and handsome!

Honestly never understood the appeal of Chu Wanning’s earring until I saw these pictures. 

(Taxian-jun’s actor’s name is Arthur, and Chu Wanning’s is Leo.) 

Bonus content: 

From the AHKAH jewelry brand’s Chinese Valentine livestream, where Leo (Luo Yunxi) was being interviewed as brand ambassador: 

MC: Why did you choose to wear the “A” initial today? 

LYX: (hesitates) ... Actually I think the answer is pretty obvious. Because the first letter of the brand, “AHKAH”, is “A”.

Second bonus content: 

MC: Between the heart necklace series and the alphabet necklace series, which would you pick? 

LYX: The alphabet necklace series. Because the letter you choose to wear for the day expresses a little hint of your thoughts, or a little secret. 

MC: Ooh, so all letters have a hidden meaning. Like the one that you’re wearing? The letter “L”? 

LYX: Yes, exactly. 

MC: What does that stand for? 

LYX: The first letter of my surname, Luo. 

MC: Right! Or it could also stand for [your first name] “Leo”, or “Love”. 

LYX: That’s right. There’s room for a lot of interpretation here. 

Third bonus content: 

A💗L

Important Preface - Before you proceed with this content

Be a conscious consumer. We’re celebrity fans, not friends. For all the happiness and laughter that celebrities have given us, treat them with the same amount of respect and decency you want others to treat you with. 

Everything in this post is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken seriously. The over-consumption of candy is an undertaking you choose to do at your own risk that can and will lead to cavities. 

Also, happy LLDFest2k22! The timing of the fest coincided with my post so I’m tagging along on its bandwagon.  

---

Link to Gong Jun’s super nice Sanya travel photos from his Weibo blog, which is the subject matter of this post, wherein I translate and relay to you observations made by other (pseudo) detective Chinese fans from social media. 

1. Is this Zhang Zhehan or Gong Jun? 

It’s Gong Jun. But many fans did a double-take on first glance. There’s a Chinese saying about married couples that stick together and look like one another. Beyond physical similarities, it’s a compliment towards the relationship, also meaning that their hearts are connected, and that their hobbies and personalities are rubbing off on each other, and that they both truly are a cohesive family unit together. 

2. Why is there one blurry photo in a set of crystal clear HD photos? 

Well maybe someone special took it. 

A number of fans have also convinced themselves that they can make out the reflection of the photographer in the glass... I think that one’s a huge reach because I can’t see shit. 

3. Gong Jun obsessed with Paragliding Man 

An unidentified paraglider shows up twice in Gong Jun’s Sanya photoset:

An unidentified paraglider has also shown up in a different, previous Weibo post from June 7th, with Gong Jun looking rather wistfully at them: 

Question time. Does Gong Jun: 

a) Want to go paragliding

b) Know the Paragliding Man? 

4. Gong Jun and his “Casual” endeavors 

There’s a really versatile and widely applicable Chinese technique known as the “九浅一深”. Here are some English translations, from literal to dynamic: 

- Nine Shallows, One Deep

- Nine Shallows, and Once More with Feeling

- Nine Times You Go Lightly + The One Time You Go Hard  

- Nine Shallow Thrusts And One Deep F*ck 

So we think Gong Jun has been practicing this technique because he’s so far made 6 separate posts on his numerous socials with the deliberate use of the word “浅” (meaning shallow, light, or casual) in his captions:

- “Back home! Casually learned how to make 2 dishes” 

- “Casually sharing the recipe [doge face emoji x1]” 

- “Back home! Casually learned to cook 2 Szechuan dishes [doge face emoji x3]” 

- “Casually learned a “dance” [doge face emoji x1]”

- “Casually showing off” 

- “Casually “exploring” Sanya”

No one knows yet why he’s decided to put “dance” and “exploring” in quotation marks in those captions. Anyway if (when) the count of these “浅” posts hit 9... Those in the know, will know. 

