Sugawara Koushi

Appearance

Sugawara is of average height and has a slim build. He has slightly thick eyebrows and his hair is gray, and he has a birthmark below his left eye. He is usually seen with a gentle smile on his face.

personality

As the vice-captain, he has a calm and gentle personality towards his teammates and acts as a pillar of support for them. Even though he is no longer Karasuno's starting Setter, he has no thoughts of giving up on playing. Thus, he encourages himself and his teammates to not give up, no matter how difficult the situation is. Sugawara's dedication to volleyball is evident when he decides to continue playing club activities, even when most third-years would choose to withdraw and focus on their own futures. At a meeting, his teacher asked Sugawara why he was so determined to continue playing, even though he was no longer a regular on the team, and Sugawara replied that he did not want to have any regrets in the future. He is also quite perceptive, as he realized Tanaka's intentions when he asked for the gym keys (before the 3-on-3 match with the first-years) even though he was always late. He is also intelligent, as he comes up with useful tactics during matches for his teammates to use. An example of this is when he came up with the idea for Hinata to use "For me" and "Send it" in his combo with Kageyama. Suga also came up with hand signals during the night while his teammates were sleeping.

personality

Despite his encouraging demeanor, he can sometimes be mean, such as when he encourages Hinata to go to Youth Camp even though he was uninvited, or violent, such as when he greets his teammates during matches, hitting them when he is excited to join, though this ends up cheering them up anyway. He is also quite proud, though this is rarely shown. Examples include when he says, "Kageyama, from now on if you start getting bombarded with interviews, you'll say that you learned everything from a magnificent senpai named Sugawara, okay?" and when he bragged about having coined the name "Background Minus" for Kageyama and Hinata's technique. During the match against Shiratorizawa, he was so upset about his team's temporary defeat that he began yelling and mumbling, which seems to be the opposite of his usual mature demeanor. When not in the game, Sugawara pays close attention to the opposing team's play, often being able to give his teammates tips on how to beat them. When he gets the chance to join in, he is able to apply what he learned while watching and improve the team overall. However, he quickly becomes stressed out in the heat of the game and ends up overthinking things. Because he doesn't play much in matches, Sugawara is an unknown quantity. When he does enter matches, other teams, who may have had time to study the starting lineup a bit, usually end up not knowing what to expect from him, which ends up being an advantage for Karasuno.