Haikyuu!! follows Shoyo Hinata, a short kid who fell in love with volleyball after watching a small player nicknamed the "Little Giant" soar over taller blockers on TV. He enrols at Karasuno High, the Little Giant's old school, only to find that his teammate there is Tobio Kageyama, the genius setter who crushed his team in their only middle school match. The two can't stand each other, until they discover that Kageyama's precise sets and Hinata's jumps make an almost unstoppable quick attack.
Haikyuu's cast is organised by team, and almost every opponent gets their own backstory, so rival players are often as popular as Karasuno's. This guide goes team by team, starting with Karasuno and its friendly rivals at Nekoma.
- Creator
- Haruichi Furudate
- Manga
- Weekly Shonen Jump, 2012–2020 (45 volumes)
- Anime studio
- Production I.G
- Setting
- Miyagi Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan
- Sport
- Six-a-side indoor volleyball
Karasuno High
Karasuno was once a national-level team, but it has faded and is now mocked as the "fallen crows" or "flightless crows." Over the series, a squad of misfits, a returning coach and a lot of practice matches turn it into a contender again.
Shoyo Hinata
Middle blocker · First-year
Hinata is small, impatient and unbelievably energetic, with a vertical jump that makes up for his height. At first he can barely receive a ball, and Karasuno's coaches worry he'll be useful only as a decoy. His real arc is growing from a jumping weapon into a complete player who understands the whole game, and his refusal to accept that he's too short is the heart of the series.
- Voice
- Ayumu Murase (JP)
Tobio Kageyama
Setter · First-year
Kageyama is a natural genius at setting, but in middle school he demanded so much from his spikers that his own team stopped playing for him, earning him the sarcastic nickname "King of the Court." At Karasuno he slowly learns to set for the people in front of him rather than the play in his head. He's blunt and socially clueless, and his rivalry-turned-partnership with Hinata drives the whole story.
- Voice
- Kaito Ishikawa (JP)
Kei Tsukishima
Middle blocker · First-year
Tall, sarcastic and determined to treat volleyball as "just a club." That detachment comes from finding out his older brother Akiteru had been lying about being a starter at Karasuno. Under Nekoma's Kuroo and Fukurodani's Bokuto he becomes a smart, reading blocker, and his block on Ushijima is one of the series' best moments.
- Voice
- Koki Uchiyama (JP)
Tadashi Yamaguchi
Middle blocker and pinch server · First-year
Tsukishima's childhood friend, who starts out on the bench feeling left behind by the other first-years. He learns a jump float serve and becomes Karasuno's pinch server, and his first big moment under pressure is a quietly important arc.
- Voice
- Soma Saito (JP)
Daichi Sawamura
Captain, wing spiker · Third-year
Karasuno's steady captain, whose specialty is the unglamorous one: receiving. He's patient, fatherly and quietly terrifying when someone steps out of line. When he's injured during the Wakutani South match, the team learns exactly how much it relies on him.
- Voice
- Satoshi Hino (JP)
Koshi Sugawara
Setter, vice-captain · Third-year
Suga was Karasuno's starting setter until Kageyama arrived. Instead of resenting him, he decides the team should use the stronger setter and makes himself useful from the bench. He's the warm, perceptive emotional support of the team.
- Voice
- Miyu Irino (JP)
Asahi Azumane
Ace, wing spiker · Third-year
Asahi looks like an intimidating thug and is actually anxious and soft-spoken. After being blocked over and over in an earlier match, he stopped coming to practice. Getting the team's "ace" back is the first major arc, and learning to keep hitting through blocks is his.
- Voice
- Yoshimasa Hosoya (JP)
Yu Nishinoya
Libero · Second-year
Karasuno's tiny, fearless libero and self-appointed "guardian deity." He'll throw his body at any ball and refuses to let the team's attackers feel alone. He's loud and fiercely loyal to Asahi.
- Voice
- Nobuhiko Okamoto (JP)
Ryunosuke Tanaka
Wing spiker · Second-year
Tanaka looks and talks like a delinquent but is the team's mood-maker and its most mentally tough attacker. He's openly devoted to manager Kiyoko, and his refusal to sulk after a bad play makes him quietly admirable.
Chikara Ennoshita
Wing spiker · Second-year
Ennoshita once quit the club when training got too hard and came back ashamed. His calm judgement makes him the obvious next captain, and he steps in for Daichi when it matters.
Kiyoko Shimizu
Manager · Third-year
Karasuno's calm, reserved manager. She seems aloof but cares deeply about the team, and recruits a successor to make sure the club is looked after when she graduates.
Hitoka Yachi
Manager · First-year
A nervous first-year who joins as Kiyoko's successor despite knowing nothing about volleyball. Her design skills help the club raise money, and she becomes an important friend to Hinata and Kageyama.
