The purpose of this thread is two fold. First, I would like to once again examine the concept of volleyball monsters, and second (most importantly) I would like to once again examine the concept of “genius”, and consider how both of these relate to the character of Oikawa Tooru.

Before we begin, I would like to state that, while most of the fandom seems to believe that the terms “genius” and “monster” lie in opposition, or are connected in some way, I do not agree. These concepts exist separately, they share no common or opposed meaning, and we should

perhaps not relate them in any way. In fact, we need to throw out the term “genius” entirely, because it makes things more convoluted than they need to be, and both Oikawa and Furudate retired this term a long time ago.

“Genius” does not refer to talent. “Monster” does not refer to hard work. These are, rather, terms and entities unto themselves, and the conflation of these ideas is no longer relevant and has no bearing on any discussions henceforth (at least not any discussions I will have).

Furthermore, there is a fundamentally flawed notion in this fandom that Oikawa *himself* still believes in “genius” as a concept, when in fact he discarded this long before the second Seijoh match even began. As such, “genius” is a not a term that (I believe) can, or should, be

associated with the terms “talent”, “instinct”, or “monster”. By the time the classic line “talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish” comes into effect, the concept of genius has largely been abandoned within this text. Let’s keep it that way.

Oikawa, when we first met him, viewed Kageyama and Ushijima as natural prodigies, as “geniuses”. He was not there to witness their efforts, their endless training, all the hard work and love they poured into volleyball. All he saw were their results. All he saw were two

invincible, unbeatable forces, always just out of reach, people who he would never, could never, measure up to.

Then something changed. After Seijoh’s loss to Shiratorizawa following the first Seijoh match, he went to go talk to Jose Blanco, his long time idol and the person who inspired him to become a setter in the first place.

That final loss against Ushijima dealt a blow to his confidence, and he sought out the one person who could potentially help shine some light on his darkness and remind him of why he was doing this in the first place.

It was in this moment, that both Oikawa and, presumably, Furudate themselves, threw out the notion of natural prodigies, of geniuses. I have seen many Oikawa naysayers reiterate time and again that his downfall is due to his continued belief that he is not a natural genius and

that his belief in this concept is what impedes him the most, but I disagree. By the time Seijoh 2 rolls around, Oikawa has discarded the concept of “genius” entirely. He no longer views Tobio as someone who is innately better than him and always will be.

The entire purpose of including Blanco’s speech towards the end of this match further emphasizes this. Oikawa is young; he can change his perspective, and that’s exactly what he did upon talking to his mentor. It's no longer about genius; it's about hard damn work.

Most people in the fandom (from what I have seen) seem to think that there is no such thing as a naturally higher baseline talent (which they equate to “genius”), and this argument is used to invalidate Oikawa and his philosophy almost entirely. Oikawa’s initial view of genius

(which he later rejects himself) may be deeply flawed, but people ARE born with different baseline abilities, and that applies to everything in life. Oikawa was born with skills that set him apart. He was athletic and had an aptitude for the sport, but that was not enough to beat

someone of Ushijima’s caliber, whose baseline talent was, perhaps, much higher. That, coupled with his “luck” and hard work, placed him above Oikawa. Kageyama’s potential is described as being “off the charts”, not because he was a natural prodigy or a genius, but because his

baseline skill, like Ushijima’s, was higher than the baseline skill that Oikawa possessed. That doesn’t negate Ushijima and Tobio’s hard work, they just started at different levels. (I have a plethora of peer-reviewed sources to support this; I can provide them if you desire)

There is also the notion that Kageyama is ‘better’ simply because he started playing volleyball earlier. I reject this. Kageyama was born gnawing on a volleyball and had the benefit of coming from a family that was clearly invested in the sport, but he did not begin playing until

he was roughly around the same age as Oikawa was when he began (around elementary school age-ish). We see this in chapters 372/373 and 387. As such, I think it’s reasonable to assume that Tobio simply had a higher baseline ability than Tooru did.

To say that everyone is born on equal footing is to deny some very basic and fundamental facts about genetics and human physiology. As Tenma said: “the world is both fair and unfair”, and as Ushijima said, some people just get lucky. That doesn’t negate their hard work, because

people like Kageyama and Ushijima and Sakusa work hard. They work VERY hard. But through a combination of factors, they are starting at a point that is different than the likes of Oikawa, Hoshiumi, or Hinata.

Blanco acknowledged that everyone is born different. Everyone has different strengths and different weaknesses. Everyone grows at different rates and everyone’s baseline skill is different. That's neither a bad nor good thing.

