Eiji Kenzō

**"Show me your true colors!"**

## Character Information

### Epithet

KenjiKenzo-chan (Oikawa)
 Sport (Ichiro Kenzō)

### Also Known As

KenjiKenzo-chan (Oikawa)
 Sport (Ichiro Kenzō)

### Age

16 - 17 (High School 2nd Year)22 (Nov 2018)

### Height

185.2 cm (6' .29") - Nov 2012190 cm (6' 2.5") - Nov 2018

## Background Information

### Family

Ichiro Kenzō (Older brother)Unnamed parents

## Professional Status

### Occupation

High School Student (2nd Year) - 2012V.League Division 1 Player

### Teams

Itachiyama Academy (Former)Schweiden Adlers

## Seiyu Information

### Voice Actor

Nobuhiko Okamoto

**Eiji Kenzō** (Japanese: **研造 英二** *Kenzō* *Eiji*) was a middle blocker for Itachiyama Academy and a widely-recognized blocking expert by a lot. As of 2018, he's the middle blocker for the V-League Division 1 team, Schweiden Adlers, bearing the jersey number 8.

## Appearance

Eiji is a tall young man with a very athletic physique. He has a short and messy dark red hair and with mercury to golden eyes. When not in court, he sports a simple black tee with the Itachiyama Academy jacket tied around his waist.

## Personality

Eiji, at first glance, appears to be lazy and generally uninterested about his surroundings. He is usually seen with a very deadpanned expression that makes people question his enthusiasm and teamwork skills. In reality, he is very passionate about playing volleyball and always makes an effort to become better, merely hiding all of these aspects under a nonchalant guise. He is also quite observant and knowledgeable in the said sprt, and is pretty confident with his skills and the name and image he's built over his years of playing. However, he is not one to easily let his guard down, especially during games as he acknowledges each and every players' unique skills.

He usually brushes off any judging remarks about his team play skills with a simple remark that would oftentimes be treated as a sarcastic response.

## Background

Eiji has an older brother who's well-known in the basketball community, as such, he strived to take a different path of sports to be able to pry away from the constant comparisons his parents make about him and his older brother. He's grown to genuinely love and enjoy volleyball over time, describing his will to pursue the sport as no longer a simple way to evade judgments from his parents but something he passionately wants to excel at. He began to make a name for himself as a genius middle blocker since middle school and attended Itachiyama Academy after graduating.

He's managed to grow closer with his new teammates; especially Motoya as he is the most extroverted out of those from the volleyball team.

He seems to be quite popular all throughout his middle school and onwards to his high school, as many people always come to cheer for him during his matches and frequently stops by his class to hand him gifts and letters.

## Plot

### **Tokyo Expedition Arc**

Kuroo mentions him for the first time as one of the blocking experts Lev should learn from after the discussion with Hinata.

### **Spring High Preliminary Arc**

During the Tokyo Prefecture Spring Interhigh Qualifiers, Itachiyama defeats Nohebi Academy (25-18, 25-19) in the semifinals and advances to face Fukurōdani Academy in the next round. The match also ends with Itachiyama's victory, his teammate Sakusa scoring the final point. Itachiyama becomes the first representative of Tokyo, followed by Fukurōdani and Nekoma.

### **Tokyo Nationals Arc**

#### **Preparation for Nationals**

While Sakusa attends the All-Japan Youth Training Camp, Eiji spends his preparation days by idling by occasionally and performing one-man serves and blocks at the school gym. Motoya spots him practicing alone and calls out to him, ensuing a decent practice with him joining his spars. He accepts his offer as the two begin to train on a daily basis.

He further spends his days at the gym, where he coincidentally meets Kuroo, as the two begin a conversation, Eiji monologuing how Kuroo skillfully managed to make him easily let his guard down and convince him to make their conversation longer than he had initially planned. He began to enjoy his company until it was time for them to go home. As they go on their separate ways, he stares at Kuroo's back as he comments about making friends with the captain of an opposing team before walking away.

#### **Nationals**

On the first day of nationals, Itachiyama gathers in the stadium along with all the teams from the whole country. Eiji quietly stands by his captain's side as players begin to converse with each other. Since Itachiyama is the 1st seeded team, they are exempt from playing on the first day.

The following day, prior to playing a match, Eiji watches other team matches, eventually witnessing Kageyama and Hinata's minus-tempo broad attack against Inarizaki, and the following techniques that made them win the match. He remains straight-faced as he witnessed the freak quick, making people seated near him openly express their confusion about him. He internally expresses his admiration over the perfectly-executed technique.

Itachiyama wins all matches until finally reaching the quarter-finals. While in the middle of a match with Inubushi Higashi, their setter and captain, Tsukasa Iizuna, injures his foot and is forced to retreat from the game. While exiting the court, Eiji merely watches by the sides as Sakusa interrupts the crowd chatter.

## Statistics

 Stamina
 Game Sense
 Technique
 Speed

Eiji has been frequently described as a blocking expert not only by co-players but different team coaches as well. He possesses intimidation skills that effectively help him manipulate his opponents with the mere flick of his eyes, multiple characters describing his skills similar to that or Kuroo, as he is quite cheeky, but his nonchalance and quietness during games is what makes him more formidable as his toned down actions make it hard for both his opponents and the spectators to predict his moves. In addition to this, he is fine-tuned as an all-rounder as well, honing his skills since middle school not only in terms of blocking but setting and spiking as well.

## Trivia

* Favorite Food: Chocolate
* Current Concern: He's running out of black tees to wear
* He falls asleep at random moments.
* His nickname "Kenji" is derived from combining both his first and last name (*Ken*zōEi*ji*)
* He hates hot weather the most.
* He was born on a leap year, thus, he spends his birthday frequently on February 28th.
* **Nomenclature:**
	+ Eiji (英二) - *great second son*
	+ Kenzō (研造) - *polish, create*