Haikyū!! Wiki
Advertisement
Haikyū!! Wiki

Kanji Koganegawa (Japanese: 黄金川 (こがねがわ) 貫至 (かんじ) Koganegawa Kanji) was a first-year at Date Tech High. He became the Boys' Volleyball Team's regular setter after the third-years retired during the Interhigh Tournament.

As of 2018, he is an automobile manufacturer employee in Miyagi and is joining a Division 2 team in the V. League, the Sendai Frogs, as a setter next year.

Appearance[]

Koganegawa has a large, muscular build, and a towering height of 193 cm, earning him a place in the new Iron Wall. He has sharp eyes with small pupils. His hair is mostly blond, except for the middle of his fringe, which is black and styled up. His eyebrows are the same color as his fringe, implying that his hair is dyed blonde. He currently wears the number 7 jersey on the team.

Post-timeskip, he mostly appears the same, but his hair is now shorter.

Personality[]

Koganegawa is very energetic and enthusiastic but often lacks the ability to think carefully about his actions. Despite being rather simpleminded, he's also shown to be determined to improve his abilities and support his team as their setter and with his height but tends to focus on improving the wrong areas. He is friendly toward others.

Background[]

Not much is known about Koganegawa's background, but according to Moniwa, he only just became a setter. He is currently a first-year student at Date Tech High.

Plot[]

Spring High Preliminary Arc[]

Koganegawa makes his official debut during Date Tech's match against Aoba Johsai.[1] After Obara receives Hanamaki's serve, Koganegawa is called to make the set. Kamasaki playfully remarks how the new setter is still moving about the court like a new player. Koganegawa's inexperience shows when he sets an incredibly high ball to Futakuchi. Because he is not good with high sets, Futakuchi mistakenly spikes the ball into the net and quickly requests that Koganegawa set the ball at a better height for him but it's unclear if Koganegawa understands his request.

Koganegawa is able to get a one-touch on Iwaizumi's spike and right away attempts to set to Aone but accidentally misses and the ball is caught by Coach Oiwake on the bench. Embarrassed, Koganegawa apologizes to the team and offers to run 100 laps around the campus as punishment. As Seijoh keeps the lead at 11-8, Koganegawa attempts to sneak in a setter dump. However, Watari easily sees his plan and is able to receive the ball with no problem. Watari soon makes a jump set to Oikawa. Even though Aone and Futakuchi are in place to block, Oikawa was nearly able to get the ball past them but Koganegawa was able to assist in the block. He is successful in blocking Oikawa's spike but his momentum from rushing over causes him to bump into Aone which leads to Futakuchi being knocked to the ground. Even though Koganegawa attempts to apologize when Futakuchi yells at him, Aone takes the blame for the block by saying he wasn't supporting Koganegawa as much as he should have and compliments the first-year for his efforts.

As the set continues, Koganegawa attempts another setter dump, but Watari again reads his plan and receives the ball. Futakuchi tells Koganegawa that he is being too obvious in his moves. The first-year setter confesses that he tries setter dumps so much because he thinks they look really cool. Futakuchi then tries to make him understand that, because he is a bigger player, he shouldn't rely on sneak attacks.

Sakunami Koganegawa s2 e19

During a brief flashback, it's revealed that Sakunami had been asked to help Koganegawa when he had become the team's new setter. Because of Koganegawa's lack of skills, Oiwake asked Sakunami to do what he could to provide Koganegawa with the best opportunity to make the best sets he can. Following these instructions, Sakunami is able to make a receive and get the ball high into the air for Koganegawa to make a jump set close to the net. He then surprises everyone watching when he taps the ball just enough to make it look like it's just hovering in the air long enough for Aone to spike it.[2]

Seijoh continues to keep the lead with the score reaching 23-20. It's at this point that Oikawa slips in his own setter dump which annoys Koganegawa. When Date Tech's rotation changes and Koganegawa is back in front, his presence is enough to add more pressure onto Oikawa since this is the point when the iron wall is at its strongest. Because of this, Oikawa attempted to set to Iwaizumi from a further distance in hopes of staying clear of the triple block. As Onagawa made a receive, Koganegawa remembers what Futakuchi told him of using his height and power rather than trying to be sneaky. At this, Koganegawa does a direct spike that makes it past Matsukawa and deflects off Watari.

