#some daiya critical but no Furuya hate or anything don't worry

[rainbowravioli]

Hello! I have read your YOI meta/critiques extensively and I am so happy to know I am not the only one who feels incredibly disappointed by some of the things that happen in the anime. Thanks for all your thoughts! I would love to know your thoughts on something.

I (personally) have always felt like some sports anime betrayal their protagonists. I noticed this in haikyuu. One instance in the anime that really struck me was when kageyama tells hinata, “you’ll never be an ace” (ep 10). He goes on to say “As long as i’m here you are invincible.” Hinata even contends saying, “I don’t have the fighting power to be ace.” This moment really struck me because I felt like essentially hinata’s existence on the court is dependent upon kageyama, which I feel undermines his entire character and undermines his position as the protagonist and shifts the focus from Hinata to kageyama. I also felt like this in ace of diamond. I feel like ultimately the character development and story became focused on Furuya as opposed to Eijun (the protagonist). I feel like the protagonist in some sports anime ends up becoming the “rival” as opposed to the initially introduced protag. In other words, I feel like sometimes our protagonists get the short end of the stick while their “rivals” end up accomplishing all of their goals. I especially feel like this happened with yuri and yurio. But, I’m not sure and maybe I’m just being hypercritical and overlooking important moments. Also, I’m not putting down these animes, they all actually have a special place in my heart. I would love to know your honest thoughts on this and have your input! I really respect your metas/critiques :)

Oooooh interesting question! And it just so happens that I recently discussed the Haikyuu!! portion of this in real life. Oh, before we jump into this, thank you for the kind words you are really sweet ❤

There’s two key differences between YoI and the two examples you mentioned: one is the time frame in which the narrative happens and two is the aspect of team sport vs individual sport.

Time frame - Yuuri wants to win gold at this season’s GPF. His entire character arc is about realizing that he always had the skill to do it, he just lacked confidence. Through the span of the 12 episodes of the series, Yuuri goes through his complete journey, has exactly the character development he needs to finally win, competes in the GPF…and loses. And even if they give Yuuri gold later (because we know the series will continue), he was still robbed of his character’s arc resolution, and gold in any other circumstance will never be as meaningful. (x)

Haikyuu!! and Diamond no Ace are still on-going, long term series. The objective of both protagonists is to become the ace of their respective teams, but none of them have the skills necessary to do it yet.

Another way in which the time frame works is where our protagonists are placed in the beginning of the story. Yuuri is not a beginner at figure skating, he’s 23, Japan’s best male skater and has been competing for years now. More than technical aspects, what Yuuri needs to learn is to trust in himself, have confidence, take advantage of the skills he already has and understand self-love. On the other hand, both Hinata and Eijun on the other hand are still in high school and still very incomplete as athletes. They have time and room to learn and grow towards their objectives.

Team vs Individual - Yuri on Ice is, like the name indicates, about Yuuri. It’s Yuuri’s journey. Victor and Yurio are main character but they are not the protagonist. Yuuri competes by himself. . At most, you can argue that Yuuri and Victor are a team (and they are) but Victor is not on the ice, and while he is an active participant in Yuuri’s successes by being his coach, Yuuri is the one that has to go out there and perform by himself. Yuuri’s character goal and narrative goal are linked and join together in the desire to win gold at the GPF, something that Yuuri is robbed from achieving.

Volleyball and baseball on the other hand, are team sports. While both Hinata and Eijun have their individual goal of wanting to be the ace, they also share with their teammates the broader goal of helping their team win and advance. Since they are part of a team they can’t develop by themselves, which is why teammates and rivals play such an important role in pushing them forward. This is not the case with Yuri on Ice. While Yurio’s role can be seen as that of a “rival”, Yuuri himself doesn’t really see him as such. Yurio is a lot more focused on Yuuri and uses him as motivation than the other way around. They are not teammates, they’re barely even friends and their arcs are not as intertwined as you would expect for a protagonist/rival dynamic. Yuuri’s journey is a very personal one and the character that influences it the most if Victor, who never takes over Yuuri’s protagonist status, character arc or achievements (unlike what ends up happening with Yurio in the finale).

Now your question is, in the case of Haikyuu and Diamond no Ace, are the teammates/rivals really pushing the protagonists forward or are they holding them back and stealing the spotlight?

I promise I’ll try to be brief.

Let’s go case by case, starting with Haikyuu. 

Haikyuu’s set up is very clever in the sense that it tricks you into believing that Hinata and Kageyama are going to be rivals and the series will be about watching Hinata grow strong enough to compete against Kageyama once they meet again in competition. That premise is thrown out extremely fast. Daichi makes it very clear very fast - they are on the same side now and they need to work together as a team.

