#shirtoizawa

[the-peaches-pit]

This misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and false accusations of Ushijima Wakatoshi

Hi howdy, not fanfic but a character essay I wrote for fun. Twitter wanted me to post it so I’m just gonna put it on here. 

...... A popular question that comes up in the Haikyuu fandom is what character do you not like? Many will reply with answers on a copy-paste that everyone has seen before. Yamaguchi’s bullies, Tendou’s bullies, Bokuto’s middle school teammates, and well some deserved Terushimas. One character that also floats around in the comments and polls is that of Ushijima. Being a Shiratorizawa stan you could call me biased but I am more than aware of his flaws. People have valid reasons but, I also feel he is still blamed for unfair claims. The series has developed and blossomed very much but at one point Ushijima was horribly despised. The fandom doesn’t hold many grudges moving on from what he was, but that past tense still irks me in people’s words. That irking past tense leads to an in-depth analysis of Ushijima’s character looking at what the fandom still mentions about him. In other words, talking disproving, and explaining the misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and false accusations of Ushijima Wakatoshi.  

The most common misinterpretations of Usihijima start the moment you lay eyes on him and really meet his character, his first appearance isn’t the brightest and either is his actual appearance. Ushijima isn’t the softest boy in the series clearly. A 6’2.6 (189.5 cm) giant with a blank stare and a flat expression. Some tend to get rubbed the wrong way just from seeing him and the first appearance of a character does mean a lot. The start of taking his looks the wrong way is the classic idea of judging a book by its cover. The thing about Ushijima’s cover though, is that the pages of his book aren’t the most pleasing either. Compare Ushijima to someone with his similar issue of Tanaka or even Tendou. The first thoughts seeing them are that they stand out negatively almost, the baldy with shark teeth and the dead-eyed redhead. The thing these two characters carry though vs Ushijima is stand out positive personality. They may look frighting but are truly delightful angels were it counts. Ushijima though looks fearful and his personality doesn’t help disprove this theory. He can be said to be judge filled and outright rude from his character interactions. These views have evidence to back them up, but they’re a view that doesn’t match up with what people say. Ushijima views himself above others but this is not carried with intentional rudeness. He knows his strengths and what he is good at, an overabundance of confidence is clear but isn’t always horrible. Interacting with Hinata and Kageyama for the first time is an example. He knows he has the ability to take the two on this isn’t something negative. Ushijima is just not denying his strengths and has evidence that he is powerful enough. Back to a book metaphor Usijima’s cover and contents don’t seem the best, but that comes from mindful skimming of what you may see. Don’t interpret the snippets for his entire being look and actually read before your final conclusion.  

Misunderstandings and misinterpretations may be similar words in meanings and even synonyms but regarding this situation, they can be two different things. People will misinterpret Ushijima’s appearance and misinterpret what his actions really mean. People misunderstand the drive behind his actions and why he acts the way he does. Ushijima is a plain and simple boy he is in no way the most complex character but there is a layer of depth. He may like plain rice and not have a current concern but why is he like that? There is not exactly a given reason behind his personality but look at his past and it’s not the best. A mother who didn’t like the way he was trying to force change until his dad stepped in. That stepping in along with some love and inspiration helped Ushijima, but with a nasty divorce that didn’t last the longest. His father across the seas and gone from his life was still a sour topic for Toshi at 18, leaving it up to the imagination that it may still haunt him. Even if not the most dramatic it’s a shame if this doesn’t drive the smallest bit of sympathy from one learning this. One of the most believed and theorized headcanons that exist for his character involves him being autistic. This is in no way true but many admit they see autistic coding in his character and viewing him in this light, would make sense. The poor social behavior, bluntness, hyper fixation, and not liking things he doesn’t know of. Looking at him with this understanding changes things. Other characters that sometimes act this way are Atsumu and Kita from Inarizaki who share similar autistic-like attributes of Ushijima. All are blunt, sometimes rude, and social messes. But with all three of these characters adding this headcanon can help understand them a bit better. It gives them excused reasons for why they’re like this, but it’s not true. Overall this headcanon just helps give light, but a thing in canon that all these characters share isn’t the best past. Lack of parents for two and cruel people for another. Understanding them and what they’ve come from and maybe in a different view, truly can help maybe explain how they are and the way they act. 

Lastly with Ushijima comes the false accusations of his character that are linked to the fandom’s misinterpretations and misunderstandings. We’ve all seen the joke. The overplayed and oh it was funny for four seconds joke of Usijima being Oikawa’s stalker. It’s one of the farthest things from the truth. It was funny but then got so carried away. The interaction and the saying, “you should have come to Shiratorizawa” can haunt dreams. No one fully belives it but some still take it wrongly or twist it for angst. Ushijima with blunt behavior as normal simply commented on skills. He was actually giving a complicated compliment in this. He was simply saying Oikawa had the skills to join and be part of his team. A team that was the powerhouse of the time who only allowed those in with strict scholarships. It was in no way stalking behavior. Praise the fandom for no Ushioi killing stalking crossovers just for the poor taste of the joke. Another false claim is he’s sort of an empty robotic character. Volleyball or nothing. He does slightly follow this claim but he can show to have relationships and have some other interests. He has friends of his team that he talks to and associates with outside of practice. Tendou is the main example. A complete opposite that he has seemed to have clicked with. They’ve shared depth filled talks and Tendou tries to get him into hobbies. Related to updated chapters as adults his old teammates even seem to keep in touch with him. They can playfully pick at him and he’s not just gonna critique them. Shirtoizawa has a vice-captain you’ve probably never heard of him but his name is Jin. He’s in no way a regular, but that means Ushijima still had some sort of connection to choose him. Perfection, skill, and other things mean a lot to Ushijima but he’s still human. A human character that has no sinister stalker intentions behind people who spark his interest.

I am a proud and passionate Ushjima Wakatoshi stan who can admit, when joining the fandom I didn’ have the best view of Ushijima either. I fell into the depths of rumors and things said about him, also he is a tad scary to look at. But, diving into it and taking a better glance. I’ve come to love him so much. Everything I’ve said is a personal view of the things I’ve seen in the hidden layers of the fandom. Ushijima grew the smallest bit thankfully and so did many people’s opinions. He wasn’t put in as a character to hate thankfully which is saddening when some still do. Before making a statement of hating Ushijima I just hope that people can read and start to understand that the boy, has many misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and false accusations. 

Also, I did not mention the farmer headcanon or claim because it’s funny and is still loved but he isn’t one sadly.