With Seijoh still at match point, Koganegawa would soon use his height to reach the ball before it goes back over the net and set to Aone but Watari is able to dig the ball. As Iwaizumi is preparing to attack, Koganegawa silently admits that he is aware of his lack of experience as a setter but that he can still use his height to help his team. He, Aone, and Futakuchi jump to block Iwaizumi, but the ace is able to get his spike through when he spots Koganegawa's arms were too wide and would therefore not stop his attack. Seijoh wins the match and Koganegawa is instantly seen with a remorseful expression.

The team soon meets with the retired third-years who offer their own words of advice and agree to help with more practices. Koganegawa takes the chance to promise that he will do everything he can to improve his skills in order to be the type of setter Date Tech needs and he will also be a blocker that can stop even the strongest opponents. However, Aone points out how it's not always someone who is big and strong that will pose the most threats.

Tokyo Nationals Arc[]

First Year Training Camp[]

Koganegawa is one of the first-years invited to participate in the training camp at Shiratorizawa Academy. Though several of the others noticed Hinata among them, Koganegawa was the one to point out who he was and what team he belonged to. When it was unclear if the coaches would allow Hinata to stay, Koganegawa became upset at this as he wanted to see what it was about Hinata that caused Aone to respect him so much. During spiking practice, Koganegawa would try to get feedback from the spikers about his sets. His height and power are greatly admired by Washijō.

During a practice match against the retired Shiratorizawa third-years, Koganegawa attempted to receive one of Ushijima's spikes but was unable to handle the power behind the hit and was knocked over in the process. During the free practice, Koganegawa attempted to ask Tsukishima and Kunimi to help him with extra practice only for the two to deny the request. He would soon have others willing to join in the practice. Eventually, Hinata would also join in the practices at Tsukishima's request where Koganegawa would get to see some of Hinata's abilities. After Goshiki was able to fool the blockers, Tsukishima is silently impressed that Koganegawa used read blocking when it looked like Goshiki would try a cross shot but quickly remembered that Koganegawa is part of Date Tech and therefore shouldn't be surprised that the setter wasn't randomly jumping.

Group s4-e5-2

Koganegawa would quickly become friends with several of the other first-years but found himself frustrated with Kunimi's lack of effort until he realized that he could study Kunimi's playing style after seeing how doing the same allowed Hinata to help Hyakuzawa. When the camp ends, Koganegawa gathers the contact information of some of the other first-years so they could keep in touch.

Date Tech Practice Match[]

Group s4-e6-6

Koganegawa plays as the starting setter in the practice match between Date Tech and Karasuno. Upon spotting Hinata and Tsukishima, Koganegawa excitedly greeted the two, even referring to Tsukishima as "Tsukki" which earned him great annoyance from Yamaguchi.[3] At the start of the match, Koganegawa is impressed at finally seeing how fast Hinata is and suspects that the famous quick attack may be taking place. However, he is able to focus and help Aone and Futakuchi to block Asahi with a bunch block.

During the first set, Koganegawa is shown to have made improvements in his setting and blocking abilities since the match against Aoba Johsai, even managing to perform a powerful setter dump that Nishinoya narrowly managed to get up. Following this, Koganegawa was part of a double block that stopped Asahi's attack. After Kageyama and Nishinoya have a brief confrontation, Koganegawa would witness Kageyama make a set from the side of the court. He would be moved at seeing how perfect the set is and guessing how much Kageyama must put in to practicing to be at the skill level he is at. Eventually, Hinata began blending in with the Karasuno players for a synchronized attack which began to cause problems for Date Tech since it meant they had to process more information and try to figure out who would be the next attacker. At one point, Hinata used the minus tempo quick attack and Koganegawa was frozen in place from not having anticipated it. Near the end of the eighth set, Koganegawa spots Hinata rushing ahead of the others. Guessing that Hinata will be using the super quick, he jumps to block only to see the set head to Asahi. Even though he managed to hurry into place, Koganegawa wasn't able to block Asahi in time.

