I was doing some research about this last night, so I know what I'm talking about. But the whole Senpai Kohai thing that's not just in school, it's in offices and it kind of is everywhere because and it's all about age and stuff and part of the reason it exists is to kind of contain the order and the unity in the community. You respect these people and it's a symbiotic relationship. It's not just about Kohais respecting their Senpais, but Senpais are responsible for their Kohais. Like the way that the principal only talks to Daichi about handling his team. Like I said, it helps with the order and the unity and just keeping the respect level there, and we definitely don't have that here. So it's just nice.
rainbow:It's like they have built-in older siblings that really help pave the way to their success really, yeah, I think it's a really interesting relationship and this is a little bit of a tangent, but I've been listening to a podcast lately called Blank Check with Griffin and David and they talked about Brad Bird. They talk about directors' filmographies, and so they were talking about Brad Bird, who directed some of the Pixar movies he did and the Incredibles and Redditouille and Incredibles 2, and a few other things. But when they were doing that miniseries and they were talking about Pixar, they were talking about the first batch of Pixar movies, I think, going up to the Incredibles and Wally and even up. Those were all the original team. It was John Lasseter and this group of people and they were all friends and they all had the ideas and they worked on the stories together, but they did not establish any kind of like.
rainbow:There was no hierarchy and there were no younger creators and directors and animators that they were welcoming in to teach them their ways, and so that's why Pixar kind of has this drop-off period, because they had to start finding new talent, because that talent wasn't being encouraged by the older group of people, and I think having this kind of system in place in your society can be very helpful. I also have a lot of issues with hierarchies in general, but I think having a mentorship is very important and if you want a, if you make an institution and you want that institution to continue, I think it's important to mentor the next generation. And so.
rainbow:I think it's very fascinating that that's built into their society and obviously there are, like anytime that somebody has power over somebody else, that leaves like opportunities for abuse and that definitely happens. I don't see that happening in Haikyuu, which is nice I would say we need to talk about, like I just I love talking about the simpies. I think they're all great. There's one particular Kurosin-O member who I think is the best simpie of all of them, but we haven't met him yet and I will do a character spotlight on him because I think he's the best. But I think Tanaka is a really good simpie. I think they're all just amazing. They all they know that it is important for the younger members to grow and to learn and to be better and it's not about glory for themselves, it's about glory for the whole team. I think that's it for the episode discussion.
em:That's where the episode ends, right? They like race off.
rainbow:Yeah, they race. Yeah Well, the episode. The episode ends with them showing up in the morning for practice and Tanaka having the key. And then, like, tanaka is like having this whole like memory of Daichi and like, in the background, kage, hina are fighting to get into the gym and Hina does like, no, you get behind me, I'm going to get in first. And Kage-O is like you can't be the first one in the gym because Tanaka is already in the gym and Hina does well, then, like why are you fighting? And it's just, they fight just to fight, and I think they also sometimes fight just to touch each other a little bit and they don't recognize that.
em:I think yes we have to talk about boys dealing with not being allowed to show affection in regular ways, so they fight instead. I think that is very much going on.
rainbow:That happens and there's more instances of this. Sorry if you can hear the dog barking in the background. Oh, okay, so I did. I think I've said that I'm reading the manga while we're watching the anime, and so this episode, episode two, is the combination of chapter two and chapter three, and chapter two is called Karasano High School Volleyball Club and chapter three is called Single-Selled Organisms, and I wrote okay, furudate, the library is open because that feels like a read. It feels like he's reading Kage-Oma and Hina for being idiots. Oh, absolutely. And I'm sure that there's some sort of like metaphor for how like, oh, they're single-selled organisms, but once they learn how to like work on a team, they'll be like multi-selled organisms.
em:And then they'll like work better. I think it's just that they're stupid and simple.
rainbow:That's what I choose. I just wanted to offer an alternative reading, just in case I also wanted to go. Going back to the sub versus dub. There are some voices I don't like. I love Suga's dub voice. I think it's perfect. I think it's perfect casting. I think the voice actor knows exactly what he's doing. It's just like it's smooth and it's gentle and I think they I think that's true in the sub as well Like I think his voice again like we don't speak Japanese, so I don't understand the nuances of the language as much, but his voice just seems gentler and I think it works for him. But then he's also capable of being fricking crazy and that's fantastic.
