Analysing Furudate's character creation process
Haikyuu is a rich story with a lot of depth to it for many reasons -but the major one for me has to be the range of its characters, & the way it contextualizes their challenges, struggles & catharses through volleyball.
Writing different characters is a complex process, but if you can write your characters authentic to who they are, there is a natural ebb & flow created in your story.
At the heart of any compelling story lies conflict. Conflict creates tension, conflict creates rhythm.
But most importantly, conflict forms the basis of every character's development, especially in Haikyuu.
Though the different kinds of conflicts are united under themes of volleyball, the roots of these conflicts are based on the natural consequences of diverse character creation.
Isn't this the case for every other story though? What's so special about how this happens in Haikyuu?
However, when it comes to Haikyuu, you can tell which character would speak the dialogue & exactly how they'd deliver it.
To instill such vividness & life into your characters is no easy feat, & it's one of the most prominent ways Furudate's story writing shines through.
The consequence of this is that the road ahead for the story is laid down by the characters themselves, leaving minimal room for intervention by the creator. This is because the characters themselves are able to dictate the interactions; both individual & group-wise dynamics guide the flow of a story that is produced seamlessly.
There is a resistance that every reader often feels;
It is the awareness that there exists a reality that they are part of, outside the story that they are reading.
However, seamless stories like Haikyuu tempt you into letting go of that awareness, & into experiencing the most delightful feeling that a reader can experience - complete immersion into the story that surrenders your heart & soul onto the feet of your favorite characters.
And Furudate's major weapon in enforcing this is to create unique characters that are engaging.
You need to make characters engaging, but if they are so unique that they have no common ground, it will complicate interactions between them & disrupt and mislead the story's flow. Unlimited imagination within the scope of a story is not only exhausting to a creator but can also confuse them into corners that are difficult to write out of.
Here in, comes the genius of Furudate's character writing - Furudate picks various trait suitable within the scope of the story that offers challenge & conflict, but diversifies them in characters by virtue of their response to these challenges & where those responses leads them to.
Not only does this give characters depth, but gives you a glimpse of where your character would have ended up had they reacted some other way.
For example, let's examine the short character trait.
Being short directly rivals what it would take to be good at volleyball; But that can resolved by making your main character someone who could jump high despite being short, has the hunger to achieve victory no matter what, & does not despair over his short height even though it is undesirable for volleyball.
But what if Hinata had all this but never got a chance or a break to make it?
What if Hinata had something he loved more than volleyball?
What if Hinata couldn't overcome physical limits?
What if there was someone who was better in spite of the same challenges?
What if someone had the same kind of hunger as Hinata but was tall & atheletic?
What if they played a different position?
What if they had the same hunger but not for volleyball?
Okamoto Nobuhiko speaking about Furudate in a radio show ep. once said that as a VA, what he found really remarkable about Furudate's writing was that usually, to carry out a scene in most stories, you need to think about which character should be assigned a particular dialogue.
What if there was someone who yearned to keep standing on the volleyball as much as Hinata did?
Furudate has a very specific purpose in mind for every character as they drive their story.
The best example to demonstrate this would be to think about the Karasuno team & what role each character plays in the story, especially in the first few chapters after they are introduced.
However, Furudate also knows that the character doesn't just exist to enforce a particular plot point, & continues to exist out of that purpose, and that they need to have a degree of flexibility (or not, in rare cases) to change & evolve based on their peers, trials & personal experiences.
In conclusion, Furudate GOAT.