5. Notable photography themes: Light, waves, and dog 

Gong Jun getting personified into a dog by fans is both a sign of his incredible popularity - he was just awarded Most Popular Male Actor Of The Year for his role as Wen Kexing; a nod to his sweet and loyal personality, and a fitting complement to the cat-personified Zhang Zhehan. Here’s a poodle from his Weibo photo set: 

Dog or cat or animal-personified actors are a very common and obvious thing. There’s Rabbit-XZ, Lion-WYB, Whale-HJY, Fish-CFY, and many more - some even get personified into fruits and vegetables, like Kiwi-CY and Carrot-LYX. A symbol that’s far more special to Gong Jun and Junzhe is waves.

Gong Jun has always been obsessed with shoots by the water, from calm lake surfaces to waves at the sea. This is particularly obvious when you see that in his 20 most recent posts on Weibo, as of this point in writing - which includes advertisement posts, editorial shoots and promotional posts - a quarter of them are water themed. 

Not only does he look really nice by the water, waves are a key theme since that forms his part of the ship name, 浪浪钉 (literal trans. “Wave Wave Nail”). There’s a lot to unpack in the etymology of the ship name that’s too much for this post, but just know that it encompasses meanings derived from both the WOH characters as well the actors that played them. 

Light is a reference to Zhehan, its origins hailing from Wen Kexing’s iconic line to Zhou Zishu: “I want to catch the light that’s on you.” And when you start to pay attention, you’ll find that light has been carefully inserted everywhere in Gong Jun’s photos, parting through overcast clouds and illuminating the silhouette of the lone paraglider; in the photos of Gong Jun himself looking up towards the sky; and in the ones where he’s personally captured light in his photos. 

A sunset by the sea photo by Gong Jun isn’t your ordinary sunset photo. It’s about the setting of today, the herald of a new tomorrow; it’s about waves chasing light time and again, coming to meet together at every single horizon. 

Are we all feeling a sense of sweet gummy gooeyness from this romantic nonsense? 

---

Further reading - 

What happened to Zhang Zhehan? What’s that controversy he’s tied up in? Here’s a good place to start - Clarifications for Zhang Zhehan by teddyfoxfluff  

---

Best of Gong Jun from Go Fighting 极限挑战:

Part 1 - Summer Bod Drip (Wet)

Part 2 - Little Boy Blue

Boss

Boss being polite

Boss impolite

Delivery’s here

booba

wet

happy run

summer’s sun

warm

cool

cold

The Lover

(Liu Lingzi as Xuan Ji)

The Wind

(Chang Huasen as Shi Qingxuan)

The Free

(Zhai Xiaowen as Xie Lian)

The Prince

/*Contains leaks and spoilers!*/

Zhang Linghe as Hua Cheng

Butterfly gauntlets and the red string of fate and the eye patch, the whole package deal. He is THE ghost king. He’s a very heavily accessorized man, there’s no mistaking his identity when you see him. 

I like the first shot a lot, it captures the calligraphic tendrils really nicely.

I also think the voluminous quality of his robes gives the impression that he’s rolling in a lot of money.

Also this man looks huge next to the pint-sized staff. 

The CN community calls this the “Big Hua” look, which is how they differentiate from the loopsided ponytail, two-eyed, innocent mortal guise “Small Hua” look. The fan photographers who’ve been at the filming sites have shared that they’re impressed by what they saw of Zhang Linghe’s performance, as he’s apparently given quite distinct characterizations to Big Hua (daddy) and Small Hua (baby).  

Also because his “Hua” is the Chinese character for flower, Big and Small Hua can also be read as the “Big Flower” look and the (not pictured until I find cute ones) “Small Flower” look. 

Zhai Xiaowen as the Crown Prince

I thought the golden flower was a peony at first, which is the Chinese King of Flowers, and symbolizes abundance, wealth and beauty, but now I think it looks more like a spider lily. 

The pattern on the outer-most robe is reminiscent of dragon and fish scales. The embroidered gold beads looks like pressed golden ingots. This was the height of the old country before it fell. 

