S1E20: Oikawa Tooru is Not a Genius

"Oikawa Tooru is not a genius."

... or is he??

This week, em and rainbow discuss season 1, episode 20 "Oikawa Tooru is Not a Genius" and talk about Oikawa's superior teamwork skills and the way Kageyama is overthinking this game. For the last episode of Pride month, they use the Who in Haikyuu? section to discuss how each character would celebrate pride. 
 
38:45 - Spoiler Zone Begins

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Transcript

rainbow

00:08

hello everyone and welcome to fly a queer haiku podcast. I'm rainbow and I'm m, and today we are going to talk about season 1, episode 20. Oikawa Tooru is not a genius.

em

00:21

I think he is.

rainbow

00:23

That's the thing. I love this episode. Just, you know well, we've got other stuff to talk about, but I just want to stay up top that, like this episode, like the content of it completely contradicts the title. It's just that's what Oikawa thinks in his head. He's like I'm not a genius. I'm not a genius because he's comparing himself to Kageyama, who is called a genius, and he's like well, I can't do the kind of sets that he does, so I'm not a genius. And it's like you fucking idiot there's different kinds of intelligence.

em

00:47

Yeah, he's not a genius, he's just playing the fucking team like a fiddle.

rainbow

00:51

Yeah, he's just playing 4d chess while everyone else is playing checkers.

em

00:54

We have a lot to say in this episode, so let's get into it yes, , kiki is , she's being mischievous, she's, she's doing stuff.

rainbow

01:04

She's not curled up asleep like she usually is while we record. So we'll see what happens.

em

01:08

Kiki Kageyama is not a genius. Kiki Kageyama is something, and yeah, that's her middle name. Yeah, yeah.

rainbow

01:17

Okay. So we do want to say our last happy pride month. This comes out the last Monday of June. Get your pride while you still can, absolutely. After this, you're not allowed to be happy about being gay anymore. It's misery. Back in the closet. You go just kidding.

01:33

No, , you know pride month is a time for celebration, remembrance and joy. It's you know it. You know we have months for specific, , marginalized groups because they are marginalized. If we existed in a world of equity and equality, we wouldn't need to have a month specifically for these groups, and we also wanted to say that we understand there are people who maybe don't feel safe coming out and being out and proud any time of the year, and that's valid too.

02:00

There's plenty of reasons for somebody to not be out to their family or their workplace or even their friend group. So even if you are celebrating Pride Month internally and you are the only one who knows that it's a month that represents you, you're loved too and like. That's totally valid Don't ever let anyone try to tell you that you have to come out for any particular reason. That's a personal choice for you to make, and we talked about it last week. That identity is personal and it happens inside and you know if you're whenever you're ready to bring that out. There is community here and there are people who will welcome you with open arms. But if you haven't found those people yet, that's totally okay too.

em

02:40

Yeah, and also how you come out. I feel, like you know, we went through an era, especially like in the early 2010s, where everyone was making a big YouTube video about it or like it's a big announcement and that's very valid because we need to be seen and everything. But also, you don't have to make a post or a big announcement with me, like I just sidestepped out of the closet and then everyone else can get wise to the fact afterwards. Like you know, I was just like whatever it was relevant, I'd be like, you know, whatever I did, specifically like I was very casual about it and I'll never forget my mom in the car being like, so what's the tea with your bisexuality? And like, yeah, so I don't know. Just like, however, you want to do it, when and if. It's all up to you and we love you yeah.

rainbow

03:18

Even if you just suddenly start walking around with a rainbow pin one day, like it's, that's your business absolutely absolutely so, yeah.

03:26

So we hope everyone had a wonderful pride month. We hope you were able to celebrate in whatever way fit your situation, , and your personality and yeah, just you know. But for the rest of the year, continue educating yourself on parts of our community you don't know about. Continue, , celebrating, continue protesting against homophobia and transphobia. Pride is not just about celebration, it is an act of protest. Love is resistance, so resist that hate hell. Yeah, all right. And moving on to the gay boys, the gay boys  slay boys  slay boy.

04:05

Hey, boys, okay, so we don't have anything for housekeeping again, and if we're missing something we should be talking about, let us know . But yeah, it's on to our recap, this time done by the lovely m? . So whenever you're ready, I can count you down. If you want, do it. And three, two one.

em

04:25

The battle against seijo is fully underway. Or is it the battle between setters? Oikawa has a strong command of the game, clocking kagehina's signals and aiming for Tanaka to try and break down morale. Kageyama slides back into bad habits and his desperation to stay on the court. In this battle of setters, it's natural genius against the ability to bring out the best in all your spikers and, and right now, Oikawa reigns supreme while Kageyama gets subbed out, I mean do we even need to talk about the episode?

rainbow

04:50

That was perfect. That just fully-.

em

04:52

All right everyone.

rainbow

04:52

Thank you for joining us. And this is the shortest episode of Fly a queer Haikyuu podcast you've ever heard.

em

04:57

Ironically, though, we have so much to say.

rainbow

05:05

This episode. There is so much meat here.

