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I think the adults in Haikyuu are some of the most well-written characters ever because they are vessels for life lessons for the younger characters but they are never overbearing about it in the way parents or older siblings or teachers are in our real lives.
I think the adults in Haikyuu are some of the most well-written characters ever because they are vessels for life lessons for the younger characters but they are never overbearing about it in the way parents or older siblings or teachers are in our real lives.
So in a way they're unrealistic and obviously fictional bc what kind of (Asian) elder allows the younger generation to have complete control of their lives but that's EXACTLY what a teenager would want... the feeling of control. It's what I would have wanted.
But just because kids want control doesn't mean they should be allowed to navigate life completely on their own. Sometimes there needs to be a steadying force, a source of wisdom so that the hard things aren't as hard. Enter the Haikyuu adults.
When a Haikyuu character asks advice from an adult and when they live by it, it feels organic and not forced. Like when Yamaguchi sought out Shimada on his own or Ukai telling Hinata what to eat because of a phone call. They get exactly what they ask for and nothing more.
Akiteru doesn't smother Kei with a speech about life and how it relates to volleyball; their reconciliation comes in a quiet conversation Kei initiates, after which they play together again.
The advice the kids get is solid, but it's something they get because they ask for it.
The advice the kids get is solid, but it's something they get because they ask for it.
The adults in Haikyu are never punitive: even our favorite antagonist Washijo during the Ballboy arc acted that way because Hinata basically asked for it. Ukai Sr. is a hardass but he allows people to quit. Even Madoka Yachi gives Hitoka control of her life, she's just stern.
Kazuyo, a volleyball idiot in his own right, doesn't care if his grandchildren follow his path. Ushijima's dad teaches volleyball to a younger Wakatoshi and protects his gift, but only wants to share the interest, Wakatoshi is still free to do whatever he wants.
And when they are angry, it is deserved, but never overblown: Takeda gets pissed at Hinata's recklessness and rudeness but it simmers just as quick when Hinata shows remorse. Ukai gets irritated when players hide from him, but what kind of a teammate are you if you are a coward?
The fictional Haikyuu adults are the ideal adults that a young person would want holding their hands through life: rock-solid pillars of strength, but never overbearing, never angry, always allowing for mistakes.
And when the Haikyuu characters become adults themselves it's satisfying to watch them navigate life /with the foundation the adults give them/ but now they don't explicitly ask; the advice is embedded in them and they have to live and decide on their own.
Hinata buying a damn cauliflower in Brazil is him taking to heart Ukai Jr's advice to eat well. Oikawa in Argentina still holding on to Blanco's words to not give up until he, for himself, sees the limits of his abilities.
Kageyama competing at the absolute highest levels, and yet not taking to heart his V.league or his server rank losses, instead treating them as a fulfillment of Kazuyo's promise that if he keeps doing his best he will end up battling with better people.
The adults that our Haikyuu kids grew up to be are the byproducts of the presence and advice given to them by well-meaning adults during their childhood.
Haikyuu adults are the adults kids and teenagers may not always have in their lives.
But these fictional Haikyuu adults exist, and we read Haikyuu, and the life lessons we get from this manga are gentle and real in equal measure.
But these fictional Haikyuu adults exist, and we read Haikyuu, and the life lessons we get from this manga are gentle and real in equal measure.
And an afterthought: we, as readers, are adults or will become adults in the future. Wouldn't it be great if we get close to this ideal when it's our turn to guide?