I think it’s worth appreciating that the team is faithful to Taizi’s color scheme from the animation and comics! 

Liu Lingzi as Xuan Ji

She’s all red, and that’s super practical because it completely eliminates the need to wash off blood stains from her battles. 

Her arm and leg gauntlets are thicker even than Hua Cheng’s, which surely translates into one hell of a mean punch. Of course, she’s wearing armor, while he’s wearing whatever he thinks has the highest chance of seducing Xie Lian.  

XIao Kaizhong (Feng Xin)

Cai Yao (Mu Qing)

Chang Huasen (Shi Qingxuan) 

Cooler aesthetic shots like this one took me a long time find because so many of his photos are of him with his huge sunny smile. It would be absolutely devastating to wreck such an endearing little face. Haha! Unless...? 

Tian Xuning (Ming Yi/He Xuan) 

Liu Shuai (Pei Ming) 

Look at that square jaw, that dead-on confidence, in that all-black fit, on a physique so tall and hulking... 

To be completely honest I think the angle, lighting and dark colors of his clothing are huge factors at play here, because the edges of his face isn’t so sharp in the other leaked photos I’ve seen, haha. 

Liu Lingzi (Xuan Ji) 

/*Contains leaks and spoilers.*/

Promise of the Ghost King 

(Zhang Linghe as Hua Cheng)

Death of the General

(Liu Lingzi as Xuanji) 

Light and shadow

I’m not sure how you guys came to be, but since there’s actually a significant number of you, I thought I’ll give a heads-up on a new kind of content I’m about to post. 

Whether you know me as:

- A Haikyuu and seiyuu nerd

- A Nitotan salesperson --> #nitotanlove

- An anime plush toy, merchandise, and collab cafe enthusiast

- An OG Japanese stageplay (butai) fan reporter in 2016-17, specifically for Haikyuu and KNB 

- President of the Kohatsu Allen fan club during the peak of Haikyuu stageplay 

I hope it’s not too much of a stretch for you that I’m now going to post aesthetic photos of a currently-shooting live-action Chinese drama ⬇️

What drama is that? 

Tian Guan Ci Fu’s (trans. Heaven’s Official Blessing, 天官赐福) live-action adaptation, called Ji Xing Gao Zhao (trans. Lucky Star, 吉星高照).

What’s Tian Guan Ci Fu? 

Abbreviated as TGCF, this is a Chinese danmei series (BL) of ancient fantasy genre featuring gods and demons (aka ghosts). Lots of fights, humor, mystery, romance and tragedy told through a cast of morally grey characters. 

If you’re curious, the 12-episode animated series is on Netflix fully English subbed, and is a great starting point for getting into the series. 

The series is very popular, and the Japanese-language dub version is currently airing with Kamiya Hiroshi and Fukuyama Jun playing the leads ;)))))))) This is legendary god-tier casting. 

TGCF originated as a web novel. Check out the original work here. It’s 252 chapters long and honestly really addictive. It took me a week to finish. If you’re looking for it in English, It was just announced that the official English translation has been licensed and will be released by Seven Seas Publishing in 8 whole-ass volumes. There are also English fan-translations online by tireless translators that have poured in their blood sweat and tears into creating an international/English fanbase for the series. 

Going off tangent aa bit, what god-tier casting?

Kamiya plays protagonist Xie Lian, the crown prince of an ancient fallen kingdom. He ascended to godhood on account of his great martial prowess and virtues, and was expelled from said godhood due to reasons... Twice. The series starts with his third ascension and his adventures with his fellow gods, a group of sussy freaks; as well as the notorious ghosts, who are dark and powerful. The story follows Xie Lian as he goes around uncovering all sorts of secrets, cover-ups and unsolved mysteries spanning heaven and hell. 

Kamiya’s voice for him is basically himself. Adult male, serious when he needs to be, light-hearted when possible, thoughtful and meticulous, both soft and gentle and strong and capable. That’s Xie Lian! 

