Another take on the "get lost in the crowd" Hinata/Hoshiumi parallel. When the phrase is used for Hinata, he's surrounded by his teammates and his playstyle is reflected as "strong w/ the support of his teammates." When it's Hoshiumi, he's talking about being strong "alone"

Something I caught rereading Kamomedai was how Hoshiumi initially perceived his volleyball career. He always thought he was going to be the ONLY one of his kind to make it. Short players in the future would only have his playstyle for reference for instance.

Since Hoshiumi always thought it would rest on his shoulders alone to prove the worth of a "short player", he's portrayed as a very defensive character from the start. He has conflicting ideals on how he wants people to perceive him, and is standoffish to players and interviewers

When he meets Hinata, Hoshiumi even acts up more thinking that Hinata is just another player like him who will try to usurp his position. It isn't until he watches Hinata in Inarizaki and plays him that Hoshiumi starts realizing Hinata is not like him at all...

Unlike Hoshiumi, whose strength is in versatility, Hinata (at Nationals) is NOT a well-rounded player. Instead, Hinata's entire playstyle revolves around being a point getter, a distraction to create an opening for his teammates, and scoring high above blockers.

Hoshiumi is a different spiker from Hinata- he plays a game of accuracy and precision, where he analyzes openings on the court and in blockers before landing an attack. He also can be considered a defensive specialist (similar to Daichi) who does emergency sets. He's well-rounded

Hinata on the other hand is purely a weapon. In the STZ match, Kageyama comments that the only reason they bring him on to the court is to score. He's an effective decoy because there's a genuine threat he might attack. But also he fights with height. He jumps above the blockers

Hoshiumi is a character who has known his weaknesses for a long time and evolved accordingly. When he sees Hinata, someone who has the same disadvantage, but still fights to play in a way that was "restricted" to players like him, it impacts him deeply.

Hoshiumi, just like us started the match thinking this was going to just be him and Hinata duking it out to see who the next Little Giant is. But no, the Kamomedai match is actually another Battle of the Concepts. A battle between two different player philosophies.

That's why Hoshiumi's "today I feel different... today, I want to defeat them" is such a powerful statement. He's not just talking about beating Karasuno. He wants to see whose player philosophy will emerge on top-- his or Hinata's. Adaptation vs. Resilience.

Side note: We do see from the national team's coach's commentary that Hoshiumi and Washijou's insecurities toward height in volleyball are extremely valid. I think it's important they included this to show exactly what mentality all these Little Giants fight again.

One of the saddest things about the Kamo match is that we didn't get the answer to "whose philosophy wins" for Hoshiumi/Hinata. I still consider it a loose end in Haikyuu, which is why I feel there's going to be an inevitable Little Giant vs. The Greatest Decoy Part 2 chapter.

Anyways, I can't wait to see how the current match resolves that storyline. Because Hinata exists, Hoshiumi is free from the burden of being the only one to prove the strength of a short player, and that other short players inspired by them have freedom in how they play