How strong is Haikyuu Japan National Volleyball Team 2021?
Haikyuu is one of the best sports anime of all time and has set the benchmark very high for any future sports series. The beauty of Haikyuu lies in its brilliant and realistic depiction of Volleyball, staying true to its genre. With amazing characters and with no unnecessary side plots, Haikyuu is a must watch masterpiece for any anime fan.
The series primarily follows the story of Hinata Shoyo who wants to become a great Volleyball player despite being naturally hampered by short height. Since volleyball is a sport where 6 feet tall is considered short, it was always intriguing to know how far can Hinata travel in the world of Volleyball.
Hinata finally makes it to Japan National Volleyball Team and plays in 2021 Tokyo Olympics along with Kageyama and others. Let us look at who made it to the Japan National Team for Olympics. And later we can look at the team’s strength and weakness and their ratings in different aspects of volleyball.
Jump Directly to Analysis Section by clicking below if you already know about the Team members list
Japan National Volleyball Team in 2021 Tokyo Olympics
| Name | Position | Current Club | Height Reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinata Shoyo | Opposite | Asas Sao Paulo(Brazil) | 350 cm |
| Tobio Kageyama | Setter | Ali Roma (Italy) | 348 cm |
| Sakusa Kiyoomi | Outside Hitter | MSBY Black Jackals | 345 cm |
| Miya Atsumu | Setter | MSBY Black Jackals | 342 cm |
| Hyakuzawa Yudai | Middle Blocker | Japan Railway Warriors | 346 cm |
| Gao Hakuba | Middle Blocker | Tachibana Red Falcons | 350 cm |
| Komori Motoya | Libero | Eastern Japan Paper Mills Raijin | 330 cm |
| Yaku Morisuke | Libero | Cheegle Ekaterinburg (Russia) | 325 cm |
| Hoshiumi Kourai | Outside Hitter | Schweiden Alders | 351 cm |
| Ushijima Wakatoshi | Opposite | Schweiden Alders | 348 cm |
| Kotaro Bokuto | Outside Hitter | MSBY Black Jackals | 348 cm |
| Aran Ojiro | Outside Hitter | Tachibana Red Falcons | – |
| Hajime Iwaizumi | Trainer | Japan National Volleyball Team | – |
Hinata Shoyo
School – Karasuno High School
Position – Opposite
Current Club – Asas Sao Paulo(Brazil)
Hinata Shoyo is the main Protagonist of the show. He played as Middle Blocker for Karasuno High School. Later after timeskip, he went to Brazil and tried Beach Volleyball. Then he played as Opposite/Wing Spiker for Japanese V-League Division 1 team MSBY Black Jackals. Then he represented Japan at 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Currently he plays for Asas Sao Paulo in Brazil SuperLiga.
Kageyama Tobio
School – Karasuno High School
Position – Setter
Current Club – Ali Roma (Italy)
Kageyama played as a Setter for Karasuno High School. Right after school he started playing for Japanese V-League Division 1 team Schweiden Alders. He also represented Japan National Volleyball Team in 2016 Rio Olympics as a 19 year old and in 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Currently he plays for Ali Roma in Italia Serie.
Sakusa Kiyoomi
School – Itachiyama Academy
Position – Outside Hitter
Current Club – MSBY Black Jackals
Kiyoomi Sakusa was an Outside Hitter of Itachiyama Academy. After time skip, he is currently an Outside Hitter for MSBY Black Jackals Volleyball Team (Division 1). He also represents Japan National Volleyball Team.
Miya Atsumu
School – Inarizaki High School
Position – Setter
Current Club – MSBY Black Jackals
Atsumu Miya was a Setter of Inarizaki High School. After time skip, he is currently playing as a Setter in MSBY Black Jackals Volleyball Team (Division 1) and Japan National Team.
Hyakuzawa Yudai
School – Kakugawa High
Position – Middle Blocker
Current Club – Japan Railway Warriors
Yūdai Hyakuzawa was a Wing Spiker of Kakugawa High School. After time skip, he is currently a Middle Blocker in Japan Railway Warriors(Division 1) and Japan National Team.
Gao Hakuba
School – Kamomedai High
Position – Middle Blocker
Current Club – Tachibana Red Falcons
Gao Hakuba was an Opposite Hitter of Kamomedai High School. After time skip, he is currently playing as Middle Blocker for Tachibana Red Falcons (Division 1) and Japan National Volleyball Team.
Komori Motoya
School – Itachiyama Academy
Position – Libero
Current Club – Eastern Japan Paper Mills Raijin
Motoya Komori was a Libero of Itachiyama Academy. After time skip, he is currently playing as a Libero for Eastern Japan Paper Mills Raijin (Division 1) and Japan National Team.
Yaku Morisuke
School – Nekoma High
Position – Libero
Current Club – Cheegle Ekaterinburg (Russia)
Yaku was a Libero of Nekoma High School. After time skip, he is currently playing as a Libero for Cheegle Ekaterinburg in Russian Volleyball Super League and also represents Japan National Team.
Hoshiumi Kourai
School – Kamomedai High
Position – Outside Hitter
Current Club – Schweiden Alders
Kōrai Hoshiumi was a Wing Spiker of Kamomedai High School. After time skip, he is currently playing as an Outside Hitter in Schweiden Alders (Division 1) and Japan National Team.
Ushijima Wakatoshi
School – Shiratorizawa Academy
Position – Opposite
Current Club – Schweiden Alders
Wakatoshi Ushijima was an Opposite and the Captain of Shiratorizawa Academy High School. After time skip, he is currently playing as an Opposite for Schweiden Alders and also represents Japan National Volleyball team.
