Hajime Iwaizumi

mini info

Iwaizumi Hajime ) was a third-year student at Aoba Johsai High . He was an attacker, ace, and vice-captain of the boys' volleyball team. After graduating from high school, Iwaizumi went to university and majored in sports science. In 2021, he is a sports coach and is seen working with the Japan national volleyball team.

appearance

Iwaizumi has dark, spiky hair and thin eyebrows. His eyes are dark brown in the manga, olive green in the anime adaptation, and gray in the Haikyuu!! smartphone game. His hair is black in the manga and the Haikyuu!! smartphone game, but dark brown in the anime. He is most often shown with a serious or annoyed expression. While playing volleyball, Iwaizumi wears a standard Aoba Johsai uniform with the number four on it. He is also shown wearing an Aoba Johsai school uniform consisting of khaki pants with dark brown accents, a lavender button-down shirt, a dark red tie, and a white jacket. Iwaizumi's uniform appears to be missing the cream-colored vest that goes with the rest of the uniform and appears to be slightly disheveled, with his tie loosely around his collar and his shirt untucked.

attitude

Iwaizumi is a headstrong yet reliable teammate, often taking Oikawa's place as a morale booster if needed. He acts supportive towards everyone, including Tobio Kageyama, and calls Oikawa out for his childish antics. He often resorts to violence towards Oikawa whenever he is teased or provoked, but this does not change the fact that he cares for him immensely; as shown when he makes an effort to prevent Oikawa from overworking himself or losing confidence. Iwaizumi's firm yet caring attitude has led some members of the Aoba Johsai team to admire and respect him. His underclassmen often gravitate towards him, and he is seen giving calm and cheerful advice to Kindaichi, which may contrast with how he treats Oikawa. He is also very respectful and does not treat his rivals coldly, as Kageyama still treats him with respect and Iwaizumi has acknowledged his abilities. It is also seen through some Furudate extras that while Iwaizumi can be strong and intimidating, he also has a rather goofy side where he loves monsters and gets excited when he finds an "Oikawa" fish in a book to tease Oikawa.

extra #1

Since childhood, Iwaizumi has been close friends with Oikawa. The two were often shown watching volleyball matches on television and playing volleyball in their spare time. When they were a little older, Iwaizumi accompanied Oikawa to a match in Sendai between Argentina and Japan. He witnessed Oikawa's meeting with Jose Blanco and saw his friend's dedication to becoming a setter begin at that moment. As they grew up, Iwaizumi witnessed Oikawa strive to become a great volleyball player. However, he soon saw his friend begin to push himself too hard as he found that he was no match for Ushijima's raw power and strength or Kageyama's seemingly gifted skills. One night, Iwaizumi was able to stop Oikawa from hitting Kageyama while he was blinded by rage and was able to help his friend see that while he didn't stand a chance against someone like Ushijima alone, he had a team to rely on that could help him become stronger. From this, Iwaizumi seemed satisfied that Oikawa seemed to be getting back on his feet, although he does occasionally have to keep him in check. Since Oikawa was not present at the start of the match, Iwaizumi led the team for most of the practice match. Just before the match began, Iwaizumi, along with Yahaba and Matsukawa, expressed confusion as to why Kageyama decided to attend Karasuno.

extra#2

During the second set, Kindaichi becomes frustrated by Hinata's decoy trick and Tanaka's taunting. Iwaizumi advises him not to get impatient and not to get carried away by his rhythm as his own attacks are still working. When a timeout is called, Iwaizumi and the team hear from their coach how Kageyama is giving his attackers the best passes possible and how Hinata is hitting super fast with his eyes closed. Although Iwaizumi finds the news astonishing, he doesn't dwell on it too much. As the game continues, Iwaizumi is blocked by Kageyama and Tsukishima. As Karasuno reaches set point, Iwaizumi admits that he is starting to worry that they might lose the game. After Karasuno wins the second set, the teams are having a short break before the third set when Oikawa arrives. Near the end of the third set, Oikawa comes in and nearly catches up to Seijoh until Hinata was able to get a tap on Kindaichi's spike. When Hinata made his approach for a wide attack, Iwaizumi tried to stop him, but he wasn't fast enough to prevent Hinata from getting the winning point. After Karasuno left, Iwaizumi overhears Oikawa admitting that Kageyama is a more skilled setter and gets angry to hear his friend think he's not as good as the first year. Even when Oikawa tries to convince him that there's possibly no one else who can compare to Kageyama in setter, Oikawa still firmly believes that Seijoh can beat Karasuno as Oikawa knows his team better than Kageyama and is already eager to beat Karasuno in a real match. Iwaizumi again gets angry at Oikawa's antics, but is asked if he himself didn't like naturally talented people like Kageyama. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, replies that handsome boys like Oikawa are what annoys him the most and begins hitting Oikawa with volleyballs.