em

05:06

I'm so excited like it starts off immediately where the last episode ended. Yes, we start with a flashback of Kageyama's talking about how in middle school, he met, you know, an amazing person and he thought that junior high was amazing, but really it was Oikawa that was amazing and that if he could surpass Oikawa he would be the best setter in the prefecture.

rainbow

05:22

And he because he's just always been obsessed with beating Oikawa.

em

05:26

He's just, he's obsessed why are you so obsessed with?

rainbow

05:29

Oikawa really is like a goal post for for Kageyama as a term, as of being a setter yeah, and I have here that Kageyama, because you know Kageyama does his setter dump because we move out of the flashback into the game yes, and it's. You know, Kageyama does that setter dump and then like, talk some shit to ikawa, and then Hinata comes up and it's like so complimentary, and I have that Kageyama is too focused on winning to be flustered by Hinata's compliments. He like immediately is just like, he's like I just can't help it, I want to win. And then Hinata immediately teases him, being like well, you're about to serve, though, so you can't really do that again, because setter dumps are he's like, and it's so clear, like I. I think Hinata does a really good job, specifically with Kageyama, of kind of playing db. Yeah, to tease him like that's the only time he's playing db. Usually he just is db, but with Kageyama because he like does like a little giggle afterwards they're so cute.

em

06:20

that whole little moment is really funny because, yeah, he's just like, but how can you? You do that again. You're about to go in the back and he's like, obviously I meant next time and he kind of stalks off with his arms out. They're very silly. And then, yeah, Hinata giggles at him. They're just too much.

rainbow

06:31

And then it's so. It's Kake, I'm a serve no-transcript. If you're going to serve or pitch or whatever you do the same thing to get you in that same head space and I think it's part of your muscle memory. But we don't see Kageyama do like his usual serve routine and I don't know if we actually see his serve routine set up yet We'll definitely see it later but he like clinches the ball in anger and then he messes the serve.

em

07:13

It goes way out of bounds. Yeah, as Oikawa says, it's a great home run. I mean, I really feel for Kageyama in this. It's got to be nerve wracking having to like go up against your, basically your idol, who hates you, you I can't think of anything more intimidating. And he's good looking.

rainbow

07:27

I would be peeing my pants on the court well, and not just that, but like he's playing against former teammates, some of whom he like has gone through like traa, like kind of because of yeah, , so like there's just a lot going on for Kageyama and, as we know, like he doesn't know how to handle his emotions, he doesn't know how to express them properly, and so like I have a lot I think you know I have a lot of notes in this episode about like Hageyama like falling apart or falling back on bad habits, like he's just like there's something like breaking and cracking here. Yeah, and I think if he were maybe on another team that wasn't so like caring and supportive, maybe he would like fully shatter.

em

08:05

But you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens. Oh my god, yeah, yeah, imagine going up against your school bullies and ex-besties like I'd kill myself, yeah so . So then of course, now it's Oikawa's turn to serve and he kind of says, like guess I'll have to show you how it's done. He aims for NishiNoya, who of course gets it because he is a genius on his own, and of course Iwa is not impressed, says what do you mean? You're going to show us how it's done? He got it.

rainbow

08:26

Yeah, well, and I like it because Oikawa seems excited by Noya saving the ball, like that and it's just again like the monsters are they get excited by the other monsters, like he's like, he's like he thinks it's cool that Noya got that ball and I think for Oikawa it's kind of fun's like. Okay, now I have to adjust who, what, who do I go after next? And like a lot of this game, is Oikawa trying to break their morale, which we'll get to later yeah, you know who Oikawa is giving is   Dazai the.

08:54

Oh my gosh, I have made that point before. That like okay. So Tomiki from Oron High School  Club, dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs and Oikawa from Haikyuu are same character, different font.

em

09:04

And Dazai even looks like him a little bit.

rainbow

09:06

Yeah.

em

09:07

In the way that he is just kind of a mastermind and he's always a few steps ahead and figuring things out.

rainbow

09:11

Yes, yeah, if we were to do a crossover, it would be Dazai and Oikawa playing chess in the weird prison, oh my.

em

09:20

God Fucking, literally and on the sidelines, a little bit ahead, but it's relevant. Takada is kind of like oh, I wonder if he did that on purpose or if he meant to, you know, serve it to our best receiver.

rainbow

09:32

And Ukai's like no, I think he did, because if NishiNoya had missed it that would have been a huge blow to everyone's morale and he's like good job getting that Noya Well, and you see, Noya's like process, like he's coming straight on, he's like no curve, and then he goes and gets it because he's so good and he talks about how he like he went up against that serve in middle school but it wasn't as refined and it was like it was amazing when it got in, but most of the time it didn't. But you know, he's had like I was had at least what two years and he's been practicing.

em

09:55

Because he knows he's not a genius, he's got to practice he's been practicing late into the night, and then we have.

rainbow

10:01

So we have. I think Ken Daichi tries to like block Hinata and doesn't quite get it.

em

10:05

And then we have Oikawa yes because, sorry, because Kageyama successfully copies Kenma's move of faking out with a look.