rainbow:And then there's just a few lines that I picked up from the manga. That might have been in the anime as well, but I enjoy it. There's one point where Hinata, when Kagama is yelling at him about like oh, I think Kagama says something like, oh, you don't want to waste another three years. And Hinata says you have no right to make it sound like everything I did was meaningless, which I really love. That that was in the manga. That's in the manga, yeah.
rainbow:And then Daiichi at one point, when he's talking about Kagama and his skill, he says individual talent can carry a team to a degree, but it can't take them to the top, which is and as we as Kurosunoh gets better inserts meeting better teams, we start to see just how true that is. Yeah, oh. And there's a point where Daiichi calls Kagama a diva. He says something about, like, having a diva as a setter is going to hurt us, and I'm like oh, that is such an appropriate word. Kagama is a diva. Absolutely, absolutely, okay, all right, we are going to move now into our character spotlight and we are going to talk about drumroll. Please, hinata, show you from the concrete.
rainbow:Obviously, our main character was going to start off strong, going to start off strong here, all right. So I want to talk about Hinata's name because, as many of you I'm sure are aware, in Japanese they use kanji, they use characters instead of letters, and the individual characters have certain meetings and when you put them together it changes. It'll change the meaning, or the meanings will combine. Also, in Japanese, when you are talking about somebody, you always use their family name first and their given name second, so it's last name, then first name, kind of like in Harry Potter. Well, in Harry pot, well, I guess, not really they call everybody by their last name. Like in Harry Potter. Yeah, in Harry Potter, like when you're less familiar with somebody, you call somebody by your last name Pota, pota. So that's how I'm going to do these characters I'm going to talk about family name and then I'm going to talk about given name. So Hinata Shouyou.
rainbow:For Hinata's family name, the he, the HI means day or sun, and it's very common for that to be in family names. I think he, yeah, he is also in the word for Japan, nihon, and so it's. I think that's interesting that they're there. It's found in the name of the country and it's also often found in family names. And then Nata means to approach or to face, and it's usually found in the verb to face or to go towards, and then combined they translate to sunny place. So Hinata is sunny place. But I really like the Nata being to approach or to face or to go towards, because Hinata has a goal that he's going towards and there's a lot of imagery of him like reaching towards the sun. That's really fascinating.
rainbow:And then for his first name, shou is to fly or to soar, and the kanji is generally used in people's names or as an alternative to the more common Nanji for flight. And that very common kanji for flight is also found in Kageyama's first name and in the Karasenobana and also our pot art as well. And so the show is to fly. And then the yo is sunshine or positive. It also signifies yang and yin and yang and therefore has the connotation of masculinity. So it's funny because we do a lot of in the fandom, we love gender swapping characters, but we just keep their same names.
rainbow:But in reality, if Hinata were born a girl, I think that there would be a different ending on her name, to probably something like maybe, I don't know, I don't entirely know, but I don't think she would have the name Shou, or if she did, it would be like oh, that's kind of weird to give a girl a boy name, I think. Anyway, I don't know for sure. Again, if you do know, please write in. Always happy to learn, anyway. So Hinata Shouyo combined means flying sun, slash positivity, which is perfect, and the source for that is the Haikyuu Reddit. So if that information is wrong, blame Reddit.
rainbow:Nobody's ever been wrong on Reddit before, but you never know, this could be the first time, this could be the very first time, but I also looked at the Haikyuu Wiki. I looked at his character page and I found one quote that I felt really sums up his character, and it says despite his generally bubbly exterior, hinata is also shown to have a serious attitude, particularly when it comes to volleyball. His intense love for the sport is demonstrated through his impressive display of tenacity stemming from his constant desire to improve his abilities. You know, we don't have to spend too much longer on Hinata. I do want to get into his stats a little bit. In the manga, every character gets a little character page that has a cute little picture of them and it gives us a little bit of information. So I'm going to read off a little bit of that.
rainbow:Hinata Shouyo is in class one one. His temporary position is wingspiker, according to this we'll see if that changes. His height is five foot four inches, he's 114 pounds, his birthday is June 21st, his favorite food is egg over rice and his current worry is not being able to palm a volleyball, which means not being able to hold a volleyball with one hand, which, as somebody with very small hands have never, could, never, will never do that. But I'm not worried about it, because probably because I'm not a teenage boy- Trying to make it in volleyball.