extra #3

On the first day of the Inter-School Tournament, Aoba Johsai arrives at the Sendai City Gymnasium. As they enter and discuss going to watch Karasuno's first match, it is pointed out that Oikawa has wandered away from the group. When it is revealed that Oikawa has been pulled away by a group of fangirls, Coach Irihata sends Iwaizumi to find the setter. Outside, Iwaizumi finds Oikawa and immediately throws a volleyball at his head. Fearful of Iwaizumi's presence, Oikawa quickly follows the ace inside. As the team heads to the gym, Iwaizumi overhears Oikawa mocking Hinata and Kageyama and quickly stops him. At this point, they realize that Karasuno now has Asahi and Nishinoya on the team, as well as Ukai as their new coach. Just before the match begins, Iwaizumi is amused by the confused looks Hinata draws when Tokonami sees that he is playing middle blocker and when Kindaichi expresses how this would be his downfall since he himself had done the same. While admitting that he doesn't like Kageyama, Iwaizumi comments that Hinata wasn't doing much in his fast set, but rather, Kageyama's notable sets were.

extra #4

The night before Aoba Johsai's match against Karasuno, Iwaizumi tells Oikawa not to stay up all night watching the recording of Karasuno's previous match that he was holding in his hand. At this, Oikawa sarcastically asks Iwaizumi if she was his mother, and Iwaizumi glares at him angrily, causing Oikawa to tell him that he was going to take care of himself. Following this, Iwaizumi yells and insults his friend, which offends Oikawa. The next day, when they are warming up for their match against Karasuno, Oikawa asks Iwaizumi if he is trying too hard, but it would ultimately be useless as none of the girls would pay attention to him. Angry, Iwaizumi is about to hit Oikawa, but is stopped before he can do so by Kindaichi. [5] During the second rally, Oikawa appears to be on the verge of losing his serve, but changes his strategy to give Iwaizumi the serve at the last minute, and manages to score. After this, Iwaizumi tells Oikawa that his serve was too low, but Oikawa tells him that he knew Iwaizumi would have been able to hit it either way. When Nishinoya hits Oikawa's serve, Iwaizumi gets angry because he didn't expect it. Later, Oikawa calls a timeout to explain what he has discovered about Karasuno's tactics, and when Iwaizumi tells him that it would seem clear that Aoba Johsai would have figured it out after such an early timeout, Oikawa tells him that he wants Kageyama to panic.

extra #5

Even after Oikawa tells Aoba Johsai how to tell which of Hinata's attacks is coming, Iwaizumi still has a hard time blocking them, as they are still extremely fast. After losing this rally, Iwaizumi tells Oikawa to never say again that he could never beat Kageyama as a setter, and when his friend innocently replies, Iwaizumi glares at him. As Sugawara is substituted for Kageyama, Oikawa tells Iwaizumi to try a line drive, as Sugawara's block would be easy to beat since he is shorter. [6] However, as Iwaizumi is about to hit the ball, he is blocked by Tsukishima, having switched places with Sugawara as he knew he was going to be the target. As Sugawara is about to pass the ball to Hinata, Iwaizumi and Matsukawa are confused as to what a quick set it was going to be. Noticing their hesitation, Oikawa yells at the two that it's because Sugawara is passing the ball, not Kageyama, to which they get angry at themselves. Aoba Johsai only needs a single point before they win the first set, but before that Hinata tries to spike the ball to the other side of the court, but misses and Iwaizumi hits it with difficulty. During the timeout for the end of the first set, Iwaizumi admits that he initially thought Karasuno's defense was only up to Hinata and Kageyama. After hearing this, Oikawa mockingly tells Iwaizumi not to overthink things because he'll get hurt, and Iwaizumi headbutts his friend.

extra #6

Karasuno is one point away from winning the second point, however, Iwaizumi attacks Karasuno, with some spectators noticing that Aoba Johsai's players are really good, but they keep getting forgotten behind Oikawa. Right after, it's Oikawa's turn to serve, and both Iwaizumi and Hanamaki in front of him tell him to hit it, to which he replies, "I know." During the same set, Iwaizumi is blocked, and seeing his frustration Oikawa tells him that Kageyama probably read that. Not long after, Oikawa sets up the serve for Iwaizumi, and Takinoue is surprised at how synchronized the two are. Hinata is about to perform his rush attack, and together, Iwaizumi and Matsukawa try to stop him, but fail as they use him as a decoy instead. Not long after, Daichi does his best to prevent his defeat, but remembers that Aoba Johsai isn't either, as Iwaizumi saves the ball in a hurry. When Iwaizumi finishes and motivates his team, everyone is impressed by how great he is, but Oikawa ends up insulting him.