translated by carmellions1 on twitter

Nekoma

• kenma: "A character I'd made pretty early on. It was fun to draw him since he has a different/alien sort of presence."
• Kuroo: "Another character that I created early on, but it wasn't until 30 volumes later when I drew his childhood that I thought, 'Oh, he's this kind of guy'."
• Yaku: "If you ask him for advice, he'll give you a bit of an iffy, off-the-mark answer and then at the very end recommend working out."
• Lev: "With his desire to stand out he'll keep on making progress and in the future probably show up in a Hollywood movie."
• Taketora: "At first I wrote him to be same as Tanaka, but then he gradually became different."
• Kai: "I drew him thinking of 'the kind of person who looks like they would emit negative ions.''(apparently negative ions are good for the human body???)
• Fukunaga: "He looks like he could be a mangaka for gag/comedy manga...."
• Inuoka: "Went from being a middle blocker to an opposite who can also do defense. He's the guy who's always one step ahead of Hinata."
• Shibayama:"The type of guy who always considers other people's feelings a little more than necessary."

Q: Which character did you have the most fun drawing? A: Kozume. Because he's the character who has the least amount of passion for volleyball. (there aren't any others like him)

Q: After Kuroo and the other two senpais graduated, did a lady manager join? A: I think someone said they saw the spring tournament and joined. (next to this is a little drawing of Tora blushing)

Q: Which character was the hardest to come up with a post-graduation career for? A: Yamamoto. I couldn't decide on whether he'd continue playing volleyball. I looked over the Sarukawa match again and thought, 'Oh, he probably would.'

origins of each of their names:

• Kenma: so he can be someone who is always refining his skill
• Kuroo: so he can be both a strong and cheerful person
• Yaku: so he can always protect the things precious to him
• Tora: so he can be a courageous person. his grandfather named him
• Inuoka: so he can be someone who acts for the benefit of others
• Lev: so he can be a strong person
• Kai: taking one character from his father
• Fukunaga: taking one character from his grandfather
• Shibayama: to live kindly
• Teshiro: taking one character from his grandfather's name

Fukurodani

• bokuto: "Probably the one and only character in Haikyuu who isn't influenced by Hinata."
• akaashi: "Initially, I wrote him as the 'straight man' foil for Bokuto, but he's also someone who needs a 'straight man' himself."(referring to the roles of boke (fool/funny man) and tsukkomi (straight man) in manzai, traditional Japanese comedy)
• Konoha: "With him, he's the type of guy where it's hard to pick up on how good he really is, but is well-liked by other people."

Q: Which character did you have the most fun drawing? A: Bokuto. Because his range is amazing.7:30 AM · Nov 5, 2020·Twitter Web App

Q: Since it's called the 'Fukurodani Academy Group', are the training camps led by Fukurodani? A: Yes, they are. It started in 1982 when they had a training camp with Shinzen High School. Afterwards, Nekoma and Ubugawa joined in.

Q: Which character did you have a hard time coming up with a post-graduation career for? A: None of them, really.

origins of each of their names:

• Bokuto: so he can be someone who lights up his surroundings
• Akaashi: got one kanji each from his mother & father
• Konoha: got one kanji each from his mother & father
• Washio: got one kanji from his grandfather
• Sarukui: so he can be someone calm
• Komi: so he can be someone lively and active
• Onaga: so he can be someone who interacts with many people

Inarizaki

• atsumu: "When he first appeared, I didn't think of him as a twin. At first, I created him to be a mysterious character. But nope, it was impossible."
• osamu: "The moment he started talking about food, I settled on that being the thing for him."
• kita: "He's probably the character the furthest from me. Maybe it's because he's the complete opposite of me, but he was actually really easy to draw."
• suna: "Originally from Aichi Prefecture. He came to Inarizaki after being scouted.
• aran: "Probably the type of person who can't leave people alone when they're in trouble. I really hope he doesn't fall for any scams."
• resiki: "The man who will keep being mentally achey and sore then at the end become mentally buff and macho."
• sore as in written as muscle soreness/pain lol

Q: Which character did you have the most fun drawing? A: Atsumu. 'Cause he's like an animal.

Q: Did you have someone supervise you on Inarizaki's kansai-ben? A: Inarizaki is based on Amazaki, so for the character's conversations the two of us downtown racked our brains and came up with it. Sometimes Miyazawa Daisuke-san or Tokui Yoshimi-san would come in and the dialect would become more Kyoto-like. I think someone from the editing department who's from Kansai region looked over it for us, but we never got corrected, so I got more confident. (im assuming 'the two of us downtown' is Furudate and their editor)

Q: Which character did you have a hard time coming up with a post-graduation career for? A: Suna. Because both continuing to play volleyball and quitting it completely seemed totally possible for him.

origins of each character's names:

• atsumu: so he can be someone who helps other people
• osamu: same as above
• gin: so he can be blessed with good people around him
• aran: so he can be someone cheerful and merry
• akagi: so he can live an open life
• riseki: so he can live peacefully
• suna: so that he can go down the right path
• oomimi: so he can be someone who trains and polishes
• kita: got one kanji from his grandfather

Kamomedai

• Hoshiumi: "At first, I was worried and thought, 'Can I make this person look cool?' but in the end I think I was able to."
• Hirugami: "The scene where he scrapes up his knuckles is something that, my senpai's senpai back when I worked in a company did during his student days."
• Gao: "A person who is very blessed. Not just in his physique, but also in the people around him."
• Bessho: "To be a regular as a first-year at Kamomedai, who boast the strongest blocks, is pretty incredible."

Q: Which character was the most fun to draw? A: Hirugami. Because he doesn't hesitate.

Q: Were you thinking about seagulls when you came up with Kamomedai's uniform colours? A: YES. (this is written in big, bold letters loool)

Q: Which character did you have a hard time coming up with a post-graduation career for? A: I didn't have a hard time with any of them, really.

origin of the characters' names:

• Hoshiumi: so he can become someone who shines
• Hirugami: so he can be happy
• Gao: so he can be someone energetic
• Besho: one kanji each from his parents
• Suwa: one kanji from his grandfather's name
• Nozawa: so he can go down his own path
• Kanbayashi: so he can become a big person

Itachiyama

• SAKUSA: "I was visualizing 'a strong player', and that became the final version of him."
• Komori: "Up until and through middle school, he was an opposite who was also good at defense. But being with Sakusa, he thought, 'I can't beat him overall' so he thought, I'll beat him in defense and switched to being a libero."

Q: Is there some kind of reason for Sakusa's extreme obsession with cleanliness? A: Actually, I don't think it's that extreme. I think it just stands out because he says, 'I hate this' out loud or it shows on his face.

Q: Had you already decided on Sakusa's playstyle from when 'Japan's Top 3 Aces' first came up? Please tell us the reason you didn't mention it up until the V-League Arc. A: I hadn't thought up of it yet. Because at the spring tournament, Karasuno lost before we could fight him.

origins of the character's names:

• Sakusa: one kanji each from his parents' names
• Komori: so he can always have the heart of a beginner

Mujinazaka

• Kiryuu: "His self-esteem/self-evaluation is low, similar to Akaashi. He is a spiker who gives his all."
• Usuri: "A lively but also dark guy."
• Mami: "I'm still alive today, so I'm lucky!"

Kanoha "At first glance she looks quite sensitive, but she's the type who can reset after eating well and sleeping well."

Nicollas Romero

• Stats:
• Serve: 10
• Serve reception: 10
• Dig: 9
• Setting: 8
• Spike: 9
• Block: 9

Holy shit Romero, 55/60??