Karasuno 2nd Years on Inarizaki Match: a thread on why I think Tanaka is given a focus on Inarizaki match (2 matches before Karasuno's Ace, Asahi) feat. other 2nd yrs

Ch. 262: Always Face/Fall Forward

On the tail-end of Set 1, Tanaka rotates to Front row (symbolically going 'forward'). This panel shows that as Asahi rotates to the back, Tanaka now takes the responsibility of being left-side hitter (the spiker that the team mostly relies on)

Pressured by Inarizaki blockers, he rises up to the challenge: confidently calling for the toss and winning Set 1 for Karasuno.

But it didn't stop there, the pressure on him resumes on the 3rd set.

In contrast to Set 1 (left pic: wherein Tanaka confidently calls for the toss), Set 3 is when it's Kageyama who then trusts/expects from him (right pic).

On Set 3, not only did we see Tanaka live up to Kageyama's trust and pressure on him

From this ch, Birth of the Quiet King, we see what kind of setter Kageyama has become: the setter who both has faith and expectations on his spikers.

Altogether, it shows how their developments supplement each other. In Karasuno vs Inarizaki: As Tanaka rises up to the threat/trust on him, Kageyama develops as the King of the Court.

In this match, Tanaka urges Kageyama to toss to him (set 1) and, likewise, Kageyama trusts/pressures Tanaka (Set 3). Both urge each other on & live up to the other's expectations. I take note of this as it hints us the Setter-Ace dynamic between Tanaka and Kageyama in the future.

Moreover, later on in the game, Kageyama executes the same attitude to Asahi. The Ace steps up to the plate.

Showing a panel focusing on Tanaka after Asahi's powerful/strategic spike wherein he's looking up (once again) implies that he has to step up to another challenge: being Karasuno's future Ace.

One thing I also notice on why we got focused POV on most of Karasuno's 2nd years for this match is that it ties up to this match's theme: CHALLENGERS VS. CHALLENGERS. I see 2 reasons:

(1) While this match highlighted Karasuno 2nd yrs' defining moments, Inarizaki's core offense IS the 2nd year gen.

(2) The last rally, similar to Seijoh 1, is Karasuno's answer to Inarizaki's motto that yes, they need memories.

The 2nd yrs didn't have anything to do in these rallies but the underlying event here is that there will be a Rematch and the 2nd-turned-3rd years will lead the team

which may have been why Karasuno 2nd yrs were given focus. Since this match was Karasuno's checkmate to Inarizaki, CH. 370 reveals to us that Inarizaki learned and got stronger (as Coach Kurosu has implied).

on Narita and Ennoshita: imo Ennoshita on being next Captain has already been highlighted & Narita (ngl) on STZ simply implied that he can still perform well under immense pressure. Hinata and Tsukki being the starting players could've been a reason too (lol)