Fukuyama plays San Lang, the love interest ;) He’s Xie Lian’s most devoted believer, and he also happens to be “Crimson Rain Sought Flower”, aka, Hua Cheng, the biggest and fattest ghost king of hell. 

Fukuyama’s voice performance floors me. It’s really well-rounded, he sounds youthful and light, and also has a low, mature depth in his words. The voice performance alone encapsulates a character that takes on the appearance of a innocuous youth, while actually being an all-knowing and all-powerful demon. 

Japanese-dub Trailer #1 and #2 here! 

What and why are you posting? 

I recently hit anime town and swiped up 6 new nitotan keychains in a go and was floored by my extraordinary real-life gacha luck!

My new babies: 

IWA-CHAN MY NUMBER ONE FAVORITE

YAKU-SAN MY OTHER NUMBER ONE FAVORITE

INOSUKE protag luck!!!

GIYUU the fandom favorite!!!!! 

ennoshita

HINATA SUNSHINE BOY yet another protag luck!! 

Hi Anon! Sorry for the late reply! I checked every single Nitotan charm I had (purchased from 2016-2020) and they all had writings on the back:

The Nitotan logo

“T-ARTS” company name

Copyright symbol + letter code

Manufacturing country

As the writing is printed on I think there’s a chance they could be scratched off.

For the other anime acrylics/keychains I have from toy companies, the one thing that will definitely be printed on the back is the copyright symbol plus the letter code. I hope this info helps you distinguish authentics from fakes!

- From your non-official internet Nitotan afficionado source

Official MSBY Black Jackals V. League team page here!

(This exhibition match is crazy fun because there are certain players that will be competing against their own home team members as Adlers and Jackal members respectively!!)

LINE-UP / PLAYER INFO

#00 TAKESHI KOSHI (OH) from JT Thunders Hiroshima

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Takeshi Koshi from JT Thunders Hiroshima. I will be playing as part of the Black Jackals team for this Haikyuu event. I enjoy watching the Haikyuu anime myself and am very honored to have been selected to participate in this event. I am going to do my very best for the game. Thank you for supporting me!”

Random facts: He both admires and considers other players in his position as rivals. He would advise other players to not neglect on their self-care. During games he is focused on keeping his mind calm and collected. The secrete he has of his JT Thunders teammate is that Onodera Taishi is weak in the mornings (Onodera is matched with Tsukishima Kei from the 2019 Haikyuu X V. League collabs!) His highest vertical is 335 cm.

#2 EIROI MOTOKI (S) from Nagoya Wolfdogs

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Black Jackals’ Eiroi Motoki. I am very happy that I get to participate in this Haikyuu event. On the 16th of August, 4 PM, the match will be livestreamed on Shonen Jump’s Youtube channel and V. TV, please come by and watch! [wolfdog paw waving]”

Unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of his profile page, but you should definitely watch his Twitter video and see that wolfdog paw waving! His highest vertical is 330 cm.

There are two comments on his video comparing him to Atsumu…? 

#3 FUSHIMI YAMATO (MB) from JTEKT Stings

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Fushimi from JTEKT Stings. I am very honored to have been selected to play for this Haikyuu collaboration event. I will be going all out to bring my everything to the exhibition match and hope that everyone can look forward to it.”

Random facts: His favorite item from his house is perfume. He cherishes his time alone in order to be properly motivated. If he were an animal he would be a cat. His highest vertical is 330 cm.

Yamato played alongside Takano for the Japanese team in the FIVB 2019 World Cup!  

#4 MEIAN SHUUGO 

#4 TAKANO NAOYA (OH Cap) from Sakai Blazers

Black Jackals Captain Takano! Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Takano Naoya from Sakai Blazers. I’m very happy to have been selected to play in this exhibition match! The top players from V. League are gathered to play this game, I hope that everyone will look forward to it and catch the livestream! [waves goodbye, twice] You’re over-recording!! [to the cameraman]”

Unfortunately there’s not much details on his profile page, but Takano’s highest vertical is 342 cm!