Kotaro Bokuto
School – Fukurodani Academy
Position – Outside Hitter
Current Club – MSBY Black Jackals
Bokuto was an Outside Hitter and the Captain of Fukurodani Academy. After time skip, he is currently an Outside Hitter in MSBY Black Jackals Volleyball Team (Division 1) and also represents Japan National Team.
Aran Ojiro
School – Inarizaki High
Position – Outside Hitter
Current Club – Tachibana Red Falcons
Aran Ojiro was a Wing Spiker of Inarizaki High School. After time skip, he is an Outside Hitter of Tachibana Red Falcons (Division 1) and also represents Japan in International Level.
Hajime Iwaizumi
School – Aoba Joshai High
Position – Athlete Trainer
Hajime Iwaizumi was a Wing Spiker of Aoba Joshai High School. Two years before time skip, he was pursuing Sports science in College in USA. He is currently an athlete trainer for Japan National Volleyball Team.
Recommended – All the characters’ current profession after Time skip
Recommended – All Professional Clubs and the players in it and school wise split of who made it to Pro leagues.
How Strong is the Japan National Team ?
Unfortunately we didn’t get to see a single full match to get a full sight of their strategy, game style and the starting players. But we can analyze based on the players individual playing style from club match and the school days.
Japan National Volleyball Team in Haikyuu is very similar to real world Japan National Team. Current real world Volleyball team relies heavily on variation and defensive strength rather than pure power.
Here is how my starting 7 will look like (Sorry Hinata!!!)
I explained the above selection here in Picking the starting seven of the Japan National Volleyball Team
I have broken down each aspect of the game and rated how strong the team will be in it.
SETTING
Rating – 10/10
In terms of setters all around the world, Kageyama and Miya Atsumu have shown performances that match the best in the world. The skill sets they have are definitely on par with the best setters in the real world like Micah Christensen, Simone Giannelli, Bruno etc. Kageyama in particular might even be the best setter in the world as he is shown to do practically everything perfectly as a setter.
SERVING
Rating – 7/10
We have seen only few insights about their serving capability. Kageyama managed to serve 5 consecutive aces against a powerhouse team like France in Olympics. Miya too has great serves in Jump, Float and hybrid forms. Ushijima’s Left handedness and his power will certainly make his serves difficult to pickup. Sakusa, Hinata, Bokuto etc are also shown to have great serves though mightn’t be on par with Kageyama or Miya. Middle blockers’ serving ability is unknown hence it is quite difficult to judge the serving.
BLOCKING
Rating – 5/10
Like the real world Japan National Volleyball, this team too won’t be really great in blocking. Barring Middle Blockers, none of the them are over 195 cm whereas the other teams like USA, Italy, Brazil will have more players over 2 meters. Also having Hinata and Hoshiumi in the team weakens the blocking. Though they are great jumpers they will take few milliseconds longer to reach their peak verticals while blocking which will be a problem in International level.
RECEIVES AND DIGS
Rating – 8.5/10
Similar to real world Japan National Volleyball, this team’s strength lies in defense. Since the team will be hampered in blocking aspect they have to be extra good in defense to make up for it. The team has really great defenders like Hinata and Hoshiumi and the Liberos (Yaku and Komori) are seen having great skills in receiving.
POWER HITTING
Rating – 6/10
It is safe to say that power hitting isn’t this team’s strength. Barring Ushijima who is known as cannon, all the other players are more of skilled and athletic type. Attackers of this team will find it more difficult than other teams to face three tall blockers. Hence variation will be the key to split opponent blockers. Many times in a game you have to toss a high ball to Outside hitters or Opposites but for a high ball the opponent will easily setup a three man block and Japan will find it more difficult to secure a point from there. It isn’t to say the players won’t get any points against three man blocks at all but they will have slight disadvantage compared to other powerhouses.
VARIATIONS
Rating – 9/10
Variations will be the primary strength of this team. Having two really skilled setters and also lack of power and height in spikers, variations will be the key to beat stronger opponents. Japan National team even in real world uses the most pipe attacks in the world and the Outside hitters and Opposites tend to use more feints compared to other teams. It is safe to say that this team in Manga will have to follow the same route to be successful. Kageyama’s skills obviously elevate the success of variations to next level.
OVERALL STRENGTH
Rating – 7/10 | World Ranking – 8 to 10
This team has potential to beat any team on a given day but will find it hard to sustain the same consistency on every day against stronger teams. When facing teams like USA, Italy, France, Russia, Poland etc they will inevitably be the underdog. This team is akin to Karasuno in National Tournament in that regard. They will rank in Top 15 and can be even in Top 10 in the world consistently but will find it difficult to break into top 5.
Japan National Volleyball Team Strength Analysis Summary
| Aspect | Rating |
|---|---|
| Setting | 10/10 |
| Blocking | 5/10 |
| Defense and Digs | 8.5/10 |
| Serving | 7/10 |
| Variations | 9/10 |
| Power Hitting | 6/10 |
| Overall | 7/10 |
Recommended:
I have analyzed how realistic is volleyball in Haikyuu compared to real life. Do check it here – How realistic is volleyball in Haikyuu?
Final Thoughts
This is my personal estimation and analysis of the team and you mayn’t agree with it. Kindly let me know if you have any other ideas and thoughts about it in the comment below.
Comment (1)
Really, the only things I disagree on in this list is the lower power hitting. I can agree that with sheer strength, Ushijima is without a doubt the most powerful. But, I’d say Sakusa and Bokuto also bring a lot to the hitting side of the game with their strength and their ability to hit harsh angles against blocks (ex. with Sakusa’s flexible wrists being known for cut shots and Bokuto also showing proficiency for cuts with a little more strength than Kiyoomi). But, otherwise, I really loved reading this!