Tōru Oikawa

* Pre-timeskip
* Post-timeskip

## Image gallery

**Tōru Oikawa** (Japanese: **及川 徹** *Oikawa Tōru*) was a third-year student at Aoba Johsai High, serving as the captain and setter for the school's Boys' Volleyball Team. He is currently a professional volleyball player and plays as setter for the Club Atlético San Juan. After obtaining Argentinian citizenship, he became the starting setter for the Argentina National team.

## Appearance

Oikawa has dark brown hair that is swept outwards and eyes of the corresponding colour. Many people find him attractive, to the point where several girls follow him around. Oikawa frequently smiles or grins, although Iwaizumi notes that these expressions are rarely genuine. He tends to make victory signs or large waving gestures, which are often accompanied by broad smiles or a wink. Another trademark expression of his is sticking out his tongue while smiling and winking. He is of decent height for a volleyball player, standing at 184cm. While on the court, Oikawa used to wear the standard aqua and white Aoba Johsai High uniform emblazoned with the number one. He also wears dark gray athletic shoes with blue details. He wears a white kneepad on his right leg, contrasting with the black one worn on his left and by the other players in the series. At other times, Oikawa dressed in the Aoba Johsai uniform, which consists of khakis with dark brown detailing, a cream-coloured vest, a dark red tie, a lavender button-down shirt, and a white blazer. During practices, he wears an aqua shirt and white shorts. During the finals match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, Oikawa is shown to wear glasses but it's unknown if he truly needs them or not.

Currently, Oikawa appears mostly the same although his hair is noticeably shorter and he has developed a slightly more muscular build.

## Personality

Despite his flirtatious nature (which makes him famous amongst female students, much to Tanaka and Nishinoya's envy) and childishness, Oikawa is an excellent, well-rounded player and is extremely serious about volleyball. He's known to have a "disgusting personality" amongst both opponents and his own teammates because of his smug and outwardly flippant attitude. Oikawa also frequently makes cheerful remarks but follows up with serious or intimidating afterthoughts. He is extremely intelligent and cunning and easily figures out both his teammates' and opponents' weaknesses.

However, on more than one occasion, Oikawa has been very attentive and caring towards others, but this is mostly seen with his teammates or people like Hinata while in Brazil.

Oikawa is ambitious and one-track-minded, but it's shown that he also has feelings of inferiority towards those he deems as naturally better than him, such as Ushijima and Kageyama. This is one of the main reasons he is known to push himself so hard. Oikawa also holds a grudge against Kageyama, whom he mockingly calls Tobio-*chan*. This is due to his feelings of inferiority surfacing when compared to Kageyama, who has been hailed as a genius setter since their time spent at Kitagawa Daiichi. Kageyama and Ushijima can also unintentionally bring out the more childish or rash aspects of Oikawa's personality.

To match his ambition, Oikawa works extremely hard and often endures vigorous solo practices after his normal practices with the team. In addition, Oikawa spends time at home watching past games of his rivals in order to observe their movements and patterns ahead of time, and strategising how to defeat them. Despite that, he still takes time off on Mondays for rest.

## Background

Since childhood, Oikawa is shown to have been heavily involved in volleyball. He was occasionally shown watching matches on television or playing the sport with Iwaizumi when they were still kids. When he was a little older, Oikawa and Iwaizumi attended a match between Japan and Argentina where Oikawa would become inspired to become a setter after seeing how the Argentina setter, Jose Blanco, was able to help the ace player get back on his game when he had started struggling during the match.

After this interaction, Oikawa is seen investing himself more into volleyball and appears to have been trying jump serves since he was young. Because of the time he put into his abilities, Oikawa was said to have been a highly skilled player by the time he began attending Kitagawa Daiichi. However, Oikawa began to struggle when his team began playing against Shiratorizawa Junior High and it was in particular playing against Ushijima that caused Oikawa distress and the start of his rivalry with the Shiratorizawa ace.

This only became worse when Tobio Kageyama began attending Kitagawa Daiichi and almost instantly started to gain more attention than Oikawa thanks to his higher skill set, natural athletic abilities, and being labeled as a prodigy at such a young age. Aware that Kageyama could potentially surpass him, Oikawa began behaving poorly toward the younger setter and constantly refused to teach him any new skills. After nearly striking Kageyama in a blind rage, Oikawa was able to get back on track thanks to help from Iwaizumi. This led to him being able to better focus his plays to bring out the best of each of his teammates and was eventually able to help Kitagawa Daiichi place second in the middle school tournament after Shiratorizawa. At the same time, Oikawa received the Best Setter Award and soon after would join Aoba Johsai.

## Statistics

 Stamina
 Game Sense
 Technique
 Speed

He is most feared for his powerful and accurate jump serve, which he has honed and perfected from a young age. He can maintain a calm and cool composure during any match, no matter how tense it is. Despite not being considered a "genius" by mainly his coach and himself, Oikawa is a stunning player and one of the best all-around players in the prefecture.

Oikawa's talent lies in his natural athletic ability, his skill to make full use of his teammates, finding weaknesses in the opposing teams, sharp aims, and powerful serves. Within a short span of time on the court, he was able to point out that Tsukishima and Hinata were weak at receiving, and break Kageyama and Hinata's god-like quick. This, however, is not without years of dedication and practices. His talent is widely recognised and is even acknowledged by Ushijima from Shiratorizawa Academy, who states that Oikawa's talent lies in his ability to draw the full potential out of any team.

