"I'm here!"
Ever made a loud declaration to your rival on a volleyball court? Hinata sure has.
This week, rainbow and em cover season 1, episode 4 'The View from the Summit' and discuss the birth of the freak quick, Kageyama's past volleyball trauma, and Tsukishima's bold attitude. For Who in HQ? your hosts talk about how each of the characters would play with Barbie dolls
37:52 - Spoiler Zone Begins
45:52 - Spoiler Zone Ends
Podcast Socials:
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Send us an email! 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 Uyghur Human Rights Project
Article about Trans win in Japanese courts https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/japan-ruling-gender-surgery-lgbti-rights/
"I'm here!"
Ever made a loud declaration to your rival on a volleyball court? Hinata sure has.
This week, rainbow and em cover season 1, episode 4 'The View from the Summit' and discuss the birth of the freak quick, Kageyama's past volleyball trauma, and Tsukishima's bold attitude. For Who in HQ? your hosts talk about how each of the characters would play with Barbie dolls
37:52 - Spoiler Zone Begins
45:52 - Spoiler Zone Ends
Podcast Socials:
twitter
bluesky
instagram
tumblr
Send us an email! 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 Uyghur Human Rights Project
Article about Trans win in Japanese courts https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/japan-ruling-gender-surgery-lgbti-rights/
Hello everyone and welcome to Fly a queer Haikyuu podcast. My name's Rainbow and [em] I'm Em, [rainbow] and this is the second time we're doing this episode, because the first time it got real fucked.
em:I don't want to talk about it, just kidding I do. We just recorded for an hour and I played back and it was like (unintelligible) I have only a very light understanding of technology, so we are recording again.
rainbow:Yeah, no idea if we can fix that how. We would do it if we could, [em] but this was an important lesson learned about checking before.
em:I just let a whole hour of recording go by.
rainbow:Yeah, I think we let ourselves get a little bit too confident because we recorded yesterday and so it was like and that went perfectly, and so we're like, we got this, we don't even need to worry. We needed to worry. It sounded like we were possessed by demons.
em:Yeah, and that's okay, because there are a few things we can do better this time around now.
rainbow:So it's all good. So, yes, we are re-recording our episode on season one, episode four the View from the Summit. This is a good episode. This is a really good episode. We just spent an hour talking about it and I'm actually not that mad that we get to talk about it for another hour.
em:Yeah, you know what? I feel like our thoughts were a little bit scattered anyway, because so much happens in this episode, so maybe this will be a little bit tighter.
rainbow:Yeah Well, it'll be a little bit more contained, but before we get into our recap and discussion, we have a little bit of housekeeping. So we do want to say, as you all may know by now, we are recording episodes like a few weeks in advance. So today is Sunday, february 4th, and we officially dropped our first ever episode, episode zero, kind of a Meet the Pod episode, I think we called it. We're here, we're Queer, now Pass the Volleyball, and so, yeah, so some of you may have already listened to that episode If you hadn't go listen to it.
em:We want those downloads and thank you to people who have been retweeting and being supportive. We see you and we appreciate it.
rainbow:Yes, we really appreciate it. I did reach out to one of our supporters who's done like three quote retweets. Bless you, I love you. It is June, aka Mint Junip, from Twitter. They're amazing. It is just like one of my favorite moots and I am so grateful that we have your support and we really appreciate you.
rainbow:And yeah, and we, we did shout outs, I think on episode one, and we haven't done them since. This was our first one since then and that's just mainly out of respect. We don't want to go like putting people's names out there on this podcast if we don't have their permission. So I did reach out to June and they said it was okay to do this and that's why I'm doing it. But if you want a shout out, you can always reach out to us on social media. You can find our socials in our show notes and we'll talk about them at the end of the episode.
rainbow:But yeah, as far as the transcript goes, I would love feedback. We use a AI to do the transcript and then I have to go and clean it up. It's actually kind of hilarious the way it changes some of these names. Maybe I'll show you one day. But yeah, if you're finding that the transcript is hard to follow along with or is too confusing, please let me know. I'll do my best to clean it up as best as I can. All right, so let's get into it, baby. Yeah, it's time for the recap. I'm going to count you down, so I'm going to go. One, two, three, go and on, go. Start us off. Oh, and I think we need to mention that we're no longer doing the 30 seconds.
rainbow:Yeah we're axing that it's not enough time. It's just not enough time and we are going to try to do it off the cuff every time. But if you listeners find that annoying and you would prefer that we just pre-wrote a recap, just let us know and we'll switch it up. We want to make sure that this is entertaining for you and for us and we're fine with either way, but I think we like the challenge of doing it off the cuff Okay. All right ready. Yeah, count me down. All right, three, two one go.
em:It's the big day of the three on three and we open with a nightmare and a memory of Kageyama's team turning their backs on him. Beep, beep, beep, wake up, it's time for the big game. Now, of course, we start, and Tsuki is already slodged so far up Kageyama's ass, taunting him about his past. And this is when we finally get the full story the origin of Kageyama's nickname the king of the court, because his teammates thought he was a dictator-like king and they refused his toss. His greatest fear as a setter. But no more fear, because Hinata is here and he is going to help him and they are finally embracing that they are teammates and it is the birth of a very important move. The quick. That's my recap.
rainbow:That was beautiful. You know, I did my best. I loved every moment of it, I had to mute myself because I was laughing.
rainbow:Okay yeah, so we get right into it with Kageyama's nightmare about his teammates turning their back on him, and it really shows how much this affects him. You know, he angrily turns off his alarm clock and he's just kind of standoffish, more so than usual. He's much more quiet than usual and when Kiyoko walks in, hinata is all like blushy and oh, it's that manager, it's that third year girl, oh yeah as he does.
rainbow:As he does, and Kageyama just doesn't even respond in any way, not just because he's gay, which I think is a big reason, but also because he's lost in thought and he's really thinking about his past and I think he's really worried. I mean, this is going to be his first game that he's played since that one in middle school and he's probably terrified that he's going to turn around and no one's going to be there to spike the ball.
em:And Tsukki doesn't help, he starts stirring the pot immediately.
