hq 365 & 370
scenes in which we never see kageyama’s & hinata’s expressions, is when they’re staring at each other, during important moments that involve the other. there’s this hidden vulnerability about both panels. in a way, by keeping it hidden, furudate already tells us sm—

about what they /could be/ feeling, how these moments aren’t just chilling for us the readers to see, but as if time slows to a halt for them, especially, just them.

kageyama knew why hinata collapsed, but what was the feeling that came over him when he saw the sight?

hinata knew for months kageyama would be in the olympics, in the very same city as him, but what was the feeling that came over him when he saw kageyama on tv, playing on that world stage?

and then consider the contrasting context between these scenes.

kageyama sees hinata collapse- he sees his fall- that benches him from the game. so hinata couldn’t play volleyball. which means kageyama couldn’t play volleyball /with/ hinata anymore. their first time together in nationals ended there.

emphasis on: kageyama couldn’t play volleyball with hinata anymore.

then hinata- he’s looking up, seeing kageyama in carmine & scoring service aces for jpn. kageyama is playing pro volleyball at the highest level. he’s ahead & high up that summit-

hinata can’t play volleyball w kageyama nor against him yet.

& here’s the link between these scenes. the emotional tone that furudate can convey with just their backs to us, as they focus on the other.

these are the moments when they feel far away from each other in volleyball.

kageyama sees hinata’s fall from volleyball, from playing with him. hinata sees kageyama’s rise to the top in volleyball, getting further ahead from him.

contrasting trajectories huh?

they could be feeling different things here, the ambiguity of their faces leaves it all

up to interpretation (which I love) but the emotional tone between both feels the same.

& I just think it’s interesting how these scenes rlly aren’t that different when it comes to what kageyama & hinata are to each other; partners.

so I wanted to kinda articulate it. cos like we really never got to see kageyama’s face in that moment. some of us used to ponder if we would. but no, furudate hid it for a reason. & hinata’s face is rarely obscured, but then post timeskip happened. so I’ll never get over this.