⚡️ kageyama hikaru!!
- @soccerpunching
OMG my little baby! I love Hikaru so much!!!
First off here have some art made by my friend rain
So. Hikaru is an absolute cutie pie. He joins Raimon without really knowing what he's doing because he learnt that soccer was important to his uncle Reiji. What is his relationship to him? We'll never know no thanks Level-5 you had a golden opportunity in Galaxy.
He seems afraid and ashamed of this family heritage, though. He tries to hide it from Endou and Kidou thinking they won't let him join if they know.
Hikaru is shown as being extremely naive and clumsy in the episode he's introduced, falling prey to Kariya's prank (the senpais were not ready).
He also makes the cutest faces later on! He turns out to be quite the big fanboy of soccer even if he does not play really well. We see this mainly in the Gryphon movie with this famous screenshot below.
Omg I love him so much. Anyways.
He of course shines during the Hakuren match when he is able to perform the Double Wing hissatsu tactics where Tenma and Nishiki failed. That, alongside the episode where he's introduced, establishes him as a quick and intuitive learner.
He also appears to have some difficulties to assert himself as during the Kidou trainer arc, he does not really want to skip practice but gets dragged along by his friend and senpai Amagi. He clearly seems to be struggling to say no.
However, he also shows how great of a friend he can be around the Genei match and that's my favourite character arc for him.
By this point his friendship with Amagi is already established, and when Amagi is upset about playing against Genei, Hikaru notices and takes care of him. I love this umbrella scene. He finds Amagi under the rain and helps him take shelter and get his feelings out. He is a lovely friend every step through. He does not divulge what Amagi tells him to the Team at any point.
And then, Yukie comes and asks him to relay a message to Amagi. Hikaru accepts because he can't say no... but he does not do it. In the end, he does not do it and go directly to Yukie telling her she should be the one doing it. Which is incredibly mature for his age (he's a first year remember) and a very healthy reaction. Remember: Amagi/Mahoro/Yukie are his seniors by two years and he helps them sort their years old grief.
It's also during this match that Hikaru first uses his hissatsu (or in the Gryphon movie depending on where you put it in the timeline), Extend Zone. And it's an amazing hissatsu. I love it, the visuals, OMG, it's so perfect.
As the animé goes on, we also see he has a strong friendship with Kariya, being both first years and both having joined the club later during the year, one match only apart. They seem to be getting along very well despite their completely opposite characters (and the fact that Kariya pranked him but I mean Kariya is close with Kirino whom he bullied). That can be seen especially in the last two GO episodes, you know the recap special.
And unfortunately... that's where it ends for him. Chrono Stone sabotaged him as it did with most of the GO cast. Seriously it's not Galaxy that sabotaged character development it's CS. Anyways.
Potential interactions with Kidou and Teikoku regarding his family? Gone. He has Koutei Penguin in the games but nothing is done of it.
MixiMax and character arc he could have gotten in CS? Stolen by Zanark. I like Zanark but damn... and who said that the Ultimate Team could not have reserves??? (still not the level of theft that Torb commited on Kariya. But still).
When Kageyama returns in Galaxy? Nothing. In the games we have a few InaLink chat messages where he is like "wait is that my uncle" but that's all.
He had so much potential and it feels so... unfinished. It's so sad.
Do I ship him? I used to ship him with Kariya, and while I still see the potential, I like to think of them as platonic besties. I headcanon Hikaru as aroace agender, he just is here and is vibing. I also headcanon Amagi to be aroace, because aroace are drawn to each other as a flock even before they figure it out I swear.
Anyways. He is my little precious underveloped cutie pie, I love him, he is the cutest penguin and he is my baby son. Takemi is my child but Hikaru? My baby. My penguin baby. My penguinling. Anyways.