rainbow:Yes, but just I love how bold he is, how he's like oh, you're the captain, I'm going to talk shit to you about them, yes, and Daichi is just like wow. I think he might even say like wow, you're pretty bold. But before, right before that happens, you find out that Daichi is going to be playing on the team with Tsukki and Yamaguchi, and I think it's Hinata who's like oh, is that really fair? You're the captain. Like aren't you really good? And Daichi says well, you know, I'm not nearly as powerful of a spiker as Tanaka is, so you guys will be fine. And it cuts to Tanaka with kind of a pissed off look on his face. He doesn't like that. Daichi says that about himself.
em:Yeah, no, dai Tanaka is such a ride or die for his senpai. As you can tell, he really like respects Daichi and Suga especially Absolutely.
rainbow:He has a lot of respect for them and I really appreciate that.
em:Um, so yeah, and then Tanaka's or not? Tanaka Tsukki was razzing kind of backfires because he ends up firing up Tanaka. He's like we're going to. I love this bit where he's like Tanaka is like, oh, it looks like these guys are really going to try and beat us. I guess we'll just have to crush them into the dirt.
rainbow:Oh my God. And then Hinata is behind him sticking his tongue out and just being like, eh like, Hinata is like a little mini Tanaka. In so many ways it's so cute. Hinata is always ready to stand behind Tanaka to talk shit about.
em:He's always in the background. And then there's also Kageyama too, who looks like a little surprised that Tanaka is standing up for them, which is heartbreaking.
rainbow:I think Kageyama convinced himself in middle school that other people, that no one else is going to be as excited or as determined to win as he is, and I think coming to Karasuno is really just like a slap in the face of like oh no, I'm not the only one. Um cause again, kageyama just a little self centered at first because he's a teenager and teenagers are and they have to learn those lessons.
rainbow:Like, iq is so many things. It's a found family story, it's a coming of age story, it's a sports anime. There's just so much going on in it. So, yeah, I love Kageyama's like surprised face. He is not prepared for Tanaka to be that intense, um, but I love it. And I do think I have a note here wondering if Tsukishima, being this mean and this sassy is a little new, because even Yamaguchi seems a little surprised by it. He's like Tsukki, like they can hear you, and Tsukishima is like yeah, I know that's the point, and Yamaguchi is like okay, and I just wonder if Yamaguchi is used to them like kind of talking shit like behind people's backs, um, and just being like a little mean. But this is maybe going a little too far and even Yamaguchi is surprised by it.
em:Yeah, I think this is definitely more antagonistic than he is, because I think something about, obviously, you know, kageyama's attitude and the way he played the game really irks Tsukishima and he he advertises to the whole club Um, what happened. And I just think like it's so fascinating to me because Tsukishima is like I heard the rumors but then I saw your game and it's like how active is the rumor mill for rumor mill for middle school boys, volleyball, apparently very, and Tsukishima is Perez Hilton, absolutely.
rainbow:That's a joke for the millennials. Um yeah, I don't think. If you don't know who Perez Hilton is, google it.
em:I don't think he's been relevant for a while. But he's just like you know. I don't know. He's just got the hot gos for someone who claims to not care about volleyball. He certainly seems to care a whole lot about Kageyama and volleyball in general.
rainbow:Yeah, and I think we can get into a little bit um, because this is a very Kage Hina heavy episode. But I think we could touch a little bit on Tsukikage, because that ship has rights for it.
em:It has the rights. Yeah, it was just how obsessed Tsukki seems to be um with Kageyama, and if you like a bullying dynamic in your ship, well then this is for you.
rainbow:Yeah, it's really giving like I think you're attractive and that pisses me off even more. Yeah.
em:I feel like if you're that enthusiastic of a hater for someone, then a part of you wants to kiss them a little bit.
rainbow:Yeah, and I don't think they would ever actually work out personally. But it's fun to think about.
em:I definitely head canon that. There's like some crush that Tsukki is angry about and he's working through it.
rainbow:Yeah, absolutely, um, yeah. So they start the game and Tanaka is fired the fuck up and Tsukishima realizes that he has made a mistake and then um Kageyama sets the ball for Hinata and Hinata is very excited and he's sure he's going to get it over and he jumps really high and I love the show is always showing you people's initial reactions to him, or even second reactions, because he jumps so high and Kyoko looks amazed. It even cuts to Suga, who's already seen it because he watched them play in middle school, and it shows everyone reacting to this, this amazing jump, except for Tsukishima, who has blocked it and is so casual and so blank and just does not give a fuck. He's like, yeah, I just blocked you, whatever. And just that slow motion fall to the ground, where Hinata is like shocked and angry that he got blocked and Tsukishima looks like he does not give a fuck.
em:Yeah, I made a fan video of this moment. Actually, Shameless self plug. Go follow me on TikTok.
rainbow:The audio is probably gone now. Yeah, probably. But it's fine, you know, just like, use like the like. Use, find another sound that you can use. Find like the nokia ringtone Dude.
em:Oh my god, these fricking right now at the time of recording. This is when UMG find like pulled all their music off TikTok and the. The way that people have been dealing with it is so fucking funny and clever. I'm actually almost glad that this happened because I feel like it's forced people to have a fun new trend.
rainbow:So yes, you know what Sometimes? Sometimes it works for you not to sometimes having limits.
rainbow:Really, forces you to be creative, exactly, yeah, limits force you to be creative. Some of the best horror movies in existence were made on a shoestring budget because they had to be creative with it and that actually made it more entertaining. Yeah, so take that capitalism. Huh, fuck you. But we digress, we digress.
rainbow:Yes, oh so the dub actually made em laugh last night because I was doing my homework and watching it and she was kind of just like fucking around on her phone and playing video games. And there's a part right after Tsukishima blocks Hinata for that first time, maybe it's like a couple of times after. Anyway, he blocks him and then he starts talking shit about like see, you're too short and it's not just enough to be a go-getter. Like you don't have the talent for it, you don't have the skills that you need. And he says something like better, take your vitamins. And Em laughed out loud and I was like, omg, em just laughed at the dub. A rare moment for me, a rare moment. She does not like the dub quite as much as I do and for me, a big part of why I love the dub so much is like lines like that, and especially from Tanaka, like that part earlier where he's like ooh, they're gonna try to beat us, I guess we'll crush them. It's so funny in the dub, it's funny in the sub too, but it's just. Oh, it's great.