Keishin Ukai
Coach
A former Karasuno setter who runs his family's shop and reluctantly takes over as coach. He's the grandson of Karasuno's legendary old coach, and his practical tactics turn the team's weird talents into a system.
Ittetsu Takeda
Faculty advisor
A literature teacher with no volleyball background, who works tirelessly to arrange practice matches and persuade Ukai to coach. His speeches about the team are some of the best lines in the series.
Nekoma High
Nekoma is Karasuno's rival from Tokyo. The old coaches of both schools were friends, and the matches between them were called the "Battle at the Garbage Dump," cats versus crows. Nekoma has no star attacker; it wins by never letting the ball drop.
Kenma Kozume
Setter · Second-year
Kenma plays volleyball the way he plays video games: quietly, with as little effort as possible, constantly reading the opponent. He's the "brain" of Nekoma. His friendship with Hinata, whom he meets by chance while lost in Miyagi, gives him a reason to actually enjoy the game.
- Voice
- Yuki Kaji (JP)
Tetsuro Kuroo
Captain, middle blocker · Third-year
Kuroo is Nekoma's sly, provocative captain with unmanageable hair. He's Kenma's childhood friend, the reason Kenma plays at all, and he takes the time to teach Tsukishima how to block.
- Voice
- Yuichi Nakamura (JP)
Morisuke Yaku
Libero · Third-year
One of the best receivers in the country, and the strict senior who forces the newcomer Lev to practise his basics.
Lev Haiba
Middle blocker · First-year
A tall, half-Russian beginner with huge reach and terrible fundamentals, who declares himself the future ace of Nekoma. He's a loud, cheerful counterpart to Hinata.
Taketora Yamamoto
Wing spiker · Second-year
Nekoma's intense, mohawked spiker, who is Tanaka's mirror image and instantly his rival and friend.
Rival teams
Haikyuu gives its opponents almost as much attention as its heroes. These are the players fans ask about most.
Toru Oikawa
Aoba Johsai · Captain, setter
Oikawa is charming, popular and a hard-working setter who's great at bringing out the best in every spiker. He was Kageyama's senior in middle school and fears being overtaken by naturally gifted players like him. Fans call him the "Great King." After graduating he moves to Argentina and later plays for its national team.
- Voice
- Daisuke Namikawa (JP)
Hajime Iwaizumi
Aoba Johsai · Ace
Oikawa's childhood friend and the only person who can bring him down to earth (sometimes physically). He's dependable and blunt, and he later becomes an athletic trainer.
Kentaro Kyotani
Aoba Johsai · Wing spiker
A volatile, rule-breaking spiker nicknamed "Mad Dog," who returns to the team mid-season and has to learn to play with others.
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Shiratorizawa · Ace
A left-handed powerhouse, ranked among the top three aces in Japan. He's direct, polite and completely unaware of how tactless he sounds. Shiratorizawa is the prefecture's strongest school, and Karasuno's five-set final against them is one of the most celebrated matches in the series.
Satori Tendo
Shiratorizawa · Middle blocker
A bizarre, sing-song blocker nicknamed the "Guess Monster," who blocks on instinct and reads attackers' habits.
Kotaro Bokuto
Fukurodani · Captain, ace
One of Japan's top five aces, with a huge spike and a mood that swings from boundless excitement to sulking over a single missed shot. He's a mentor figure for Hinata, showing him what being an ace really means.
- Voice
- Hiroyuki Yoshino (JP)
Keiji Akaashi
Fukurodani · Setter
Bokuto's calm vice-captain and setter, who knows exactly how to handle his captain's moods. He becomes a manga editor after high school.
Atsumu and Osamu Miya
Inarizaki · Setter and wing spiker
Twin brothers from Hyogo who bicker constantly and play in perfect sync. Atsumu is a top high school setter who goes pro. Osamu decides volleyball isn't his life and opens a rice-ball shop.
Shinsuke Kita
Inarizaki · Captain
A calm, meticulous captain whose whole philosophy is doing the basics properly every day. He became a fan favourite despite rarely being on court.
Korai Hoshiumi
Kamomedai · Ace
A short ace who can do everything, and the clearest "what if" version of Hinata. He's a key opponent at nationals and a pro rival later on.
Kiyoomi Sakusa
Itachiyama · Ace
A germ-phobic, flexible-wristed spiker ranked among the top three aces in Japan, later Hinata's professional teammate.
Takanobu Aone
Date Tech · Middle blocker
The silent tower of Date Tech's "Iron Wall" block, who first stops Asahi cold and later shows real sportsmanship toward Hinata.
