This week’s Haikyuu was jam-packed with all sorts of awesome stuff, including some amazing material for the Miya twins that really adds weight and emotion to their dynamic and really establishes their place in the narrative. However, I’d like to talk about the Nishinoya material.

I’ve mentioned this before, but regardless -

Nishinoya absolutely lives and breathes volleyball throughout the series, but an important distinction to make is that despite this, he does not have a pure insatiable hunger for the sport like Hinata or Kageyama do.

I’m sure he does love it, and it’s clear that he enjoys it immensely, but his primary reason for giving his all to Karasuno is so that he can be part of a team and share these beautiful moments with his best friends.

That’s always been his primary motive - the connections he forms as a result of volleyball, not volleyball itself.

And the way his free-spirited and full-hearted demeanor dovetail with this motive makes him one of the most easily likeable characters in the story.

And this week’s episode encapsulated that through his moment with Kinoshita. The latter being down on his luck, struggling in the game, not being able to contribute in the way he so wishes he could..

..but his impact on Noya through simply supporting him & being his friend is more vital than he could ever realize. & thanks to what Noya learned from his Grandpa, he’s come to deeply value support. That’s why he gives it so selflessly & that’s why he cherishes his team.

And so Noya takes this moment to acknowledge Kinoshita’s contributions. It’s a team effort. Everyone, no matter the size of their role, contribute to Karasuno’s journey. And in this moment, thanks to Noya, perhaps for the first time ever, Kinoshita feels like he’s made an impact.

Nishinoya’s just a wonderful person and a great character. The reasons for why he’s one of my favourites happen later on (and relate to the backstory we got today as well!), but this episode greatly captures a big part of why he’s irreplaceable in the story and on the team.