helloooo!! this is one HEFTY post; but as the haikyuu manga is ending pretty soon, i thought i might as well post my thoughts on oihinaâs interactions in canon :)
so essentially, when you consider oikawaâs introduction at the beginning of the series, heâs sorta imposed on us as KAGEYAMAS challenge â the old senpai current rival, as well as someone that karasuno needs to beat, as well as someone who desperately wants to beat kageyama whether to prove his own self worth or for other reasons
not only is oikawa presented as this challenge to kageyama, hes also shown as, at that point, the most challenging opponent they have faced/have yet to face. aoba josai, and moreso oikawa is this big wall and karasuno needs to overcome him.
first of all you have the facet that hinata is kageyamas partnerâso naturally oikawa takes immediate interest in him.
during the first karasuno seijoh practice match, at the end of the game, hinata deliberately spikes the ball next to oikawa in a show that YUH im a person and also in retaliation for oikawa aiming his serves to tsukki. by doing this it effectively raised oikawas interest like đ (bc what audacity to challenge him directly...)
now you have the confrontation outside of seijoh where sure oikawa proposes the setter v setter duel to kageyama
but he also compliments hinatas broad cross at the end â and it was a genuine compliment
also towards the end of the seijoh match â where everyone is likr aaaHHHh oikawa is like WOW at hinatas jump.
when it comes to oihina past tje first practice match there is. admittedly. not much ... then u have TOURNAMENTS WHOAAA
during the tournaments during karasunos match with tokonami, you have dateko first seeing the quick, AND you have seijoh spectating karasuno from the sidelines.
oikawa watches them play, feigns uninterest in the team (read: kageyama) and then. when hinata spikes this man goes down a whole ROW of seats to watch
oikawa at asahiâs spike vs hinataâs spike
obviously theres this sense of yes, iâm going to beat himâbut on top of that regarding oihina theres always been this sense of mutual admiration for each other.
what with hinata always being like wow the grand king is amazing!!! and oikawa just being generally amazed by hinataâs ability.
they both have kageyama as a central piece of their narratives as well.
but oikawa is an example of an unhealthy rivarly and relationship and hinata is an example of a partnership and healthy rivarly and competitiveness.
now if you look further into it, u see that oikawa and hinata have even more similarities.
oikawa and hinata, once again, center around kageyama, and theyre similar in this way: both of them feel inferior to him. this is prevalent in oikawaâs character especiallyâit being a driving force for his relationship with karasuno. with hinata, its less of outright âim not as good as himâ like the blase declarations oikawa makes BUT rather a sense of âhes always ahead of me. im might not be able to catch upâ (however, hinata has a much clearer head when it comes to that sort of thingâdue to his sheer willpower and determination)
general feelings of inadequacy are keystones of their characters.
ok you have after hinata and kageyamas argument, where kageyama goes to oikawa for help.
and oikawa says something along the lines of âthe shrimp is the one at the center of the attackânot youâ.
now this is SO important because why oikawa???? where everyone disagreed w hinata, heres this opponent who wants nothing more than to defeat kageyama or ushiwaka, validating what hinata said. the first reason for this, i think, is the respect that oikawa has built up for hinata, watching him improve and play and likely seeing some of himself inside him.
one of the best oihina lines we have bro ;-; theres more i could say about it but that basically sums it up
ok during the spring qualifiers during the seijoh match there isnât TOO much prominent oihina interaction however there is still that sense of mutual admiration that is just. there. though that match is mostly OIKAWA KAGEYAMA AHHHHHHHH
you have an oikawa whoâs lost whoâs now spectating the finals that he cant attendâand at the end he says âno wonder he (hinata) has tobio-chan wrapped around his finger. [...] in the end, chibi-chan is a spiker you end up wanting to toss toâ
now. THIS. is important as well because it a) implies that oikawa wants to set for hinata (and why wouldnt he?? oikawa is all about bringing the best out of peopleâwhats different hereâespecially w this small monster) and b) he recognizes the fucking pull of hinata, the one that the miya twins recognize too and label as terrifying
heres the fun part: people in haikyuu respect kageyama and hinata as a partnership, as this freak duo on the courtâpeople respect kageyama in his own right, as a setter. oikawa does something elseâhe has this respect for hinata, and hinata ALONE. not the duo, not kageyama. just hinata. and that sense of individual respect and admiration is so interesting & and explorable.
hinata and oikawa have an interaction later on in the manga, during the timeskip arc. for preface/context: they run into each other by chance during hinataâs time in brazil, and now they have a week to spend together. during this time, a lot of things happen.
so going over it as least analyssisey as possible for now this happens:
- hinata immediately asks to play volleyball w oikawa
- hinatas stomach growlss. oikawa says âshow me the good places around hereâ hinata says he lost da wallet. oikawa OFFERS TO PAY.