rainbow:Yeah, trying to make it in volleyball. This feels like a very teenage boy worry to have. And then it also has his ability parameters which are measured on a five point scale. His speed, his stamina and his jumping are all five because he's amazing, but his power, his technique and his intelligence are all at one, which again the library is open, why you got to read your characters like that. But I think that's accurate. I would say his jumping, his stamina, his speed all at five, everything else being at one. That makes sense, like he's. He just hasn't had the training like the speed, the jumping and the stamina are all just kind of like natural abilities that he has and he has to learn the other things. So that is his current character card. And then I just want to talk a little bit. What do you love about Hinata?
em:I love his emotional intelligence. It's not like really shoved in your face, but the way he seems to like know how to get to the root of an emotional problem with Kageyama, with rivals he's had in the past like he's just, he's just very like no nonsense about it and he doesn't really like, he's not very egotistical at all and doesn't really get in his own way. In that way he's just a really genuine kid and I also really love. I find his attitude towards challenges really inspiring, like I like that he gets excited by challenges where most people would be like, oh, we have to fight against these guys. They're like, oh my God, we get to fight against these guys. I love that I get to do the hard thing. That I think is a really like great way to reframe like facing challenges. So I love that about him and he's just a sweetie pie. I mean, come on.
rainbow:Yeah, his emotional intelligence is great. Like not Kageyama, hinata really cares about other people, I think, and like he's not afraid to show his care and he's just. He's just a little extrovert, you know, but I do like. The reason I wanted to read that quote is because like he is positive and like sunshine and like we all see that in him and I feel like that gets focused on a lot, but he's he is so serious and he is so intense and I think that's such an interesting contrast I love that Furidate did that where we have this like sunshine character and so it's more effective when he turns serious. And he turns like he gets that predator stare.
rainbow:I think that's so interesting and fascinating where because it's just such a contrast where it's like Kageyama is just kind of he's not necessarily one, no, but like he always has like kind of the same like thing going on he's always pretty serious, he's always pretty intense, just in his own way, even when he's being dumb, but Hinata is like a golden retriever. When we get to season two, episode one, we can talk way more about that contrast, because I think that episode has like the perfect examples of both of these things that I'm talking about. So, speaking of things that will be happening in the future, I think it's time we go to the spoiler zone. Let's go.
em:Be boob-a-peep, boob-a-peep. I like that. I mean, the only thought that I had was going back to when he was talking about, when Kageyama was talking about how great it is to be the setter and how he asks Hinata, have you ever been to a live game? When you go and you, like our position behind you, can really see how cool the setter is and I just think about how obviously Kageyama's grandpa must have like brought him to a game and then makes me want to cry. Probably more than one game.
em:Yeah, I'm sure went to multiple games together.
rainbow:Yeah, that's, that's. Yeah. I think about that a lot too. I also like to think that in like second or third year, when Kagehina become closer, I like to think that Kagehima takes Hinata to a game so that they can sit and watch it. I even think, like, sometimes I even think like, after Hinata has his fall, um, like maybe when he can't like play, like they can't like play volleyball with their team like they they used to I like to think that Hina, to like, brings him to a game and is like okay, you're serious now, you're not gonna like you. You know about personal maintenance. We're gonna get this way. Let's go to this game and let's talk volleyball.
em:And, uh, I'm just obsessed with them. That's a good fic idea.
rainbow:Don't, don't think that's already, not already planned. So I have a few things to touch on. Um, so, when I first watched this and I think sometimes even when I rewatch it I always kind of wonder. I was like, oh, is the VP supposed to be set up as like kind of a villain for the volleyball team that's always holding them back, but then he does like turn on them. But I realized that I think the reason he like is checking on them and is like asking about them fighting is because of what happens with Ossinoya.
rainbow:Like we don't find out about until later, but like, just like it's literally like a month before this happens, ossinoya get into a big fight and like break a vase and like the VP is there and I think there's something with his to pay there as well, and so I think he's just got his eyes on the volleyball club.