**Jumping Reach:** 335 cm

### Skills

 Setting
 Spike
 Technique
 Block

* **Jump Serve**: Oikawa is renowned and feared for his powerful and accurate jump-serve; a technique he had seen on television and thought was amazing, so he worked hard since junior high to master the technique. He serves with pinpoint accuracy, often strategically targeting a member of the opposing team, a gap between two players, or using a different scheme to win a service ace. It is very difficult to return, but several players have managed to get the ball up. Because of the strain the jump-serve has on Oikawa's focus, his coach allows him to take time-outs and breaks alone to regain the concentration necessary to successfully execute them by focusing on the aspects that are easy to fumble. During the Spring High Tournament, it seems Oikawa's jump serve has evolved. According to Daichi, his serves can become so powerful that it can look like a spike. According to Coach Ukai, he seems to be putting more emphasis on power than control. It is shown, like when playing beach volleyball with Hinata in Brazil, that he is able to do a jump floater as well, though how he refined it is unknown.

* **Observant Perception**: Both in-game and in daily life, Oikawa has a good sense of his surroundings and can effortlessly read others' moves and emotions. Because of this, he was able to pick up almost immediately on Kageyama and Hinata's strategy behind their god-like quick when they previously used code words. He is also quick to pick-up if certain players on his team are being targeted.

* **Natural Talent as a Setter**: Oikawa's tosses are made so that they are easiest for his teammates to hit as he knows that each hitter tends to have a different way they need a set in order to hit at their best. After each toss, he immediately asks how they can be improved afterward. Oikawa's abilities as a setter are so great that he is said to draw out the maximum potential of whatever team he is on since he is able to draw out 100% of the potential of any individual player, being fully capable of changing the way he tosses to and uses his spikers according to where those spikers' biggest strengths lie and adjusting his playing style to them. Even if he has never played with a team or player before, it is said by Kageyama that the way Oikawa sets for and plays with them makes it looks like he has been playing with them for years.

* **Setter Dump**: He is also shown to be talented at performing dumps at the most unexpected times. This is a method that he does not often use and therefore surprises opponents when he does it.

## Trivia

* Favorite Food: Milk Bread (Japanese:  *Gyūnyū Pan*).
* Pre-Timeskip Concern: When Oikawa tried to talk to Karasuno’s manager, Kiyoko, he was utterly ignored.
	+ “But she must just have been shy, and it’s not like he’s all that bothered by it, not even a little bit, not at all,” he said to himself.
* Post-Timeskip Concern: He is mistaken as a minor.
* Star Sign: Cancer.
* Oikawa’s nephew’s name is Takeru, the son of his older sister.
* In his free time, he accompanies and helps his nephew and other children at *Lil’ Tykes Volleyball Classroom*.
* In official English media, Crunchyroll (anime) has his name written as ‘Oikawa Toru’ and VIZ Media (manga) has his name written as ‘Tohru Oikawa’.
* He had a girlfriend who broke up with him.
* Oikawa uses an Android phone.
* Oikawa has been nicknamed the “Great King” (Japanese: **さま** *Daiō-sama*) and “Oikawa the Great” by Shōyō Hinata and “Assikawa,” “Trashykawa,” and “Shittykawa” (Japanese:  *Kusokawa*) by Iwaizumi.
* In Haikyuu’s first popularity poll, Oikawa ranked 5th with 5,050 votes. In the second popularity poll, he still ranked 5th with 7,410 votes. In the Takara Tomy Character Poll, he ranked 5th with 28,993 votes.
* Oikawa’s favorite quote is: “*If you’re going to hit it, hit it until it breaks.*”
* In the 10th Anniversary Chronicle book, it is revealed that Oikawa’s character was thought of by Furudate and his editor to make the series more popular by having a “hot guy” (Japanese:  *ikemen*) in it.
* Oikawa’s birthday, July 20th, is thought to be a reference to Alexander the Great, who shares the same birthday and is also commonly referred to as “the Great King”.
* He is the second oldest third-year on the team, after Hajime Iwaizumi.
* While many fans believe that Oikawa suffered a knee injury prior to the practice match against Karasuno due to him wearing a white kneepad or a knee brace, it was never stated to be a knee injury.
* When combined, Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s first names (Hajime and Tōru respectively) form the word meaning “obstinate” or “dauntless” (Japanese:  *ittetsu*).
* As implied in the Seijoh extra, Iwaizumi and Oikawa do part ways after high school. They finally get the chance to fulfill their promise at the 2021 Olympics, with Iwaizumi being the athletic trainer for Japan and Oikawa as the Argentina national team. It is implied in Chapter 395 that they are both still in contact.
* Oikawa’s number on the Argentina Olympic team, 13, is the same number Jose Blanco wore when they first met.
* During a flashback, it’s shown that Oikawa has planned to go overseas as early as the Spring Tournament Qualifiers.
* To date, Oikawa is the only known member of Club Athletico San Juan (cláb at-lé-ti-co san hwán).
* **Nomenclature**:
	+ Tōru (徹) - *To Go Through*
	+ Oikawa (及川) - *Reaching the River*