Thread by @aobaprint, the recurring image of oikawa’s back and why i think it’s significant [...]

the recurring image of oikawa’s back and why i think it’s significant — a thread

(alternatively, why i think oikawa will be 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, pt. 2)

near the end of the first karasuno vs seijoh match, the image of oikawa’s back was used to symbolize how much better the latter was out of the two. in other words, oikawa’s back was what karasuno was left staring into. he represented someone stronger. 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

in manga, or in any literary piece, the image of someone’s back can be used for many things: the unknown, the unattainable, the superior, you name it. haikyuu is no different. in fact, the very first time we see oikawa in the manga, we see his back (the unknown)

as we all know, oikawa is one of haikyuu’s most significant opponents. he greatly impacted kageyama’s development and hinata’s too. it’s why we see karasuno chasing 𝘩𝘪𝘴 back. not the entirety of seijoh’s. because he represents a power greater than what seijoh, as a team, holds

sure enough, at the end of ch 65, karasuno manages to get a grip on oikawa’s back as kageyama’s immense setting capability enables karasuno to postpone their defeat.

but alas, they lose. and here’s why.

of course, that’s not to say oikawa alone defeated karasuno. that would go against the root of oikawa’s strength: in believing that the team with the better six will win. i only say this because of what oikawa symbolizes (stated above).

notice how after their loss, kagehina are left staring at oikawa’s back. because despite temporarily catching up, it was still oikawa who was able to move forward. he was the one who remained on the court, while kagehina could only watch him move ahead with his back facing them.

when the time came to face seijoh a second time (or third if you count the practice match), the image of oikawa’s back was used once more. because they (especially kageyama, his direct counterpart) would be chasing after him again.

and they win, but notice how oikawa isn’t left watching their backs like they watched his. because they’re equals now. kageyama no longer is looking at his back. from trying to do so since middle school, he’s finally caught up. they can both move forward on the same level.

you’d think that this is where it ends. oikawa has served his purpose and now kageyama can move onto face even greater opponents. furudate could’ve done that, but the curveball arrived in chapter 368: oikawa’s back among everyone’s faces. we’re back to square 1.

the quote above about the defeated is one of haikyuu’s most significant because it emphasizes the strength needed to not let yourself remain the same. we see it in hinata being better at caring for himself and in atsumu and ushijima trying new things despite already being good.

so for oikawa to so mysteriously be thrown in to the list of “the defeated” 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to mean something. and it begins to make sense in the brazil arc when he fatefully appears and updates hinata (and us) on what he’s been up to and gives us more insight on him.

other than the fact that his departure in chapter 374 greatly contrasts the farewells given to the monster generation (more explained in the attached thread), it would still be an okay send-off of the great king, who the readers now knew to be doing well. https://twitter.com/aobaprint/status/1262992973236764673

https://twitter.com/aobaprint/status/1262992973236764673

but he (his back) returned once more in chapter 387 as one of kageyama’s “someone better”s. and that’s exactly what i said his back represented in the beginning of the thread.

so okay, his back symbolizes great strength. what about it?

well, notice how this image always was followed with a significant appearance. be it oikawa’s presence on the court with karasuno when seijoh won, when they lost, and in brazil. but the last image is yet to be answered

he was even on the back cover of volume 42, facing his back to us with a smirk on his face. so in chapter 387 we have his back representing the superior, and the back cover representing the unknown. because other than the fact that he’s in ca san juan, we don’t know anything -

about what oikawa’s been up to. it wouldn’t matter if 374 was the last we saw of him, but the image of his back recurred twice more after that. grouped with the fact that 395 didn’t have a single panel of him, the reason explained in the thread i attached, and iwaizumi not given

a proper farewell, i am confident the last two images of his back imply that he will return in haikyuu. that he will be 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.