#if this doesnt prove how much i love shimizu idk what will

[venusbled-archive]

meta repost ( incomplete )

i've organized all my mini essays into sections for easy reading, and also because i don't expect many people to want to read this entire analysis. there's so much i've packed into here about shimizu's characters, and perhaps only one of these many topics interests my followers. so, for the sake of organization and accessibility, here are the various categories upon which i will touch:

i. beauty + subsequent reactions of the public ii. body image + public reaction iii. ( internalized + externalized ) reaction to rumors / whispers / affections iv. shimizu as a nominal fanservice character v. personality traits ( meyers-briggs, moral alignment, etc. ) vi. astrological sign traits vii. the irony of shimizu's character ( misconceptions, surprises ) viii. the irony of shimizu's character ( comedic appeal ) ix. connections between other characters ( friends and teammates / adults ) x. abilities xi. roles ( canonly ) xii. roles ( based on hq extras ! ) xiii. positivity + pros of shimizu xiv. negativity + cons of shimizu xv. what happens when she's gone ?

also, i try to source everything i mention in this meta from either the manga or the anime. so for reference, my abbreviations are as follows:

- vol. for volume - ch(s). for chapter(s) - s. for season - ep. for episode

i. beauty + subsequent reactions of the public

furudate makes it well-known to the reader that shimizu is an attractive character. through the use of special panels, characters' reactions, and common beauty tropes, he defines her as one --------- if not the most --------- attractive character of haikyuu!! of course, this is always open to opinion, but based on the context which he's given us throughout the manga, it would appear that only shimizu and oikawa, who constantly receive attention from the opposite sex no matter where they are, are the characters that furudate pointedly and explicitly marks as attractive.

common beauty tropes that shimizu shows are in her size, her beauty mark, her glasses, her style of dress, and her facial expressions. she's one of the taller female characters in haikyuu!! --------- a trait which has her pegged as different, in a good way. it's one of the more defining physical characteristics which separates her from being "cute" and instead alters people to describe her as "sexy" or "beautiful." something about height inherently changes the words with which one can be described, and because her taller stature is also paired with other beauty tropes, shimizu is considered more attractive than other characters. what do i mean by this?

well, her beauty mark is remarked as being an "erotic" feature rather than a "cute" one (yahaba, vol. 2 ch. 11). in nearly every experience she's had at practice matches with other schools, training camps, or official tournaments, people always call her "beautiful," and once yachi joins along, she officially becomes "beautiful" whilst the word "cute" is reserved for the younger, shorter, less-composed manager. 

shimizu's glasses also make her out to be sexier than she might've been seen without them. in lots of official art, her glasses are a key symbol of her, and label her as the type of "sexy/hot librarian" trope that one constantly sees in modern day media. furudate has even remarked in an interview that when he created shimizu's character, he had intended for her to be a "secretary" type (hence, the glasses --------- a stereotype of secretaries). we can infer that the glasses, in addition to the decision to make shimizu a "secretary," separate her from cuteness and allow her to mature to beauty and erotic appeal.

her style of dress also lends itself to her relative attractiveness. while she's a conservative dresser, never showing her legs, the fact that she's so fashion-forward in official art where she's OUT of school (chs. 78, 150, 219 coloured covers), and has such a nice physical form (crow's angels side story, vol. 13 promo images), she's seen as more attractive physically. she's able to pull off different styles, and even when wearing her regular uniform, tracksuit, or manager outfit during tournaments, she's always presented as extremely attractive (s.1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55).

additionally, her facial expressions, though reticent and not varying much, are always common focal points for other characters whenever they meet her. for example, terushima says that he loves shimizu when she "looks shy," and even the slightest blush from her sends tanaka and noya into a stupified state (source unavailable; i can't find the name of the extra).

overall, it's undeniable that she's physically attractive and it's nigh impossible for a character to not --------- at one point or another --------- have pointed out her attractiveness (all karasuno teammates except kageyama, tsukishima, kinoshita, narita, and ennoshita have at one point or another been thrown off by her beauty; and in addition, it's not uncommon for her to be gawked at whenever the team travels and she's subject to being seen by boys from across the prefecture). however, there's a distinction in her attractiveness that makes her more "hot" than "cute," and it's likely a result of her self-presentation, maturity level, and appearance in comparison to other female characters in the series.

ii. body image + public reaction

i previously mentioned in the section about shimizu's beauty that she's remarked as having a beautiful figure and always portrayed with a beautiful body no matter what she seems to wear (crow's angels side story, vol. 13 promo images, s. 1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55). she's canonly a healthy weight for her height, and like many female characters in manga series, is well-endowed in the bum and breast regions, and thin at the waist.

