In The One They Call Ace, we are introduced to two new characters. The first of which is Nishinoya Yuu, the libero, a defence specialist. Nishinoya is much like Hinata as he is loud and quite in your face but he is also a great player who agrees to teach Hinata how to receive. However, he has been banned from club activities for the past month due to a heated argument with another of the team.
Hinata once again shows his special skill at uniting people are he becomes a friend to Nishinoya very quickly, he even says that Hinata is a good kid and with him and Kageyama on the team they are heading in the right direction but he can’t return to the team unless someone else does, and that brings us to the second character that was introduced in this episode, Azumane Asahi.
Asahi used to be the team’s ace but quit when he was completely shut down in a match as he lost all confidence in himself and his abilities. Asahi blamed himself for the loss of the match but it is easy to see that Nishinoya and Sugawara also blame themselves. It is up to Hinata and Kageyama who are rather persistent to get him back and while they haven’t achieved this yet, Hinata has reminded Asahi of how much he loves to play and thrill he gets from scoring especially after seeing Hinata and Kageyama practising after school.
We also get a side plot here with Takeda as he tries desperately to find a technical coach for the team in Ukai Kenshin, the grandson of the Great Coach Ukai but he constantly refuses as he doesn’t want to be a coach. However, when Takeda tells the team they will be taking part in the Golden Week training camp and that he managed to arrange a practice match with their old rivals; Nekoma High, he knows that Ukai won’t have a choice but to coach them.
So far in the series we have been introduced to all of the main characters for Karasuno and despite their practice match with Aoba Josei we haven’t really got into the meat of this season yet. My favourite character so far has to be Asahi as he is great player but constantly battles with doubt and anxiety which we don’t see much in other characters except Hinata’s nervous stomach, so it is nice to have a relatable character.
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