#hoao.s

[hoao]

i burst into tears whenever i think about haikyuu and the importance of people.

[hoao]

suguru’s “are you the strongest because you’re gojo satoru or are you gojo satoru because you’re the strongest?” really hits you when you come to terms with the fact that satoru is nothing but a tool for jujutsu society — even in death. suguru will always be the only one who questioned it, who saw satoru as more than “the strongest sorcerer” because he was his best friend first and foremost :)

[hoao]

haikyuu is incredible man…

you ever think about the fact that some people exist not to become stars but to lead others towards the light? ….

hinata was so moved by the little giant that his life found meaning the moment he came into his life (and the little giant never really ended up becoming a pro volleyball player in the first place despite his drive and talent!)

nekomata sensei’s “all we have to do is to lower the net!” shaped kuroo’s entire existence. it left such an impression on him that kuroo turned it into his goal in life: helping as many people as possible discover volleyball.

kuroo himself never going pro but becoming instead a bridge between people and volleyball (which he loves so dearly he wants to make it everyone’s business).

takeda sensei’s “He Who Would Climb a Ladder Must Begin at the Bottom” (which he says to hinata during his first year) became so meaningful to him that hinata hanged it on the wall of his bedroom in Brazil.

sugawara becoming a teacher and getting emotional when facing hinata (to whom he used to set when kageyama refused to do it) and kageyama (who quite literally took what had been his place up until the moment he came) and their growth.

you might think you will never end up doing anything great. instead, i believe you might not end up doing something grand, but whatever it is that you do in life it will always be great and you simply never know whether that one thing you said once or that one thing you once did will ever become the driving force behind someone else’s dream.

[hoao]

haikyuu manga spoiler !! but !! hinata’s little giant never made it to national teams and quit volleyball after high school and this drives me so insane because wow wow wow they show you flashbacks of him and talk about him with so much intensity and he looks so cool and so good at what he does and you feel like he has to be the top player ever and that he has to have chosen that path, right? no! he’s a chill guy who’s so surprised hinata looked up to him so much, and he quit because he had other interests too and he’s still so happy with his life and he’s also the reason a star was born in volleyball he’s everything hinata wanted to be at one point and he dragged hinata into the sport that shaped him forever i mean !!! you don’t have to be anything crazy! you don’t even know the ways you inspire people around you! just put your heart into everything you do! you’re great whatever you do!

[hoao]

kuroo’s character is one i hold very dear to my soul.

i love that he’s snarky and provocative and insufferable and everything else, but i also think it’s so fitting that he used to hide behind his father’s legs when he was a kid.

he grew to love volleyball, pursued it with passion and spirit, felt it entirely as the dream it had always been. but he never went pro, and ! it’s just so right !

he was good at it, he was super good at it. but his path had already been shaped.

in this regard, isn’t kenma a fundamental part of the process that leads kuroo to the JVA?

kuroo introduces kenma to volleyball, drags him around (but not really, because kenma only ever does what he wants to do, he willingly follows kuroo) and grows up with him. we saw it in season four, how kuroo felt like he was somehow “guilty” of having forced kenma into that world — and kenma reminds the third years that if he really didn’t want to do it, he would’ve quit.

and obviously hinata becomes an important piece of the puzzle, but kenma sits on the floor at the end of the Battle of the Garbage Dump, and looks at kuroo, and thanks him.

and so kenma becomes the first person kuroo lowers the net for.

i believe this moment was another fundamental step towards his future. he’s really fit for his job, and he’s passionate about it. he really wants everyone to come together, he wants everyone to discover the joy of playing volleyball. he wants to lower the net!

