How Tsukishima Kei Redeems Himself
By Manya Shiel
Minor Spoilers!!!
The obsessed athlete, the one raging with passion, burning up and losing themselves completely in their love for the sport — not terms I’d ever use to describe Tsukishima Kei.
Tall, nonchalant, and sarcastic make for a better description, and yet he’s managed to captivate most audiences watching Haikyuu!.
The series follows the Karasuno volleyball team as they try to navigate their way up to the very top to reclaim their title as champions. With an orange haired, energetic and lovable protagonist, consistent story line, well written characters and multiple arcs — it has the perfect balance to get anyone hooked. With its multiple, extremely talented and striking characters (cough, ahem cough, Bokuto-san), why would Tsukishima Kei out of all people be one to focus on?
His entry in the show is marked by rivalry, and a certain disdain he holds for extremely passionate volleyball players. Constantly mocking his teammates, he rarely gets along with them in the earlier episodes of the first season. You’d think he’s a bad player too, but no, Tsukishima is intelligent, and even though he doesn’t show it, absolutely hates losing. In his position as a blocker, he is consistent and over the seasons becomes one of the best players in Karasuno.
The reason for this constructed disinterest Tsukishima displays lies in his relationship with his brother- Akiteru. Akiteru Tsukishima’s defeated figure, on account of not being able to make it to the player rotation, losing out in spite of countless days and nights of hard work he put in, instilled hesitation, and deep dislike for passion in individuals. For Tsukishima, witnessing his brother’s broken figure left him reeling with the harsh truth of when actions don’t translate into achievements. The truth of being left unsatisfied, empty, wondering exactly why you spent hours putting in effort when in a single second the future is decided, and it leaves you behind in the dust, disregarding every ounce of your blood, sweat and tears.
Season three of Haikyuu however is a game changer, it is crucial as for the first time the reason behind this passionate madness for volleyball every single character in the series has, albeit some more than others, is explained. To put it quite simply, there is a moment, a fraction of a second where you realize you’re hooked on the sport. It comes after hours of practice, dedication, tears but once it comes for you, you realize that a single win or loss doesn’t define your love for the game, your passion does not go wasted and your efforts will bear fruit, however painstaking the wait might be.
When Tsukishima blocks the spike of one of the country’s top three hitters, his character finds that moment. Personally, to me the scene is the pinnacle of character development. Once disinterested and lacklustre, he reaches out to the depths of his very being and destroys these perceptions and prejudices his character has accumulated over all these years. Blocking an immensely powerful spike, which he constructs from the beginning of the game, reading and analysing the movement, mentality and behaviour of the opponent, and delivering his best ever, Tsukishima Kei goes above and beyond the expectations of his teammates and the audiences watching. Season 4 marks a point of growth, Tsukishima’s character is no longer afraid to express his love for volleyball, hell, in the future he even goes pro! It reaffirms his belief in himself, and for the first time his character openly expresses the desire to grow, learn and get better.
Tsukishima Kei might not be the most liked character, he does not have the most screen time, his storyline isn’t as engaging as Hinata’s or Kageyama’s, he doesn’t even have the trademark anime brightly coloured hair! But he lets go of his past, redeems himself solely through character development, and shows unparalleled growth, and I think that’s just enough!
