how oikawa’s last serve freed him from the shadows of the geniuses — a thread

one of oikawa’s most defining traits is the fact that he, though physically adept with great sense of the game, is not a genius when it comes to volleyball. said geniuses were a “wall he couldn’t overcome”

it’s what leads him to overworking himself. he practices his serves because he, /alone/, wanted to defeat the geniuses. which results in the infamous speech from iwaizumi. “the team with the stronger six wins”

the only way to defeat ushijima, the genius, would be to defeat his team. because as an individual, he’s simply too strong.

during yamaguchi’s iconic serve against seijoh, this is what’s said about serves in general. it is the only solitary move in volleyball, which is a team sport.

soon after, coach irihata acknowledges the same fact when it’s oikawa’s turn to serve. /in modern volleyball, serves don’t get caught by the wall/. although in this case the wall in question was the blockers, for oikawa’s case it could also be his own personal wall — the geniuses

keep in mind that oikawa is as great of a team player as anybody gets. it’s the very reason ushijima was so adamant on him playing for shiratorizawa instead of seijoh.

but oikawa never doubted his capabilities as a team mate. it’s his talent as an individual which he wanted to make bloom. his insecurities stemmed from going head to head with genius /individuals/. not their /teams/.

so, he trains. moves halfway across the world for it, too. he has a goal in mind. and sure enough, he achieves it.

blanco, oikawa’s inspiration to become a setter and his mentor, perhaps teaches him the most crucial lesson. a lesson which oikawa lives by. in short: don’t give up in the face of those naturally better until you do everything in your power to try and surpass them

and oikawa succeeds. makes it to the stage he’s always dreamt of playing in. a stage his genius counterparts occupy as well

this should be enough. he’s made it to the same level as the geniuses that once seemed miles ahead of him. but furudate takes it one step further with the form of attack we see oikawa make for the final time.

oikawa isn’t shown to make a set — a move made to facilitate the team. we see him serving: a solitary move. in his last moment, he’s finally facing the geniuses alone. even though it doesn’t result in a point, it still “throws them off balance”

oikawa breaks the wall that represented the geniuses. light pours through the cracks. oikawa tooru is not a genius, and that’s okay. he’s no longer in their shadows. he finally, finally, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, made his talent bloom.