After the match ended with each side taking four winning sets, Koganegawa approached Kageyama. He asks Kageyama about why he doesn't tape his fingers like he does and learns that Kageyama is very strict about personal maintenance that he does in order to always keep his hands in top condition, such as finger push-ups for strength and always keeping his fingernails in pristine condition. Inspired by the Karasuno setter, Koganegawa declares that he will start the same personal care, but Futakuchi quickly claims that he will not last more than three days. Kageyama would then ask Koganegawa about the apex of his jump. Koganegawa recalls his maximum reach being around 340 cm but that this measurement was around six months ago and could possibly be higher at this point, unknowingly annoying Kageyama for not only having a higher reach but also having a shorter distance in which to set a high toss. Hinata then says goodbye to Koganegawa and the setter returns the gesture.

Karasuno vs Kamomedai[]

During the start of the game, Sakunami is impressed by Hirugami's blocking skills, but Futakuchi says that in the end, one blocker is merely one person, which is something he wants Koganegawa to know right when he enters the room. As the match progresses, Koganegawa is amazed at Hoshiumi's impressive serve. Not long after, Kamomedai position themselves into a stack block, which Sakunami and Obara praise them for as it seems like a good strategic decision. However, Koganegawa notices that it leaves a big hole on one side of the net, but he is proven wrong when all three blockers have the speed to block the hitter on the other side of the net.

During the start of the second set, Koganegawa is confused even after his teammates' explanations of Kamomedai's and Karasuno's rotation strategies and Sakunami explains that Kamomedai decided to have their best rotation when Karasuno was in their weakest position. However, Karasuno switched things up as well. Sakunami also explains Kamomedai's shade strategy not long after. When Koganegawa needs more explaining, Futakuchi taunts him by saying that his tiny brain would pop after having to store so much information. Despite this insult, Koganegawa stubbornly announces that he'll train both his body and brains to "honor Date Tech's iron wall."[4] A short while later, Koganegawa was surprised to see Asahi pull off a feint shot as he had believed the ace would use a powerful attack like usual as he had what Koganegawa saw as a perfect set and plenty of time to do what he needed to.

After a stretched out rally, Koganegawa happily cheers for Hinata being able to make the point. However, his joy would quickly turn to concern as Hinata would collapse at this point and was discovered to be running a high fever. He continues to watch the match until Karasuno lost.

Final Arc[]

Schweiden Adlers vs MSBY Black Jackal[]

The following summer, Date Tech was able to beat Karasuno in the next Interhigh Tournament and made it to nationals for the first time in eleven years. They were stated to have placed within the top sixteen.[5]

In the Final Arc, Koganegawa attends the match between the MSBY Black Jackals and the Schweiden Adlers with Sakunami. Koganegawa is revealed to be working at an automobile factory and will be joining the V-League Div. 2 team, the Sendai Frogs. Throughout the match, Koganegawa is pointed out by Sakunami to be sympathizing with many of the blockers at certain times and also showing surprise at Hinata's new abilities.

A Party Reignited[]

Koganegawa makes a single cameo appearance when he is seen during practice and setting to Tsukishima.

Statistics[]

High School Statistics
Power
 
5/5
Jumping
 
4/5
Stamina
 
4/5
Game Sense
 
1/5
Technique
 
1/5
Speed
 
4/5

Koganegawa's height is the main contributor to his skill in volleyball. It enables him to easily block the opponent's spikes along with the rest of Date Tech's Iron Wall, especially in closing the gap left by the initial two-man wall. As a setter, he is inexperienced and sends tosses that are mostly too high for any of his spikers to hit, resulting in unconverted points. It has been mentioned that the peak of his jump is so high that it feels like he's just putting the ball there for the spiker to hit. 

Jumping Reach: 340 cm.