They are not rivals, they are teammates. Kageyama is not competing for the ace position - he’s a setter.

In fact, Haikyuu places a big importance in the concept of team, team work, and how every role is equally important to achieve victory. We don’t see this just with Karasuno but with the rival teams as well. Kenma says Nekoma is strong, not because he is particularly strong but because everyone else on the team is. Seijou is strong because of Oikawa’s dedication to the team and how he makes it a point to know his teammates’ strengths and weaknesses so well.

Haikyuu is not just Hinata’s story but Karasuno’s. Karasuno used to be a strong team but they are not anymore and the series is about how the current generation will achieve greatness once more and win Nationals (story goal).

Hinata’s character goal to be the ace gets sidelined very early in the series. As Hinata is right now, he can’t be the ace. Especially at the start of the series, the things he has going for him are his speed and jumping ability. He’s not a great player, but he also never had a team that would take advantage of his assets and shape him into a great player. Karasuno is doing that, and so is his partnership with Kageyama and their quick combination. Remember, at the star of the series it was hard for Kageyama to work effectively with anyone who wasn’t Hinata as well. He had to learn to be a better setter, he just learned faster because of his genius status. There’s a big focus on him as well because he ends up as Hinata’s partner on the court. Hinata is not diminished by having to work with Kageyama to make the most of his skills because he currently needs that help. The earlier part of the series is all about showing Hinata and the audience that he doesn’t have to be the ace to shine on the court and he one of the most important members of the team. He is Karasuno’s secret weapon, but he’s still not polished enough to work without Kageyama. But he’s getting there.

Hinata’s idol, the Small Giant, only started to develop enough to compensate for his height halfway through his second year. Hinata is only a first year, but he’s growing fast, and everything indicates that he will also find a way to overcome his weakness and become the ace in the future. He has an incredible game sense, learns quickly from his mistakes, improves during the actual matches and is one of the few players with the ability to see entire width of the court when he jumps.

So at least for now I don’t think Haikyuu’s narrative is betraying Hinata at all.

Diamond no Ace has a similar case but with some key differences. Eijun and Furuya are both aiming or the same position on the team, thus making them both teammates and rivals. As such, both of their character development and growth as players is intrinsically connected. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

However.

At this point in time, Furuya has already achieved his objective of being the ace. He is still growing into the position and developing (and I’m pretty sure we’re approaching some major development for him in the manga considering how things are) but he’s there. And he’s been there for a while. Eijun on the other hand, only just recently got acknowledgement from Miyuki on his potential to be the ace. We’re already in act II of the story and it still doesn’t look like Eijun will be the ace any time soon. This means we’ve been watching him struggle for almost 500 chapters and Furuya’s ace position is still extremely solid.

Which to me is the main problem with Diamond no Ace - the pacing. It drags. I understand the author wants to be as realistic as possible with the slow development of the characters, but it can get very frustrating at times. Some things have already been lost along the way. For example, Eijun, Furuya and Haruichi were quickly established as a trio early in the story, but both that concept and Haruichi as a character have been completely sidelined.

Since Eijun is our main, we can expect him to eventually become the ace, but it feels like the timing for that has already passed. Furuya is so established in the position at this time that it doesn’t make sense story-wise to give Eijun the ace number unless we come up with some convoluted reason that will force Furuya away, like an injury. This would be unfair to both characters. So probably what we can expect is more extremely slow development. By the way, this isn’t to say that Furuya didn’t deserve his position, not at all. Both him and Eijun work hard on their weaknesses, both are important members of the team and most importantly, both respect each other as players. It’s just that the focus on Eijun’s desire to become the ace and his work towards the position has never really shifted, and after years of watching him struggle for it, it would feel unsatisfying to never see him achieve it.

Considering how fandom is so divided on this issue, to the point of there being a lot of unfair and unjustified hate for Furuya as a character (I love Furuya and am on his defense squad), I can’t say Terajima has made the smartest story choices.

That said, there’s another way to interpret what Diamond no Ace is supposed to be about. Aces. And what the position means and how different characters interpret and deal with said responsibility. Which is way the ace characters (and aspiring) tend to be the most developed of the cast.

Still, Eijun is still the main character and in this case, due to the structure and pacing, I do feel that many times he is not treated as such. Which is a shame. If we’re talking anime only, he is certainly not given his due like he deserves.

But…slow build *sigh* We’ll see how things go.

#Anonymous #replies #meta #I don't even know how to tag this one #yoi critical #because that's happening a bit #and mmmmm #haikyuu meta #daiya meta #some daiya critical but no Furuya hate or anything don't worry #spoiler alert I was not brief