“I had the most trouble with his character”: Hinata Had a Completely Different Appearance in the One-Shot as Compared to His Final Look in Haikyuu
As the protagonist of Haikyuu!!, Shoyo Hinata has displayed immense development in both his character and abilities. He might be cute and small, but he compensates for his short height with other traits that are indispensable for a great volleyball player and teammate.
At the heart of everything in Haikyuu!!, Hinata’s passion for volleyball burns so bright, it can outshine the sun. His passion for volleyball is the root cause of his behavior and intent. Although he is the source of ridicule most of the time, his teammates see him as someone with great potential.
Shoyo Hinata can be easily spotted in a crowd because of his unruly and distinctive orange hair. He stands at a height of 164.2 cm and is often mistaken for a junior high student due to his short stature. He is unabashedly loud and cheerful, only seconded by Nishinoya and Tanaka. He is also highly energetic and exuberant, which draws people towards him.
Haruichi Furudate Struggled With Hinata’s Appearance At The Beginning
As a mangaka, there’s a lot of pressure to design likable characters, especially when it comes to protagonists. Fans usually stick around long enough to get into the plot of the manga only if they like the characters. Hence, first impressions are the last impressions. Haikyuu!!‘s protagonist, Shoyo Hinata, comes off as an eager and hyperactive character, but his appearance also plays a major role.
Hinata is well-known among fans for his spiky, orange hair and affable features, however, the original character design of Hinata was quite different, admits Haruichi Furudate, the creator of Haikyuu!!. The Da Vinci April 2014 issue featured an interview with Furudate who talked about designing the main characters. According to the interview, he said:
“I had the most trouble with finalising Hinata’s character within this series. On the other hand, Kageyama hasn’t changed much from when he was first conceptualised. In the first one-shot, Hinata was of an average build and had a timid personality (though he is still a scaredy-cat even now).“
hinata’s original one-shot design pic.twitter.com/dd8lMovrKG
— alice 🍊 (@haikaiya) September 18, 2019
Furudate further explained since Haikyuu!! is centered around the techniques, being “quicker” was more important than being “higher”, so Hinata’s jumping ability makes up for his short stature. Furudate also mentioned that for Hinata’s character, he just doodled a lot of different expressions. He continues:
“There are two one-shot versions of Haikyuu!!, and even though I drew him myself, I don’t really like the Hinata in the second one-shot version of Haikyuu!! (laughs). I was overly conscious of making him Shonen manga-like, so he ended up becoming a bit “false”. I couldn’t grasp his character even at the very end. “
Furudate said that since he worked so hard to come up with him, Hinata was his favorite character. Fans would say the character design is a huge success since Hinata’s appearance matches his demeanor.
Haruichi Furudate Made Tobio Kageyama Bear All His Shortcomings
It is apparent to anyone who has read or watched Haikyuu!! that Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama are polar opposites, not just in appearance but also in their personalities. Hinata is everything Kageyama is not, and vice versa. Despite their opposing personalities, they make a terrifying duo.
Kageyama has short, black hair and a permanent scowl on his face that heightens his intimidating aura. Furudate said in the interview that he has not changed much in appearance since the initial stages, but personality-wise he has become a bit softer.
He also explained that Kageyama is a character that takes on all of the angst that Furudate had when he was in high school, so it was especially prominent in the beginning. He said:
“I made Kageyama take on my own shortcomings. In the initial stages of the story, Kageyama’s mentality of “I should just do everything on my own” was actually the same mentality I had for a period of time when I was in high school.“
This personal tidbit from Furudate makes Kageyama’s character more personal and even approachable. It is not unnatural for a mangaka to pour their own self while creating characters; in fact, it is a quite common trait that makes the characters seem more real and human.
You can watch Haikyuu!! on Crunchyroll.
