The Top Haikyuu!! Teams & What Makes Them Special

It’s impossible not to fall in love with Haikyuu!!’s colorful cast of volleyball players…but it can also be tough to keep them all straight in your head! So, if you need a guide to Haikyuu!!’s many teams (and who’s on them), you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ve laid out every major high school team featured in the anime and their star players—plus a couple of pro teams that become relevant later on! Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Haikyuu!!’s volleyball teams.

The Most Important Teams in Haikyuu!!

Download Image

An illustration of the different volleyball teams from Haikyuu!!.

Haikyuu!!’s main team is Karasuno, featuring offensive players Hinata, Asahi, and Tanaka, defensive players Daichi and Nishinoya, and setter Kageyama. Several other teams are featured prominently in the sports anime, including Nekoma, Aoba Johsai, Fukurōdani, Date Tech, and Shiratorizawa.

1

Karasuno High

Download Article

First there’s Karasuno—Haikyuu!!’s “protagonist” team. Karasuno High definitely isn’t the strongest of teams at the beginning of the series, but they consistently make up for their shortcomings with pure drive and enthusiasm. Hinata, Asahi, and Tanaka are the team’s main goal-scorers, while Nishinoya and Daichi cover defense—and, of course, Kageyama is the team’s prodigious setter. Karasuno’s “underdog” status makes them easy to root for!^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Daichi Sawamura (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Kōshi Sugawara (Vice-Captain, Pinch Server)
  - Asahi Azumane (Ace)
  - Yū Nishinoya (Libero)
  - Ryūnosuke Tanaka (Wing Spiker)
  - Chikara Ennoshita (Wing Spiker)
  - Tobio Kageyama (Setter)
  - Shōyō Hinata (Middle Blocker)
  - Kei Tsukishima (Middle Blocker)
  - Tadashi Yamaguchi (Pinch Server)
- Team colors: Orange, black, white
- Animal motif: Crow (since “karasu” means “crow”)
- Rivals: Karasuno has a historic rivalry with Nekoma High, leading to their climactic face-off at the national tournament (“the battle at the garbage dump”).
- Take our Haikyuu!! quiz to find out which Karasuno player you’d be!

2

Nekoma High

Download Article

Nekoma represents one of Karasuno’s biggest challenges in Haikyuu!!, yet the teams also get along great when they’re training together! Nekoma is renowned for its defensive play, working together to execute coordinated maneuvers on the court. In other words, Nekoma doesn’t emphasize individuals—it’s all about the power of team play. Still, Nekoma’s best players are probably Kuroo (an outstanding defensive player) and Kenma (the team’s setter).^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Tetsurō Kuroo (Captain, Middle Blocker)
  - Taketora Yamamoto (Wing Spiker)
  - Kenma Kozume (Setter)
  - Lev Haiba (Middle Blocker)
- Team colors: Black and red
- Animal motif: Cat (Since “neko” means “cat”)
- Rivals: Karasuno High is Nekoma’s main rival school.

3

Aoba Johsai High

Download Article

Aoba Johsai’s power as a team mainly comes from its leaders, Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Oikawa is the team’s star setter, and is especially great at drawing strong performances from the rest of the team—while Iwaizumi is the team’s ace, delivering hardcore spikes and scoring points. Oikawa is also one of the best servers in the entire series, and with stronger supporting players to back him up, Aoba Johsai would be an even greater threat.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Tōru Oikawa (Captain, Setter)
  - Hajime Iwaizumi (Wing Spiker)
  - Yūtarō Kindaichi (Middle Blocker)
- Team colors: White and turquoise
- Animal motif: None
- Rivals: Aoba Johsai considers Shiratorizawa a longstanding rival, since Shiratorizawa has a record of blocking them from reaching nationals.