Takano is taking over as the Black Jackals’ Captain in place of Yamamoto, who is unable to attend the event due to a team situation. He played on the Japanese national team in the FIVB 2019 World Cup!

#5 MATSUBASHI KENTAROU (OH) from Suntory Sunbirds

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Matsubashi Kentarou from Suntory Sunbirds. I will be playing for Black Jackals in this exhibition match. As I played volleyball at Tohoku High in Miyagi, I feel a great personal connection towards Haikyuu. I plan to do my best and have a lot of fun in the upcoming match!”

Random facts: His nickname is Matsu. His favorite thing about is body is his fair skin. Before a game he will definitely have some chocolate. His highest vertical is 350 cm, which is the best among the Black Jackal members!

Matsubashi went to Tohoku High in Miyagi, and his school’s Mens Volleyball team won consecutive championships in 2018 and 2019 at the Miyagi Spring Interhighs, and have secured a total of 13 championships at the Miyagi Spring Interhigh in their overall history

#6 INUNAKI SHION (L)

#8 KOORI HIROYA (OH) from JTEKT Stings

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Koori Hiroya from JTEKT Stings. I am very honored to have been selected to play for this Haikyuu collaboration event! Please pay attention to my full synchro during the game! Thank you for supporting me!”

Random facts: The most valuable thing in his house is his PS4. He spends his rest days by sleeping and not doing anything else, and sleeping is also how he gets his motivation. The animal he thinks he resembles is a horse, and his highest vertical is 345 cm.

#9 ADRIAH THOMAS (MB)

#11 DENDA RYOTA (MB) from Wolfdogs Nagoya

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Denda from Black Jackals! I am very happy that I get to participate in this event! The match will be live-streamed on Sunday, 16th August so please do check it out online! Thank you!” Watch his twitter vid to see his truly happy smile!

Random facts: Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of info on his profile page. His nickname is Denden and his highest vertical is 345 cm.

*Notice – Unfortunately, Denda recently suffered an accident during training and is no longer able to participate in the exhibition match.

#12 BOKUTO KOUTAROU

Bokuto’s highest vertical is 348 cm!

#13 MIYA ATSUMU

Tsum-tsum’s highest vertical is 342 cm!

#15 SAKUSA KIYOOMI

Sakusa’s highest vertical is 345 cm!

#15 KIRE YOSHIMITSU (L) from Suntory Sunbirds

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Kire Yoshimitsu from Suntory Sunbirds! I have been selected to play for the Black Jackals! Even though I’m a libero, I’ll love to show off a back attack like Hinata Shouyou if I get the chance to! [fist pump]”

Random facts: He doesn’t like that he’s indecisive and thinks the animal he’s most like is a monkey. Before a game he would tie his shoe laces from his left foot. He would like people to watch his receives. His highest vertical is 337 cm.

Kire-san gives me some Yaku-san vibes!

#16 MORISAKI KENSHI (MB) from VC Nagano Tridents

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am player 16 Morisaki Kenshi from VC Nagano Tridents! I’m grateful to have been selected to play for team Black Jackals. I will use all my ability to deliver great spikes and blocks. The match will be streamed on Jump’s Youtube channel and V. TV, please come by and watch us!”

Random facts: His favorite food is protein, which he also thinks is the most important thing to have after training. He thinks the animal he’s most like is a lion, and has recently been really into Marvel movies and listens to a lot of Yoneshi Kenzu. His highest vertical is 335 cm.

#18 YAMAMOTO SHOHEI (OH Cap) from JT Thunders Hiroshima

Former Jackals Captain Yamamoto! Profile here | Twitter comment here – “From JT Thunders Hiroshima, I am Yamomoto Shohei, representing Black Jackals as captain. I am greatly honored to be able to participate in this collaboration event with the immensely popular Haikyuu manga. With my best foot forward, I look forward to obtaining victory with the rest of the Black Jackals. Thank you!”