rainbow:And then when he like I'm sure he's just walking around doing this thing, and then he hears shouting from that gym and he's like, are those fucking volleyball players fighting again? Yeah, I never thought about that. Yeah, I just thought about it last night and I was like through your dots, hey, you did it again Also. Oh my gosh, okay. So whenever Kageyama talks about like he's like I'm not the same as I was last year either and his serve is better Head MD, no thoughts, just Kageyama practicing his serve alone in the gym every day after school for the rest of his third year of middle school, just nobody else to play with, and just practicing his serve and like basing it off of Oikawa's serve, like you can tell, like he definitely he had observed Oikawa so much and then he just practiced and practiced and practiced. Also, kageyama serving to Hinata is repeated at the end of their third year. When we get to the time skip, which because like I think that's the first like volleyball they do together is serving, is Kageyama serving and Hinata receiving, and of course this time gets hit in the face and it's a disaster. But then we get to third year. Kageyama throws the ball, he serves it and Hinata perfectly receives it.
rainbow:Also, going back to the Daichi Hinata connection, there's what we learn in this episode, which is, you know, they both have kind of the same like inspirational moment that made them want to go to Karasano. But then also in season four, daichi has a nightmare that he is the only member of the volleyball team, which is literally was literally Hinata's life all through middle school until his third year. When those first years joined, he was alone on the team, and so I think that's so interesting. I think I read a thick I do not remember the author, but there was a very short drabble that was very much like Hinata going to Daichi and being like, hey, that nightmare you told us about, like that that was my life, like that's how we live, so like I get how scary that can be. And it was kind of like him being like I'm really grateful to have Karasano and to have this team, and just that's something about Hinata is like he just wants to be on a team. And.
rainbow:I think that's why it sucks so much for him, because he has this idea of who Kageyama is. He just thinks of him as this jerk and so like for Kageya. And I think they even touch on this in the very next episode with Suga, where Hinata is like I think he thinks it sucks that Kageyama is on his team because he thinks he's he wanted to be on a team and he wanted to be on people who be on a team, with people who will help him improve. And I don't. I think he doesn't think Kageyama wants to do that. So it's just, they both have to learn to trust each other.
em:Yes, for sure.
rainbow:We also need to talk about Kiyoko and Tanaka, because they are the only canon ship in this, in this whole series, which, you know, if we're going to have a hetero romance or if we're going to have a romance, it's going to be hetero. I feel like we don't really even need a romance at all. I don't really understand why this is here. I think it's kind of weak. I think this is. This happens all the time in shonen anime especially, but really in a lot of media from the West and from the East.
rainbow:That is like geared towards boys and men, where they're like they don't really know how to write romance, they don't know how to write female characters, they don't know how to look at women as people Exactly like yeah, exactly, kageyama and Hinata, like if Hinata were a girl like that ship would like have way more chemistry than Kyoko and Tanaka. And I kind of like, maybe maybe somebody can write an email, somebody who actually likes this ship can like explain to us, like what this ship means to them, because I am genuinely curious, because I don't really get it. But there is something that happens in this episode when Kyoko is first introduced, after we have her tits and ass moment, she walks into the gym and Tanaka is there and he immediately asks to carry her bag. He's like oh, can I take your bag for you? And she's like no, I've got it.
rainbow:But then, at the very end of after nationals, after they lose the game, and Hinata gets his fever and everything, I guess Tanaka has like grown in Kyoko's eyes and he asks, he offers to carry her bag again and she accepts and I guess that's supposed to be our like, that's supposed to be like the sign that like, oh, yes, like she does like him and she does want to be with him, and I think he is like very he's much calmer about it.
rainbow:So maybe that's the thing, maybe like him being so like, oh, I'm so in love with you and like, oh, I just, you're so pretty, maybe, like that really turns her off. But then maybe she starts to feel like his feelings are really genuine after, like he's grown so much throughout the series. It just I don't really get it personally. If you want to like, if you want to explain it to me, that's great. I just I think this happens all the time in things that are made for men, where they're like, well, we got to throw in a romance and sometimes it feels like they're throwing in the romance for the girls, like we got to throw the girls a bone because some of them might be watching, but then we get a romance between two people who don't really interact that much and we don't really get to see them. Like we don't really get to see them having a lot of chemistry or anything.
em:Yeah, I was really disappointed by this ship, honestly, like there's just not enough there, like you said, and like their whole dynamic is just him thirsting after her and her having no interest. So what is my takeaway supposed to be? If you harass a girl enough, she'll find it charming, and then you'll get married like, ah, I did not care for it whatsoever and I don't care about Tanaka's like romance plotlines there will be more to come and it's just like no, I didn't, I didn't ask for these actually. Thank you Actually.
