In a sport where the flashiness of spiker's powerful hits often takes the spotlight, it's easy to overlook the more subtle power and precision required by the setters of Haikyuu! However, the setter is perhaps the most important position on the court, acting as the team's "control tower," responsible for coming up with plays and strategies that utilize their teams' strengths to the fullest.
Setters also require one of the highest levels of technical ability: each individual set needs to be modified to match the spiking height and distance of each unique player and must be perfectly placed from anywhere on the court. When playing in such a difficult and demanding role, both physically and mentally, some Haikyuu! characters rise to the challenge, and some prove unable to handle the pressure.
10 Koganegawa Kanji Has A Lot To Learn
As a first-year player for Date Tech, Haikyuu!'s Koganegawa has little experience in the difficult role of setter and it definitely shows in his abilities on the court. He struggles with accuracy and consistency in his sets, the most important aspects of a setter's abilities. Combined with plays that prove predictable for the other team's blockers, it makes him more of a hindrance than an asset.
However, in those rare moments when Koganegawa is able to set the ball, it shows the potential of his setting ability. Koganegawa is unusually tall and therefore is able to make particularly high sets, allowing for spikers to hit above even the tallest blocks. With lots of practice and experience, Koganegawa has potential to be a great setter, but he definitely has a long way to go.
9 Futamata Takeharu Needs Time To Mature
As a member of the ever volatile and unpredictable Johzenji, Futamata's setting skills reflect the state of his team. He plays with a fluid, versatile style that makes his actions difficult to predict and when he's able to set normally, he displays fairly good game sense and flexibility, leading to an overall solid performance.
However, like the rest of his team, Haikyuu!'s Futamata plays as an individual rather than a team and as setter, the role responsible for coordinating the team's attacks, it limits the team's offensive ability. This individual-oriented playstyle leads to a number of miscommunications, collisions, and missed spikes that prevent the team from reaching their goals. So, while Futamata has potential, he'll never fully reach it until he learns to lead his team.
8 Shirabu Kenjiro Needs To Grow As An Individual
Playing as the starting setter for Shiratorizawa as only a second year, it's clear that Haikyuu!'s Shirabu has an abundance of potential. He's gifted with natural talent, serving as a reliable, stable setter for the team who is able to make the best of the skills of his wing spikers, especially Ushijima. However, his lack of experience shows heavily in gameplay, displaying hotheaded frustration when things don't go as planned.
Shirabu also lacks independence as a setter, setting in a reserved way to highlight Ushijima instead of his own skills, relying on him to make the play. So, while it's clear that Shirabu will eventually become a powerful setter, he still has a long way to go before he can establish himself among the top.
7 Sugawara Koshi Simply Lacks Game Time
While unable to stand against the genius and natural ability displayed by Kageyama, Suga is a great setter in his own right. Backed by calculating intelligence and a calm, focused demeanor during matches, Suga plays with a strategy that utilizes the skills of his teammates to the fullest. He's also gifted with a reliable skillset, able to make pinpoint serves that break up the opposing team's offensive formation and sets that can be counted on to always be perfect for the spiker. However, Suga's individual setting style can be predictable and with the limited gameplay that he's able to get, Haikyuu! fans never get to see him fulfill his true potential.
6 Kenma Kozume Relies On His Strategic Mind
Despite Kenma's lack of natural athletic ability, he displays an abundance of strategic and technical skill that more than makes up for it. As the starting setter of Nekoma, a powerhouse school that specializes in defensive abilities, Kenma can afford to be a little lazy on the court. His team supports him, covering for his lack of physicality so that he can focus on developing and employing the strategy needed to win the game.
Serving as the "brain," Kenma fully utilizes the team's defensive strengths to take down highly powerful offense-based teams; his intelligence, strategic gameplay, and high technical abilities making him a fantastic setter, with only his lack of physical endurance preventing him from reaching the next level.
5 Semi Eita Was Prevented From Showing His True Ability
Despite being replaced as starting setter for Shiratorizawa, Semi displays a power and versatility that makes him truly formidable. He's steady and reliable, but unlike Shirabu who focuses on playing safely to highlight Ushijima, he makes riskier plays that show his own skills. Semi's also an impressive pinch server. The only reason that Semi, with his plethora of setting and serving skills, is unable to truly display his setting skills is because his coach is worried that he'll take some of Ushijima's spotlight.
4 Akaashi Keiji Combines Impressive Technical & Strategic Abilities
As starting setter for powerhouse Fukurodani Academy as only a second year, it's undeniable that Akaashi is a talented setter. On the court, Akaashi wields a deadly balance of analytical intelligence. He makes the most of his players and is even able to effectively pull Bokuto out of his slumps. Akaashi also has an impressive jump serve in his arsenal. This power, combined with his technical abilities and analytical mind, makes Akaashi a truly formidable and dependable setter.
3 Miya Atsumu Blends Imposing Power & Versatility
Known as one of the best high school setters in Japan, Atsumu possesses fantastic technical abilities and game sense that allows him to dominate on the court. He's also one of the only players who wields both powerful jump serves and jump floater serves, utilizing both to make his serves nearly impossible to predict and receive.
Atsumu is also extremely adaptable, easily setting even the worst receives from nearly anywhere and learning techniques and plays from his opponents by just watching. Despite his volatile nature, Atsumu is a capable and talented setter, who's natural ability and dedication combined make him truly one of the best.
2 Oikawa Toru Is A Powerhouse Capable Of Bringing Out The Best In His Team
One of the most impressive all-around players in Haikyuu!, Oikawa's truly a force to be reckoned with. His jump serve is the most powerful in the series, terrifying for even the most seasoned receivers. His setting skills are off the charts, setting with perfect accuracy from anywhere on the court, from even the worst receives.
However, Oikawa's true power lies in his ability to draw out the best from his fellow players, devising strategies that make the most of each player's strengths to win the match. It's this combination of strategic and technical skills, sheer power, and ability to make the most of his team that makes him a near perfect setter.
1 Kageyama Tobio Is A Nearly Unmatchable Genius
Kageyama's the kind of athlete that displays such an aptitude for the sport that it seems as if he was born to play volleyball. He possesses a frightening genius and tons of natural ability, which allows him to see the court and everything on it with such a clarity that he's able to set and spike with pinpoint precision from anywhere on the court.
Kageyama also has amazing game sense and all-around technical abilities, allowing him to make split-second strategic decisions that when combined with his speed, makes his moves almost impossible to predict. He also wields a powerful jump serve, able to break through even the strongest defense.