Random facts: He started volleyball because of his elder sister’s influence. He drinks coffee before matches. During games, he keeps in mind to stay relaxed. He has an interest in photography and likes to go to places to shoot good photos. If he could choose, he would like to be reborn as a bird. His highest vertical is 333 cm.

*Notice – Unfortunately, due to team circumstances, Yamomoto is no longer able to participate in the exhibition match. In his stead, Koshi Takeshi from JT Thunders will be playing OH for the team, and Takano Naoya from Sakai Blazers will take over as captain. Regardless, his sentiments stay with us and the team!

#21 HINATA SHOYOU (OP)

Hinata’s highest vertical is 350 cm, which is the greatest vertical among all the Jackals team members, and just 1 cm shy of Hoshiumi’s record! 

#22 FUJIOKA RYOUMA (S) from Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adlers

Profile under construction | Twitter comment here – “I am Fujioka Ryouma from Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adlers. I’m very glad to have been selected to play for this team. I will work hard to make this an exciting match. Thank you!”

Fujioka’s profile page is under construction, but if you watch his video you will be able to see the cute Weisse Adlers mascot that he is clutching in his hands and also hear the cameraman snicker at something off-camera. His highest vertical is 315 cm!

Also, in the 2019 Haikyuu X V. League cross-promotional collaboration, Fujioka was selected to match with Sugawara Koushi due to his similar playing styles/overall ability! He repped team Karasuno alongside fellow MSBY/Adlers players Tehara, Kodama and Hoshino.

#99 IGA RYOUHEI (L)

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Iga Ryouhei from Panasonic Pantehrs! I will be playing for Black Jackals in this exhibition match. I intend to show off my best performance for this game! [happy panther dance(?)]”

Random facts: He says his personality is normal. His charm point is his hair style. His favorite entertainer is teammate Kodama Yasunari (who’s playing MB for Adlers) and his highest vertical is 307 cm.

The Panther guys really love moving and dancing! Iga and Kodama (who is playing for Adlers) seem pretty close as Kodama tweeted about the two of them reading the last two volumes of Haikyuu manga and getting real hyped about it – even arguing about whether Adlers or Jackals is superior!

Coach - SAMSON FOSTER

Coach - TAKAHASHI SHINJI, currently JTEKTS coach, is a former volleyball player who played on the Japanese national team.

---

If you’re not already aware, Haikyuu is collaborating with the Japanese volleyball league to host an actual game between the Adlers and Jackals with teams from the V1 mens division. The match will be live-streamed for free on Youtube at 1600 PM on 16th August, check out this post here for more details. 

Official Schweiden Adlers V. League team page here!

(Watching and reading all of these players comments and profile pages really made me smile! All of their different personalities really come through in the vids. Some are more serious and cool, others are more playful, and a good chunk are Haikyuu fans! They’re all really hyped to play the exhibition match and I hope reading this gets you guys excited too!)

LINE-UP / PLAYER INFO

#1 HEIWASHIMA TOUSHIROU (L)

#1 FUJINAKA YUTO (OH) from JTEKT Stings

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Fujinaka Kaito from JTEKT. I am very honored to have been selected for the Haikyuu exhibition match. I will be doing my best to bring a solid and dependable play to the game. Thank you.”

Random facts: His hobby is cleaning which he is how he spends his rest days. He thinks his personality is high-strung. The top three places he wants to visit are Hawaii, Okinawa and Guam and the respective reasons are because he wants to swim, wants to swim, wants to swim. His highest vertical is 325 cm.

#2 HIRUGAMI FUKUROU (MB)

#2 TAKAKI TOMIMATSU (MB) from Toray Arrows

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Tomimatsu from Toray Arrows! I’m very honored and grateful to have been selected to play for the Adlers. For Adlers we have two amazing setters who are able to provide amazing tosses just like Kageyama does. I am planning to firmly close my eyes and spike their tosses during the game. I will work hard!”

