Chapter 392 or how Furudate explains Bokuto’s evolution without mentionning it:

Bokuto has changed a lot since we were first introduced to him, he used to be a strong ace but also one his team couldn’t rely heavily on due to his weaknesses and unpredictable form, he would get hyped or mined by any detail and his team knew they couldn’t always count on him.

That was before Nationals and before the game against Kiryuu, where he started to be reliable and not let little things affect him, but obviously it could not be fixed over one game so during timeskip he completed that evolution and finally became just an ace.

So there are 3 parallels that are used to show this evolution without having to tell it explicitly: the change of setter, the cross shot and the « Ngapeth » point.

At Fukuroudani, Bokuto had Akaashi, a setter that tried to deliver for his « star player » and cared about his condition to the point where he even made a list of his weaknesses and tried to evaluate at any point if his condition was good for a toss.

It was the perfect setter for this quirky ace, but now Bokuto has Miya Atsumu, whose first remark upon meeting Bokuto was that he would not allow him to have his usual off days ie that he wouldn’t adapt to his condition like Akaashi did before.

Atsumu despises people who can’t deliver properly in games and he thinks people who can’t score off his tosses are not worth being on the court. And while Pre-Bokuto would have had trouble with him, the present Bokuto is « just an ace », he will deliver no matter what.

So during the Adlers vs BJ match, Bokuto proves this directly not by saying anything but with a beautiful play: his cross shot after his straight went out.

Pre-Bokuto had trouble with most other aspects when he was especially good at one (weakness#37). During the Nekoma game, he excelled at straights and couldn’t hit crosses anymore.

But today after his super sharp straight shot went out, he simply changed to a cross like it was nothing, without needing anyone to cheer him up or help him, he is his own caretaker now.

And finally the last point of this chapter, where we see him facing similar conditions to the one he had against Ichibayashi but finally succeeding against a 3-man block. The ones watching the ball fall behind his back are not his teammates anymore, but the opponents.

Bokuto’s evolution happened since Mujinazaka’s match and he is now finally a normal ace, one that can be relied upon, one that is an inspiration for his teammates. And Fukuroudani did that to him much like every team in Haikyuu changed their players forever.

This great thread covers the chapter: https://twitter.com/alachat_/status/1259560023807741953?s=21
I also already talked about Bokuto’s development during Mujinazaka in a previous thread: https://twitter.com/justahaikyuufan/status/1252913500462161920

Anyways that’s all I had to say, thank you for reading this ! Rt and thoughts appreciated as always