rainbow

10:13

Yes, yes, he does, and they point that out. I think it's Takanoe and Shinmata who do it. They're like talking about it because of course they're still there. But yeah, Oikawa goes to tie his shoe and I noticed like the ref like looking at him but they don't show Oikawa actually retying it. So I think he was pretending so that he has time to kind of manipulate Kindaichii into trying harder. He like razzes him about the fact that like he wasn't good enough for Kageyama and Kageyama has replaced him with you know that ginger. And there's comments later on about from his own teammates about the way Oikawa like manipulates people and reads people and like he is so good at it.

em

10:50

Yeah, he, he, he says all this, you know kind of firing him up, and then he kind of gives him a little push and he's like just you know, jump in and let me do my thing. And again, like you know, I'm saying how scary it would be to go against him. I would be intimidated just to be on a team with with Oikawa, because he is, he's playing everybody and, like you, I, as a little like first year, I would be like I want to do good for my son he's playing everyone but Iwaizumi, because Iwaizumi is the only one.

rainbow

11:14

Yeah, he can't get away with it. Yeah, for real. And so then we this is where we get Oikawa like like finally, like putting all of the pieces together with their, their signals, the kagehina signals yeah, he waits for them to kind of do both of their, because they have like, bring it to me.

em

11:30

It's like you know it's bring it to me or give it to give it to me, and he kind of waits for them to do both and he's like, okay, I think I got it. And he calls for a time out very early on, which is suspicious, and Kageyama is like, oh my god, did they read us already?

rainbow

11:42

and it's here's. The thing, though, is like it is Oikawa telling the coach I need a timeout, because Oikawa is basically the coach of this goddamn team.

11:50

Like because he is like there is a maturity to Oikawa as a volleyball player, like he's a very immature person but like as a volleyball player, he's so mature and he's just he, he's really like very grown, he's very, very smart and like. I think the coach recognizes him and recognizes that, and so Oikawa is making a lot of the decisions you know, and that frees up the Seijo coach to just think about Karasuno and analyze them.

em

12:13

Yeah. So he kind of explains like okay, this is what I think is going on. You know, when he says this, do that. When he says that, do that. And Iwa is like is it not suspicious that we called a time out? And Oikawa says ah, it's even better, because if tobio realizes, then he's gonna start to panic yeah, yes, and that's what he's going for.

rainbow

12:30

But I like that  in the dub Oikawa is talking about, like there's a tiny little flashback to him watching their game all creepily and he's like, he's like. When I was watching their game tape I was like, wow, that little guy screams something every time he goes to hit a set. At first I thought he was just an idiot. I love that.

em

12:47

Yeah, I was like, but actually and it is honestly it is. I think it's such an obvious thing that people wouldn't clock it, but Oikawa is not a genius, I guess, and clocks it.

rainbow

12:58

Yeah. So then we go back to Karasuno and I guess Kagama has like a thinking face on and Noya says something about it, and then that's where Tanaka is like, oh no, I've seen him make that face at school when he can't pick what to get from the vending machine. And I said Kageyama gets decision paralysis, which I feel Between milk and yogurt Between his two dairy products.

em

13:18

Yeah, they're just like. That's just his face. Kindaichii is serving and Oikawa has Kindaichii aim for an awkward spot. It's like where, you know, the setter has to run up front and they have to kind of get information and so, even though it's not an impressive serve, they do flub it. And the girls that are like the Oikawa fan girls are like how did they do that? And then what's his face? Takanoe? Takanoe is like let me impress these high school girls and he, you know, and for the audience, explains what they're doing.

rainbow

13:45

But then, I love, the girls are like thanks, old man, that's something and you know, I feel like we've talked about this before and I feel like haikyuu it almost is kind of like subverting, like men and boys being creepy towards girls, where it kind of like points out like this is a little gross or this is weird, or like this is db, like it doesn't, like let them get away with it. Like he's like I'll explain it to you, ladies, and then they're just like then they just totally destroy him.

em

14:11

Yeah, I love that a little bit. Yeah, so Kageyama is starting to panic. He tries to kind of force a setter dump which fails, because it's so obvious Seijo has quite a lead and Kageyama is feeling that pressure, suge pressure to catch up. And I think you know Oikawa has moved to the front, he's right there. That's got to be extra and he's just so handsome. I just I feel so bad for Kageyama in this episode. He fails that dump and then Hinata calls for a toss and they clock it and Hinata like just manages to get it in but that kind of confirms like yeah, they're on to you and the pressure is on for Kageyama.

rainbow

14:44

So we see Tanaka getting the ball. I can't remember exactly when it happens, but there's a line where, like Tanaka, I think he like and does like some sort of like he he gets the ball and he's like really excited and Oikawa has like a big smile on his face and he's like you're so positive. And then he goes into like his like serious mean face and he's like it's really starting to get on my nerves and I just I love when Oikawa does that shit. That's why he's anime's greatest villain.

em

15:09

He's a mastermind and yeah, that's that's when he starts to kind of  target Tanaka. But Kageyama gives a good serve that's hard for them to receive. But then Oikawa turns it around on them and Ukai is like you know. He's able to turn a tight spot into an opportunity in the game. He has great command of the game.

rainbow

15:26

Yeah, well, and I have a note here that I feel like Oikawa is the first real monster Karasuno has to deal with, for sure, like Datek was hard, but, but this is Oikawa's on another level, well and yeah, exactly, he's in a whole other league and I feel like, but like I feel like part of him doesn't really entirely believe that, like I think that's a little bit contradicted.