but this also, obviously, leads to a lot of inappropriate comments by other characters regarding her body, and while for certain this can't be attributed to the fact that she dresses somewhat conservatively and always covers her legs in official art, it may influence shimizu's behavior. the volume 13 promo images include her dressed in a sarashi, the only thing that prompts bokuto, kuroo, and oikawa to participate in the promotion. at the end, bokuto exclaims that he got shimizu's pictures while she was dressed in the attire, and immediately both kuroo and oikawa ask for him to send them the photos. shimizu is shown in a small panel as looking upset, with her arms crossed and a frown on her face -------- either in disapproval, discomfort, or distaste for bokuto's actions and kuroo's/oikawa's response. then, in the that's absurd! extra, again, bokuto and kuroo are infatuated by shimizu's body, and appear at the movie premier in order to see kiyoko-chan's skintight body suit. however, most of her movie/extras costumes are rather revealing, though this may be attributed to fanservice rather than her personal preference. nonetheless, she's never voiced any canon concern for her manner of dress, nor does she seem to be affected in any way by the many boys that point out how sexy her figure is, or how erotic she looks at any given time.

iii. ( internalized + externalized ) reaction to rumors / whispers / affections

it would be nearly impossible for shimizu to be unaware of her influence on boys, given the amount of attention she receives on a daily basis (not just from tanaka and nishinoya, but also other first and second years, and even girls). by virute of being a center of attention, though unintentional, shimizu must have some sort of self-realization and thereby be aware of her influence. however, while she may notice how she affects others around her, she's never acted upon the whispers she must hear day-to-day.

for example, the most obvious cases in which she blatantly ignores the attention she receives are whenever tanaka and nishinoya tell her, "kiyoko-san, looking beautiful as ever today!" or some other variation, and she walks away without responding to them (vol. 1 ch. 1), or when terushima asks for her number and she would rather just leave without engaging in conversation (vol. 12 ch. 105).

additionally, shimizu has never been shown to turn her head in public whenever those around her comment on how beautiful she is (vol. 5 ch. 37, vol. 9 ch. 72); yet if tanaka and nishinoya attempt to be protective over her to keep these suitors from approaching her, shimizu tells them to stop, which insinuates that she had at least heard the whispers before and therein knew why tanaka and nishinoya were surrounding her. in general, she keeps composed and ignorant of these affections, and doesn't so much as blush whenever she must hear them.

i've also mentioned how rumors have shaped her life as karasuno's manager. in vol. 2 ch. 11, yahaba is talking to kindaichi on seijou's campus about a beautiful manager from karasuno he'd heard word of. assuming that karasuno hasn't been to seijou in POTENTIALLY 2 years (as yahaba is a second year and obviously hadn't seen shimizu in person, but oikawa's current concern had listed that when he tried to talk to shimizu she ignored him --------- something which may  insinuate that they had met as first years, or may just be that they met in their third year), rumors of her beauty had still spread across the prefecture to seijou and ended up in yahaba's "circles." because seijou is one of the top four schools in the prefecture, and --------- at the time --------- karasuno was considered a school of "flightless crows," it's incredible that rumors of shimizu's attractiveness could actually reach seijou if karasuno's practice matches were limited in the past years to other lower-level schools. AND it's incredible considering the fact that seijou COULD BE all the way across the prefecture (though technically we don't know the canon locations of all schools and their geographical relations between one another).

iv. shimizu as a nominal fanservice character

i have to bring this up because i think this meta would be incomplete if i didn't address the elephant in the room: the sexualization and tailored appeal of female characters in manga to suit the "fanservice" role of women. i would be stupid to deny that shimizu doesn't serve as a fanservice character, but even stupider if i said that being a fanservice character was all she was. nonetheless, i still feel that it's necessary to bring up WHY she's classified as one and what her fanservice role entitles.

i've mentioned facts about her appearance --------- it's a subject that isn't brushed over when shimizu is described in the manga. she's obviously attractive both bodily and facially, and to bat, her personality does at first fulfill a fanservice trope of being passive/shy/quiet. granted, there are other types, but shimizu is what i would describe as the "shy bespectacled beauty" (as we can't forget the trump card of her glasses: one of her more defining characteristics which incidentally classifies her as a certain type of character). she's now physically and mentally very attractive and appeals to male readers.

additionally, though the manga isn't sex-centric, there are still lots of sexual references or questionable material. s. 1 ep. 2 @14:48-14:55 includes shots of her bum and her breasts, in the "sparkling anime background" meant to set off characters as being otherworldly or worth mention. many of her outfits in ennoshita's movies are revealing, and even her roles are rather sexualized for the sake of a potential increase in viewership (skintight bodysuits in crow's angels and that's absurd!, a very revealing costume that shows off most of her cleavage in final haikyuu!! quest, the "stoic yet sexy military officer" in haikyuu!! fighter, and even the nun in house of crows). this also occurs in special manga covers (chs. 36, 78, 86, 99, 111, 131, and 179) and in the vol. 13 promo,  so although the manga is tasteful in not including too much sexualized material, the extras try to make up for this by sexualizing shimizu and making her a more visually appealing character, thus subjecting her to fanservice.

MORE TO BE ADDED.