During the duration of the Olympics, there was one sport where I was not rooting for America: volleyball. Before anyone comes for me for not being patriotic, there is a reason why my heart was with Japan and Argentina instead of the U.S.
One of my favorite TV shows is an anime called Haikyu!! which features a teenage boy named Hinata Shoyo. Hinata is a relatively short character who aspires to be the best volleyball player at his new high school, Karasuno High. He strives to reach his idol “The Tiny Giant” and win nationals. In this Japanese anime, Hinata and his teammates work together to be the best at volleyball, going up against other high schools and intense rivals.
One of those rivals is a character named Oikawa Toru, who plays on Aoba Johsai High. The character is the setter, and his intense serves and cocky attitude create a compelling antagonist for the first two seasons. Oikawa’s hard-working attitude (and good looks) has the audience conflicted by the end of season 2 about which team to truly root for. At first, I hated his character, but as the games went on I slowly started to enjoy watching Oikawa play!
As the manga and show continue, more characters are revealed as an obstacle for Karasuno and Hinata to overcome to win nationals. But the flashbacks for the character’s backstories and the overall friendly nature from Hinata blurs the line on who should be the winner in each match. Personally, there were many times where I was on the edge of my seat, my heart conflicted on who I wanted to win the match despite Karasuno being the main team. So many of my favorite characters are from other high schools, so when I rewatch the show I just feel heartbreak when either team loses a game.
During a time skip in the manga (a Japanese comic graphic novel), Oikawa and Hinata are now friends training in Brazil. Both play beach volleyball in hopes of becoming even stronger at the sport. Even further into the time skip, Oikawa becomes a team member of the UPCN Volleyball team, a competitive volleyball league team based in San Juan in Argentina.
The best part is the real-life UPCN team recognizes Oikawa as a member of their team, adding him as an official member on the rooster. Last year during 2020 Twitter was blowing up as the UPCN team announced this news on Twitter, posting pictures of the team with Oikawa photoshopped in. Jerseys were made with his number and name on the back as well! Videos of the players and coaches welcoming Oikawa to the team also cement this amazing news.
The official setter for UPCN, Sebastian Brajkovic, commented on the new addition to the team through a video, and this is a translation of his words. “Hey everyone, I’m a lil surprised at the news about the Japanese player Oikawa joining us. We’re very excited for his arrival and to hang out with him. I’m a little worried about the competition for the setter position tho…”
His official recognition has fans teary-eyed and in awe with UPCN, amazed that a fictional character could actually be recognized as a real team member. It also has our wallets empty, for a jersey with his name and number on the back is a must-have for an Oikawa stan.
The show is one of the more popular animes right now, as many fans are waiting for season 5 to be animated. The manga ended last year, unfortunately, bringing one of the best, most uplifting stories to an end. One part of the ending of Haikyu!! finished the story with a match of Japan vs Argentina in the Olympics, which featured many of the characters throughout the manga coming together to play.
Some of the many tough rivals Hinata once faced in high school were now teammates on the Japan National team, including his high school teammate and rival Kageyama Tobio. And on the National Argentina team was none other than Oikawa Toru. Going head to head once again, Hinata and Kageyama played against Oikawa in this intense match for gold.
The winner of the game isn’t revealed, but this brings me back to the current 2021 Olympics.
The men’s volleyball teams played fiercely this year in hopes of receiving the gold. And it was my favorite pastime to watch the games with Japan or Argentina. Many fans, including me, couldn’t help but think that our favorite characters from Haikyu!! would be playing there if the show was real. Of course, the show is just fantasy, but it is still fun to pretend. After watching the show, these characters become something special to you.
During the opening ceremony, many fans on Twitter couldn’t help but agree that Oikawa would be right there in the center of the excited team, jumping and chanting on their way into the opening ceremony space. Knowing his character, he would be having the time of his life celebrating with his teammates as they compete for gold.
Unfortunately, neither Japan nor Argentina won gold this year. However, Japan lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals. But in the finals, Argentina beat Brazil, which gave Argentina their bronze medal. Many fans decided it was almost like Oikawa was beating Brazil and winning for Japan, winning for the other characters who were on the Japan team who he eventually became friends with like Hinata.
Haikyu!! is one of the most known animes and mangas in the world right now which has a special place in all anime lover’s hearts. It’s uplifting, inspiring, intense, and just overall special. Haikyu!! will forever be one of my top favorite shows and I will never forget the characters. Watching the Olympics this year was just amazing, seeing the moves in action and imagining my favorite characters playing there as well.
Of course, I have to give congratulations to all the real players on both teams who actually competed and worked hard during this summer. Watching their hard work pay off made the games so exciting and intense to watch! Of course, I rooted for America too, but Japan and Argentina had me cheering loudly this year.
I recommend anyone to give Haikyu!! a try. It’s a great anime to start with, and it’s honestly one of the best sports anime ever! Don’t knock it until you try it! And you too can follow Hinata, Oikawa, and their teammates on their journey to win nationals and make it to the Olympics!