HAIKYU!! 

A Deep Dive on Intrinsic Motivation

By Olivia Hu &  Pratyush Mundra, Contributors

In entertainment and television, few series create ripples beyond the world of film and a few minutes of their viewers’ time. But Haikyu!!, a sports anime about high school volleyball, sent crashing waves through its local Japanese and global audiences. The show’s first few seasons spurred a 20% increase in volleyball club participation in Japanese high schools, and many volleyball players cite Haikyu!! as their initial inspiration to try the sport.

We’re led to wonder, then, what exactly is it about this show that hooks its viewers and motivates them to the point of making tangible, long-term lifestyle changes? 

To start, some context on the show: Haikyu!! is based on the Japanese shonen manga series of the same title written by Haruichi Furudate. The show follows the growth of protagonist Shoyo Hinata and deuteragonist Tobio Kageyama as they join their Karasuno high school’s volleyball team. The storyline delves into characters’ individual backstories, team dynamics, and interactions with other school teams, all encompassed in a dramatic account of Karasuno’s journey to the national stage. 

The first two seasons, however, focus on Karasuno’s rivalry with Aoba Johsai, a nearby private school. Aoba Johsai, nicknamed Seijoh, or Blue Castle, is led by their highly-skilled setter, Tooru Oikawa. As viewers, we delve into Oikawa’s backstory and the history between him and Kageyama, which feeds into the intense rivalry between the two school teams. As competition ramps up and matches accumulate between Karasuno and Seijoh, viewers learn to sympathize with both teams, feeling each victory and loss as we would our own. We root for each character and grow deeply invested in their progress, and that attachment, along with the show’s detailed and realistic depiction of volleyball as a sport, is likely what motivates many viewers to step onto the court in real life. 

Throughout the plot, author Furudate flaunts his ability to extrapolate each character’s unique backstory and personal motivations, then smoothly incorporate their perspective into the team dynamic. We could probably write a whole book filled with analyses on each of the players, coaches, and overall teams, but for the sake of both your and our time, we’ll narrow our focus to two of the series’ most influential characters (and fan favorites): Tobio Kageyama and Tooru Oikawa. Specifically, how does each characters’ mental state and competitive environment contribute to their intrinsic motivation, and ultimately, their performance on the court?

Relevant Psychological Theories

Before we dive into character analyses, we should go over a few psychological concepts to frame our discussion. We focus mainly on self determinism theory (SDT), which describes the intertwined impact of internal and external factors on intrinsic motivation, focusing specifically on how self-efficacy correlates with motivation and ultimately produces self-actualization (Frederick-Recascino and Schuster-Smith). The theory cites three basic psychological needs: autonomy (our desire to be conscious and intentional in our actions), competence (our ability to control outcomes through mastery of a skill), and relatedness (our desire to interact with and feel understood by others) (Frederick-Recascino and Schuster-Smith). The fulfillment of these needs induces positive motion, while deprivation reduces motivation. 

A relevant subtheory of SDT is cognitive evaluation theory (CET), which focuses on the impact of external factors on intrinsic motivation (Frederick-Recascino and Schuster-Smith). Essentially, positive and negative outcomes of performance create a feedback loop with motivation. This is especially pertinent in the context of competition and sports, as athletes’ performance is largely gauged from their tangible results in-game. 

Beyond his reputation as a highly-skilled setter, Kageyama, in reality, is an aloof and scowl-faced perfectionist who struggles with social interaction. Kageyama’s background highlights his high expectations and aggressive demands for his teammates. Kitagawa Daiichi gradually lost trust in Kageyama and refused to play with him. He earned the nickname “King of the Court” during his time at Kitagawa Daiichi, not because of his noteworthy abilities, but more so because of his commanding presence and arrogance. However, his standoffish exterior overshadows a more subdued mental state. 

Kageyama displays consistent struggles with reciprocal social interactions. Whether it’s using an appropriate tone while communicating, respecting his seniors, or understanding humor; Kageyama struggles to adapt his blunt and straightforward manner of speaking. He seems to be socially disinterested, even around his teammates. This has non-negligible effects on team collaboration, as he struggles with relating and effectively communicating with the team. We can see how Kageyama prioritizes orderliness in his strict adherence to regulations and his precisely calculated sets, but this behavior ends up alienating his fellow teammates. His high standards and perfectionist habits like obsessively filing nails before important matches could be seen as obsessive-compulsive tendencies, however, he does find meaning and enjoyment in them. 