rainbow:Something else I made note of is Yamaguchi apologizing to Tsukishima, which he does all the time. Gomen Tsukki, he does it way too much. I was like, girl, stop apologizing, you don't need to. Cause Yamaguchi serves and he misses it like, goes straight into the net, and he apologizes directly to Tsukishima, not to Daichi, who's also on his team, but just to Tsukishima, and it's like why are you apologizing to him?
em:You don't need to Again toxic homoerotic friendship all over this. Yes, this little dynamic here. And then we also get a taste of Daichi's solid receive.
rainbow:Yes, daichi saying did you think I would be a weak spot Is so cool. I also think Daichi's voice actor is really great Sounds maybe a little bit too grown up. I think his voice is just a little too adult for a 18 year old. But I do love the way he says that he's like oh, did you think I was?
em:going to be a weak spot. Yeah, yeah. And the sub he's like did you think you'd get a few tosses in? Yes, like you're getting bitch. Yeah, strong defense.
rainbow:Well, cause he says like I, he's like, I might not have the inherent talent that you do, but I have a lot of experience receiving really powerful spikes and really powerful serves and it's going to take a lot more than that to bring me down. Yeah, and I think, cause it's Kageyama's serve that he receives. We get our first go killer serve, yes, from Hinata, cause Hinata. Just he thinks Kageyama is the coolest person ever. Yeah, and that includes his serve.
rainbow:And so Kageyama thinks that he can get a point off of Daichi, but he doesn't realize that Daichi is like probably the second best receiver on Karasano, the best as of right now. Yes, and he's just really good. And you know, kageyama, I would say I don't think it comes from a place of like arrogance, of like oh well, daichi is not like a genius like me, so obviously he's not going to be as good. I think he really listened when Daichi said like oh, don't worry, I'm not as powerful a spiker as Tanaka, and so maybe he just thought that maybe Daichi wasn't going to be as good, and not realizing that he was actually really good at receiving.
em:And I think Kageyama, like automatically, is like okay, I see it, you know they're all just like oh wait, we're a really strong team, yeah, yeah. So Tsukki continues to taunt Kageyama as is his want, and Hinata finally says what we're all thinking, which is Tsukki, what's your problem and why are you so far up Kageyama's butt? He doesn't say that, but that's my interpretation. And then this is when we get the official story from Tsukki about what happened in that fateful game.
rainbow:Well, because Hinata, innocently, is like cause, I think Tsukishima asks him like do you know why he got the nickname King? And Hinata is like well, duh, his enemies gave it to him because he's so good at volleyball, so sweet Cause. Sweet little innocent Hinata. Just like he thinks. He assumes that everyone else thinks Hinata is as cool as he does.
em:And he's like we're on the same page, that Kageyama is the best right.
rainbow:He's like yeah, we all agree that Kageyama is the best player who's ever existed, right, but that's not the case. That's not. No, Tsukis hima lets us know that it is because he was a mean, cruel dictator and his team turned their backs on him. I'm kind of like I get it, I don't. It was a very like middle school way to handle that, for sure. And like again, like, did the coaches have any sort of debrief after that and talk about proper communication? Probably not. Did anyone pull Kageyama aside and talk to him about it? No, probably not. But like I get it, I understand. You know Kindaichi I think Kindaichi in particular, but Kunumi as well. We're really leading that charge and you know, I totally get it. Like it's not fair for Kageyama to have treated them that way because they are good players. That's the thing is. Like everybody on that team was good, it's just they weren't fast enough or good enough for Kageyama's standards.
em:And Kageyama is so desperate to stay on the court so he just he like it's tunnel vision and you know Kindaichi is trying to tell him like I can't keep up with that toss. But in Kageyama's mind the only way they can get around the blockers is with that kind of speed. So he just keeps trying and like he just wants to stay on the court, he wants to go to nationals and that's all he can think about is himself. And eventually he puts up a toss and no one catches it, but not by mistake, but because it's a rejection and it's Kageyama's greatest fear as a setter.
rainbow:Yeah, it's almost like they would rather lose the game by choosing not to spike than try to win with Kageyama acting the way he does.
rainbow:Which is fair, because Kageyama is trying to use speed to get through the blocks. That's the first weapon he is always grabbing in his arsenal. He's like, yes, speed will help us, speed will help us. And he's focused too much on how he, as the setter, can win the game by getting around the blocks, instead of focusing on how they as a whole team can win together. He still. It's like he keeps telling Hinata like there are no spikes without receives, and it's like he knows that intellectually, but in his heart he's like but yeah, it's the sets that are going to win the game. And this, I think this whole show is a process of him realizing that like, yeah, setting is cool and setting is the thing that I like to do, but it's not more important than any of the other roles that people are playing.
em:Yeah. And then this I just love, like Kageyama, like so Tsukki is kind of giving us the scoop, and then Kageyama just is like yep, that's what happened. He's very honest, which is something I love about him, and he says I made a toss and no one was there, which was truly frightening. And then Hinata just like pipes in and is like well, that was middle school, right. And he's like I'm here and I'll take your tosses and like it's so simple for him. But it means the world to Kageyama, because he just has never had that.
rainbow:Absolutely. And the thing is in that one game, in that moment, kageyama got a small taste of what Hinata had for his whole middle school career. And I think it's interesting I actually just thought about that when you said it where Hinata is like, well, that was back in middle school and like I think for him it's like, well, back in middle school I didn't have any team to play with, but now in high school I have a team to play with and we're going to play and we're going to win. And that's what he tells Kageyama. He's like this is the plan. Like don't let this Tsukishima asshole get to you. The plan is we win this game, you get to be the setter and then you set for me, yeah he like yells this in Kageyama's face and he's just like okay, the Kageyama's like yes, okay, I guess that's what's happening.
rainbow:Yeah, and I said Hinata, mr I'll spike any ball that comes my way is the perfect person for Kageyama.
em:They really, they're just. They're like volleyball soulmates.
rainbow:And also I think it's interesting how Hinata seems to want Kageyama specifically to set for him. He's like you're going to become the setter so that you can set for me. It's like some part of him knows that like Kageyama is his setter. And yeah, and we find out in this episode that that's very much true, because Kageyama's kind of the only person who can get Hinata to the ball the way he needs it.