[hoao]

haikyuu is soooooo…… everything. it’s so good it makes you want to do stuff and motivates you enough to realize that you have to begin somewhere and that everything is worth a try and maybe you’re lonely now but something better is coming, or maybe you’re not the best at that one thing you’re doing but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy it, or maybe you feel like you’re behind everyone else but your path is yours to walk and it’s different from the path of those you compare yourself to, and maybe you think you’re never going to make it but you’re going to bloom after trials and tribulations, and maybe you won’t shine the way you expected to but shining isn’t limited to grand gestures and grand jobs and grand dreams and

[hoao]

oikawa is a perfectly crafted character. he’s silly and insufferable and has a ridiculous way of behaving but he’s also determined and strong and committed and hardworking. if you dive deeper, he’s also desperate, insecure, and he yearns and he wants and he fights. he’s scared his hard work will never be enough because there are people who are already one step ahead of him, people he considers geniuses.

“talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish.”

i don’t think anything will ever stop him from doubting and feeling insecure, and iwaizumi himself once told him he’s probably never going to be satisfied. however, by breaking free from the constant pressure of “the talented ones”, he can polish his hard work, his instinct, his drive.

it will lead him far, yes. in fact, it leads him to another country, dealing with another language and another culture and another world. he momentarily forgets just how fun volleyball can be, until meeting hinata reminds him of it. he grows up to be fierce and motivated and passionate and on the opposite side of the court, representing another country and standing up for his “petty pride”.

he’s a character that drives me insane because i relate to him in ways that scare me. am i talented? or is what i have “just” instinct that i have to polish? am i a sort of imposter between people who are born great? people who have to work hard, just like me, but they seem to be doing it a bit more effortlessly?

hard work is always hard work, no matter the raw material (talent/instinct). but oikawa is so good and relatable because he knows it and he still feels like he needs to do more, more, more. he feels different from the others, and when first confronted with this reality it almost takes control of him. (kageyama is what he will never be, he despises him because of it).

and what’s an even bigger paradox is that nobody ever looks down on him. he does it all by himself. kageyama and ushijima and hinata and everybody else, they all look at him for what he is: a good player, a scary opponent, someone they fear and someone they look up to simultaneously, someone they have fun playing against, someone they want to beat, someone worth their time and efforts, someone who’s crazy good at what he does.

as always, haikyuu is so real for this too. our mind works in very weird ways, sometimes we don’t take into consideration others’ opinions of us unless they’re negative, we’re never satisfied with ourselves, we always want more.

oikawa is a perfectly crafted character. he has flaws and he’s so intensely human people might despise him for it. and the path furudate built for him is so fitting and so hopeful it has me believing there’s a chance i’ll get there too. not to Argentina, not to the Olympics. instead, to a future where my hard work means something (to me!).

and what if i don’t feel like the others? what about it? it will never be “just” instinct. it’s my hard work, my pride and drive. it will lead me places because i demand it. when oikawa breaks off the cycle, he becomes insatiable. “i will defeat everyone, so be ready!”

(i also happen to believe he really does defeat everyone).

[hoao]

post-haikyuu movie thoughts. i love you haikyuu. i wish i was kidding but this manga has absolutely changed my life and my perspective on very common themes and ways of thinking. i think i’ve been shaped forever. people matter, hard work pays off, the beginnings are always humble, the process is always rocky, but the results are your blooming dreams. you meet someone and they shape you forever. you feel like you’re average and very normal but you might be someone’s inspiration and motivation for them to work hard. you say a sentence one day and someone thinks back to it with comfort three years from now. you’re really passionate about something today but you can still choose to do something else tomorrow. the end is upon you but it’s that gratifying feeling that really makes it worth it. you doubt yourself to no end but someone out there thinks you’re the coolest ever. you want to give up but hardships and tribulations will eventually be overcome. you need to start somewhere, you’re not born made, you make yourself. i’m a teen and i want to beat your team and then suddenly we’re old and we’re coaches and our legacy and dreams are being carried by young passionate kids. you can’t do much by yourself, you need people. you’re alone and then you aren’t anymore. everyone dreams but not everyone makes it, who deserves it more?. i want it i want it i want it, i take it i take it take it. one day you win, one day you lose, and it’s never entirely up to you. this, too, is volleyball. i love you haikyuu.