rainbow:I will say in the time skip, like when we see them together, I do kind of like they make a nice couple. I think they look good together and like I do think, like I think Tanaka really does have to like grow out of the like weird, I'm going to be a harasser and maybe this is something we'll see. Maybe he really does kind of slow it down a little bit with that stuff by season four.
em:Well, I'm supposed to like see it as romantic and like I don't think he's like dangerous or like even like super harass II, like I know we're supposed to find out I think you and charming, but it's just like not.
rainbow:Yeah, it's just, it's a problem. We're not big fans, but I just I had to mention it Again. If that's a ship that you enjoy, no judgment on you, you will. You probably see something in it that we don't see, and that's fine.
rainbow:Going back to the Kagehina racing all the time thing, I have a headcanon that when they retire from the pro leagues, hinata and Kagama both become coaches at different schools in Miyagi. But they live at like they live. They find a house that's like the in between point and like equidistant from those two schools, so that they can leave work at the same time and race home each other. That's a headcanon I have for them.
rainbow:There's also I don't think it's in the anime, but in the manga when Kagama goes, when he serves to Hinata and Hinata like it receives it with his face, he turns his face and kind of like he turns away and kind of like takes it on his shoulder instead, because he says, oh, if I catch it with my face I'll die. And that reminds me of the Shiritora Oozawa game, where he turns his face so he won't get a bloody nose. He's like why turned? Because I know if I, if it in my nose and I got a nosebleed, I wouldn't be able to play, so I just let it hit my cheek, and so I think that's very interesting and kind of another like connection between Kagama and Ushijima where, like you know, they're both so strong, too strong, sorry. Sorry, I'm so strong. Okay, and I think that's it for the spoiler zones. Should we move on out of it?
em:We're out of the spoiler zone. Yep, did you like that? The robot is put to bed.
rainbow:Okay, and so now we are going to move into our who in Haikyuu scenario. If you're ready, I'm ready, and so we did just come up with this scenario on our own. But for future episodes we're totally open to suggestions. So for this episode, we want to talk about fandoms. So if the Haikyu characters were all in the same fandom let's say they all love to the same anime or the same movie series, whatever what kind of fans would they be? Kageyama, hinata, daiichi, suga, tanaka and Kiyoko, what kind of fans do you think they would be? Would they draw art? Would they do fanfic Like? Would they be on Twitter? Would they be on TikTok? Would they be on Tumblr?
em:I think that Hinata would be like me first joining anime Twitter, being very extroverted and tweeting a lot and having a lot of things to say and making a bunch of friends and just being kind of hyperactive in the fandom.
rainbow:Do you think he'd do any art or any fix or do you think he'd be doing a lot of like, retweeting and like? These are my headcanons yeah.
em:I feel like more like retweeting and headcans, Like I don't think he creates stuff for it. I think he's just like a super fan and is very excitable.
rainbow:I could see him like doing like a not even a real fic on A03, but just doing like this. These are all of my headcanons for all of the characters. Like it's just like an info dump. Very chaotic. Yeah, exactly, exactly. No, I totally agree with that. I think he would be a TikTok star darling. I think he would be really good at not making like anime edits, but I can see him doing like really wild, like skits and stuff.
em:That would be really fun. I think Kageyama would be kind of the opposite, where he's not a social person but maybe he I don't know if it's, if it's fic or art but like he just will drop really good stuff and he has a bunch of followers but there's no really like fan interaction.
rainbow:No, I do think he would be on like a Reddit or a sub Reddit, like absolutely screaming at people about how wrong they are about certain characters. He seems like the kind who like any.
em:any socialization is combative.
rainbow:Yes, Is him being like? No, you're actually wrong about this, and I'm right, and here's 5000 words about why you're wrong.
em:Totally agree. Him and Hinata would get into really intense ship wars.
rainbow:Oh my gosh. They didn't agree on things Abs fricking lintly. Yes, they would. Okay, what about Daiichi? I think he'd be an elder.
em:Yeah, he'd be like a fandom elder, he would be above the discourse and the and the fandom wank no one uses that term anymore, but I love it and and he would like kind of keep things in line and people would go to his DMs and be like Senpai.
rainbow:What would his platform be? Do you think he'd be a Twitter?
em:I feel like I want to give everyone a Twitter, because that is really it.
rainbow:I think some of them, like I could see, I could see Daichi being like, like an elder, to the point where, like he has the Twitter but he also has a Tumblr.
