Takeru Matsumoto

* Pre-timeskip
* Post-timeskip

## Image gallery

**Takeru Matsumoto** (Japanese: **松本猛** *Matsumoto Takeru*) is a second-year student from Kumazawa Academy. After the 2014 Spring High Tournament, he became the new first team captain.

## Appearance

Matsumoto is the tallest member of Kumazawa towering over 2m. He is exceptionally muscular for a high school student, giving him an overwhelming aura, which some say is like the intensity of a wild animal. He has dark red hair with black tints and red narrow eyes. His eyebrows are quite thick and split in two which his teammates tend to poke fun at.

## Personality

Matsumoto has a laid-back yet scheming personality and is considered a "provocation expert" by many, in a manner extremely similar to Tetsurō Kuroo. He likes to actively provoke others and is unrelenting when dishing out snide remarks. However, Matsumoto is much kinder and more genuine than what his exterior image conveys. When realising he has overstepped a line towards his Captain or Vice-Captain, he actively seeks out and apologises to them about the provocation. Despite being known as a "provocation expert," sportsmanship is still important to him. He also cares and respects his coach, Vladim Morozov, immensely. Despite seeming sly and cool on the outside, Matsumoto possesses a silly side that is on display when he belts out in loud obnoxious laughter and engages in frivolous conversation with Hara, often teasing him for his dark personality.

Matsumoto is also shown to be a highly observant and intuitive person when it comes to both volleyball and other people. In matches, he is quick to track down and analyse every move of the opposing spikers, allowing him to put up a successful block and destroy the momentum of the opposing team. Around his teammates, Matsumoto is an incredibly reliable and he derives enjoyment from facing strong opponents and hides his frustration with sharp smirks and boisterous remarks, all the while scheming strategies to break down the opposing team.

## Statistics

* 2nd Year
* Currently

 Stamina
 Game Sense
 Technique
 Speed

 Stamina
 Game Sense
 Technique
 Speed

Matsumoto is a notorious middle blocker, nicknamed "The Mountain" in the spring tournament. Being consider the cornerstone of Kumazawa's blocking game. He has never been baited by a decoy in his high school career and is said to be the best read blocker in Japan. He possesses fine-tuned techniques and excels at pressuring his opponents.

**Standing Reach:**

* **2nd Year**: 272 cm
* **3rd Year**: 278 cm

**Jumping Reach:**

* **2nd Year**: 357 cm
* **3rd Year**: 362 cm

**Blocking Reach:**

* **2nd Year**: 348 cm
* **3rd Year**: 353 cm

### Skills

* **Masterful Blocking**: Matsumoto is one of the most skilled read blockers in Japan and was a top 5 Middle Blocker in junior high. His expertise is so vast that he was able to catch Karasuno's minus tempo quick attack in an instant, surprising the whole opposing team as it was his first time seeing it. Matsumoto observes each play that is happening in front of him and narrows down those unable to join in the attack and moves in to block on his own will. He has a firm grasp of the nuances, such as proper posture, timing, and jumps when blocking and also uses his blocks to help make receives easier for his team to handle by narrowing or blocking a path a spiker should take.

* **Court Awareness**: Matsumoto is very observant of what is taking place on the court and pays close attention to his opponents. From this, he is able to determine what a spiker and/or setter may be attempting and stop them. This is most evident when he sees the spiker glancing to where he hopes to spike the ball and is thus able to shut him down instantly. He also uses his great court awareness to tell decoy attempts apart.

* **Reflexes**: Matsumoto possesses incredible reflexes as a result from having complete control over his body. He is able to move his arms in an instant when he sees where a spiker is planning to spike.

* **Delayed Spike**: It is one of Mutsumoto and Hara's strongest attacks which is used to throw off the opposing blockers when Matsumoto appears like he is running for a normal attack but pauses momentarily and then jumping when the blockers have already jump to block. This allows Matsumoto to spike without fear of being blocked. Furthermore, due to his left-handedness, Matsumoto's spikes have a different spin making his spikes more difficult to receive.

* **Jump Serve**: Matsumoto knows how to do a jump floater serve which slowly floats and suddenly travels fast. It is said to be difficult to receive.

* **Receives**: Matsumoto is very reliable when it comes to defense. Like the rest of Kumazawa, he is solid in receiving opponents spikes and is also able to make a capable receive of other float serves with an underhand receive.
* **Post-Timeskip Skill Parameter:**

 Setting
 Spike
 Technique
 Block

## Etymology

* His given name, **Takeru** (**猛** means "fierce".
* Takeru's surname **Matsumoto** (**五十嵐**) means "pine tree, fir tree" (松) (**matsu**) and "base, root, origin, source" (本) (**moto**)

## Trivia

* He is the cousin of MSBY Black Jackals captain, Shūgo Meian.