em:Yep, and this brings us to, I mean, one of the top Kage Hina moments, I think, in our fandom, which is the I'm here moment. So, Kage, you know, they have this whole discussion moment and they get back into the game and he's going to toss to Tanaka, but then Hinata said he's there, he's like I'm here and he is like kind of impossibly with his speed, and then we have that moment of Hinata really being the apple of Kageyama's eye. In his deep blue eyes you see Hinata in the air, ready, and it's just.
rainbow:It is used in many a soulmate edit on TikTok and it's really, it's a very, it's a beautiful moment and it's just a cool moment. I love when Haikyuu does this. There's a lot of like reflections in people's eyes, kind of thing, and I just think it's so cool and so meaningful that, like Hinata is like I'm here and Kageyama sees him, and they just have this connection and Hinata or Kageyama sets the ball for him and then I think it's out. Yes, it's out, but the ball came to me, yes, and he's so excited. He's like staring at his palm and it's red from hitting the ball, and he talks about feeling the weight and it's just this like amazing moment. I think it's a very precious moment for both of them and it's so important. And you have a note about Kageyama's feelings about this.
em:Yes, this is a very shippy comment from me, but like, yeah, so like he just makes all these like emotional declarations and Kageyama is just looking at him with his quivering little eyeballs and I just feel like, whether it was subconscious or not, this is where Kageyama fell in love, because this is like where have you been all my life? Kind of thing. You know, yeah, absolutely so then is this where Suga starts with his idea for Kageyama.
rainbow:Yes, absolutely. So. This is this is where because I think they keep trying again, they keep trying to get the ball Kageyama keeps trying to set the ball to Hinata, but it's not really working. I also have a note here that this is when Kageyama finally realizes that Hinata feels the same way that he does about volleyball. I think this is where he really finally accepts it, and so he does want to set to Hinata. He wants to have that feeling of like I can be quick and I can be, I can use my speed and there's somebody who can keep up with me and I can, I can use this tool. But he doesn't quite really grasp how to do that, and so his Senpai, suga, steps in and helps him.
em:Yeah, he starts to try and explain basically that, like with Kageyama's like set, he's kind of killing Hinata's speed in a way because Hinata is trying to match with him. And it's so funny. He's like struggling to explain this in Tanaka at one point. It's like Suga-san fighto. I just think it's precious. But he's just like how about you try and match up to Hinata, which is something that like Kageyama has not really done. It's always him kind of dragging along his teammates and this is a really important exercise for him. We're basically like just try and match with him. And so then Kageyama goes into ultra concentration mode and he's in the zone.
rainbow:That's what Tanaka says in the dub. He says he's in the zone.
em:Oh okay, so he's in the zone and and it. It takes a lot of concentration to pinpoint exactly where. And he tells Hinata oh yeah.
rainbow:This is where that, after Suga has his little speech. That's where Kageyama grabs Hinata by the shirt and drags him over. Yes, and then grabs him by the hair because he loves to grab Hinata's hair. It's his favorite thing.
em:It's so funny, yeah, there could be many a fanfic about that yeah.
rainbow:There, there is.
em:But he's just like. He kind of just quickly kind of describes what a quick is and Tanaka's in the background like that's how you describe it, and then Hinata's like got it, and Tanaka's like no, you don't. And then simultaneously they're both like well, we're going to try it anyway. Yes.
rainbow:Just sharing one single brain cell, just being like I, I can do this.
em:He tells Hinata just like, go as fast as you can and jump as high as you can, don't even look at the ball, I will get it to you yeah.
rainbow:And there's a part it might have been before this. There's a part where Hinata is basically saying like show me what you got, kageyama. Because again Hinata, like they challenge each other, like this is a challenge for Kageyama, of like how can I sync up with Hinata so that he can get this ball over the net and how can I use Hinata's speed and skills. And then he he says it's fun. He's like this is fun getting to do this and I just love that. And he has this cute little wobbly smile.
rainbow:And he's so excited. He just loves volleyball so much. I feel like he's rediscovering his love for volleyball.
em:Yeah, oh, absolutely. And it's so funny too, like before he I think he they they'd get into the quick. He says to Hinata like I'm jealous of your skill, yes, but you don't know how to use it, and that's infuriating to me. He finally kind of says the quiet part out loud that he's just been thinking the entire time, and then he's like I'm going to use your speed bitch Absolutely.
rainbow:And there's a part where Suga, when Suga is talking to Kageyama, he kind of downplays his own skills and he's like I'm not as good of a setter as you are. And Tanaka again looks pissed. He is the epitome of don't you talk about my friend that way. Yes, he will not let them like talk down about himself. And I think he goes to say something and Daichi is like hold on, like let him cook, it's fine. Literally.
em:Yes, yeah and then. So then they go for it. They try this quick and Hinata nails it and blows everyone out of the water.
rainbow:But what's even crazier, as Daichi points out, is that Hinata did it with his eyes closed and this freaks everyone out, including Kageyama who's like did you seriously do that with your freaking eyes closed?
em:I love the one, kageyama. Anytime he's impressed by Hinata, he just expresses it by being mad at him about it almost, yeah, very much so he's so angry.
rainbow:Well, it's part of that jealousy. He's like jealous that Hinata is so just innately athletic. He's like what do you mean? You're so good at this and what do you mean? You can just jump into the air. And I think he's also freaked out because Kageyama is a person who, I think, really struggles with trust. And so he says like how can you just trust someone so completely? And Hinata says trusting you is the only way I know how to do it. And it's just really like Hinata is just ready to fully put his trust into Kageyama. He's like again, because he thinks Kageyama is so good. He's like I know that you are a good enough setter that you can get this ball to me. He just believes in him so much. And I think this is kind of you know, again Kageyama believing in Hinata. He's like I believe that you, if I can get this ball to you, I know that you can get it over the net.
em:There's also a great moment I can't remember exactly when it happens in the sequence of events, but Sekishima is projecting hard on Hinata, I think, when he keeps insisting like well, you gotta be realistic, you're a shorty, like, no matter how badly you want it, you're short, lol. And again, this is like projection for Sekishima, who refuses to like be anything more than like pessimistic, really, and Kageyama, you know, literally stands next to Hinata and kind of a show of support and says, well, it's the setter's job to get past the blockers, so don't talk to my boyfriend sideways, I'll come at you. Yeah, for real.