em:Yeah, yeah.
rainbow:Like he started, like I think Daichi and Suga both started on Tumblr and kind of like they have Twitter as well, just because I feel like it's a little bit easier to interact on there. But like they you know they love them. Speaking of Suga, he would be chaotic. He would be like whenever you do those like what kind of moot am I? He would be the like I'm worried about you one yes. He would be like unhinged. I'm concerned for you.
em:I think he would like me sometimes delight in the discourse or the wank and kind of have fun with it and be a little bit of a troll.
rainbow:Yes, yeah, he would be pushing Kagama's buttons all the time. He would purposely like tweet at Kagama like a wrong perception of a character, just to see Kagama like all caps scream at him.
rainbow:Yeah exactly, yeah, fully agree, I think he would. Also, I think he would write really beautiful moving fix. I yeah, I think he would do. I think I like the idea of Suga and Daichi being like a writer artist pair, kind of like a sell and really corking. But I think it would be, yeah, I think, like Daichi would like do artwork based on Suga's fix, and I think there would be a lot of like, just a lot of connection there and I think they would make a really good team. Okay, um, what about Tanaka?
em:Tanaka, I think would be another one that would get into a lot of fandom wink but like earnestly, like things, would piss him off really easily and he would make a lot of tweets about it and I think a lot of his moods would have him muted because he's a little too much sometimes. Yes, absolutely, but he would have like oh, and I like to think that he makes like bad edits for TikTok.
rainbow:Oh my God, yeah, he would make really shitty TikTok edits Like did a 12 year old make this?
em:No, it was.
rainbow:Tanaka, it was yeah, exactly, I do think he would have a few people like Hinata and like some characters we meet later on, who would be like, who would never mute him, and they all have a discord chat together and they're all screaming at each other. Um, yeah, I think he would be. I think he'd be fun. Yeah, I think he'd make bad TikTok edits. I think he'd attempt to do like threads, um, but I think he'd make a lot of memes. I think he'd be a good meme maker. Yes, definitely Okay. And now Kiyoko what kind of fan would she be?
em:Kiyoko, I think would be kind of like another Kageyama where, like, she's not super social but she drops really good content all the time and has a lot of followers, and maybe she posted like one selfie and everyone lost their mind because she's beautiful. Um side note, everyone in the Haikyuu fandom that I've ever seen is beautiful, so that's just canon.
rainbow:Yeah, Haikyuu fans are hot. I don't know why we're just all cuties, only we're. Yeah, we're cuties, only it's just we're all you know. It's because we're getting such good content from each other. Our skin is clear. Our, our, our fields are watered, like our crops are watered. We are just like thriving in this environment.
rainbow:Um but, yeah, I think, I agree, I think Kiyoko would, I think she would do good fan art. I think she would do oh my God, she would do really amazing fan art. Um, I think she would be like, very like she would have like a Patreon and a Kofi and, like you know, be on her way to making her own original characters and everything. And I think, yeah, she would have and she would definitely have like a core group of people who, like she I don't think she gets involved in the discourse at all. She's not like Kageyama, where she's like screaming about, like you're wrong about this character. I think she's fully just like believe whatever you want, like I'm just here to like share my art. But I think there would be a core group of, like Kiyoko defenders where, if anyone had anything bad to say about Kiyoko, they would absolutely destroy them in the comments. So, yeah, um, that I think is enough for who and I, unless you have anything to add.
rainbow:No other characters we really need to talk about. Um, yeah, so we hope you enjoyed this section. We would to continue doing it every episode. I think for the next few episodes it'll be scenarios that we come up with, but if you have ideas, you can message us. You can send us an email. You can contact us on social media. We are on Twitter, tumblr, instagram and Blue Sky all under the same handle at flyhq pod. That's F L Y H Q P O D. You can also send us an email, flyhq pod at gmail dot com. We'd love to hear your thoughts on anything and everything having to Haikyuu with , anything having to do with these episodes. We're really excited that you listened to our second episode and we hope that you're enjoying it. And right, review and subscribe. Please let us know what you're, how we're doing on the platforms, as well as saying it to our faces virtually.
em:Say that shit to my face.
rainbow:Say it to my face. But no, yeah, like like I said, right, review subscribe. We're so happy to have you here. We will be here next week on same bat time, same bat channel, discussing season one, episode three, and we can't wait!