- hinata: you know, before i saw you, i was actually feeling kind of sad and lonely. but seeing you has made me super super happy!
- they play volleyball together
- oikawa: ...then treat me to lunch next time
through volleyball with hinata, hinata helps oikawa remember that volleyball is fun again
âit reminds me that volleyball is funâ <oikawa laughing>
then when they part ways, oikawa calls hinata shoyo (which ill get to) and then oikawa leaves (and says heâll beat everyone but thats a whole different thing)
now thats just what HAPPENED.
first of all, hinata and oikawas personalities mesh super well together, and they immediately take a selfie. disregarding past rivalriesâtheyre FRIENDS nowâand OIKAWA SAN CAN I GET UR CONTACT INFORMATION P L E A S E
they decide to play volleyballâthis interacts and in a way completes the quote where oikawa says hinata is a spiker youâd want to toss to bc oikawa finally gets to toss for him.
the way that oikawa acts around hinata is interesting bc we KNOW this man is petty and holds grudgesâso to see him not feel that? over a player that was heavily responsible for the ending of his high school career?? the respect and admiration that he has for hinata in his singularity is coming through here.
next up we have the whole thing where oikawa pushes himself to the point that he forgets volleyball is fun. hinata is this refreshing presence to him and through their shared experience with volleyball, helped him see that volleyball is fun again. HE HELPED HIM SEE VOLLEYBALL WAS FUN AGAIN.
while also flashing back to his whole childhood. which is yk. significant
NOW for the last main point i have to say is the BIG IMPORTANCE of oikawa calling hinata SHOYO
WHO does he call by their first name???? NO ONE. certainly not iwaizumi, not kageyama, not kunimi or kyoutani or sugawara. by calling hinata SHOYO its this sign of HUGE respect and admiration and GRATEFULNESS for the joy that hinatas returned to him
the last thing i really have to say here is that their interactions during this particular part of the manga were just TOO flirty to ignore, as well
their fluffy less analysis parts are just clear to the eyeâthey had so much fun together!!!
now when looking at hinataâs side of the relationship for oihina the first thing that you see is obviously AHHHH GRAND KING terrified-ness
however there is. a lot more to be said on hinatas side
first up, this bitch directly aimed a spike right next to oikawa during the practice match. he knows theres some emotional impact there hes not DUMBâalso. the audacity.
on top of the fear there is immense admiration
this is KAGEYAMAS senpai right???? he must be AMAZING. hinata looks up to âthe grand kingâ a LOT and recognizes his strengths as a player
so we have admiration and fear, sure, but what else??
hinata is one of the most emotionally intelligent characters in haikyuu, knowing peoples emotional cues and when theyre upset (ie running yachi to her mom, staying on the quieter side with aone because hes a quieter person)
if you put him near sakusa, heâd definitely respect all of sakusa boundaries
so when you consider the fact that hinata Knows people, and hinatas knows kageyama and hinata knows that oikawa was kageyamas senpai
and seeing how oikawa IS around kageyama
its likely that he can tell that they werent on ... the best of terms
so considering that, we cycle back to a pivotal aspect of their characters; kageyama and inadequacy
he knows what it feels like to be LESSER. thats his character. and he can probably see that on oikawas side tooâthats why he aimed a spike at this mf
and so for hinata and oikawa to see themselves in each other; and for their storylines to revolve so similarly and differently around kageyama is also interesting
hinata sees the desire to beat kageyama in oikawa and oikawa sees the fear of falling behind or never being enough in hinata
tldr: mutual admiration, fear, respect, and inadequacy
referring to FEAR: this isnt something i mentioned much about but
hinata is scared of oikawa DUH
but oikawa has this fear as well. referring to hinata as a monster, observing him never being sure of what heâs going to do next. hinata is unpredictable and unprecedented and oikawa has fear of him too.
THATS ALL FOLKS!!! that is my take on the canon material of oihina weâve been given :D apologies for any spelling mistakes <3