rainbow:He's like no, it's okay, I'm here as well. That's kind of his own little like well, I'm here, I'm the setter and it's my job, and so that's what he tells Hinata is like. He's like if you are going, if you're running towards the net and you can't get around the blocks, go to the opposite side Of the court and I will get the ball to you. And it's just because they're both so good. I also love like Kageyama's explaining this to Hinata and he's just like just try, okay. And Hinata says bet, I will, absolutely. And he does, and it works out for them and it's great. And then they they're trying, continually trying to sync up and it you know they're having issues. It's not quite as easy, and that's something I like is that they do like they get it that first time, but then it's not perfect. They have to keep practicing and they have to keep trying. I think that's very important.
em:Yeah, they're always. It's always about adapting and getting better. Absolutely yes.
rainbow:But it's also like it's not just like, okay, we did it once and now we can do it over and over again, Because that's not how it happens, Like you have to practice something over and over and over again. That repetition is important, and I just think that's. That's really beautiful.
em:I think that brings us to the end of the episode. We're not quite finished with the game yet. We have more to go in the next one. Yes, absolutely.
rainbow:We have more, more to deal with, because I think, now that they've got the quick down, it's like now the game really begins, and so the next episode we get to see the I think we see the conclusion of the three on three match and I'm very excited about that. I'm excited to get into more. Yeah, we have, we've got so many exciting things coming up. It's only the beginning. It really is, and this is like I said, this is just such a great episode.
em:There's just so many good things. We figure out Kageyama's history. It's the start of the quick. It's just a really important episode and for those of you out there who are not big Kagehina, people hold on tight because we're going to get to other things. But the beginning really is. It really establishes their story and it does it so well and we just enjoy it so much. Yeah, it does it really well.
rainbow:But you know, this show like we've said before, everyone gets a little boyfriend, so we have lots of other ships that we can talk about. We've got a ship coming pretty soon that we're excited about, very excited, yes, yeah, so I think that's it for our episode discussion.
rainbow:Ok, so now we're going to jump into our character spotlight and, of course, for today I had to pick everybody's meanest. No, I had to pick everyone's favorite mean, gay Tsukishima Kei. He's just. He's so much fun. So again, I'm pulling from the Haikyuu Wiki and the Haikyuu Reddit, and from the Wiki there's some stuff about his personality that I think is just really appropriate that I want to talk about. So quote "Tsukishima is very blunt and will sometimes rile his teammates up due to his antagonistic nature, most notably being Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya and Tanaka and sometimes other teams, because of his casual, smug attitude, taking pride in and relishing when his opponents see him as a her".
em:Yes, yeah, it is fun. He I like forget how mean he really is right off the top it calms down down, and then it's really fun when he turns it against their opponents, because it's just so effective.
rainbow:Yes, and I think that's a very like. That's something Haikyuu loves to do, which is like introduce, like. This is this character and this is this character's personality and this is how their personality is maybe not so great for their teamwork, but here's how it's really great when dealing with opponents. And I think the fact that Tsukishima relishes and being such a nuisance to his, his opponents, especially as a blocker, is like just such a clear sign that it's like Tsukishima, maybe you care a lot about this, a little bit more than you're letting on.
em:It's pretty clear the whole time that like you, like Krabby Patties, don't you Squidward. It's very much that.
rainbow:He really is. Oh my god, who in Haikyuu? Squarepants Future episode alert. But yeah, it's just, it's like it's so clear that you he cares more than he's willing to admit and you know, that's okay, just just, it's not cringe to love things, tsukki, just for yourself. Yeah, really, it's worth the risk, absolutely. He's just afraid of getting hurt, so yeah, so that's his personality and I wanted to get into his name meaning, because you know I love the name meanings his family name, tsukishima. So the kanji for Tsuki means moon when it's used independently. But it can also be found in the names of months, like in January, ichigatsu, and then in November, which is Jiu Ichigatsu, which Ichi is one, and so I assume Gatsu is month. So it's like January is like first month, which I like that, and then Jiu Ichi is 11. So November, nice. So I think that's pretty cool and I don't think the month thing really has anything to do with Tsukki's personality. It's really the moon that we focus on, because he's kind of the foil to Hinata.
rainbow:Hinata is the sun, yes, tsukishima is the moon, whereas then you've got like Kagehina, where Hinata is the sun and Kageyama is the shadow, and they complement each other. They're not opposites, they go together. I think they're like, I don't know, is it? Is it they more? Are they more yin and yang than Tsukki and Hinata?
em:Yes, no, I think that I think Kagehina are very yin and yang and then, like Tsukishina, are like the opposites yeah.
rainbow:Yeah, exactly. And then the second part of his name, shima. That kanji means island and it's found in many Japanese family names. It's pretty common. So the full translation for Tsukishima is Moon Island, which, if you've seen season two, that's that's talked about and touched on.
em:Yeah, a little bit.
rainbow:Also Moon.
em:Island sounds like a great place to visit.
rainbow:Absolutely. I want to go to Moon Island. It sounds a little bit like Spooky Island from Scooby-Doo or Moon Scar Island from Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Shout out to my Scooby-Doo heads out there, yeah.
rainbow:And then I did want to mention so. As we all know, we've been using it plenty, but Yamaguchi uses the nickname Tsukki, which, when you do the nickname, the K in Tsuki doubles. So instead of TSUKI it's TSUKKI, and the Reddit user that was writing about this was not sure how to explain why this happens, and I can't really explain why it happens either, but it's really common in nicknames, for I think certain sounds to be doubled when it's shortened into a nickname. So, yeah, so Moon Island.
rainbow:Tsukishima has given names Kei, which the kanji means firefly, but as a common word it is read as Hotaru.
rainbow:So the kanji can either be Kei or Hotaru, and Hotaru works as a unisex name as well, so it could both be a name, which I thought is interesting, because in his little character card, his current worry is, now that he's in high school, people are going to start pestering him again about how to read the kanji character for his first name. So when you see it, yeah, so like you really have to hear him say his name out loud to know whether or not it's pronounced this way or that way, and I think that's something that's very interesting about Japanese is the characters which I you know is common in a lot of languages where, like, certain things can have multiple meanings, and so I think that's pretty cool. But the rest of Tsukishima's character sheet. So he is in class 1-4, which means he's a smarty pants, because we kind of learn at some point in the show that, like class 1-1, which I think is Hinata's class, is like that's for people who are struggling, and then class 1-4 and class 1-5 are for, like, the smarty pants.