Random facts: Apart from volleyball he is most proud of amount of food that he can put away. He was born in Miyagi. He relieves stress/spends his rest days by watching variety shows and anime. He gets his energy from seeing children’s smiles. Highest vertical is 350 cm.

#3 ONO HARUKI (MB) from Suntory Sunbirds

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I’m Ono Haruki from Suntory Sunbirds. I have been selected to play for this exhibition match as a member of the Adlers. I will work hard to show off superhuman play for this match just like the Haikyuu players do. Thank you!”

Random facts: His favorite word is “pride” and his favorite movie is Madagascar. Before matches he absolutely must do a handstand walk. He thinks the animal he most resembles is a hamster. Highest vertical is 340 cm.

#5 NICOLAS ROMERO (OH)

#7 SOKOLOV TASUTO (MB)

#7 SAKADO HIROSHI (OH) from FC Tokyo

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am player 1 from FC Tokyo, Sakado. Thank you for choosing me to be a part of Adlers. I plan to show off a solid, dependable play like Hoshiumi does. The match will be livestreamed, so please watch and support us! [waves]”

Random facts: He got into volleyball because his whole family was playing it, and he’s wanted to be a volleyball player as a child. He says he might look cool on the outside, but he’s actually pretty mischievous. He’s not really good with crowds and doesn’t like that he’s kinda shy! His highest vertical is 330 cm.  

#8 SAGAWA SHOU (S) from Sakai Blazers

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “Good afternoon! I am Sagawa Shou from Sakai Blazers. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this event. Through this Haikyuu event, I would like to show off some interesting gameplay combinations that would not otherwise be seen in our normal games. I myself am really looking forward to the players that I’ll be tossing to on the day of the match. Please give us your support – thank you!”

No random facts for Sagawa as his team profile page is under construction! His highest vertical is 331 cm.

#9 IKEDA KOUTA (OH) from VC Nagano Tridents

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am player 9 from VC Nagono Tridents, Ikeda Kouta. I am very grateful to be playing for Schweiden Adlers, and really happy that I get to participate in this collaboration event as I love to read Haikyuu. Please catch our match on Youtube or V. TV!”

Random facts: He’s good at egg recipes. He thinks the animal he’s most like is a sloth. He’s recently really into manga, games and Digimon. On his off days he likes to relax outdoors as well as relax indoors. His highest vertical is 340 cm.

He bit his tongue trying to pronounce “Schweiden”, I totally get it bro.  

#10 INOUE WATARU (L) from JT Thunders Hiroshima

Profile here | Twitter comment here - “I am Inoue Wataru from JT Thunders Hiroshima. I have been selected to play for the Adlers for this match. My number one favorite player is Nishinoya-san. I’m going to show off a play that wouldn’t lose to Nishinoya-san for the match. Thank you for having me!”

Random facts: His favorite team merchandise are their plushies. His goal this year is to get over his hate for vegetables. He thinks one of the most blissful moments in life is the night before a rest day. He wanted to play for JT Thunders ever since he was a child! Highest vertical is 300 cm.

#11 USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI (OP)

Ushiwaka’s highest vertical is 350 cm!

#13 KUBOTA MASATO (L) from Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adlers

Profile under construction | Twitter comment here – “I am Kubota Masato from Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adlers! I have been watching Haikyuu ever since my school days and am very honored to have been selected for this exhibition match. I will be bringing my best play to the game, and hope that everyone will watch the live stream!

No random facts for Kubota as his team profile page is under construction! Also his real team’s name is Adlers!!! His highest vertical is 320 cm.

#16 HOSHIUMI KOURAI (OH)

Hoshiumi’s highest vertical is 351 cm! Congrats to Hoshiumi-kun for having the highest vertical jump in the Adlers team.

#16 TEHARA SHIN (S) from FC Tokyo

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am number 16 from FC Tokyo, Tehara. I have been invited to play for Adlers for this exhibition match. Adlers is the team that Kageyama is on and I am really happy to have been invited to join. I will work hard to surpass the freak quirk on the day of the match. Please give us your support. Bye bye!”