em

15:44

Maybe he does kind of believe that in a sense, or it's like when people don't actually have the confidence and they kind of like blow it up to I don't, yeah, I don't know if that's what it is with Oikawa.

rainbow

15:54

I just like Oikawa to me is somebody who has very like low self-esteem, he like, but then like later he does like recognize that like he has things that Kageyama doesn't. So maybe, maybe the reason Oikawa's killing it so hard in this game is because he has finally like accepted that like no, I'm not a genius setter the way that Kageyama is, but like I have skills.

em

16:14

He does not. Oikawa starts aiming for Tanaka, because he's kind of the team's morale, , and who's the one that's been keeping them in high spirits? His goal is to take down him, and then Asahi, which will then make Hinata's decoy pointless again he's playing 4d chess?

rainbow

16:30

yeah, and I like the moment. Are we at the moment where Tanaka apologizes to the team? Almost, almost okay?

em

16:37

so Ukai calls a timeout, , and tells Kageyama well, he's like, you know what was with that setter dump. And Kageyama knows. He's like, sorry, I panicked and he's like all right. Well, as long as you know that and remember, it's not just you fighting Oikawa, it's Karasuno fighting Seijo, exactly, which is something that you know he's not gonna quite remember, Tanaka keeps getting targeted and they have another time out very quickly, and then this is when they have the moment, and Hinata is so cute, he's like I should say like Tanaka always cheers me up. I should say something, but he doesn't really have to.

rainbow

17:04

Yeah, cause Tanaka, like he recognizes that he kind of got scared. He kind of has a moment, like Asahi did during the date tech game, where he's like I didn't call for the ball and I'm sorry, like you know that's on me and like I'll beat myself up later, but like right now you guys need me. It's kind of like I don't know. It's kind of shows a little bit of maturity that I don't think you expect from Tanaka.

em

17:23

Yeah, and he says like someone worthless like me should not be bringing down the team and you guys says like I, you should be more like Tanaka.

rainbow

17:38

And I see he's like if I could, I would be. Yeah, he's like I'm trying to get better. It's so funny, yeah, yeah. And then we go back over to Seijo and somebody from the stands comments on like Oikawa is like sitting away from the group. For once he's not giving the talk, because they called the timeout during Oikawa's serves and so he's sitting there. And this is the first but not the last time we see a server, kind of, and it doesn't really show it, but like we know that he's doing serves in his head. He's like he's doing like visual serves so that he can get right back in there. Yeah, he's staying in the zone, basically, absolutely yeah. And then we have a moment of Tanaka seeing the view from the other side.

em

18:11

Oh, my god, I actually got a little emotional because, yeah, he's getting targeted again but, , between, I think, Kageyama and Hinata, they kind of scrape by with receiving it and Tanaka is able to get it through. And, , I think it's Ukai who's kind of giving us this background of like, his ability to keep his mental strength up even when he's cornered is the sign of a true ace. And, yeah, he sees that, he it goes in slow-mo for him. He sees it and he gets it through and I'm like, am I gonna fucking cry right now?

rainbow

18:37

yeah, and you know this isn't, this is not the last time we'll see. You know the talk of Tanaka's mental fortitude and you know, just let's put a pin in this because I would like to talk. I want to try to remember to talk about this episode when we get to another episode way in season four that I think we could kind of say mirrors this and there's like another character that I think we could really compare.

em

18:58

I think that's going to be fun is getting to do that, comparing and contrasting yeah, yeah, there's another setter coming down the line who is a lot like Oikawa in some ways, in certain ways, certain ways , okay, so they, they try and block.

19:12

Seijo tries to block the free quick, but it doesn't work because they're just too damn. Iwa yells at Oikawa that he better not say some shit about not being a center like Tobio. And this is where we have Oikawa saying like well, I can't pinpoint like Tobio. Basically, like it's like if you're at work and one guy is really really good at what he does, but he has no social skills, and then you have a guy who's not maybe like naturally that good, but he's good at connecting with people and in life that's more important in a lot of ways, being the personality hire, being able to work the room. You know, in a way like that's what Oikawa can do in the context of volleyball and yeah, that's where he acknowledges that that's where his strength is.

rainbow

19:50

And I have a note here because, like Oikawa's having a lot of fun with this game, like he is enjoying like destroying Kageyama, but Kageyama is not having fun, which this is like, which is like a backslide for him, because the last few, like for the last several episodes, like volleyball has been fun for him. He's enjoyed getting to use Hinata as a decoy, he's enjoyed getting to to play, to do these different kinds of plays. But because he's so focused on Oikawa, he's so tense, he's overthinking, he's falling right into Oikawa's trap.

em

20:18

He's not having any fun and it's really showing in his performance yes, because, , and we have Oikawa's flashback of meeting Kageyama, about hearing about this genius setter and when he heard that king of the court nickname he thought it was high praise. But he realizes, like toby was strong and talented but it was also his weakness, because he tries to do everything himself, which is a hard habit to break. And it's only been two months since all of that went down. Karasuno is starting to speed up with their attacks because Kageyama is falling into that trap of like, trying to just speed up to try and get past the blockers. But you cannot use speed over everything.