4

Fukurōdani Academy

Download Article

Fukurōdani’s power revolves around its Ace, Bokuto—one of the top 5 aces in all of Japan! Bokuto sets the stage, and the rest of the players do what they can to match him on the court. Fukurōdani doesn’t have a ton of overt weaknesses; the main one is probably Bokuto’s volatile emotions, since he can get easily annoyed (and sloppy) when things start going wrong. But, fortunately, Bokuto’s friend and Vice-Captain is pretty good at working around his moods!
- Notable members:
  - Kōtarō Bokuto (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Keiji Akaashi (Vice-Captain, Setter)
- Team colors: Black, gold, and white
- Animal motif: Owl (mainly represented through Bokuto’s appearance)

5

Date Tech High

Download Article

Date Tech has the nickname “Iron Wall,” which, of course, refers to their impeccable defense. The team’s blockers are some of the best around—particularly Aone, whose skills (and stature) make him a super-intimidating opponent on the court. Date Tech’s signature move involves using all its blockers simultaneously in perfect synchronization, moving as a united force to prevent spikes from clearing the net.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Takanobu Aone (Middle Blocker)
  - Kenji Futakuchi (Captain, Wing Spiker)
- Team colors: White and teal
- Animal motif: None

6

Shiratorizawa Academy

Download Article

Shiratorizawa has historically been the best team in the Miyagi Prefecture and one of the best teams in Japan—largely because of its star player. Ushijima is Shiratorizawa’s captain and ace, the team’s strongest player by a mile (and probably one of the best players in the country). However, Shiratorizawa’s main shortcoming is related; the team sometimes relies a little too heavily on its star player (along with Tendō, its best defensive player).^{[5]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Wakatoshi Ushijima (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Reon Ōhira (Vice-Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Kenjirō Shirabu (Setter)
  - Satori Tendō (Middle Blocker)
- Team colors: White and purple
- Animal motif: Eagle (a symbol of power and dominance)
- Rivals: Shiratorizawa doesn’t have friendly rivalries because they tend to dominate the competition, but Karasuno is their narrative rival in Haikyuu!!.

7

Johzenji High

Download Article

Johzenji holds an interesting claim to fame in Haikyuu!!; they’re often referred to as the “party team.” It’s not that they don’t take volleyball seriously—but they tend to play a lot looser than the teams they compete against. They don’t really hang onto a set formation, and use a lot of unpredictable attacks and tactics on the court; their greatest strength is their adaptability (and ability to throw off their opponents).^{[6]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Yūji Terushima (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Takeharu Futamata (Setter)
- Team colors: Yellow, white, and black
- Animal motif: Monkey (symbolizing chaos and energy)

8

Inarizaki High

Download Article

Inarizaki is one of Haikyuu!!’s top teams—stronger overall than Karasuno, even (although Karasuno still managed to beat them in the end). Inarizaki’s stars are the Miya twins; Atsumu Miya is the team’s incredible setter, while Osamu Miya is one of the team’s Wing Spikers. Inarizaki also has one of Japan’s top five Aces, Ojiro! Natural skill, combined with Inarizaki’s knack for clever tactics and unexpected maneuvers, makes them a huge threat to any team they face.
- Notable members:
  - Shinsuke Kita (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Aran Ojiro (Wing Spiker, Ace)
  - Atsumu Miya (Setter)
  - Osamu Miya (Wing Spiker)
- Team colors: White and black
- Animal motif: Fox (a reference to the team’s cunning and knack for trickery)

9

Kamomedai High

Download Article

Kamomedai exists in Haikyuu!! mainly as a way to introduce Hoshiumi, the new “little giant” (and one of Hinata’s greatest rivals in the Spring Tournament, given his own aspirations of being a “little giant”). As a team, Kamomedai focuses on strong serves and blocks, as well as instilling mental fortitude in all its players. But of course, Hoshiumi is portrayed as the team’s strongest asset, and one of the most promising young players in Japan.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Aikichi Suwa (Captain, Setter)
  - Kōrai Hoshiumi (Wing Spiker)
  - Sachirō Hirugami (Middle Blocker)
- Team colors: Light blue, white, and dark blue
- Animal motif: Seagull (derived from “kamome,” which means “seagull”)

