hello it's me again :) I'm wondering if you envision Oikawa as Kise Ryouta from knb? ^_^
I actually really don’t like when people reduce Oikawa to “Volleyball Kise” because I think that is completely inaccurate and a very wrong generalization.
So no, I don’t think Oikawa is like Kise at all. I think they have a couple of similarities on the surface, the main ones being that they’re attractive, have fangirls that follow them around and they like to show off for them, but otherwise they are completely different.
There are so many differences, but the main one is the Kise is a genius while Oikawa is not. Kise is able to just copy something and do it soon after, while Oikawa has to work really really hard to get better and get to the level he is at. Yes, both are amazing players, but Oikawa has to work for it way more than Kise does. Kise is part of the generation of miracles and so that means he’s a genius and on a whole other level in terms of playing. Oikawa, on the other hand, is an absolutely amazing player but not a genius. There’s even that part in the manga where Noya says how much he must have practiced for his serves to get that much better from junior high to third year of high school. Also, KIse was able to establish himself as a starter at Teiko fairly quickly and then two years later is on the same status as the other miracles. He was considered one of the absolute best within two years while Oikawa has been playing for way longer than that and is still not the best—there are still people better than him naturally.
I also think if you take their outlooks on their respective sports there is a difference. Kise took up basketball by chance when he saw Aomine play and then ended up enjoying it and continuing it. Oikawa has been playing volleyball since he was a little kid, as we’ve seen in the manga, and it has taken years of practice for him to get where he is. I think that over the course of the series Kise grew to love basketball, but I don’t think it’s on the same level of love and passion that Oikawa has for volleyball. As we’ve seen in the manga, Oikawa is willing to practice to the point of injury and exhaustion to get better. He’s all about volleyball, whereas I don’t necessarily see Kise like that. And also, Oikawa’s girlfriend broke up with him because he was too absorbed in volleyball, so I think that shows just how important volleyball is to him.
Also, their roles on their teams are very very different. Oikawa is the leader of his team. He’s the one who sets the pace of the game, makes tosses for his teammates based on what his teammates work best with. He’s a leader that knows his team extremely well and is able to adapt based on them. Kise is also very very important to his team, but he is not the team leader—that’s Kasamatsu. Kise is the ace and is a center point of the team, but his part to play is just different than Oikawa’s.
I think people also think they’re similar because of their relationships with Iwaizumi and Kasamatsu, respectively. Which I do not agree with at all. The only similarity for me is that Oikawa and Kise will both get hit or kicked or something when they act arrogant or do something of the sort. Otherwise, not really many similarities. Kasamatsu is Kise’s senpai—someone he looks up to and respects. Iwaizumi is Oikawa’s best friend. They’re on the same level, they’re equals. Iwaizumi keeps Oikawa in line as a friend and knows him very very well, whereas Kasamatsu keeps Kise in line as a senpai and captain and probably does not know Kise as well considering that they haven’t known each other for that long. That’s not to disregard Kise and Kasamatsu’s relationship, because it is a very important one, just vastly different than Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s.
And finally, another main comparison I’ve seen that I do not agree with is the relationship between Kise and Kuroko and Oikawa and Kageyama. I think sometimes people see them both as the “annoying” and energetic person that has some sort of ties from the past to the protagonist. Again, on the surface it may seem similar, but looking deeper it is not at all. Kise calls Kuroko Kurokochi out of respect and because he’s someone he likes and admires. Oikawa calls Kageyama Tobio-chan in an almost mocking way it seems to me. Also, Kise and Kuroko are friends, were teammates, and like and respect each other. Kageyama and Oikawa are not. Oikawa seems to dislike Kageyama, is mean and mocking, acts like a bit of a brat toward him, and doesn’t want him to surpass him. He refuses to teach Kageyama anything because then he’d just be giving Kageyama the means to surpass him. He feels pressure from Kageyama’s natural skill level and that can be seen in chapter 60 with that whole situation.
I love Oikawa and I love Kise. But no, they are not the same. Not at all, not even close once you look deeper into their characters.
Uh… this got very long and is probably jumbled because I wrote it on the fly. And sorry it took long to answer. I’m sorry I get very emotional about Oikawa and everything to do with him hahaha