He immerses himself in hyper focused volleyball and fixates on precision. Competitiveness is seen to make him indifferent to other things which he might consider trivial, such as studies, social interactions, and humor. His lack of respect for his seniors could stem from his past environment or how much he values competence over respecting his teammates as well. Regardless, it’s clear that some part of his mental state affects his social perception, yet it also enables him to focus on subtler aspects of volleyball.

In the aftermath of Karasuno’s loss to Aoba Johsai in Season 1, Kageyama is shown to be in a state of emotional distress and disappointment. This was heavy on Kageyama’s ego and motivation, causing him to question his competence as a player and the effectiveness of his approach to the team game. He soon recognizes the crucial importance of collaboration and decides to work on teamwork. While Kageyama has been insecure about interacting much with teammates due to his experience of abandonment by his past teammates, Karasuno provides him with an open and accepting atmosphere. 

An important positive influence is Karasuno’s senior setter Sugawara, who serves as a mentor and role model for Kageyama when it comes to interpersonal skills. Sugawara’s supportive and kind demeanor indirectly influences Kageyama’s understanding of teamwork. He learns how to cooperate for the sake of the team, and fights against his commanding tendencies from the past. This leads to an improvement in communication, teamwork, and overall game since on top of his individual ambitions, Kageyama is now appreciated and respected by the team for his sincere team efforts. Such a combination of competition and cooperation is shown to have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and better performance (Tauer and Harackiewicz). Consequently, in Season 2, Karasuno emerges victorious against Aoba Johsai. As Kageyama celebrates with his teammates, Oikawa notices the difference in his demeanor and his newfound appreciation for his teammates, acknowledging that he is no longer a lonely “King”. Their rivalry is strengthened, leading them both to gain increased motivation toward further refinement.

Kageyama’s ambitious pursuit of perfection in his setting skills and relentless competitive nature are what propels the majority of his actions. Natural talent, continual career progress, and a competitive environment full of worthy rivals like Hinata and Oikawa fuel his motivation. Oikawa’s presence constantly reminds Kageyama of the gap between them, which keeps Kageyama determined to prove himself as a better and more capable player. As a result, Kageyama trains relentlessly until there’s little to no room for error. He inherently has high standards for individual skill, which explain his perceived intolerance towards his teammates’ performance. We can use SDT to further break down Kageyama’s high intrinsic motivation. Recall the three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We can see how Kageyama’s constant desire to perfect his skills (competence) and to direct the flow of the court (autonomy) affects his relationship with others (relatedness). 

Kageyama’s intense need for autonomy and competence defines his “King of the court” play style. His tendency to maintain a high level of control over his actions overflows to his environment; he feels the need to control every decision on the court. His sense of autonomy suffered in the past when Kitagawa Daiichi began ostracizing him due to his overbearing team expectations. However, his oppressive perfectionism and tendency to rule the court is softened by his teammates in Karasuno, as they remind him to be conscious of his own actions instead of abandoning him. Kageyama’s competence is recognized by the competitive high school volleyball environment. His high ambitions and pursuit of excellence and mastery in his setting skills set him up for fame, he is later shown to be invited to join the All-Japan Youth Camp (Haiyku!!). Finally, Kageyama faces challenges with social interactions due to his mental state and the past environment of his team distancing him from a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Despite this, Karasuno helps him gain a sense of relatedness to the team, opening up novel avenues for improvement while bolstering his intrinsic motivation. 

Though Oikawa is regarded as a seamlessly efficient and polished player, his backstory reveals a long history of grit and defeat that shaped his current self. It’s clear that Oikawa is highly motivated, so it’s particularly interesting to analyze the external and internal sources of his motivation in the context of SDT and CET. 

Oikawa’s core mantra is that “Talent is something you bloom, instinct is something you polish” (Haikyu!!). This statement, though it’s not clear at first, reveals a highly competitive spirit that predominantly drives his actions. In the past, Oikawa and Kageyama actually played on the same team at their middle school, Kitagawa Daiichi. Though Kageyama was two years his junior, Oikawa felt threatened by Kageyama’s raw talent and intuition for the sport, which made him an extremely mature player despite his youth. Oikawa had grown used to being the team’s best player, yet here was this first year, undermining everything Oikawa had worked for with unpolished yet undeniable raw talent. When Kageyama earned a spot on the regular roster and even replaced Oikawa once on the court, Oikawa’s sense of competition devolved into a spiteful jealousy for the young and enthusiastic setter. Thus heralded Oikawa’s undivided focus on relentless practice; he figured that even if he didn’t have Kageyama’s unmatched talent as a setter, he’d polish his reflexes, game analysis, and setting skills to remain irrefutably at the top. 

