Kenma Kyōtani

**"Insignificant being be gone!"**

**Kenma Kyōtani** (Japanese: **京谷 孤爪**  *Kyōtani Kenma*) is a third-year student from Senbonzakura High; serving as the school`s resident pinch server, a wing spiker, opposite hitter, and one of several libero`s on the volleyball team. He is Kentarō Kyōtani`s older brother, and is noted to hold a strained relationship with his younger brother as they both go to different schools.

## Appearance

Kenma is an easily identifiable character, particularly due to his short-cropped blond hair with two stripes running down the sides of his head, just above the ears. In essence, he looks like an older version of Kentarō, making it harder to tell them apart. He appears to be the same height as his brother, which is unusual because he`s a year older than his brother. Unlike his younger brother, his eyes appear softer and far more gentler as opposed to his boyfriend; Wakatoshi Ushijima`s eyes. He lives up to his nicknames of Mediator and Manager, as he settles much of the team`s disputes, and he does the work of a manger due to the fact that they have no manager to do the duties.

## Personality

Being the official team mom, mediator, and manager; Kenma is a very composed and level-headed person. He has a soothing and gentle personality for his teammates and acts as a pillar of support for them. Despite all of that, Kenma is a strict and firm leader who leads by example rather than by using words to persuade his teammates. Independent and strong-willed, Kenma is a gentle-hearted person who cares deeply for his teammates. However, there have been times where even Kenma, usually the most composed out of the volleyball team snapped. He is said to very violent when enraged usually hitting the perpetrator with a jump-serve volleyball straight to the stomach. He is said to hold a inferiority complex, due to far less superior to the other liberos on the school`s volleyball team. He is stated to be overprotective over Emerald Tanaka, his sister who married Saeko Tanaka.

## Background

Kenma`s father was a second division volleyball player who used to attend Aobajohsai; his generation is rumored to have been the rivals of Shiratorizawa having lost to them in Nationals. However, Kenma`s father had to retire due to several injuries and then married Kenma`s mother, with his mother taking on his father`s surname in the process. Sometime later, when Kenma was still very young, his parents ended up having another boy who they named Kentarō, and many years later, they had their only girl who they named Emerald. The siblings were peaceful for a while, until Kentarō accused his older brother of focusing more on volleyball than on their family. It escalated into a full-on fight where both sides of their family had to get involved and separate them. That caused the divide in their family that exists even now, with both siblings swearing to defeat each other for the sake of their honor. Kenma bases his playing style on strategy, and adaptability; allowing him to take down even the most difficult opponents. Beside being a powerful rounded player for the school`s volleyball team, Kenma is also an under 19 representative for Japan for the Youth World Championship.

## Plot

### **Karasuno High Team Formation Arc**

Kenma gets featured as the number one libero in Hyōgo Prefecture in a volleyball magazine that the Karasuno High players are reading.

### **Interhigh Arc**

Senbonzakura plays against Oceania (2:0 / 27-9, 29-5).

Before the Shiratorizawa vs Aobajohsai match starts, Kenma enters the arena with his upperclassmen attracting attention to them. Kenma makes his way over to Ushijima, telling him to do his best before making his way into the stands and sitting with the rest of the Senbonzakura High`s volleyball team. After that, Ushijima and Oikawa shake hands and Oikawa announces that he will win. However, in the end, Aobajohsai can’t stop Ushijima’s powerful spikes and Shiratorizawa wins. After Shiratorizawa wins, Kenma and the Senbonzakura High`s volleyball team offer to take Shiratorizawa out to dinner which they accept. Aobajohsai sees them leaving, with Mordred being the last person to look at them sadly before walking away head dropped much to the confusion of his team.

### **Tokyo Expedition Arc**

Hinata and Kageyama are leaving Yachi’s complex after a study session when Kageyama notices that it was close to Shiratorizawa Academy. In the anime, this event is changed to Hinata and Kageyama getting lost after racing each other. Hinata asks him if he was referring to the school with “Ushiwaka” in it, only to hear two voices behind them arguing with one another. The two turn around to see Kenma and Ushijima themselves, with the rest of Senbonzakura`s volleyball team jogging behind them, casually ignoring the fact that they left the rest of Shiratorizawa`s volleyball team behind them.