Other Haikyuu Fans: "Kagehina is better because X!" "No, Atsuhina is better because Y!" "Bullshit, neither of them is good, is better Kenhina!" "There are better ships in Haikyuu like IwaOi and Daisuga!" "I don't like IwaOi, I prefer BokuAka!" And more...
Me, who literally ships those ships, the most popular Haikyuu ships, and also a lot of rare pairs: Umm- okay :D
what if i was an unstoppable force and you were an immovable object and we were both boys 😳
or, why you should vote for AOHINA in the @hqrarepairtournament!
if you want my shortest possible argument, it's right there in the title: the expectation-defying romance of the speediest, jumpiest, sunniest and smiliest Ultimate Decoy versus the stony-faced, silent, seemingly impassive Iron Wall of Date. don't you just love it? i sure do <3
but just because I see it doesn't mean you do. if everyone saw it, it wouldn't be a rarepair, would it?
for my second-shortest argument, see here. aohina is sugawara-approved!
and if that's still not enough to convince you, buckle up for the long, LONG argument
before the first karasuno vs datekou match, aone doesn't pay hinata much mind, and hinata is TERRIFIED of aone, as many are. but once the match begins...
well, aone sure notices hinata now.
if you ask me, this match would be where aone's feelings for hinata first began. here's the handshake page again for good measure:
aone makes the first move, acknowledging hinata as a worthy opponent. also, just look at aone's facial expressions? he looks nervous. it's so cute. i love him
we don't see aone again until the spring high, when he first runs into hinata - where else? - at the bathroom, when hinata is already trapped between iwaoi and ushijima.
aone clearly already sees hinata as an acquaintance worthy of greeting (and also does not care at all about the seijoh-shiratorizawa beef and i love him) and hinata... well, he's still easily startled, but once he's realized who it is, he bows back - and thus begins a beautiful tradition.
during karasuno's match against johzenji, aone becomes defensive of hinata to futakuchi -
and not only do his teammates recall the friendship he formed with hinata at the interhigh, they note that this is one of the few times they've ever heard him speak. and it's because of hinata.
and after karasuno wins against johzenji...
aone asks his teammates to go on ahead so he can wait outside the gym and issue a challenge... not to karasuno, not to asahi, but to hinata. and hinata challenges him back. AND AONE SMILES.
and then once aone has left, hinata starts blushing and shouting nonsense because he has gay ADHD. this would be where hinata's feelings began, i think. he feels singled out and special, and it gets him fired up. he can't wait to face aone again! (also note, hinata doesn't get startled by aone anymore after this point.)
...but alas, things don't go their way, thanks to seijoh.
and after datekou's loss, when kogane claims he'll train harder to be able stop any attackers, no matter how "big and strong" they are, aone tells him this:
like. cmon. you can't deny. this is pretty damn gay!
we don't see aone at all during karasuno's matches against seijoh or shiratorizawa, or during the ball boy arc (though i'm pretty sure koganegawa does mention at least once during the training camp that aone respects hinata :3c). but he makes his return for the karasuno vs datekou practice match!!
hinata is finally totally comfortable around aone off the court, no longer jumpy and nervous. this match is also where the sugawara seal of approval makes its appearance!
i guess you could argue this also counts as evidence for futakuchi/hinata, or koganegawa/hinata, but they're not in this tournament, are they.
and god, just LOOK at all these other panels:
epic gay staring contests, with a corresponding anime screenshot for good measure;
hinata chipping away at aone's shell the Iron Wall;
aone delivering an incredibly powerful serve and hinata reacting with a flush while the lighting in the panel singles him out (gay awakening much?)
AND THE FINAL BOW!! THE DRAMA! THE CINNAMON TOPOGRAPHY!
in a way this bow is aone's curtain call - iirc, this is his final interaction with hinata in canon. but that doesn't mean he's not still around - datekou keeps an eye on karasuno throughout their battles on the nationals stage.
just look at that gay little sparkle. (also please appreciate what a bitch futakuchi is. i love him so much)
at this point i've pretty much caught up to where the anime has left off and i don't wanna spoil anyone who hasn't read the manga, so i'll stop here and make an even longer version later but know this: aone will keep watching hinata til the very end.
the Unstoppable Force: Hinata Shouyou, the protagonist of Haikyuu. on his team the second-shortest, the speediest, the one whose jumps make you think of a bird taking flight. the smiliest, sunshiniest, sometimes the scariest. he's never going to stop reaching for the top of the world of volleyball, no matter how many times he stumbles. a monster in the making, a friend to all. The Ultimate Decoy.
the Immovable Object: Aone Takanobu. the keystone of Date Tech's volleyball team, renowned for their incredible blocking technique. an eyebrow-less, stony-faced, silent, impassive, brick shithouse of a 16-year-old boy. terrifying even to those players older than him, he prides himself on not letting a single spike through, and shattering the will of many of the greatest aces in the prefecture. The Iron Wall of Date.
a study in contrasts. two competitors, skills perfectly matched to counter each other, personalities in stark contrast, are able to build a friendship built upon mutual respect for each others' abilities.