10

Itachiyama Institute

Download Article

There are plenty of great teams in Haikyuu!!, but it’s made clear that Itachiyama is unequivocally the best of the best—in terms of both offense and defense. In the anime, the team is still going strong, having beaten Inarizaki in the Interhigh National Tournament—meaning they’re the team to beat in the show’s current Spring Tournament, too. Itachiyama’s ace, Sakusa, is one of the best in the country—as is the team’s libero, Komori.
- Notable members:
  - Kiyoomi Sakusa (Wing Spiker)
  - Motoya Komori (Libero)
  - Tsukasa Iizuna (Captain, Setter)
- Team colors: Yellow, green, white, and black
- Animal motif: Weasel (derived from the kanji for “Itachiyama”)

11

Shinzen High

Download Article

Shinzen High is known for their use of combos and synchronized attacks (when every spiker moves at the same time) in games. Essentially, that makes them hard for opponents to predict—because it’s hard to tell which spiker will hit the ball, or where they’ll direct it! In Haikyuu!!, Shinzen is introduced as one of the participants in the Tokyo Training camp (which Karasuno attends).^{[8]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Daiki Ogano (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Eikichi Chigaya (Middle Blocker)
- Team colors: Green
- Animal motif: None

12

Kakugawa High

Download Article

Kakugawa is another team from the Miyagi Prefecture (along with Karasuno, Aoba Johsai, Shiratorizawa, and so on). Although not as strong a team in past years, the present team in Haikyuu!! is introduced in the process of becoming a much tougher opponent. Ultimately, the club still isn’t able to beat Karasuno, as it lacks offensive power—but Kakugawa’s defense is fairly strong!^{[9]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Yūdai Hyakuzawa (Wing Spiker)
  - Yuzuru Komaki (Captain, Setter)
  - Taishi Minamida (Libero)
- Team colors: Lime green, yellow, and black
- Animal motif: None

13

Nohebi Academy

Download Article

Nohebi Academy’s team is known for its…unsportsmanlike behavior—playing dirty, trash-talking, and generally treating their opponents rudely (to throw them off). But they’re portrayed as “snakes” for more than one reason! In addition to their less-than-ideal attitude during games, they’re a calm and patient team known for wearing down opponents’ defenses, then striking when the moment is right.
- Notable members:
  - Suguru Daishō (Captain, Wing Spiker)
  - Isumi Sakishima (Setter)
- Team colors: Green and yellow
- Animal motif: Snake (to represent the team’s tenacity and slithering movements)

14

Bonus: MSBY Black Jackals

Download Article

We’ve gone through all the major high school teams in Haikyuu!!, but the MSBY Black Jackals are a professional team—and (spoiler alert) the team that Hinata eventually joins after graduating from Karasuno. And he’s joined by friends (and competitors) from other high schools, including Atsumu Miya, Bokuto, and Sakusa. The Black Jackals are a team built on connection and teamwork, plus an all-consuming drive to improve themselves!^{[10]
X
Research source}
- Notable members:
  - Shōyō Hinata (Wing Spiker)
  - Kiyoomi Sakusa (Wing Spiker)
  - Kōtarō Bokuto (Wing Spiker)
  - Atsumu Miya (Setter)
- Team colors: Black, gold, and white
- Animal motif: Jackal

15

Bonus: Schweiden Adlers

Download Article

The Schweiden Adlers are another professional team in Japan, introduced after a time-skip in Haikyuu!!. Furthermore, it’s the team that Tobio Kageyama eventually ends up playing for—along with familiar faces like Ushijima (from Shiratorizawa). The Schweiden Adlers are national champions, having spent three years in a row as winners of the V.League Division 1 by 2018.
- Notable members:
  - Tobio Kageyama (Setter)
  - Wakatoshi Ushijima (Wing Spiker)
  - Kōrai Hoshiumi (Wing Spiker)
- Team colors: White, gold, navy blue, and orange
- Animal motif: Eagle