20:51

And we have Oikawa thinking, like Tobio, you're a genius, you're the only one who could bring out the shrimpies like strength. But what about the other hitters? And he, literally Oikawa himself, knows like if you went a little slower, you'd get more out of Asahi, if, like Sekishima, trusted you more like, and that's their biggest difference is, Oikawa knows how to work each and every one of his spikers, but Tobio can't, and that is going to be his ultimate downfall and we kind of see, yeah, he's falling back on his speed, which is dangerous.

rainbow

21:17

And we see like a flash to Hinata. And we see that Hinata is like he can tell that Kageyama is falling apart. He knows he's not on his game, he's not playing his usual at his usual level. And we see a flash when Oikawa is having those thoughts about Kageyama. We see him in his kingly gear, like he still has not shed that yet Kageyama like feels maybe that he's left that behind, but it's still definitely weighing him down in Oikawa.

em

21:42

The great king is bringing that out in him and then they literally have a duel between Oikawa and Kageyama at the net and of course Oikawa gets it in and Kageyama falls on his ass. We have Oikawa towering over him. It's very like literal of what's going on right now and that's, that's a comp.

rainbow

21:59

That's common imagery that we will see later on and we will point out other times that happens and so at this point you know they're like eight points ahead.

em

22:07

Aoba Johsai is kicking ass, , and seijo's coach kind of confirms the whole point of this episode. Which is the better setter right now we can say confidently is Oikawa, and Kageyama completely flubs. This next set to Tsukishima, he completely misses. And then we have him getting subbed out by suga, yeah, and I have.

rainbow

22:25

This is Kageyama's self-fulfilling prophecy. Yeah, he's so afraid of being taken off the court, like he was in middle school, that he's speeding things up too fast and the spikers can't hit his sets just like how kendai chi kept missing spikes in the game against Hinata's team in middle school. And so he does. So Kageyama does, in fact, get taken off the court, and then we and it I love the way it ends. It's like a cliffhanger. Like it ends with suga holding up the number nine, yeah, and like he's about to go in. And I just got so fucking stoked for the next episode. To be clear to everyone, we recorded episode 19 yesterday.

em

23:01

Yes, I'm going away for a week in June, so we had to do some doubling up.

rainbow

23:04

Yes, and so we just. But now I'm like damn. I wish we could have recorded 20 and 21 back to back, because the fact that I have to wait almost a full week to watch and talk about this episode. It's going to be so good.

em

23:16

I'm so excited, it's both one of our favorite episodes like I think, after episode one it might be because we kind of have like this is kind of Kageyama falling apart and then we're gonna have the team kind of build him up up again next episode, not to get no spoilers, but yeah, and that's that's where the episode ends. And like, as a tobio lover, this is so hard to watch because, but it's, it's so necessary. Like Oikawa really is represents what Kageyama needs to work on, because like, yeah, this is, you have an amazing bond with Hinata, but like that can't be all and without Hinata, like most people cannot match your amazing speed and you have to learn to work with that well, it goes back to like a lot of people say that like Hinata is useless without Kageyama, and it's like you know, it is true that like Hinata wouldn't be on the court nearly as much if Kageyama wasn't his setter.

rainbow

24:01

But the same is true of Kageyama he would not be the starting setter if it wasn't for Hinata and their like bond and like this shows that like, well, yes, that's enough to get you on the court. If you want to stay on the court, you have to learn more. You have to learn the skills that Aikawa already has. Yeah, oh, it's so fucking. This show is so good. It's so good, it's so amazing. I just like, what do you mean? What do you mean? It's, what is this? Sometimes I just get overwhelmed with, like, my love for haikyuu, and this is one of those moments. It's happening not live, but you know in your ears, right in this moment, reiki, my love for haikyuu.

24:40

Yes, okay. So, moving on to another excitable person for our character spotlight, we thought today would be a good time to talk about Tanaka Ryunosuke, and I honestly freaking love his given name and I'm sad that we don't get more of it. Ryunosuke is such a cool name to me.

24:58

It's fun to say. I love it All right. So his personality this is from the wiki loud, hot-headed and easily angered. He is no stranger to picking fights. He's also somewhat of a slacker, as shown by his less than stellar work ethic in school and his usual lateness to practices. Despite all this, he is shown to be caring and supportive of his teammates and even protective of his underclassmen. Tanaka doesn't take kindly to people who belittle others. Tanaka is also someone with strong mental fortitude and not letting himself be brought down by things like being targeted or getting blocked during games, which is what we see today.

em

25:32

Yes, we see that today and it's kind of the opposite of someone we haven't met yet, but another ace who?

rainbow

25:37

gets easily torn down. Yes, you're right. Oh, I didn't even think about that. Okay, if you know you know, yeah, absolutely wait to meet those guys?

em

25:45

anyway.

rainbow

25:46

So yes, let's get into the name meeting yeah, okay, so the family name Tanaka means rice field, middle, and I, you know, I'm gonna have to look into the whole rice field thing because this is not the first character that had has had some sort of name meeting related to rice fields and I'm just curious about the cultural significance about that. Again, if anyone knows, feel free to write in, but I think I'm gonna make a note to myself to look into that. I also think Tanaka is a very common name. It really is. Yeah, so I'm doing  Duolingo, I'm doing Japanese on Duolingo. 673 days, no big deal can.

