The Anime Trekker

#spoilersforseason2One of my favorite things about Haikyuu is the symbolism-dense storytelling. True to form, the above frame has layers of meaning.

For those of you who know where this scene is from, feel free to skip past the context explanation to my analysis below.

The Context

For context, the above scene is where Hinata and Kageyama talk to their rival Ushijima outside of the prestigious Shiratorizawa Academy’s volleyball gymnasium. (A school gymnasium dedicated to volleyball only, meaning it has multiple gymnasiums… how loaded is this school?!) Earlier, Hinata and Kageyama explore Shiratorizawa Academy and are stunned by its size, architecture, sports ground, equestrian club with its own horses and the fact that volleyball team owns its own bus.

When Ushijima describes a rival team, Aobajohsai High, as “barren soil”, too innately mediocre to ever achieve greatness, Hinata turns icy. Hinata says that if Aobajohsai is barren soil, Karasuno school must be concrete.

As a flying ball bounds out of the gymnasium directly towards Ushijima, he jumps to catch it but Hinata races several meters, leaps and seizes it.

Ushijima’s shocked expression is kind of hilarious. (“Why you little punk…”)

Landing deftly, Hinata introduces as “Hinata Shoyo from the concrete”.

My Analysis

The first time I watched this scene, I noticed the prominence of the broken bottle on the bottom right hand corner. It sticks out like a sore thumb. It drew my eyes to the overflowing trash behind Hinata and Kageyama.

Their contrasting backdrops are a metaphor for their backgrounds - one privileged and prestigious, and the other disadvantaged and limited.

Ushijima appears to be standing in lush green grass with sprawling pine trees in the background. A majestic white eagle symbolically appears behind Ushijima. The white eagle is the Shiratorizawa Academy volleyball team’s mascot - an allusion to being on the top of the food chain. Ushijima’s jacket billows triumphantly behind him in what’s known as a “hero” shot.

Meanwhile, Hinata and Kageyama are framed by crows hovering above the trash. Crows are the Karasuno volleyball team’s mascot and nature’s scavengers, adept at surviving in the harshest of terrains. Because of the perspective, the tall Ushijima looks like he’s towering even above Kageyama - a sharp reminder of the pair’s underdog status.

We’re subtly reminded of Karasuno’s underdog status through Haikyuu. At one stage, the club advisor considers subsidising the cost of club bus fees out of his own pocket due to a lack of funds. There’s also a lack of experienced guidance - their coach is new to gig, unlike the veteran coaches from the powerhouse schools. Indeed, the team went without a coach for a long time, with the captain playing that role. At the start of the narrative, Karasuno had long lost their connection with other schools and hence access to practice matches. It was only through the club advisor’s persistence that they were able to rebuild the contacts.

The other teams refer to Karasuno as country bumpkins as they’re from a small town and a visit to the “big smoke” (Tokyo) is a huge deal for them. (It’s a running joke that various Karasuno team members can’t tell the difference between Tokyo Tower and a common transmission tower).

There’s another layer of personal metaphor for both characters. Kageyama applied to Shiratorizawa Academy but was rejected. He was also ultimately rejected by his team members during elementary school. Ushijima implies that he permanently belongs to the reject pile. Hinata never had the benefit of a coach during his early years, or a team (only ring-in friends from other sports) or regular games (only a short-lived match in a tournament). As a result, his foundational skills in receiving and serving are fairly weak.

The contrast between Ushijima, and Hinata and Kageyama could not be more stark and it’s represented beautifully in that single frame.