Haikyuu!!: Tobio Kageyama (ENTJ)

Te:

“The setter is the team’s control tower. Plus, it’s the position that gets the most contact with the ball. It’s the greatest position there is because you get to be the ruler. Without a setter to toss the ball, there wouldn’t be any spikes for you to hit.”

“Only those who win get to stay in the court, only the strongest. So if you want to keep playing, you have to become stronger.”

“I’ll set to whoever I have to win. It’s just… I highly doubt that person is going to be you.”

“I hate your sets because it’s like you’re forcing people to play it your way instead of their own.” – Tsukishima

Kageyama from Haikyuu possesses the controlling and domineering nature of a Te dominant. He comes across as very intense, harsh, and demanding right from the start of the show. He has no issues calling out complete strangers, like Hinata, at the time, for things like a queasy stomach. He constantly yells at his teammates for not taking the game seriously, and is bound and determined to win. He’s blunt and abrasive, not hesitating in the least bit to tell someone what he believes to be the cold, hard truth. He also starts out the series with a bad reputation for refusing to adapt to other people. He is constantly called out for making impossible sets, and of course, gets incredibly angry whenever anyone doesn’t perform to his standard. In addition, he prefers the position of a setter, because he deems it the team’s “control tower”, which lines up with the controlling nature of a Te dominant. Of course, as any thinker, he keeps his emotions to himself, and rarely displays anything beyond anger or coldness. Lastly, he has the typical rigid and stiff posture of a high Te user.

Ni:

“Yeah, that’s cause you’re the same way! It’s all sound effects! You’re like ‘wamajam!’ and ‘kablooey!’ and stuff. You’re like a bunch of five year olds.” -Tanaka

“You have lightening fast reflects! You just need to give it more pow, more oomph!”

“It’s just a hunch.”

Kageyama is known for acting on instinct. When watching another teammate attempt to explain something, Tanaka explains that “People who act on instinct really suck at putting stuff into words.” Kageyama then declares that he can actually understand the guy, which Tanaka follows up by proclaiming that Kageyama is the exact same way. Of course, what Tanaka said was completely on point, explaining something that’s often misunderstood about Ni/Se. As many Ni/Se users, Kageyama can’t always produce words to explain something, and has this tendency to rely on demonstrations or sound effects, since he hasn’t internalized specific details like an Si user might. In addition, he struggles to learn from past mistakes, and repeatedly sends impossible sets, unable to get it into his head that no one can hit those. Lastly, going right along with the abstract way Ni users internalize data, Kageyama is shown forming a strategy mid-game based purely off of a hunch. He is unable to specifically explain why, but simply warns that a certain technique of theirs was not going to work with a certain member of the opposing team now in front.

Se:

“It’s the most important, cool, and challenging position on the court. Okay?”

“This guy thinks things through, and he’s in tune with his surroundings.” – An opposing setter about Kageyama

Kageyama is very explosive, and quick to get physical when angry. He’s constantly lashing out. When being mocked, he’s shown grabbing the guy’s collar and threatening him. He’s constantly laying hands on Hinata. He grabs him, yanks him, throws him, and etc. In an attempt to encourage Hinata, Kageyama even tries to incorporate a physical pat type thing, which then prompts Hinata to ask Kageyama to stop hitting him. Kageyama overall just as a very short fuse, which can easily be the case for someone with both Te and Se. Of course, he’s also highly competitive which is a trait tied strongly to both Te and Se, making it just that much more intense in Kageyama. As the show develops, so does Kageyama’s Se, and he learns to better adapt to his teammates.

Fi:

Kageyama is very uncomfortable with his own emotions. Toward the end of the first season, the team catches him smiling for the first time and it basically freaks them out. Tanaka sometime later makes a crack about him being emotionally constipated. The day after losing a big game, Kageyama just retreats into his school’s volleyball court and practices setting over and over again, not having shown much emotion by this point. It isn’t until Hinata shows up and then starts running around the room screaming in frustration that Kageyama decides to outlet some of his own emotions. Lastly, Kageyama’s high standards can easily be tied both his Te and Fi, as anyone on this axis are known for having high personal standards for themselves and others. A teammate is shown specifically getting angry at Kageyama for his perfectionism.