em:The honor students.
rainbow:Absolutely, and so Tsukishima is a middle blocker. As we know, his height is 6'2", which is insane because he's 15.
em:Yeah, that is really tall for a 15 year old. That's so tall.
rainbow:Yeah, no wonder everyone was freaked out when they first showed up. His birthday is September 27th.
em:A Libra male. It explains a lot, Absolutely.
rainbow:We already talked about his current worry. His favorite food is shortcake, which it doesn't specify strawberry shortcake, but I feel like that's what. I've seen a lot of arts of him with strawberries, so I think that's pretty. I think that's what most people assume is a strawberry shortcake, but maybe it's other shortcakes as well. And then we've got his ability parameters on a five point scale. His power is, oh yeah, his power is a 2. And then his speed, his jumping, his technique and his stamina are all threes and his intelligence is five. And there is no note letting us know that the intelligence only applies to volleyball.
rainbow:So, as we know, he is actually intelligent in more than just volleyball, but he does apply that intelligence to volleyball, for sure. Yeah, so any thoughts about Tsukishima?
em:I like him. I think some people don't because he's such a bitch, but I kind of like that about him. And again, like I just feel like once you get his whole story and where it goes, I don't understand how you don't like him. I think he comes a really long way. Is his background tragic story a little silly? Yeah, I think so, but I like him. I like him a lot.
rainbow:I think I get it. I think it's something I'm excited to talk about that when we get there. I think we can really dig into that. I think when I first watched Haikyuu I didn't care as much for Tsukishima. I was like this guy's just kind of a jerk. He's mean to my sunshine boy and I don't like that.
em:Yeah, like I said in the beginning, he's very mean to our kids, so you know. But it gets better.
rainbow:Yeah, he really grows on me. I love his character growth. I love his development.
rainbow:I'm really excited to get into that in later episodes and, honestly, I do love how cunt he is. I think it's fantastic. I want a mean gay in my life. Yeah, come on, absolutely Okay. So I think that's all for that. I think it's time to move into the spoiler zone. Oh yes, spoiler zone, spoiler zone. So if you do not want to be spoiled on anything, I suggest you skip ahead. We will have timestamps in the show notes so you can know exactly when the spoiler zone ends. But if you don't care about being spoiled or you already know what's going to happen, stick around as we head into the spoilers.
em:Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, whoa and we're here, and we're here.
rainbow:We've arrived. Welcome to the spoiler zone. My name is Rainbow and I will be your hostess for the evening Go off. No, so I have a few things. I think you only have one thing you want to touch on for the spoiler zone.
em:Yeah, I just had the thought, like going back to Kageyama during that fateful game where he lost it all, and his inner monologue of like but like the speed is the only way we're going to get around the blockers and I need to stay and I'm going to Nationals. Obviously, you know he's passionate already, but I just feel like there is another like layer of desperate edge to that, because he lost his grandfather so recently. I'm sure that volleyball is also just an added distraction from all of that. So I'm sure there's a fear of like, well, if I, if I can't go to Nationals, what am I going to do with myself, you know, and it makes me want to kill myself a little bit.
rainbow:Absolutely, and I think, with Kageyama. I think another thing that goes into that is, I'm sure he wants to make his grandfather proud, you know, even though his grandfather is no longer there. I think there's even an added like well, I have to go to nationals, I have to go for my grandfather, which is really sad. And then, on that note, I think, when he, you know, fast forwarding to you know present day, when he's playing with Hinata and he says this is fun, I think this is the first time he's had fun playing volleyball since his grandfather died. I think volleyball it's still the thing that he loves the most, but I think it just lost some of its shine. I guess, like it lost some of its joy, I would say Lost some of the joy. It just became this thing that Kageyama has to focus on, probably to distract himself from his own feelings. And but you know you can't push your feelings away, they come out in other ways. And so by trying to like push those feelings away and distract himself with volleyball, he actually ends up creating his own worst nightmare. And I think the reason that, you know, he's able to be more communicative about his feelings and he's able to express himself better when he gets to Karasuno. You know, because of the lesson I think he learned in middle school and I think his grandfather would be really proud of him, because I think, at the end of the day, his grandfather doesn't want him. It doesn't want him to like, go to the Olympics and be on the world stage for any kind of like glory. I think, like he wants that for Kageyama, because that's what Kageyama wants for himself, and I think what his grandfather wants is for Kageyama to enjoy what he's doing and to be passionate about it and to find other, better players to play with and, you know, eventually find his someone better. So yeah, so that's the sad part of the spoilers.
rainbow:Moving on, I did want to point out that in this episode we see Yamaguchi serve and fail at serving the first time we ever see him serve as a failure. And you know, when I first watched this, don't think much of it because you know who cares. But then, watching it again, knowing that Yamaguchi becomes this like really good pinch server, like one that even like Miya Osamu remembers they played against each other twice, I would say and like in the timeskip, when Yamaguchi approaches, you know, Osamu, he's like oh yeah, he's that pinch server from Karasuno, like Yamaguchi, leaves his fucking mark. But you're seeing again. You're always seeing the growth. The show is always giving us crumbs. It's planting the seeds very early so that we're you know. These are right now. They're all just cute little seedlings.
em:Yeah, they're just baby crows.
rainbow:They're just baby crows and we get to watch them grow and it's very exciting and I love it so much. I'm also excited to see if the Yamaguchi apologizing to Tsukishima maybe lightens up or changes tone a little bit later on as Yamaguchi comes into his own. You know there's that he's a man who walks ahead of me thing with Tsukiyama, which oh, I can't wait to get into them.
rainbow:That's gonna be so much fun. Oh, and I did want to talk about Kageyama getting benched in middle school and how I could kind of see some parallels between when Oikawa gets benched. Both of them were panicking about losing and they were only focusing on themselves as the setter. And so, you know, oikawa had to learn the lesson from a Iwaizumi that you know they're six strong players, and Kageyama overheard that and it's like his brain heard it, but still in his heart I think there was some part of him that was like well, the setter is the one who, like, controls the game and they're the one who wins. And so I think Kageyama and Oikawa separately have to learn that lesson.
