Terushima Yuuji
–– A Character Study

(will be tweeted in chunks)

Disclaimer: I recognise that Terushima's pushy advances towards Kiyoko should not be accepted and brushed aside, but I don't think he is inherently a misogynistic asshole. Since I am a supporter of development of characters outside of canon (essentially fanon characterisation), I

think fans should start wondering about potential growth in Yuuji's character in the following years, including but not limited to, apologising to Shimizu. And it's evident he /is/ capable of interacting with girls in a friendly manner, as seen by his relationship with Misaki.

I believe Terushima is a character who tends to go a bit overboard with a lot of things, both in volleyball and his socialisation. I'm not saying his overly enthusiastic nature is bad, definitely not! But I would like everyone to bear in mind this is a 17 year old boy

who loves playing volleyball and goofing around with his teammates (sometimes to the annoyance of people around him), just like 99% of the other characters in haikyuu.

1. His Introduction

I'll be the first to say that it's perfectly understandable that a lot of people felt an immediate dislike for Terushima at first. Here is this new character that comes out of the blue with an air of aloofness, who is seemingly trivialising the game of vb.

One of the reasons why he can rub the audience off in a bad way is because he goes against the established idea that those who are incredibly serious about vb are admirable. The way he reduces it to simply having "fun" coupled with the fact it directly parallels the protagonist's

ideology naturally makes him an antagonist. Hinata, who has always wanted more and more and more in the game and to improve his skills to reach higher heights is confronted by this drastically different worldview.

"Maybe volleyball /is/ just a game, something to play around with" is NOT something anyone wants to think about

especially the audience who is reading a manga about vb, with a protagonist obsessed with vb, with their faves constantly trying to improve at vb, with the major adversaries in the story themselves be about vb (specifically how shoyo can overcome barriers such as physical height,

jumping height, strong blocking, solid receiving etc.)

For 100+ chapters we have observed Karasuno become stronger, for the rest of the series we see characters like Oikawa, Ushijima, Kageyama and most of all, Hinata, put so much time and energy into the game. A new character who says something along the lines of "volleyball is just

a game" would most definitely provoke outrage in the audience who have invested themselves in the stories of these driven characters. I mean, the audience /is/ meant to empathise with the protagonist in most texts; it's a foundation of story-writing.

It should be mentioned that the chapter ends with Kei being offered to practice with Akiteru. I think this was deliberately placed here to juxtapose nicely with the newly introduced idea that volleyball could actually simply a game to some people

"This is just a club."

There's a certain sadness and anger one gets when a complete outsider or even worse, a friend, doesn't match your enthusiasm in something you are clearly passionate about. It's simply human nature to dislike people who don't take you or your ambitions seriously.

The way Terushima physically bent down to stare into Hinata's eyes, displaying intense curiosity about how this wildcard's team won, concluding with a headpat, subtly implies that Hinata is being underestimated, yet again. It can be presumed that these actions are meant to

convey how Teru sees Hinata as this amateur-ish little kid, playing just to have a bit of fun like himself. We, the readers, already understand the depth of Hinata's hunger /ambition and are MEANT to be uncomfy with Teru here! He just indirectly said the chapters of development

of every character so far and those upcoming are for naught!

And! I! Am! So! Impressed! It takes guts to introduce such a bold character that is so against the status quo and then to portray them in a way that is respectful of both their ideals AND the protagonist's!

(more on this later)

To end this component of the analysis, I would like to highlight how Yuuji is overall depicted to be this cocky and self assured captain of a team that karasuno must overcome to advance to the next round, so yes, terushima /is/ unlikable at this point. But rereading this made

me realise this is absolutely necessary to contrast the changes in himself after the match in which he develops a biiiiiit more humility

So keep smirking at Daichi (*coughs* the love of your life *coughs*) and being a little prick

You'll be taken down a notch soon :) /pos

2. TeruHina parallels

(Hello again! I apologise beforehand for vague points I may bring up. It’s midnight but I finally have the motivation and time to continue so I’m going to make the most of it!)

So it’s already been implied in their first meeting that Terushima’s ideology clashes with Hinata’s and his words about “having fun” is clearly at the back of Hinata’s mind throughout the match. I would like to point out that Hinata never outright verbalises any anger nor

any disagreement with terushima’s words and instead chooses to quietly reflect on them and observe. It’s one of his strengths in my opinion; how he is so willing to indulge in new ideas and concentrate on people that pique his interest to the extent of intimidation.

Just like Terushima Yuuji

From the moment Hinata saved the ball in a feat of great athleticism immediately succeeding teru’s own freak spike it’s clear that terushima is pleasantly surprised that this newbie is more than he appears to be. But rather than being fearful like most, he is completely

exhilarated! He is astounded by the potential in this tiny 1st year, gushing over each flashy move. Why wouldn’t he? It’s just like his own team’s style, is it not?

And it is.

Wait wait lemme just add something real quick. I adore how furudate went and put in the effort to include those little panels that depicted teru and Hinata making imperfect and imbalanced landings after such complex moves. It truly accentuates how so much of what they do is

unrefined and are always in a constant state of experimentation!

Just seemed like a neat little thing to me *shrugs*

Alright. So I recently implied that Hinata is similar to Johzenji, correct?

Yeah!

One of the main conflicts in hq was Hinata’s inability to cultivate his natural agility and skills in an environment in which he felt challenged. To put it simply, he could control

the way his body moved and had the physical ability, required to only master basic skills and finesse new techniques and such.

Suga himself noticed that johzenji had admirable athletic ability. And he then makes a direct comparison between the opposing team and karasuno’s

first/second years. Yamaguchi also provides a little side commentary when Hinata’s not on court which highlights both Hinata’s similarity with johzenji as well as Yamaguchi’s own envy towards the aforementioned players. And would you look at that! Back at it with the themes of

“fun” and it’s correlation with skill!

Furudate knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they made the next chapter be titled “The Strength Needed For Freedom” and then introduced Daichi who was someone with a presence that Teru’s team needed, much so.

So about the whole “quietly reflect and observe” point I mentioned earlier, my next segment will feature my interpretations of Teru’s constant curious glances thrown at Daichi. To put it simply for now, Hinata and Teru have this funky characteristic where they watch.

They watch. And they think.

And then they make a judgement.

Terushima is not dumb. He is just a person that needs physical evidence that a differing POV could potentially be beneficial for himself. Yes, he was pretty giddy in the beginning of the match as he played against Hinata but he soon continuously kept an attentive eye on Daichi

who seemed to be everything he and Hinata were not.

And soon.....got inspired to make alterations to his own inherent beliefs.

Out of pure, objective, observation.

Terushima Yuuji can’t be stupid when he has the mind of a scientist; he has preconceived hypotheses; he finds experimentation useful; analyses observations and finds evidence that supports certain ideas and eventually....

he accepts the new knowledge and shares it with his peers

Uhhh it’s past 2 so I should wrap it up

*clears throat* Hinata and Terushima are characters who have remarkable physical abilities, albeit lacking more technical skills which they are compelled to develop, and who are intrinsically teens who are curious and eager to learn!

Who knows when I will post the third part. In two days? Two weeks? A millennia? In 2 jiffies? We’ll see.....farewell!

*morphs into a condor and uses rising winds rushing up cliffsides to keep me afloat and help me glide to lands afar*

I lived, bitch https://twitter.com/a_n_ramen/status/1342873357683834881