Key things
- Tsukishima's initial indifference to volleyball stemmed from his brother's disillusionment with the sport.
- Tsukishima's growth as a valuable player came from blocking Shiratorizawa Ushijima, which fueled his passion for the game.
- Tsukishima's dedication to volleyball developed through experience and culminated in his full acceptance of the sport after high school.
Of all the different players on the Karasuno volleyball team v Haikyuu!! Tsukishima initially stood out for a different reason than Hinata and Kageyama. Unlike them, he showed little passion for volleyball and was generally antagonistic towards many things. Despite his antagonistic and laid-back approach to the sport, Tsukishima developed into one of Karasun's most valuable players and proved it by being the most valuable player when the team faced Shiratorizawa in Haikyuu!! series.
While he initially started out as a laid-back player in Karasun, he gradually became more angry during matches and eventually found his place in the team. However, it didn't happen overnight.
A reluctant start to volleyball
His Brother's Influence On His Attitude
When he joined Karasun, Tsukishima wasn't the most enthusiastic volleyball player. He liked volleyball as a child, but something has changed since then. This change was due to his brother's experience with volleyball. When they were younger, Tsukishima looked up to his older brother Akiteru Tsukishima, a volleyball player. Akiteru often told him great things about the sport and how he participated and trained every day. Unfortunately, despite training daily, Akiteru never became a starting regular for Karasuno High. This broke him and he was unable to confront Tsukishima with this fact. Because of this, he constantly portrayed a false narrative of being a regular and an ace. In order to stay ahead, he never allowed Tsukishima to come watch him at practice or matches.
Tsukishima knew that his brother would not allow him to come watch him, so he secretly attended Karasun's last high school volleyball match. When he found out that his brother wasn't regular and put himself forward all the time, he distanced himself from his brother and he himself never played volleyball passionately for fear of ending up like Akiteru with only a broken heart.
Karasun's challenge
Tsukishima struggles with team spirit
Due to his lack of passion for the sport, Tsukishima was not exactly enthusiastic about training and hardly ever gave 100% in a match. Despite appearing hostile, unkind and self-assured, he actually harbored insecurities. Whenever the parallel between him and Hinata came up, he always acknowledged that the little one was above him because he thought he wasn't as good.
Aside from his personal struggles, Tsukishima viewed volleyball as a sport where blind enthusiasm could easily lead to disappointment, drawing on his brother's example. When Tsukishima saw teammates like Kageyama and Hinata getting fired up, he saw them as immature rather than passionate. His overall attitude towards volleyball created a barrier between him and the other members of the team. While they were determined to improve, he lacked the same dedication, causing a discrepancy in their growth and approach to the sport. Instead of simply leaving the team, Tsukishima stayed and continued training, showing that while he may not have been as passionate as his teammates, he still enjoyed volleyball.
Block against Ushijima
Rise of Tsukishima as a key player
Every single one of Karasun's official matches right from the time the new rookies started had a number of things, whether it was pride, the confidence the players have in themselves, or the need to advance in the tournament. Of these matches, the match against Shiratorizawa and their ace Ushijima decided who would participate in the national team, making it an even bigger turning point for the team. Hinata, Kageyama and the rest of the team undoubtedly played very important roles in the match leading to their victory, but the MVP was undoubtedly Kei Tsukishima.
Perhaps because he was constantly around Hinata, Kageyama, and the other passionate members of the Karasuno volleyball team, Tsukishima's passion began to reawaken and he gave his all during the match against Shiratorizawa. Playing as a middle blocker, Tsukishima had the responsibility of blocking Ushijima, an individual known as a super ace among high schools for his strength and shooting technique. Tsukishima, playing against him, was determined to block him and ended up leaving the boundaries of what would normally be his comfort zone. Tsukishima Kei was excited about the sport for the first time in a long time and was equally afraid of losing. Tsukishima connected with his teammates not through words but through pure feelings and actions during this match, making subtle moves to force the opposition into bad plays. In the end, Tsukishima was able to block Ushiji, the premise of winning the match and finding his place on the team.
From indifference to passion
Tsukishima's full commitment to volleyball
For Tsukishima, going from indifferent to fully committed to volleyball didn't happen overnight. Several cases took place, all culminating over the course of the series. One such example was the special training camp for first years held by Shiratorizawa after their match. During this training camp, Tsukishima Kei really grew as a player and teammate, increasing both his skills and passion. After high school, Tsukishima's passion for volleyball did not wane as he continued to play in college.
Tsukishima Kei's growth as a volleyball player was heavily influenced first by his brother's failure and later by realizing how much passion he had for the sport and how his fear of failure held him back. Dealing with his brother's lies and passion for the sport, Tsukishima was able to fully embrace volleyball on his own rather than being burdened by others, making him a very passionate and skilled player.
Haikyuu!! is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