em:Yeah, well, he didn't. I don't think he really gets it. He's like well, yeah, of course you need six strong players, but he's not getting that like. It takes all of them together to be strong, it's not just up to like one strong guy, you know.
rainbow:Absolutely. Yeah, that's something that's kind of repeated over and over again is it's not just one strong player, all six have to be strong. And I think for Kageyama, because he loves setting so much, and to him it's like the coolest and best position. I think he thinks of setter as like superior to all other positions, when in reality, like what he's been saying to Hinata, like there are no spikes without receives, like he could not set the ball if there wasn't a powerful receiver. And I think he understood he's by the end of this series, he understands that all of the positions are equally important, it's not just setter.
em:Is there a quote in the beginning of the episode from, like, a famous volleyball coach, where he says you know the second, that one player thinks he's more important than the others, they've lost.
rainbow:Yes, hang on, I will pull it up. It's in the manga as well.
em:Which again it's just and it also speaks to kind of the eastern like attitude of collectivism and all working together.
rainbow:Yeah, I've got the quote right here. So "the volleyball player is not a soloist, but a member of an orchestra. When the player begins to think I am special, that player is finished. Coach Bernardo Bernardo Rizendi. Apologies if I pronounced that wrong. He is the coach of the Brazilian men's volleyball team, the number one ranked volleyball team in the world, which I think that's in like 2012 when this manga came out, so he might not be the coach anymore, but and it's from the book the man and the System that Made Brazilian Volleyball the Best by Noriko Yunemushi Next so, or Yunemushi, I think it is. So, yeah, pretty cool, I think, yeah, as soon as the player begins to think I am special, that player is finished.
em:And that's.
rainbow:Kageyama right there. Yes, yeah, Kageyama thinks he's special and that he's the one who's going to win the game for everybody.
em:And it's not like I sympathize because he is farther along Like I can understand the frustration of feeling like you're playing with people you know below your level. It's not as fun because there's not as much of a challenge. But, buddy, you gotta work with your teammates.
rainbow:You gotta learn, and that's the thing. And I think I think it's very telling that Kageyama is willing to listen to Suga and does not fight with him when he's giving him that advice, cause Kageyama, I think, does respect to Senpai, he respects that Suga is an experienced player and he's willing to learn from him.
em:Yeah, definitely, absolutely.
rainbow:All right, dude, we have. Oh, I do have one more thing for the spoiler zone. So, going back to Tsukishima, the kanji for his name, kei, has a connotation to summer, which I think is interesting, because summer is when Tsukishima starts to let himself love volleyball. It's the summer training arc where he, you know, he gets together with the trio. Yes, cannot wait to get to that arc. It's gonna be really exciting. Season two is gonna be so much fun. But yeah, like I think I thought that was pretty interesting. I don't know if that's purposeful, I don't know if that was like planned from the beginning or if that's just a coincidence, but either way, I love it Is that it.
rainbow:I think that's it for the spoiler zone. Get out of the pool. We're getting out of the spoiler zone. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa and we're back. Spoiler time is over, and so now we are going to go into our final segment, which is our who in Haikyuu segment.
em:Who in Haikyuu, and this time we're talking Barbie.
rainbow:We're talking Barbie. As we all know, the Barbie movie came out this past summer summer of 2023, and it rocked the world. Just want to shout out that it is the 14th highest grossing movie of all time. And considering it is written and co-written and directed by a woman is pretty cool. I'm sure if you looked at the rest of that list the 13 before the 13 that are higher than that probably very male involved.
em:And we all know. You know, barbie was not perfect, but it was still a really fun movie.
rainbow:It's a fun movie and it's a giant summer blockbuster that got a ton of studio backing and marketing, which like, and its sole purpose is to talk about the patriarchy and to criticize the patriarchy and talk about how we can overcome it, which is pretty cool. Again, not intersectional enough. This is our Barbie movie corner.
em:Yeah, really not to get too deep into that, not to get too deep into it.
rainbow:But in all of this, to say that we're not actually talking too much about the Barbie movie with this. We actually want to talk about the characters and like if they were to play with Barbies, and I think I want to talk about like if they were kids playing with Barbies.
em:Yeah, yeah, not like right now.
rainbow:Yeah, not right now. Like as kids like how would they play with Barbie and would they play with any other toys maybe? Like, would there be other dolls? Like you know, I had Barbies, but I really moved on to Bratz dolls and Polly Pockets at one point. Bratz dolls because they were cool and slutty and Polly Pockets because I like to chew on their clothes.
em:So, yeah, let's begin. We're going to do again, we're going to do the characters that we really focused on this episode. So, if we want to start with Hinata, what do we think? Yeah, let's talk about Hinata, who has a younger sister. Yes, yes, I can very much see. I can see Hinata like, like you know, making fun of his sister for playing with Barbies, but then when no one's looking maybe he steals them and plays with them for a little bit.
rainbow:Yeah, I think he plays with them and I think he makes them kiss and it's a little embarrassing for him.
em:So, yes, I can see him like looking around to make sure no one's looking, and then he makes them kiss.
rainbow:Yes, I like to imagine like he's playing with like a Barbie and a ken and an Alan and at first he's just making the Barbie and the ken kiss and then he like maybe makes the Alan and the ken kiss and is like, ooh, because you know, I don't think we've talked about it, but I really headcanon that Hinata's pansexual.
em:Oh yeah.
rainbow:I think you would. I think you would definitely explore that. Using the Barbies? Yes, for sure. And he would probably also try to make them play volleyball. Yeah, but not nearly as much as Kageyama, who solely uses dolls to play volleyball.
em:Yeah, I see Kageyama as, like Miwa, his older sister, maybe left behind some Barbies and maybe on a day where it's rainy and crappy and he can't go play volleyball, he just makes. He just sets up all the Barbies and does little plays with them.
rainbow:Yeah, hang on. I'm Googling to see if there's a volleyball Barbie in existence. Oh my, God.
em:Yeah, we should. That's a good point.
rainbow:Oh my God, barbie volleyball yes, it's on sale at Walmart. Hold on, oh my God, there's a Barbie sports career collection. I like to think that's what Miwa had and handed it down to Kageyama. Yes, absolutely, and then he just was like well, they're all volleyball players.
em:I'm so glad we know this now.
rainbow:I'm so glad God do. I want a volleyball Barbie now.
