I have been posting in this subreddit a lot, and I apologize, but I have no one else to cheese with! All my anime loving friends aren't interested in a sports anime (to be fair, I wasn't at first either), and all of my volleyball loving friends aren't into anime. It's lonely out here folks lol
Anyway, I just wanted to post about how awesome Kuroo's character is. I know he's well liked, but it wasn't until I watched the Dumpster Battle movie that I really began to appreciate how multifaceted his character really is and just how special his friendship with Kenma is.
In the movie, Kenma points out that Kuroo acts like "some random party guy". He's loud, extraverted, and charismatic. First impressions totally give off stereotypical douchebag jock vibes. But he's also super goofy, very personable, a natural born leader, and a fantastic teacher.
I love that we see Kuroo and Kenma going to the rec center to play volleyball together for the first time and just how excited he is about it. I love that, by growing up, they become totally different people, but despite that, remain besties connected through volleyball. And Kuroo won't tolerate people underestimating Kenma's abilities based on his looks (season 2).
This reminds me a lot of me and my own childhood best friend, though we are much more similar than Kuroo and Kenma. I started playing softball due to her and it became huge part of my teenage identity. We still keep in touch, but I had to move away in middle school and this became distant over the years. Unfortunately, we aren't as close as we used to be. But I remember telling her in conversation about a year ago just how thankful I am that she introduced me to softball and the influence she has had on me over the years. When Kenma thanked Kuroo for teaching him volleyball, it reminded me of that moment with my friend. And Kuroo's speechless reaction? It made me laugh and cry and the same time. That meant everything to him, you could tell. Anyway, I love their dynamic. It's wholesome, and genuine, and so realistic to me.
Lastly, I love the passion this man has for volleyball and sharing it with others. It started when he introduced Kenma to volleyball, continued when he became a captain at Nekoma, continued further at the Tokyo Training Camp when he worked with Tsuki and Bokuto, and culminated into a perfect career for him at the JVA. Though I do really wish he would have played pro, even if only for a few years. He esrned that right imo and had to have been good enough, right? (Full transparency, I'm not that far in the manga yet, hopefully he at least plays in college??) Kuroo gets so much joy and satisfaction from seeing people love volleyball and reach their full potential in the sport. He does such a fantastic job coaching others. I love to see it.
So in conclusion, it's easy to dismiss Kuroo as the hot jock bro, but his personality is so much more complex and layered. He just happens to also be a confident and attractive to boot lol.
