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There is a popular claim in the Haikyuu fandom that goes as follows: "Kageyama is an aggressive and hostile character" and me, a person who deeply loves analysis, decided to write about this and show some people, why this claim is wrong, so, let& #39;s start this, shall we?
1. Kageyama& #39;s past actions - this a very long conversation in the fandom, but here& #39;s the thing, at the end of the day, he was a 14 year old boy grieving the death of one of the people that shaped his life, a person that promised that if he was good enough, that if we moved +
forward, that the more games he played, the closer he was to meeting someone good, what happened during middle school is just the product of a boy who wanted company, desperate for having a partner who understood him and the fact that he didn& #39;t have anyone around him that he +
could go to and ask for help, of course, this is a healthy action and what people expect kids to do -- reaching out for help, but again, he is a kid in a place that is constantly telling him that he is unwelcomed, so, in a place like that he didn& #39;t really have anyone to talk to +
and even if he did, Kageyama struggles with communication, he is the kind of kid to keep it to himself until he explodes, maybe it is for a lack of understanding of why he feels the way he feels, I don& #39;t know, but one thing is for sure, he struggles to communicate what is on +
his mind, hence, it was the adult& #39;s job to reach out in the same way Ukai reached out to him when Kageyama was having trouble, because that is what a good coach does. So, he is grieving, desperate for company, in an unwelcoming place, and the adults around him are failing to
do their job, he is living something that deeply traumatized him, and yet, people expect a 14 year old to just know what to do? To have emotional maturity? Sometimes kids just don& #39;t know what to do or how to react, that& #39;s normal, so penalizing a character for lacking +
emotional maturity is absurd, I know this is nothing but fiction, but fiction is a reflection of reality, that& #39;s why at school we are asked to analyze pieces of fiction, because they reflect how society moves, so a fictional kid is reacting in the same way a real kid would, +
a reaction that is both, raw and real, he is not hostile, he is just a kid reacting like a kid would.
2. Trauma doesn& #39;t justify hurting others - Yeah, I agree with that, I never said it did, I mean, even Haikyuu agrees with that, why do you think Kageyama tries to apologize and better himself? Why do you think Kindaichi and Kunimi try to reach out to Kageyama as well? +
In case you really don& #39;t know the answers to my questions, don& #39;t worry, I& #39;ll tell you. Here& #39;s the thing, Haikyuu is really aware of what it does, nothing is really done without a reason, truly a beautiful piece of art, so Kageyama trying to be better and apologize just in the +
same way Kindaichi and Kunimi try, is because all of them understand that they hurt each other, and although is hard and messy, they are all trying the best to heal from what happened, in one hand, it& #39;s the work that they need to do on themselves, and on the other one, is +
working in the way they interact with each other, you being hurt doesn& #39;t justify hurting others, your pain doesn& #39;t doesn& #39;t give you permission to give other people pain, but the thing is, they did hurt each other, they did caused pain to each other, and instead of living on +
that one moment and defining themselves by the people they were when they were at their lowest, they are learning from that, by seeing what things they can change, so next time they are hurting, they don& #39;t hurt others. Again, fiction is just a reflection of reality, and +
we are all trying to learn how we coexist with one another, and we make mistakes, and sometimes, we hurt each other, and I feel like the relationship between Kageyama, Kunimi and Kindaichi perfectly show what we can do in case that happens, which is to grow, be better, and if +
possible, apologize. Haikyuu acknowledges that people come with flaws, which is why its character have flaws as well and react in ways that aren& #39;t perfect, and Haikyuu takes this as an opportunity to show its audience how we can be better.
3. The way Kageyama treats Hinata - this is actually a big one, here& #39;s the thing tho, they are just teasing each other, when Kageyama makes a mistake, Hinata teases, just like Kageyama does, the only difference is that one frowns and the other doesn& #39;t but here& #39;s the thing +
frowning doesn& #39;t mean that someone is upset, sometimes the face just does that, if you move past that, you would realize that they are just behaving like friends would, if you look beyond this, you would realize about how much Kageyama cares about Hinata. He spends +
most of his time with him, he is constantly helping him, I mean, yes, he doesn& #39;t smile a lot, but the way in which he shows that he cares it isn& #39;t by expressing himself through smiles and words, but through actions, he never calls Hinata names that refer to his height because +
he noticed the way that Hinata reacts when people do this, yes, he calls him "dumbass" but Hinata calls him names as well, are we just going to ignore Hinata& #39;s behavior when he does the exact time? When both of them engage in this behavior is because they enjoy it +
if Kageyama was so mean and bad to Hinata, then why does Hinata cares so much for Kageyama? Hinata is the kind of person that will fight a stranger on the street, so I am pretty sure that if he was bothered by Kageyama, he would& #39;ve said something, Hinata, even when nervous, +
tries to defend himself, he is not some helpless boy, if he was bothered by Kageyama, he would& #39;ve said something already, instead, Hinata looks up to him, challenges him, helps him, and has a bond beyond friendship with Kageyama, because they are meaningful to each other +
4. Kageyama and the "this time, I win too" - Yup, I am adding this one too, the thing about this quote is that this not Kageyama making a painful moment for Hinata about him, bragging to Hinata about how he gets to stay in the court like some people think, if that was the +
case, then Hinata would& #39;ve kept crying and his feeling of guilt would& #39;ve been worst, instead, he stopped crying and looked at what was ahead of him. Kageyama said something that soothed Hinata, he didn& #39;t make the moment about him. Hinata and Kageyama are competitive people,
they literally compete on EVERYTHING they do, so it& #39;s a normal thing for them to lose and win, Kageyama saying that he won again makes it seem like this is one of their competitions, and you know what? If this is just one of their competitions, then it means that Hinata can try
again tomorrow, that unlike what Hinata thinks, this isn& #39;t the end. Kageyama is comforting Hinata in a way that they both understand, and yes, it involves volleyball and competitions, and winning and losing, but like Oikawa said, this just how they communicate with one another +
they understand each other through volleyball, so of course, even something like this references volleyball, because that is their language, and there& #39;s nothing wrong with that, Kageyama is bringing something familiar for something harsh and traumatic for Hinata, and that, +
is called grounding, even Hoshiumi does this and tells Hinata that they& #39;ll have another time to compete again. Kageyama is comforting Hinata by using something that they both understand, by bringing something familiar, something that feels safe and good. +
Kageyama& #39;s behavior proves nothing but that he is just trying to be the best version of himself, he is not a hostile character, he is just someone who is trying his best, who is trying to be there for others in the best way he can, it may not be what some of us are used to +
seeing but that doesn& #39;t make it wrong, his way of showing kindness is valid, and should be seen instead of ignored just because it is not conventional way of showing kindness, doesn& #39;t mean that it is the wrong one, and I think that is my biggest takeaway for this thread, yes, +
Kageyama isn& #39;t perfect, he is instead a complex character with depth, a character that made some mistakes and tried his best to improve, so at the end of the day, he is nothing a kind character.
Part 1 of this thread: https://twitter.com/soaringshadows/status/1280955585668608001">https://twitter.com/soaringsh...