Skills[]

Post-Timeskip Skills Parameter
Serve
 
7/10
Serve Reception
 
3/10
Dig
 
6/10
Setting
 
8/10
Spike
 
7/10
Block
 
9/10
  • Dump Shot: Koganegawa's favorite attack is a dump shot, but he rarely successfully pulls it off due to his unpolished skills which result in obvious tells the opposing team can pick up on. He also overcomplicates things by trying to throw feints when performing a dump attack right off a blocked spike. However, he quickly learns to just slam the ball down instead of feinting after Futakuchi corrects him. Combined with his natural raw power, Koganegawa's dump shots prove very difficult to attempt saving when he used them against Seijoh and Karasuno.
  • High Toss: Koganegawa has the ability to send a high toss with an incredibly short distance setup by jumping high up to put the ball in place for the spiker. This gives his sets both speed and height, thus making it hard for his opponents to read block.[2]
  • Blocking:
    Date Tech s4-e15-1
    Like the rest of Date Tech, Koganegawa is strong at blocking. He is capable of reading a spiker's form to deduce the path of the spike.[6] However, because he is still fairly inexperienced, he falls for decoys more easily than his more experienced upperclassmen which can cause him to jump early or be late to block someone else.[7]
  • Receives: Koganegawa is shown to be fairly decent in making receives of spikes and serves. While he is able to get the ball up most of the time, he is seen unable to withstand more powerful spikes, such as when he was knocked over when he was unable to receive a spike from Ushijima during the First Year Training Camp.

Relationships[]

Date Tech High[]

  • Kenji Futakuchi:
    Futakuchi and Koganegawa s2-e19-2
    Because of his eager nature combined with his inexperience as a player, Koganegawa unintentionally causes problems for Futakuchi. As a result, Koganegawa tends to be scolded by his upperclassman for various things but is still given helpful advice from Futakuchi when needed. Koganegawa still has great respect for Futakuchi and takes all of his advice to heart in hopes of improving himself to be a better setter.
  • Takanobu Aone:
    AoneComfortKoganegawa
    As his upperclassman, Koganegawa highly respects Aone and looks up to him. He sometimes will become amazed by Aone's skills during games and is often looked out for by the second-year. After Date Tech lost to Seijoh, Koganegawa was comforted by Aone and was given advice that it's not always the big and powerful players who will be the most challenging.

Karasuno High[]

  • Shōyō Hinata:
    Hinata and Koganegawa s4-e4-1
    Koganegawa is shown to have quickly formed a friendship with Hinata. They first meet during the First Year Training Camp at Shiratorizawa Academy where he would witness Hinata's boldness when he crashed the camp and had wanted to see what it was about Hinata that caused Aone to respect him. During the camp, Koganegawa and Hinata would practice together and share volleyball strategies. During the practice match between their teams, Koganegawa came to see Hinata as a challenging opponent. During the Spring Tournament, Koganegawa watched Karasuno's matches and supported Hinata. Post-timeskip, Koganegawa would watch Hinata's debut with the MSBY Black Jackals.
  • Kei Tsukishima:
    Group s4-e6-5
    Although the friendship is more one-sided, Koganegawa views Tsukishima as a friend. Koganegawa is seen being friendly toward Tsukishima during the training camp as they were often made teammates and even began calling him by his nickname Tsukki, an act that would earn him Yamaguchi's displeasure.

Quotes[]

  • (To Date Tech) "As a setter, I may still be 'about the same as an infant', but right now, the one thing I have that's on the same level as my senpai is height!!"[8]
  • (To Date Tech) "I'm gonna make sure I can toss any kind of ball...!! And I'm gonna be able to stop anybody with my blocks, no matter how powerful or tall they are, so that I don't embarrass the name of the Iron Wall...!!"[8]

Trivia[]

  • Pre-timeskip Concern: He can't pull off dump shots in a way that looks cool.
  • Post-timeskip Concern: Others have said he is not a setter who's good at blocking, but a blocker who's good at setting.
  • Star Sign: Cancer.
  • He is the oldest first-year on the team.
  • Koganegawa shares his English voice actors with other characters.
    • He (season 2) shared his English voice actor with Kaito Asamushi, Haruki Komi (season 2), and Morisuke Yaku (season 1).
    • He (season 4–present) shares his English voice actor with Komi (season 4–present).
  • His first name should not be confused with kanji (Japanese: (かん) () ), one of the three Japanese alphabets.
  • Nomenclature:
    • Kanji (貫至) – Transmural Arrival
      • 貫 – Transmural
      • 至 – Arrive
    • Koganegawa (黄金川) – Golden River

References[]

Advertisement