He is the “self-proclaimed Kageyama of the volleyball world” Tehara Shin – in terms of play style, pretty sure his personality is way more like Oikawa’s! On his profile page his preferred nickname is “Shin-chan”. He’s really into reading sports mangas. He likes “everything” about himself and hates “nothing” about himself. The special skill that he would never lose to anyone else is “ego”. He’s proud to be in FC Tokyo as “everybody likes me”. He thinks his most memorable play is “everything”. Everything in quotes is translated verbatim from his profile and tweets. Unfortunately, his highest vertical is 315 cm which is much lower than Kageyama’s (see below)!!!

Everything is in good humor! He is in fact considered the Kageyama of the volleyball world by others all around. In the 2019 cross-promotional collaboration between Haikyuu and V. League, Tehara was selected to match to Kageyama Tobio alongside other MSBY and Adlers players Kodama (who matched Tanaka), Hoshino (who matched Asahi) and Fujioka (who matched Sugawara) because of his ability and play style.

This is the crazy funny volleyball player who had the time of his life teasing the Haikyuu stageplay Karasuno team when they had a joint training session together! I reblogged some subbed gifsets on this blog, you can look for them in my “engeki haikyuu” or “haikyuu stageplay” tags! That was how I first got to know him and also how he became my favorite V. League player.

#20 KAGEYAMA TOBIO (S)

Kageyama’s highest vertical is 348 cm!

#51 KODAMA YASUNARI (MB) from Panasonic Panthers

Profile here | Twitter comment here – “From Panasonic Panthers, I am Yasunari Kodama! This time I will be playing for the Adlers! My special style is to float like a butterfly [poses like a butterfly] and sting like a bee [poses like a bee, and holds]! I would like for everyone to see this play during the match. Thank you for having me!”

Random facts: His self-proclaimed charm point is his smile. He started volleyball because his mom got him into it. Outside of volleyball his special skill is the Rat-tat-tat dance from the Sandaime J Soul Brothers song, watch them do it at 2:40! His highest vertical is 335 cm.

He’s referencing Muhammad Ali’s float quote about his boxing style in the ring. Please watch his Twitter comment vid and see this man hold the bee stinger pose till the very end.

In the 2019 Haikyuu X V. League collaboration, Kodama was selected to match Tanaka Ryuunosuke because of his overall play style and ability, alongside fellow Adlers player Tehera as Kageyama, Hoshino as Asahi; and MSBY’s Fujioka as Sugawara.

He does kinda behave like Tanaka does!

#100 HOSHINO HIDETOMO (OH Cap) from Toray Arrows

Schweiden Adlers Captain Hoshino! Profile here | Twitter comment here – “I am Hoshino from Toray Arrows. I have been invited to join the Haikyuu collaboration match taking place on the 16th of August as team captain of the Adlers. The team is full of members with great individuality, and I will be working hard and having a lot of fun with the match, so please do look forward to it.”

Random facts: To rest or get rid of stress, Hoshino likes to play with kids. His source of energy is his family. Outside of volleyball, he’s proud of his solid body. As opposed to picking one specific highlight in his play, he would like for fans to watch his every move in games. He thinks it’s important as an athlete to be positive! His highest vertical is 331 cm.  

The handsome Captain Hoshino was selected to match to Asahi Azumane in the 2019 Haikyuu X V. League collaboration because of his overall play style and ability alongside Tehera/Kageyama, Kodama/Tanaka, and MSBY’s Fujioka/Sugawara!

Coach – BANJO SUZAKU

Coach - OGINO MASAJI is a former volleyball player on the Japanese National team, and also the former coach of Suntory Sunbirds!

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If you’re not already aware, Haikyuu is collaborating with the Japanese volleyball league to host an actual game between the Adlers and Jackals with teams from the V1 mens division. The match will be live-streamed for free on Youtube at 1600 PM on 16th August, check out this post here for more details.