WhileHaikyuu!!has manycolorful characters on the court, some characters who are off the court are just as interesting and valuable to the narrative. Two out of the four members of the Karasuno volleyball team’s metaphorical pit crew are Kiyoko Shimizu and Hitoka Yachi.
As the team’s managers, Kiyoko and Yachi have been instrumental in Karasuno’s ascend to success. They are a strong support structure for the team, which is evident in the many ways they have assisted them over the course of the series.
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Who are Kiyoko and Yachi?
Kiyoko and Yachi are the managers of theKarasuno High boys volleyball team. They are responsible for many behind-the-scenes tasks for the team, such as recording scores, overseeing the uniforms, providing food and water, and assisting with first aid.
Kiyoko is a third-year student at Karasuno High and has been serving as manager since the start of the anime.She is blunt, speaks few words, and performs her job meticulously; not to mention that she fends off relentless flirting and adoration from Tanaka and Nishinoya. Kiyoko deeply cares for her team. This is evident when she puts in hard work to choose her successor as team manager to carry on Karasuno’s drive to improve.
Yachi is a first-year student who is recruited by Kiyoko to shadow her as the next team manager when Kiyoko graduates from high school. At first she was intimidated by the team and overwhelmed by all their attention. Now under Kiyoko’s guidance, she has settled into the role of manager, albeit accompanied with her classicanxietyand paranoia.
The Banner
Before Yachi was introduced, Kiyoko was the sole manager of the team. In season 1 before a match, Coach Ukei tells the boys to get some rest in preparation for the next day. The supervisingteacherTakeda tells them not to leave just yet, for Kiyoko wants to address them. The boys are surprised, as she is not one for public speaking. Shyly, she says that she is not good at cheering and runs to the top floor of the gymnasium.
She and Takeda unfurl a giant black banner with the words “fly” on it. Kiyoko found it while she was cleaning up and washed it for them, which fires up the team’s spirits. Not only that, but she then musters the courage to say the words “do your best” immediately afterward. This means a lot to the team, as it was clearly verydifficult for her to say in front of them all. They all begin to sob speechlessly, as no one has done something so thoughtful for them before. After somewhat composing themselves, the team are more motivated than ever to do their best.
Fundraising for the Team
One day while watching the boys practice, Kiyoko tells Yachi that she thinks the Karasuno team has the best offense in the prefecture. She informs her that Karasuno used to be a star team that even went to nationals, now they are known as “the fallen champions” among other insults. Kiyoko says with conviction that this year they will go to nationals again. Yachi is inspired by this, which further convinces her to join the managerial team and contribute to theteam’s journey to the top.
At one point, the team has the opportunity to go to Tokyo for a training camp but lacks the funds to go. After boldly deciding to sign on as the team’s manager, Yachi asksHinata and Kageyamaif they can help her with a surprise project. She asks Kageyama to set a few balls so that Hinata can leap up and spike them, while she takes pictures. Shortly, it transpires that Yachi used these photographs to make posters, that requested donations for the team so they may travel to Tokyo. It is also worth noting that Yachi tutored Kageyama and Hinata to pass their classes so that they could even be allowed to go to Tokyo.
The Shiratorizawa Play Guide
In season 3, the Karasuno team are up against Shiratorizawa Academy in the final match of the Spring High Preliminaries. In preparation for this nail-biting game,Kiyokoand Yachi compiled a lengthy booklet containing research on Shiratorizawa’s volleyball team.
The Karasuno team is in awe of the effort they put in to be helpful to their play, with more than a few tears from Tanaka and Nishinoya. According to Kiyoko, they wanted to assist the team in any way they can. Shiratorizawa is a notoriously difficult school to beat, therefore the information collected by the managers are definitely most appreciated.