em:Oh, my God.
rainbow:They have a. They have like a beach volleyball one too, with a little visor, oh my.
em:God, they have every.
rainbow:Barbie in the world. Yeah, they do. Oh, barbie loves the ocean beach volleyball themed. Oh, I love it. Okay, well, I have to stop looking at that.
em:Moving on.
rainbow:Tsukishima yes, Tsukishima would only play with dinosaur figurines.
em:Yeah, I don't think he's a Barbie guy and he has an older brother. I don't know how he would get his hands on Barbie dolls Not to be so gendered, but just these are. These are from the Millennial generation, so it's still pretty gendered, probably doesn't have Barbies, but he is a dinosaur geek, as we know, so he's definitely playing with his his little dinos.
rainbow:Yeah, I think if he had a Barbie, it would only be like a paleontologist Barbie, like an archaeologist Barbie who is like, yes, did they? Maybe they made some Barbies based on the Jurassic Park movie? Oh my God, I want a Barbie T-Rex.
em:I need to write. Oh, my God.
rainbow:Yeah, barbie and her friend. Yes, like a bright pink T-Rex that Barbie rides on. If they don't have it now, mattel, that's free, you don't even have to pay us for that, you can take it, yeah. So I don't think Tsukishima would. I do think Yamaguchi would. Yes, I think Yamaguchi would, even without having like any sort of like female cousins or like any girl cousins or siblings, like I think he would just be down to play with them.
em:Yeah, I think he would be. I think he'd play with them very cutely. He would just like properly, you know, he'd set up little scenarios for them and they play yeah.
rainbow:And I think he would like get Kage or not Kagema. He would get Tsukis hima to play with him as well, and Tsukis hima would like, begrudgingly, do it. Yes, um, but I think they, I think they yeah.
em:Cause I do like to think that Tsukki is is sweet to Yamaguchi, maybe behind closed doors more so than he is in public.
rainbow:I think you kind of see it a little bit Like I think it's very clear that they like get each other, yes, and I think they get, they get along pretty well. Um, so that's Yamaguchi. And then we have Daichi, who I okay I don't know if this is canon or if it's fanon, but I've seen like people talking about Daichi having a lot of younger siblings, and so maybe there's like a manga extra that like I haven't been able to see because I read it on Shonen Jump I don't actually have the physical mangas. So maybe there's like an extra story where we learn that. Or maybe that's just a fanon and think maybe that's an assumption that people made just based on how, how good Daichi is at like corralling the team. Maybe they just assume he's like the oldest sibling he does give oldest sibling vibes.
em:Yeah, he does, and, assuming it's true, I think he would like, I think he'd good, good, naturally like play with his little siblings, you know absolutely he would like.
rainbow:yeah, he would not be like a mean older sibling who like he would not be um, uh, sid from Toy Story, and anyway he would be, Andy, he would be Andy, absolutely, he would be Andy, I think, even nicer than Andy, because he would, absolutely. He would like do the tea parties and he would like brush their hair, and you know, probably he learned how to braid using a Barbie, that sort of thing. Um, and then we have Tanaka who is 100% making them scissor?
em:Let's just not even play.
rainbow:Absolutely Freakin' Lulee making them kiss. He is like he refuses to change their clothes, especially the girls, because he's embarrassed.
em:Or, if anything, he's stealing his older sister's Barbies and messing with them when his older sister pisses them off.
rainbow:Absolutely yeah, he has. He is responsible for all of the weird Barbies in their household. Actually I, his sister would also probably make them weird in her own way. So, um, but yeah, I think he would like and he'd be like I never played with Barbies, but he's definitely played with Barbies with his sister. Um, and then we have Suga, who I could honestly, so we talked about Suga being chaotic.
em:Yes, so like, either like he kind of swings between like the sweet senpai and then also just being very chaotic. Yes, so it's like I could see him playing with them, like properly and and like dressing them up nice and playing them in little scenarios, but then also, if, getting bored, he smashes them together.
rainbow:I could see him honestly playing with Bratz dolls, yeah, and especially like the, their whole, their feet come off. I think he'd have a lot of fun with that. Um, I think he just like, like the Bratz doll vibe a lot, um, and but still making them kiss and scissor because Suga's a bad bitch. Yeah, suga, as soon as the baddest bitch are you kidding, um, all right. And then finally, we have Kiyoko.
em:I think Kiyoko, kiyoko would be like my best friend growing up when we would play Barbies. Like it would be very like, okay, they're going to go to prom, let's get them dressed up, and then we're going to go to prom Like she plays with them the way you're supposed to.
rainbow:Yes, like whatever outfit they're wearing, like that is their job or their like hobby of the day.
em:I think she takes care of the Barbies and keeps them in good condition.
rainbow:Absolutely. Yeah, she's not quite like the Toy Story 2 guy who's coming in and like cleaning up Woody, but I think she does. She makes sure that they are properly cared for. Yeah, she's not too rough with them Absolutely not. No, I think she probably likes the fashion aspect a little bit of them. Yeah, maybe she has a track Barbie.
em:Track and field Barbie Okay.
rainbow:Well, I think that's it for our who in High Q. But you know, let us know what you think. Yeah please yeah, give us a ring.
em:I can't wait until we kind of get in the flow of this and we start getting feedback and we can address it in future episodes.
rainbow:Yeah, I think that's something I'm really excited about. I'm so glad we started posting episodes because I think it's going to be really, really fun. We're really excited about interacting with you all and you can do that by following us on social media. We have a Twitter, tumblr, instagram and Blue Sky. That's fly hq pod. F L Y H Q P O D. You can also send us an email, fly hq pod at gmail dot com. Again, f L Y H QP O D. We're really, really excited to hear from you. All you know.
rainbow:Give us any feedback you have about the show. We want to hear what you think of the format and the structure. Let us know what you think of the recap. Do you prefer off the cuff or written out? If you use the transcript, please let us know if that works for you or if we need to clean it up a little bit more. Next week we will be talking about season one, episode five. I don't remember the name of it right now, but when it comes out, don't worry, the name will be in the show notes.
em:We're going to see what comes of this three on three.
rainbow:Oh, we're very, very excited about it. I mean, we're so excited that you're here listening and we love you all and we'll see you next week. We'll see you from the summit. Bye.