What is your favorite Haikyuu match?
Truthfully, if someone asked me, a woman who literally spent her young adulthood years watching Haikyuu, that question: I would have many answers because some of the matches written in Haikyuu is delivered with a strong message, both implicitly and explicitly.
For example, Hinata’s first-ever match where he lost against Kageyama at Junior High School explained that sometimes you may face failure or devastating loss, however, that is not a reason to feel dejected nor giving up. Hinata cried, he felt frustrated, he challenges Kageyama heads-on at the end of the first episode with tears streamed on his face; which sends the message that it is normal to experience negative feelings after a failure.
However, the next step would be admitting to yourself that instead of a total failure, you can plant a narrative that you didn’t succeed just yet. The power of ‘yet’ could help you to shift perspective to grow and try again later on.
I could also pick the Karasuno vs. Aobajosai match at Spring High Preliminaries as one of my favorite match, where we see Oikawa received a speech from his coach. There will be people better than us, it is a given. Believing that people are better or gifted than us and we did nothing to improve ourselves, is indeed easier and much simpler path.
However, it is certainly not the path if you want to improve yourself into a better person than you are today. Believing that what you are now is not all that you’ve got and that you are capable to do more, is.
It was a fantastic match that debates the whole “talent vs hard work” in a very creative and meticulous way, or as I would love to call it : the Furudate Haruichi way.
I could go on and on, by the way, as someone who loves Haikyuu.
However, if you ask me as someone who held a Bachelor of Psychology title, the best match for me would be “Karasuno vs. Shiratorizawa” that we witnessed at Spring High Preliminaries Finals, which took over a whole season and 10 episodes.
Hi, my name is Andin, I worked as a Head of Content at an education startup that you can access their website here. I have a keen interest in analyzing animes that I watched, hence the #AnimesInReflects title. Today, I’m going to discuss about Haikyuu and buckle up because this is going to be an educative ride. Shall we?
Oh by the way. Spoiler alert.
So.
Here’s the thing.
When we knew that Karasuno will be facing Shiratorizawa aka the number one powerhouse for Boys Volleyball in Miyagi, I am sure we were all: EXCITED.
This, this is a wall that the Karasuno boys must overcome to reach Nationals. To defeat a powerhouse school where one of the Top 3 High School Spikers in Japan, goes. And when we found out that Karasuno finally won the match, we were thrilled, excited, I even shed tears because they have finally reached the dream stage that they longed for (did you cried too? Am asking for a friend).
However, some of you might think; “oh this is a powerful vs underdog narrative isn’t it? Where the underdog always wins.”
The answer is : no and I would like to direct your attention to the main idea (or quote) of the said match, that is repeatedly communicated at certain points during the match :
“The Battle of Concepts.”
Here we have Shiratorizawa’s coach, Washijo Tanji held the belief of “simplicity is the best” where he recruits teenagers who already have great volleyball skills to join Shiratorizawa, and hone their said skills to be the very best. Usually, the ones who are tall, because, volleyball is a sport where being tall gave you many advantages.
To put it simply, coach Washijo recruited and trained those who he thinks have the potential to become the strongest volleyball player. Like how Ushijima Wakatoshi already had great power with his spikes or Tendo Satori with his “Guess Monster” skill. He even chose people even if they have little to none game sense; if they are tall, strong, and powerful, then it’s enough. Coach Washijo then would also harness their individual skills so that they could be even better.
During the match and his character introduction, Coach Washijo values height and how you are basically useless if you don’t have the ideal height to play volleyball. We later found out that this mindset grew when his coach at high school rejected him as a player because of his short stature.
Even when he tried to appeal that he could polish his other skills to make up for his height, such as his receives, his coach still dismissed him; adding that “if only you are taller”.
This made him believe that tall strong people are the best formula to draft an incredibly powerful team.
However, we also have Karasuno team, under Ukai Kenshin's guidance, still followed the late Ukai Ikkei’s coach legacy: that players are adaptable and have the potential to grow.
We saw this message several times, both delivered in implicit and explicit ways. For example, during Ukai Ikkei’s speech about, “because people don’t have wings, we search for other ways to fly”; implying that people naturally will look for ways to adapt to situations and think other strategies to grow into the something that they want to be.
This also applied to the Karasuno as crows narrative by Coach Nekomata, where he describes that the nature of crows is to survive and they would eat anything for their survival; even when they are living in the mountains or Kabuki-cho neighborhood. Coach Nekomata’s quote shows that the Karasuno team itself will look for more and more ways so that they could prevail once more, and that is to Nationals.
