A big part of the heart of Haikyuu is rooted in the fact that on the same stage where the
monsters feast, mere mortals are able to find their place as well.
The story is full of uplifting and rich messages, and one of the most special among them is
the idea of the court not just being this grand theatre full of legendary moments and
insane skill, but a place of serenity and peace for all players.
The sport is shown to be the near literal lifeblood for the volleyball idiots throughout
the series, but just as vital as that is the effect it has on those who don’t hunger
ravenously for volleyball itself and instead yearn for it and lose themselves in it as
an extremely meaningful detour.
As a short-term adventure, or with regards to our case today - as a tranquil escape and
a means to feel truly alive.
For Satori Tendo, volleyball was a way to feel the wind beneath his wings in a life
that previously seemed determined to chain him down.
Having always been a bit off-kilter, he was viewed as creepy by children his age due to
what was likely a combination of his looks and behaviour, without having ever done anything
wrong.
And so despite enjoying volleyball, he was excluded from their games and abandoned by
the other kids who weren’t interested in getting to know him.
This naturally made him feel immense anguish, isolation and pent-up frustration at the unfairness
of it all.
And so when he was finally able to join in on an opposing team and get a block in on
one of the kids who bullied him, he felt so much gratification that he based his entire
game around being able to sniff out attacks and completely stuff them.
He previously felt unable to be himself without being mocked for it, and so this became his
outlet.
He thirsted for the feeling of getting a block in, because it made him feel able to get back
at those who made him miserable and most of all.. it just made him feel good.
And that’s all he really wanted.
To be happy.
To him, volleyball was joy, and there was no point playing in a way that didn’t make
him feel good, which explains his unique style.
Yet, the trepidation from those around him continued as he grew up, and despite playing
on teams, he was never embraced by teammates who never quite knew what he was thinking
and his all-or-nothing playstyle was often criticized as unreliable.
However, all of that changed when he joined Shiratorizawa.
Tendo’s personality is reflected in his play more accurate than almost any player
we get to know in the story.
In order to reach those moments that he plays volleyball for, he goes off of instinct to
block in a method that diametrically opposes Tsuki.
He often fails at this, he’s strange, he’s hard to read and difficult to get along with
at times.
But that is OKAY, and a team more than anything is willing to accept and value eccentricities.
While the people involved were often cruel, sport itself never rejected him for being
different.
And for a team coached by Tanji Washijou, the only requirements needed was for his players
to be dynamic, powerful and skilled, not that they be normal.
In the end, all Tendo needed was to be good at volleyball.
And he was.
So he was accepted by Washijou and the team, with all of them bearing no ill will towards
him at all.
And during the match, Washijou says something that I view as quite touching to Tendo, ironically
in a moment where he’s chewing his head off.
He says that he puts him in the team knowing full well that he will sometimes be wrong
and make mistakes, and he tells him to give his all in spite of that and keep trying.
And while the context of this is the opposite of poignant, I can’t help but feel a bit
swept up by this quote because it encapsulates how Shiratorizawa accepted Tendo really well.
They know he’s different, they know he’s random and make mistakes, they know that he
isn’t the easiest teammate to have - but on the balance of things, none of that really
matters all that much to them.
He is their player.
He’s still weird and plenty of his teammates still don’t understand him, but he is now
in an environment that doesn’t spurn him for it, which gives him the confidence to
perform, flourish and be himself without fear of anything.
We don’t learn too much about Tendo’s childhood, but his constant yearning to feel
good framed as a contrast and the profound way in which he values his time as a player
is enough to tell us that it can’t have been a very fulfilling one.
But Shiratorizawa is his paradise, the place where he was allowed to finally be himself,
and through his journey that lead him there, Tendo realized that yes, life can be agonizing
and difficult, but if we search enough for a path to happiness then we can find the things
to make it all worth it.
But Furudate does an interesting thing with perspective when it comes to Tendo, because
we can only say these sympathetic things about him in retrospect after the story has peeled
back the layers.
Tendo’s quirks are initially very much framed as antagonistic and nearly villainous in the
match because in context, he is Karasuno’s enemy.
And that makes sense, because Karasuno are our boys and while we feel tons of things
for tons of other teams, we’re most invested in seeing them win.
But looking at it from a broader perspective, this dark aura around him is kind of funny
because Tendo really is just blocking a spike.
It’s a clever little writing subversion that builds ample tension around him initially
and adds layers after the fact.
