His captaincy and why he deserves more recognition
Alright, so first of
all, I would like to thank you guys for sharing your thoughts! And some of you
have raised some fine points, ones which I would like to include in this
installment.
For the official kick
off of this… whatever this is, I want to talk about Daichi as a volleyball
player, particularly his position as captain, and how important his captaincy
is for the entire team.
(I just wanted to
include this picture because he looks so damn fine and wow how do I breathe but anyway)
The thing is, for
Daichi, leadership comes naturally. I mean, he’s the captain of his junior high
team, one where he played with Ikejiri, and from that flashback, it was very obvious
that Daichi has wisdom well beyond his years.
He already has this
maturity and his stabilizing presence is already apparent from the get go. But
see, the thing is, and this has been accurately said by @monkeyingaround, “his character could have been so typical, but Furudate
did, as Furudate does”, which is to give characters the dimensions and more
colorful facets of personality. And this couldn’t have been truer for Daichi.
He could have been
easily the strict, boring captain, but he’s more than that. He could’ve been
someone who’s probably super powered, because he’s a captain for a reason, right?
But the thing is, what makes him the perfect captain for his team, is because he’s
not actually any of that.
And for him, it’s not
a bad thing.
Believe me, he
provides the team with more than just support! That’s why I am still so grateful
for the Daichi centric chapters, because they emphasized how big of an impact
Daichi’s responsible nature is for Karasuno.
Valor and
Simplicity.
(I still cry about this.)
It really hammered
the point that instead of seeing him as just this boring character, his
stability provides the team with the solid and stable foundation that they
need. But he does so in various ways.
A few cases in point, he can be like this:
But he can also be like this:
Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei thought it best.
(On an unrelated side note: I
absolute love how his centric chapters are called Playground and how its cover
page is this:
(It’s like basically
saying that Daichi owns the game, not just in terms of volleyball, but also his
teammates. And I digress, but anyway…)
Aside from being captain, he’s also a wing spiker, although Daichi stands out more, and he’s actually notable because of his solid receives. I cannot stress how much this skill have been so crucial in Karasuno winning their matches. While it is the point that goes over the net and to the opponent’s side of the court that technically counts, not letting the opponent score and keeping the ball in play counts as much. And Daichi, what with the numerous times he’d saved his team by saving the ball during critical plays.
I find this picture kind of ironic though, but oh well.
He’s
well lauded for that, and boy am I proud when characters also recognize him for
this, but I still agree with @rubysfavorites, that Daichi gets set
aside for more popular, flashier characters, and isn’t seen as special or
unique. It’s one of the reasons why, as @narubabe mentioned, that Daichi doesn’t get enough credit for being a catalyst for
Hinata and Kageyama working together.
Actually, we can go
way back than that. Because, honestly, and I will never get tired of saying
this, if it weren’t for Daichi, the whole Karasuno, the Karasuno that we know
and love today, wouldn’t have been possible. “Chemical reaction of encounters”
chapter, remember? Daichi, and the rest of the third years, didn’t let the
roots hold them down. They fought their way through it, they gritted and
grinded their teeth, just to be able to reach the place where they are right
now.
Or when the second
years quit the team, but he didn’t lose out hope, and was thankful for having
them back?
Even Old Man
Ukai knows.
And if that’s not
enough for you, Daichi served as the coach. THE COACH for the team, when they
didn’t have one. He took on the responsibility of being the coach and captain,
and if you don’t think that’s amazing or don’t deserve a high praise and utmost
recognition then I don’t know how else to convince you.
In conclusion: Daichi
is a great captain, who deserves more love and more recognition than what he’s
getting. Karasuno isn’t Karasuno, wouldn’t be the Karasuno without him.
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