That is life, that is reality, that is something you must accept if you decide to move forward along your chosen path. But that is not genius. You are not born a prodigy. The differences you possess that set you apart from others who are seemingly "better" are not things that can

never be overcome or changed. Those differences do not mean that all hope is lost. Just because Oikawa's baseline talent is different from Kageyama’s, just because his strengths and weaknesses are different, that does not mean that he do not have the potential to grow and become

the best possible version of who he are. Every flower blooms in its own time, and every flower is unique, but still beautiful.

And so, let’s talk about talent. Talent is not something innate; it needs to be nurtured, it needs to be given room to blossom, unlike instinct, which IS innate, and simply needs to be polished and refined. Again, I have seen Oikawa’s “talent is something you make bloom,

instinct is something you polish” quote dismissed because of the fandom’s general dismissal of the concept of genius, but this quote has nothing to do with genius; it is a direct reference to Blanco’s teachings.

I’ve seen many people wonder whether or not Oikawa has talent, and I think the conflation of talent and genius is what causes a lot of the confusion in this regard. Oikawa absolutely does have talent. Does he have as much talent as others?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, because his talent is his own, and he is blooming in the way that only Oikawa Tooru can. We all blossom in our own time, in our own way, and isn’t that just the most beautiful thing?

And yes, this process of blooming is hard. It’s excruciating. It hurts. Oikawa knows this better than anyone. Jose Blanco told him that his path will be harsh and painful, and Oikawa learned this the hard way firsthand.

Yes, you will struggle, perhaps more than others. Yes, you will fail…you will fail many, many times. Perhaps more times than you succeed. But if this is something you truly love, then it is worth putting in that effort.

Switching topics slightly: “Monsters did not exist before Kita” is a phrase I have heard reiterated many times on this site, and while I agree that Kita popularized this notion, he did not create it. It existed long before his character was even introduced.

Chapter 61 of Haikyuu is titled “Base Talent and a Little Monster”, though the Japanese actually says “小さなケモノ” which essentially means “little beast”. Oikawa is also referred to as a monster in both Seijoh2 and by Shirabu during the Shiratorizawa match.

When Kita states that there are people, monsters, who are different from others, he doesn’t simply mean that these people work harder, or longer, or practice more efficiently. There is much more to being a monster than that. There is passion, dedication, drive, creativity.

Monsters are the people who live and breathe volleyball, for whom volleyball is the blood in their veins that keeps them moving and keeps them alive. If that doesn't sound like Oikawa to you, I don't know what manga you are reading.

Furthermore, what Kita refers to creativity and a willingness to adjust and revolutionize. The word Kita uses is actually 化け物, and this is a term that literally means “a thing that changes” and refers to a constant state of transformation. Sound like someone we know?

Kita says that if most people do things 1-10, monsters will do them “a-z”. They will always look for new opportunities and innovation, and Oikawa, like the other monsters, is continually striving to find unique and inventive ways of doing things, incapable of standing still.

The monsters are the ones standing at the forefront of the volleyball world and saying “look at us. Here we stand. Gone is tradition. What you see before you isn’t narrow-minded, limited convention. What you see before you now is the monster generation”.

Monsters aren’t good from the get go. Kageyama wasn’t. The twins weren’t. Hoshiumi wasn’t. Oikawa wasn’t. But, unlike mortals, the monster generation lives, eats, breaths volleyball. Volleyball is in their very soul. Volleyball is who they are.

Kita says “I think that to be able to keep charging ahead is a talent in and of itself”, and Oikawa has always charged ahead. Even when things have been impossibly hard. Even at one of his lowest points, when all seemed lost and when he needed Iwaizumi to intervene,

he doesn’t come out the other end having thrown in the towel. He came out the other end and said “all of a sudden, I feel like I’m invincible”. Because monsters, as powerful as they are, can’t do it alone.

Behind every monster is a mortal supporting them and cheering them on. Behind Ushijima is his father. Behind Hoshiumi is Hirugami. Behind Atsumu is Kita. And which mortals will you see if you look behind the monster that is Oikawa Tooru? Aoba Johsai.

Monsters are those with hunger, with creativity, with drive, those who charge ahead in spite of every obstacle, in spite of every person telling them that they will never make it, in spite of every negative thought they have about themselves, in spite of how fair and unfair the

world is, in spite of how lucky or unlucky they are, in spite of how hard they have to work, in spite of how much the world may want to tear them down, or how much they may want to tear themselves down.

Faced with any and every obstacle, monsters keep going and that is why Oikawa deserves to be included in the monster generation.

Oikawa Tooru is not a genius. Why? Because geniuses do not exist. But Oikawa Tooru has talent. Oikawa Tooru has hunger. Oikawa Tooru is a monster.