What You Didn't Know About Haikyuu!!'s Creator

Of course, Furudate is a volleyball lover and a former player. He belonged to his school's volleyball club in junior high and high school — and prioritized the sport over academics. "When I was in high school, I just loved playing volleyball, so I went to school just for club activities," the author said in Volleyball magazine. "I started drawing because I wanted to play volleyball." Furudate said that as a student, he was a fan of Chukyo University director Shigeru Aoyama, and as of 2014, his favorite players included Yuta Yoneyama and higher school libero player Taichi Kawaguchi from Seijo High School. 

Who else but a true fan could render the sport with such minute accuracy, in a way that makes it interesting and easy to understand for anime fans who haven't necessarily seen it played? "The hard part is the explanation of the rules and play. I think the majority of jump readers aren't originally interested in volleyball, so I'm always worried about incorporating it into the story without the readers thinking it's annoying to read," Furudate said. 

Of course, that doesn't mean the artist doesn't think his job can be absurd, at times. "I was watching a real-life V-League game while I was working when I caught myself thinking, 'Why am I going through all the trouble of drawing this volleyball game on paper? People can just go watch it themselves.' I was very confused," Furudate said in an author's note to Volume 44m (as posted to Twitter). Fans of "Haikyuu!!", though, are glad Furudate continues the work, no matter how confused he (or she! Or non-binary!) gets.