26:17

I speak fluently. No, , do I know how to read hiragana? Kinda, so it's doing something for me. , also, if you don't follow Duolingo on Twitter, you need to. It is that that account is run by anime nerds and it's amazing. They know who their audience is anyway, so Tanaka is one. It's like Tanaka, yamaguchi and Nakayama are like the three last names that they use to, kind of, so I think those are all very common last names, so anyway, yeah. Tanaka, rice field Middle.

em

26:47

I don't know how significant that is, but his first name,  Ryunosuke, means assistance of a dragon, which is fucking boss, and I mean he is, he's an assist, I mean he is very strong on his own, but like he's just like I call him one of the pillars of karasuno, like, yes, of course, the free quick is like a huge cornerstone of their offense, but you know, Tanaka really holds up the team as well.

rainbow

27:10

Well, and he's the future ace. We know that, yeah, so he assistance of a dragon also. I think if and we should do one day spoiler alert for a future who and haikyuu like what mythical creatures they would be, and just like I'm gonna go ahead and say Tanaka totally would be a dragon yeah absolutely, , okay.

27:25

And then we have his character sheet. And his character sheet is great because his little sketch is him with his like hand up in the air, like come at me, tongue out, yeah. And he there's like a little like line behind him that's like, hey, hey, you, that guy, yeah, you said my something like he's like it's like he's yelling at somebody and like I think it says like come, come meet me behind the gym, or something like. The words are blocked by Tanaka so you can't entirely see everything he's saying, but it's very funny. Tanaka Ryuunosuke is karasuno high School. He's in class 2-1. No surprise, not the smartest. His position is wing spiker. His height is 5'10" yeah, so you know. He's a second year. As we said, his birthday is March 3rd, which means he's a. He's a Pisces, my emotional boy. Yes, how do you feel?

em

28:19

Because originally, you thought you you got confused and you said aries, yeah, which I think would make sense for him. But how do you feel like pisces fits? I think it absolutely fits. Well, fun fact, pisces is one of the gayest signs, , but like I think you know he has a lot of. I think he's very in touch with emotions and like his love of romance and and like pisces is like the dreamer and and I think about when he was doing his whole little role play of like what it would be like for a girl to, like you know, be all into him and stuff. I'm like, yeah, I see that for him.

rainbow

28:44

Yeah, absolutely Okay. So his favorite food is melon pan, which is melon shaped bread Interesting, which I love, at least that's what it says. I don't know if melon pan like has like a melony taste to it. I know japan has a lot of interesting breads I want to go one day and try all their different breads. I hope so, babe. We will not hope it will happen. Not if, but when. Yes, his current worry is he went to help a first year girl who looked lost and she started crying.

29:13

He probably came out a little too strong he absolutely did yeah, it's like I understand , and then we have his five point ability parameters. His intelligence, do you want to take a guess? It's a one. It's a one. , yes, absolutely. His technique is a two, his speed and his jumping are threes, his stamina is a four, but of course, his power is a five. Yeah, because he slams that shit in baby and did we mention it that you guys says that to not in this, in this episode, that Tanaka, his power is second only to Asahi.

em

29:45

I don't think we said that specifically, but yeah, I mean he is the upcoming ace after Asahi.

rainbow

29:49

He is a very powerful spiker and we see that he is able to break through blocks. I think that's even what triggers the line from Oikawa about like you're so positive. It really pisses me off because he, like, breaks through a block yeah. He's got the power, woo, all right. Do you have anything else you want to say about Tanaka?

em

30:06

You know, once again, like I feel like he was kind of a character I felt kind of whatever about, but I feel like now that we're doing this rewatch, I do have more of appreciation for him. He's a lot of fun and I feel like I could kind of kin him in some ways in his like obnoxiousness.

rainbow

30:21

Yes, absolutely. I think he's fun, I think he's an interesting character.

em

30:24

He's a very good like he's a good kohai and a very good senpai, like he is really there for his teammates.

rainbow

30:29

Yes, he is so reliable in that way.  okay, moving on okay.

em

30:34

So we had a different who in , but we decided to push it back because we realized this is our last  thing for pride month. So of course, we have to say brought to you by my genius, how would the characters celebrate pride today we're talking about we're talking about lots of people Hinata Kageyamayama, Oikawa Iwaizumi, KinDaichi, Tanaka, Noya, Asahi, Ukai Kyoko and the rest of Karasuno and really any anyone we want to. We want to talk about.

rainbow

31:00

Yeah, we're going to talk about any of the other characters that we have talked about so far. We're not going to go into the future and look at characters we haven't talked about. You know we'll be doing this podcast for a couple years, so next pride month, we can, we can talk about the character other characters we'll get to meet, yeah, but yeah, , we can, we can open it up to like Nekoma characters or some other people as well.

em

31:19

So, yeah, starting off Hinata, I see Hinata like fucking just dressed crazy, like maybe like bare chested with wings on a lot of sparkles and just like dancing around like crazy. Like I think he would be very into it.