Karasuno team believes that there are other things beside height and powers that could contribute to winning; such as new strategies and tactics. That’s why we saw the team developing their synchronize attack, Hinata’s back row attack skill, Tsukishima’s blocking skill, and many more during their Training Camp Arc.
And as Haikyuu’s chapter and episode progressed, we witnessed first-handed how the Karasuno team grew into more amazing players and a team as a whole.
And this is where it became interesting : When I realize (four years too late) that this battle of concepts narrative between Shiratorizawa versus Karasuno match, is basically a Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset debate.
Okay, to promote, my office once covered the Haikyuu and Growth Mindset in Indonesian on youtube that you can check here.
We’re good?
You’ve checked it?
Cool.
So these two mindsets hold two different sets of beliefs, according to American psychologist Carol Dweck.
To put it simply, Fixed Mindset believes that what you have right now; personality, abilities, or skills are something given and something that you cannot change nor grow into even better. Fixed Mindset also believes that effort is futile and something that you would do if you are not good at it.
It’s “this is just the way things are” way. Or the deterministic view of the world, you might say in a philosophic way.
However, Growth Mindset believes that each people have the capability to grow and improve, that you are able to cultivate your current basic capabilities through effort and setbacks, if necessary. It believes that even though people differ in a way or another, every and each of them can change and grow.
It’s the “Hinata Shoyo” way. Or the free will view of the world.
Sounds familiar?
Shiratorizawa and Coach Washijo’s concept is the Fixed Mindset while Karasuno and Ukai Ikkei’s legacy’s concept is the Growth Mindset.
Its Fixed Mindset shows at Coach Washijo’s “simplicity is the best” motto. This also shows that even after the said match has ended. The one where Hinata invited himself to attend the first year training camp; and Coach Washijo insisted that he refuses to acknowledge Hinata’s improvement during the camp, even when Hinata himself shows it remarkably. Even also when Hinata himself improved better than most players who attended the training camp.
Ukai Ikkei’s Growth Mindset was shown after n Karasuno declared as the winner and representative of Miyagi prefecture for the Nationals; he cited to himself that he agreed to Coach Washijo’s belief that height is everything at volleyball, but so does learning new strategies.
Speaking of Growth Mindset, most of the characters Karasuno also developed this mindset from time to time, with the last one to follow suit is Tsukishima Kei.
He used to believe that he is somewhat inferior to Hinata, even though he is significantly taller than the said orange-haired protagonist and even when both of them held the same Middle Blocker regular title. He believes that due to Hinata’s rapid growth and hunger to improve, Tsukishima would eventually get left behind. His past played a role in why he cultivate this mindset.
However, this changed during the Summer Camp Arc, where he met Kuroo Tetsuro, Bokuto Koutaro, and Akaashi Keiji, and where he was presented the idea by Bokuto that there will be a moment where he would get hooked by volleyball. This also was supported that Kuroo gave him guidance on how to block and cultivate his skill in that area.
The key takeaway is that we do have to admit, some people were indeed born into this world with greater intelligence, skills, and prowess than the rest of us might have. However, if we stick to this mindset, we might believe that we are not cut for it and gave up midway.
“Because they are more intelligent than me.”
“Because he is more talented than me.”
“Because he is taller than me.”
Through Karasuno and Shiratorizawa match, we were presented that in the end; being tall and powerful is not the winning point. Adapting to the match, hunger for learning, and growth is. Like how Tsukishima planted tricks at both Shirabu Kenjiro’s and Ushijima’s mind throughout the whole match until he succeeded pulled that decisive kill blocking and other numerous blocking strategies.
So, the first thing you must do to develop a Growth Mindset, is that you must hold a belief that you have the ability to grow, to learn, and to be an even better person than you are now.
Once you hold that belief close to you, you would see setbacks as a challenge and opportunity to learn from the mistakes you’ve made. Efforts are something that is equally important to results. Continuous improvement. Accepting feedback and criticism as something useful for you to learn and learn even more.
You know, the classic Hinata Shoyo mindset.
And, I will end this article by asking you this question: What is YOUR favorite match at Haikyuu and why?
Is your reason supported with a psychology theory and elaborated with long-ass almost 2k essay like I do or is simply “because Iwaizumi Hajime is so handsome there?” like a normal person?
Let me know at the comment!
Thank you and I’ll see you around for the next #AnimesInReflects article!!