Where they end up
| Character | After high school |
|---|---|
| Shoyo Hinata | Beach volleyball in Brazil, then pro for the MSBY Black Jackals |
| Tobio Kageyama | Pro setter in Japan and abroad; national team |
| Kei Tsukishima | Plays in the second division and works at a museum |
| Daichi Sawamura | Police officer |
| Koshi Sugawara | Primary school teacher |
| Asahi Azumane | Clothing designer |
| Yu Nishinoya | Travels the world working odd jobs |
| Kenma Kozume | Streamer and company founder; Hinata's sponsor |
| Tetsuro Kuroo | Works to promote volleyball for the national association |
| Toru Oikawa | Pro setter in Argentina; Argentine national team |
| Osamu Miya | Runs a rice-ball shop |
Voice cast
The Japanese cast below is the original Production I.G one. Several actors cross over with other big series: Satoshi Hino is also Demon Slayer's Rengoku, and Nobuhiko Okamoto is Bakugo in My Hero Academia. See our voice actors guide for more.
| Character | Japanese voice |
|---|---|
| Shoyo Hinata | Ayumu Murase |
| Tobio Kageyama | Kaito Ishikawa |
| Kei Tsukishima | Koki Uchiyama |
| Tadashi Yamaguchi | Soma Saito |
| Daichi Sawamura | Satoshi Hino |
| Koshi Sugawara | Miyu Irino |
| Asahi Azumane | Yoshimasa Hosoya |
| Yu Nishinoya | Nobuhiko Okamoto |
| Kenma Kozume | Yuki Kaji |
| Tetsuro Kuroo | Yuichi Nakamura |
| Toru Oikawa | Daisuke Namikawa |
| Kotaro Bokuto | Hiroyuki Yoshino |
Why the cast works, and where to start
Haikyuu has no superpowers, no villains and no deaths, and still has one of the most loved casts in anime. Furudate treats every player, including opponents who appear for one match, as someone with their own reasons for playing. Losing teams get their final scenes too, and the series is just as interested in the bench warmer, the manager and the third-year who never starts as in its stars. It's one of the best examples of an ensemble cast in manga, and Hinata and Kageyama sit comfortably among the great anime rivalries.
Start with season one of the anime, then watch the seasons in order. Season three is almost entirely the Shiratorizawa final, and the 2024 film The Dumpster Battle follows season four. If you want another sports series with a very different, more ruthless energy, try Blue Lock.
Haikyuu character names A–Z
A
- Keiji Akaashi — Fukurodani
- Takanobu Aone — Date Tech
- Asahi Azumane — Karasuno
B–E
- Kotaro Bokuto — Fukurodani
- Chikara Ennoshita — Karasuno
H–I
- Lev Haiba — Nekoma
- Shoyo Hinata — Karasuno
- Korai Hoshiumi — Kamomedai
- Hajime Iwaizumi — Aoba Johsai
K
- Tobio Kageyama — Karasuno
- Shinsuke Kita — Inarizaki
- Kenma Kozume — Nekoma
- Tetsuro Kuroo — Nekoma
- Kentaro Kyotani — Aoba Johsai
M–N
- Atsumu Miya — Inarizaki
- Osamu Miya — Inarizaki
- Yu Nishinoya — Karasuno
O–S
- Toru Oikawa — Aoba Johsai
- Kiyoomi Sakusa — Itachiyama
- Daichi Sawamura — Karasuno
- Kiyoko Shimizu — Karasuno
- Koshi Sugawara — Karasuno
T
- Ittetsu Takeda — Karasuno
- Ryunosuke Tanaka — Karasuno
- Satori Tendo — Shiratorizawa
- Kei Tsukishima — Karasuno
U–Y
- Keishin Ukai — Karasuno
- Wakatoshi Ushijima — Shiratorizawa
- Hitoka Yachi — Karasuno
- Morisuke Yaku — Nekoma
- Tadashi Yamaguchi — Karasuno
- Taketora Yamamoto — Nekoma
Frequently asked questions
Who is the main character of Haikyuu?
Shoyo Hinata, a short first-year at Karasuno High who can jump astonishingly high. The story is just as much about his partnership with setter Tobio Kageyama, his rival from middle school who becomes his teammate.
What position does Hinata play?
At Karasuno, Hinata is a middle blocker who specialises in fast attacks set by Kageyama. After high school he spends two years playing beach volleyball in Brazil to round out his game, then plays professionally in Japan for the MSBY Black Jackals as an all-round attacker.
Who is the best player in Haikyuu?
Among high schoolers, Wakatoshi Ushijima is ranked as one of the top three aces in the country, alongside Kiyoomi Sakusa and Wakatsu Kiryu, and Bokuto is one of the top five. Kageyama is the most gifted setter of his year. By the time skip, Hinata, Kageyama, Ushijima, Bokuto and the Miya twins have all become top professionals.
Which team is Kenma on?
Kenma Kozume is the setter for Nekoma High in Tokyo, Karasuno's long-standing rival. After school he becomes a professional streamer and runs his own company, and he sponsors Hinata.
Is the Haikyuu anime finished?
The manga ended in 2020 after 45 volumes. The anime ran for four TV seasons and continued with the 2024 film Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, which covers Karasuno vs. Nekoma at nationals. A further film was announced to adapt the remaining story.