rainbow

31:32

He might be on a float yeah, I could see him with like a rainbow harness and a tutu yeah like glitter in his hair. He's got on like great like eye makeup, like he, the whole shebang. Yeah, he is covered head to toe like because he's loud, he's proud, he's bright, he is like. He's at the front of that parade.

em

31:52

He is getting everyone else hyped , and in turn, I think you know Kageyama would definitely be way more muted just because of his personality. I think Hinata would kind of be dragging him along. I think if it was up to him he would just watch from the sidelines. But you know, and he's not nearly as dressed up, maybe he has like some goofy sunglasses on or something, because he needed to mate him yeah, I think he'd wear like a shirt.

rainbow

32:11

I think he'd have, I think he would be subtle, but I think, like Kageyama is to me, is someone who is very proud of who he is.

em

32:18

I was gonna say just as full as pride, like if someone tried to talk sideways to him he'd knock him out, you know. But yeah, he's just a little less like and yeah, and both of those are.

rainbow

32:26

I know some people like don't really like to like look like a rainbow threw up on them during pride and that's totally fine. Like so yeah, I like that contrast for sure. And then we have Oikawa, who would be in full leather gear.

em

32:39

Yeah, literally. I think he would have a Iwaizumi on a leash.

rainbow

32:53

No opposite, he would be on the leash.

em

32:54

He would, he would, he would introduce the, the concept of like oh, why is me I'm gonna put you on a leash and why is me like, oh, you think so yeah, absolutely, KinDaichi. I think would kind of be a little more subdued.

32:59

I think you'd have to get dragged into the parade yeah, I could see him and Kunimi maybe like watching from the sidelines and, like you know not not feeling as as like comfortable being out and proud about it but, maybe, you know, and maybe it's something like maybe in middle school he wouldn't have been, but maybe, like Oikawa, maybe gives him that confidence I think that I'm not gonna keep pairing these guys up, but I think Tanaka and Noya would maybe start out as very enthusiastic allies, like I think they'd be right alongside Hinata and then maybe go on a journey of like. Maybe we're a little bi, maybe we're a little pan.

rainbow

33:31

That is absolutely my headcanon for Tanaka and Noya is that they think that they're allies. There's actually a femme karasuno fic that I read where, like Noya thought that she was straight and then when they found out that kagehina were dating, , Noya was like asking a lot of really inappropriate questions about, like how they have sex and stuff. And then, like, at the end of the fic, it was a couple years later and Noya was like, so the reason I was asking all those inappropriate questions is because it turns out I'm bi and also Asahi and I are dating and I fuck her with a strap all the time I think, yeah, Tanaka and Kiyoko are bye for bye, definitely, definitely, , yeah and Noya, yeah, and then, yeah, I could see both of them like they started out as allies.

34:12

And then they're right up there with Hinata, in their harnesses and their glitter and I could see Tanaka being a little bit more punk rock about it. Yeah for sure. . And then Asahi, I think, is another.

em

34:22

I like, I think he, , is probably a little bit more subdued because he's so shy yes, I think you know Noya is dragging him along, but Asa, he also helped design the floats, absolutely. I think, he did some behind the scenes, stuff.

rainbow

34:35

Yeah, he's for sure he's like making things for people. He's like designing things, , that people can wear and stuff like that. So, yeah, and I could see him like making like very like subtle designs. Oh, this is completely random, but yesterday I watched the  US women's national soccer team play against Korea and, , our US women's soccer team, their numbers were the rainbow flag. Oh, I love that. I love that it was white jerseys with the rainbow flag and you know we don't support corporate pride here, we're not big fans of that but it is cool that, like a national women's sports team was like yeah, gay pride, yeah.

35:14

And you know, a big part of that is probably because Megan Rapinoe, who I definitely have never had a crush on is gay and is very outspoken.

35:21

She's a huge advocate for she was a huge advocate for the US women's team when they were suing the Soccer Federation. She is like a gay and trans advocate and like an advocate for like women and trans women in sports. Yeah, , anyway. So I just had so, honestly, he would be doing those kinds of things  Ukai and Takeda both have I love my gay son shirts on yeah, I love my gay sons, I love my gay children actually, because Kiyoko is there.

35:48

Yeah, , yeah, we love our gay children. , yeah, definitely I. Kyoko's there. Yeah, yeah, we love our gay children. Yeah, definitely I think. Yeah, Takeda screams like the kind of teacher who has like a rainbow flag like on his desk or like on his like, you know, with him so that the students feel safe coming to him.

36:02

He's like crying with pride yeah, absolutely, which is a really important thing.

