Hiatus

I feel so validated, especially for Yamaguchi. Because the thing is, as far as the history of their friendship is concerned, it’s mostly told or heavily implied to be from Yamaguchi’s perspective. Readers know how much he really admires Tsukishima and how much he cares for him. 

But this… this chapter turned that around.  

Can you hear that utter confidence? The admiration? Because I can, loud and clear.

If Kageyama and Hinata have the precise set and minus tempo quick attack, then this is Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s answer to that. 

And turned around how! Now we have Tsukishima acknowledging the impact of Yamaguchi’s friendship. We have Tsukishima recognizing how much Yamaguchi has grown. How both of them did, on their own. 

I thought the ‘What more do you need than pride’ interaction was special, and it still is, but this chapter effectively replaced it as my favorite Tsukishima and Yamaguchi interaction by far. 

I’ve seen posts that says this is them finally meeting halfway; that this is them now being equals. And to a degree, I agree with that. 

But more than that, I think that they’ve both come from similar places, and just took different paths to achieve growth- Yamaguchi with his will to be useful to the team and flourishing under Shimada-san’s tutelage; and Tsukishima, unwilling at first, but realized the fun of playing with the help of his upperclassmen in the third gym. 

Now, having sharpened the spear and having strengthened the shield, their paths have finally converged and now they’re walking together.

Their relationship, despite initial misgivings, is one that has always been founded on mutual admiration, unwavering support, and pure trust. And yes, that might have been obvious, more so to some even before this. But this chapter hammered that fact down clearly and beautifully.