Interview: The ‘HAIKYU!!’ Creative Team Reflects on Their Favorite Characters at Anime NYC

This weekend at Anime NYC, Nerds & Beyond had the chance to sit down with several members of the creative team behind the hit anime series HAIKYU!!. Following the FLY & CONNECT panel, which celebrated the anime’s 10-year anniversary, Keiko Matsushita (animation producer), Shoichiro Taguchi (producer), and Riki Azuma (manga editor) answered questions about the series during a press conference.

Nerds & Beyond made note of how HAIKYU!! has an incredible way of making audiences feel invested in all of the teams that are introduced throughout the series. We asked the creative team if there are any particular teams or players that they enjoy most.

Shoichiro Taguchi chose Karasuno’s Ryunosuke Tanaka. He referenced Tanaka’s impactful inner monologue during the Inarizaki game in season 4, episode 16, in which the character reflects on how he’s an ordinary person. Those lines gave Taguchi a push, personally, and he feels that Tanaka is a relatable character for many people.

Meanwhile, Keiko Matsushita chose one of Karasuno’s managers, Hitoka Yachi. She also had input to share from other members of the HAIKYU!! team who were not in attendance. Sound director Hiromi Kikuta likes Shinsuke Kita, the captain of Inarizaki’s team, because of the character’s philosophy of doing things properly. Chief animation director Takahiro Chiba is also a fan of Tanaka as well for the same reasons as Taguchi.

Finally, Riki Azuma started off by saying he’d like to play with Johzenji because they look fun. He then cited the moment, story-wise, in the Inarizaki game when Karasuno’s Hisashi Kinoshita fails the serve (and his subsequent interaction shortly after with the team’s libero Yu Nishinoya). He explained how Kinoshita is an ordinary player, and he (Azuma) believes he’s an ordinary person as well. As an editor, the mangaka is the genius, and he’s the ordinary person working with a genius — “but maybe my existence could help this genius to produce amazing work.” He said this kind of validated his life as well. Matsushita added that she likes Yachi for the same reason.

HAIKYU!! is a slice-of-life sports anime, based on Haruichi Furudate’s manga series that concluded in 2020, which follows high schooler Shoyo Hinata on his journey to become a star volleyball player. You can watch seasons 1-4 on Crunchyroll.

Read our review of HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle here.