36:14

If you, especially if you work with young people, if you are able to like show in some way that like, even if you yourself aren't queer but like you are like an ally to your queer students, that can be so, so important. I never had that when I was young and I wish I did. And then when I worked at a public library, I had my rainbow pin. I had my like you know, she, her, she, they kind of thing and the way that like I would have like, like you know, pre-teens and teens come up to me and be like, hey, do you have any books about like girls who like girls or boys who like boys? I had like a couple kids like come out to me and like it's just really important to like be an adult who is affirming and safe for queer kids to go to, and I probably don't need to tell our listeners that, but always a chance to just get it out there. Hell yeah, anyone else. I want to talk about Kyoko and how you think she would.

em

36:55

She would celebrate you know she'd be with Tanaka.

rainbow

36:57

Bye for bye , she just seems like another, a little bit more subtle one, but also the kind who, like if you said anything homophobic or transphobic around her, she would just like quietly say something devastating. Yes, definitely absolutely. , anyone else on karasuno you want to talk about? I kind of want to go to Nekoma. What do you think about Kuroo and Kenma? Because Kuroo would also be in the harness and the glitter I was gonna say that's another leash.

em

37:23

Kenma's got Kuroo on the leash.

rainbow

37:25

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Kuroo's like walking around with like a ball gag in his mouth and yeah, Kenma, I think just as like and aged up obviously yeah, yeah we're talking, yeah we're saying, yeah, all this stuff, like we're talking about them as like adults, you know, like you know, you know teenagers at pride they'd just be wearing their like pride flag colors.

37:43

Yeah, no, and that's about yeah but, like adult them would be having lots of fun. , yeah, and I don't think we have anybody else to talk about, because, yeah, anybody else that I would want to talk about we haven't met yet. Yeah, Daichi's a bear, oh my god, yeah, Daichi. We didn't talk about jisoo again at all. Suga is another one who would be like loud and proud and probably like dying his hair. His eyes would be fucking rainbows and yeah, Daichi's a big bear. Yeah, all right.

em

38:10

So  let us know how you celebrate pride or how you celebrated pride. Okay, cool, all right, before we get into the spoiler zone and we lose some of you, , here's how you can hit us up on the internet. , we are on twitter, instagram, tumblr and blue sky. We can. Our handle is fly hq pod. F l y h q p o d. You can also send us an email if you want to chit chat at fly hq pod at gmail.com. F l y h q p o d at gmail com and now it's time to like.

rainbow

38:43

We will later today get in the pool.

em

38:45

Get in the pool. We don't have too much today.

rainbow

38:47

I think you just have a little thing yeah, I just want to talk about  Tanaka. You know we've talked about before in the time skip, like he's a personal trainer, and I think this episode is like one of the many that kind of shows like yeah, I totally see that, like I could see Tanaka being a good personal trainer, like he like having that like mental fortitude and having that like yeah, we can do this, and like feeling that responsibility. He's a hype man for sure. Yeah, absolutely. And then I really don't think there's much else to talk about.

39:13

I mean, you know we could talk about stuff that happens in the next episode, but we'll just wait until the next one, I guess I could say, because I brought this up in the episode. But the character and the like episode I was talking about, for like Tanaka and getting like, getting targeted, is when they play Inarizaki in season four, and I guess it's not, it's not Atsumu targeting him with his serves, he targets Noya and he actually is able to like flub Noya a little bit, but Tanaka keeps getting blocked and like because, again, because people recognize that Tanaka is the one who like keeps karasuno's morale up. I think Hinata kind of takes on that role a little bit too, and so I think it'll be very interesting when we get to those episodes to kind of talk about like how that mirrors what's going on in this episode, like the connections between Atsumu and Oikawa and how they kind of like are kind of related characters in a lot of ways they're similar and that's why they don't like each other

40:07

oh my, yeah, the listen, listen that official, like that, like one shot official game manga chapter that Furudate gave us where we finally got to see not only did we get to see Oikawa and Atsumu, but we also got to see Kuro and Oikawa, because those are like characters that I feel like the fandom was like why did you never let them meet? And yeah, it's just, it's so perfect. Yeah, Oikawa and Atsumu, I see a lot of people like not shipping them romantically, but platonically as best friends and like, honestly, I'm so here for that, like I love them. They're like competing, mean girls. Basically, oh my yeah, they're total frenemies.

em

40:43

Yeah yeah, absolutely. After a while they do, they do become actual friends, but it's a very much like I hate you at first, yeah, cause they're too similar. , and then I, in that same vein, when I said that thing about Tanaka and how there's another character who does let shit get to him, I was referencing Bokudo, yes, , who is very easily, very easily torn down by frustrations and whatnot.

rainbow

41:06

Oh my God, I'm so fucking excited to get to season two. It's so hard with Haikyuu because it's like I'm excited for every single episode. But then it's just like oh my god, can we just get to the training camp arc already like, can we just get to the Shiratorizawa match, can we just get to season four.

em

41:19

I'm sure, like once we have all our episodes out and like new listeners come along, I will not blame a lot of them for skipping ahead to the training camp arc stuff.

rainbow

41:27

Honestly, yeah, Totally, totally would understand that, but you know not to say that every episode is not a gym, but you know, you know what? Skip around, listen in whatever order you want. Do not ever think for a second that you have to listen to this in a specific. Do not put our toes together. Stop it. She's trying to. We're trying.

em

41:50

She's trying to hold my toes and I won't let her.

rainbow

41:52

They're clenched all right. We're going off the rails here absolutely all right. We got to go run some errands. , last and final, happy pride month everybody. It's great to be gay. It's good to be gay. You are loved, you are seen, you are valid. Go out there and be queer to whatever level you are comfortable with.

em

42:09

Yeah, and until next time, fly high with your pride.