His signature phrase talks about breaking his opponent’s heart in two, but that’s
a way of communicating his will to win that he carried forward from when he defeated the
bullies and there’s really no malice here - he’s just doing what he can to help his
team and feel good in a life that has deprived him of that.
The worst thing he does is taunt the opposing team in the middle of a match, which can be
annoying but really isn’t all that bad.
And honestly I view even this to just be a way for him to express himself rather than
him trying to genuine upset Karasuno.
He’s just that kind of guy.
But in addition to that, Tendo can also be rather friendly.
I said earlier that he’s not the easiest to get along with, but that is due to his
personality being different in a way that may put some people on edge - not due to any
truly negative aspects.
He can be overbearing, but something that gets overlooked sometimes is that in his own
way, he always tries to include others in conversations, invite them to joke around
with him and overall just make them feel comfortable.
And I think this is because he knows better than anyone what it feels like to experience
the opposite sort of thing - to be excluded - and doesn’t want anyone to feel what he
felt.
And that’s incredibly heartwarming.
He’s encouraging, he’s helpful to his juniors and sometimes gives them words of
advice, and he even helps Hinata learn some fundamental techniques during the ballboy
arc.
Tendo is one of the furthest things from how many initially view him.
He’s not a bad guy at all.
He’s just a weird guy, and that’s fine.
And it’s beautiful that he’s able to have found a place where being himself is encouraged
and where he can be a huge benefit to those around him.
That is what sport can do, and it’s so amazing in that way.
But at the same time, while he loved his period with Shiratorizawa, that didn’t automatically
mean that Tendo had to pursue volleyball professionally.
His interests simply lay elsewhere, and that’s how life is sometimes.
I’ve talked in the past about characters who have volleyball at the forefront of periods
of their lives without planning on pursuing it further and this is another example.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, and while these detours may not lead to some
all-encompassing and meaningful end point, the fulfillment they give us itself is more
than valuable enough to make them worthwhile.
Volleyball was a journey with a definitive conclusion for Tendo, and while it is sad
that something that made him feel so good had to end, that’s just real life.
And what he took away from it more than a love for the sport itself was love for the
experiences and friends it gave him.
Those will never leave him, and I think this pertains to the reason that he’s so attached
to his ace.
Ushijima is so straightforward and unassuming in everything he does.
Everything is as it is to him - he calls things how they are, he doesn’t judge anyone and
simply states things the way he sees them.
So of course, he doesn’t judge Tendo and just accepts the things he does and responds
in kind with his sometimes hilariously deadpan responses.
But I think that means a lot to Tendo - for someone as monumental and beloved as Ushijima
to not only not laugh at his strangeness, but take it all in stride and be his friend.
Opposites attract in this way, and here volleyball granted a friendship to two people who otherwise
probably wouldn’t have met under any other circumstance.
And so naturally Tendo would be glad to brag to everyone that he knew THE Ushijima in high
school.
That he was and continues to be his biggest fan.
And I think that in the back of his mind, whenever he does so, alongside his words of
praise for his friend would come flooding in all of the joyous memories that he associated
with his time as Shiratorizawa’s guess monster.
Satori Tendo is one of my favourite instances in the story of volleyball changing the lives
of those who may not have been destined for a glorious future in the sport.
He constantly looks on at disbelief, exhaustion and at times admiration at Ushijima, Hinata
and Kageyama due to the unbelievable passion and fire that possesses them, and it’s clear
very early on that he just doesn’t have anywhere near that same hunger.
But even for those who aren’t volleyball monsters, the court can be a utopia, a place
of expression that can provide good memories and lifelong companions.
At the end of the match against Karasuno, he bids farewell to it all, having now played
in his final game.
And he clearly states to Ushijima that his time with volleyball is done, but in my mind
that doesn’t quite mean that he will completely forget about it.
Because through his journey, he has gained the confidence, support and valuable lessons
to help him tackle a life that had previously left him forlorn with a renewed vigor and
spirit.
It’s such a great way to communicate the varied multidimensionality of the journeys
for all of these characters - each one has different circumstances that lead them towards
and sometimes away from the court, but the one common link between all of them is that
this extremely meaningful time of their lives was indisputably connected with volleyball,
and that the feelings they felt whilst proudly wearing their jerseys will stand them in good
stead no matter the walk of life.
Many thanks for watching.