And this works. Oikawa is “the Great King,” riding on the waves of past achievements and peers’ praise as he sails towards future victories. Regarding his behavior with CET, the positive feedback loop is clear: positive outcomes engender positive motivation, and Oikawa revels in repeated achievements that only increase his hunger for more. Oikawa’s sense of competition and his performance feedback are environmental factors that feed externally into his motivation. Though these factors are effective, an imbalance towards extrinsic motivators can ultimately lead to a decrease in intrinsic motivation, because one’s sense of control is placed on variable outside factors rather than their own capabilities (Frederick-Recascino and Schuster-Smith). Yet it’s clear that Oikawa’s sense of motivation goes deeper than that; his drive to play volleyball is innate and intrinsically motivated. So let’s return to the three psychological needs outlined in SDT to unpack Oikawa’s intrinsic motivation.

First, autonomy. Oikawa clearly desires autonomy, or the ability to self-determine one’s decisions, actions, and future path. Oikawa is intent on leading his team to nationals, and he sees himself as a key player in the realization of his dream. But even his everyday actions reveal Oikawa’s high level of autonomy: he controls the room with his easy-going charm and extroverted nature, and he dedicates himself to an intense training regimen because he knows that practice and experience allow him to shape the outcome of future matches. The one factor that detracts from his sense of autonomy is the intense competition he feels with Kageyama; when he compares himself with Kageyama and evaluates his performance with an external measuring stick, Oikawa decreases his own sense of self-efficacy. 

However, he makes up for this depravity in his competence. Oikawa is more than competent in his game play; he is able to manipulate not only the ball, but his teammates’ abilities as he pleases. Oikawa’s competence is further demonstrated in his jump serve, which he learned to hit consistently, powerfully, and accurately, which few high school players are able to achieve. He wields his serve as a powerful weapon, and Oikawa is thus even able to control his opponents’ actions and decisions with the first strike of the ball. Oikawa’s competence in the sport then feeds into his sense of autonomy, which ultimately increases his intrinsic motivation.

The third psychological need is relatedness, or one’s sense of connection and belonging. Oikawa achieves this through his teammates and strong team dynamic. As mentioned, Oikawa is extremely good at leveraging his teammates’ skills and preferences so that each player can perform to the best of his ability. The melding of their skills and the fluidity of their team plays is all built on a foundation of trust: Oikawa’s teammates trust his ability to set up good balls, create tactful strategies, and lead them as a team. In return, Oikawa trusts that his teammates will perform consistently and measure up to his expectations as he utilizes their talents. Each member feels connected, understood, and cared for as they compete together, which is intrinsically fulfilling and empowering. Aoba Johsai’s ability to perform as a single unit, one cohesive team, completes Oikawa’s desire for autonomy and competence, so that ultimately the three psychological needs build the fortress of Oikawa’s intrinsic motivation.

Oikawa’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivation also generate resulting action, which affects his performance in game. Oikawa’s sense of competition, his excellent performance, his ability to control the court, and his strong team dynamic are the core building blocks that structure his motivation. And the results are clear: he follows a religiously strict practice regimen, practicing late into the night; he performs consistently on the court; and he has built one of the most stable, cohesive teams in their prefecture. Beyond high school, he goes on to play volleyball professionally, setting for the Club Atlético San Juan in Argentina (Haiyku!!). Even though he is never able to lead Aoba Johsai to nationals or beat his biggest rivals in high school volleyball, Oikawa never loses his passion for the sport, as some are vulnerable to doing when they rely too heavily on extrinsic motivators. While external factors do play a role in Oikawa’s motivation, the true strength of his diligent perseverance lies in his intrinsic motivators. Oikawa has nurtured an incredibly steady sense of confidence and self-efficacy, so that regardless of wins or losses, his intrinsic motivation to play volleyball endures.

Concluding Thoughts
Overall, through the psychological lens of SDT and CET, we see how different mental states and environments contribute to Kageyama’s and Oikawa’s intrinsic motivation and performance. We are reminded of the immense weight that the three psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness carry for one’s driving forces in life. The nuanced interplay among the needs lead to intriguing character motivations. Kageyama ensures a tight grasp on competence and autonomy while seeking relatedness to improve himself and feel more complete. On the other hand, Oikawa garners a strong sense of relatedness and competence, but can struggle with autonomy as he loses himself in competition with Kageyama.

Both characters teach valuable lessons on how the presence of competitive yet nurturing environments and relatively advantageous mental states effectively augment intrinsic motivation, inspiring one to further advance and persistently surpass their own limitations.