| “ | ” | |
Kiyoko Shimizu (Japanese:
Appearance
Kiyoko is a pale-skinned girl with shoulder-length black hair, grey eyes, a distinctive mole on the lower left side of her chin, pink square glasses and a slender build.
She is commonly described as an attractive girl who garners attention from both male and female students. She has a slender build and has been described as "somewhat erotic" multiple times. Because of her appearance, Karasuno High is generally known as the team with the beautiful manager.
Personality
Although Kiyoko is a generally quiet girl who doesn't express her thoughts often, she is a serious and passionate girl about her position as a team manager and was reluctant to step down from the club after the Interhigh. She cares a lot about the members, going out of her way to fix and wash Karasuno High's old banner to boost the team's morale and recruiting a manager on her own so the underclassmen won't have to worry about it next year.
After Yachi joins the team, Kiyoko opens up a lot more and she is seen smiling more often, even cracking jokes to let Hitoka ease up. It can also be noted that Kiyoko is surprisingly strong and capable as she is quick enough to knock a ball flying towards Hitoka without flinching, this can be due to her past in Track and Field.
Background
Kiyoko was previously a member of her middle school's track and field team who specialized in hurdles and as a result, injured her legs often. Because of the team's large size and her inability to talk to others, she wasn't particularly close to any of the juniors. She eventually retired from the sport for unknown reasons.[1]
In her first year of high school, she was recruited by Daichi to become the manager for Karasuno's Boys' Volleyball Club.
Plot
Karasuno High Team Formation Arc
On the first day of school, Kiyoko's shown handing the first years' registration papers to Daichi.[2]
3-on-3 First Years Match
In the anime[3], Kiyoko appears after Hinata and Kageyama are kicked out of the gym. In the manga[4], she only appears on the day of the first years; match. Kiyoko later brings in the uniforms for the first years.
At the end of the match, Daichi notes that he's glad things have finally been resolved. He thanks Sugawara and Kiyoko shares a look with the setter before they both place their hands on Daichi's shoulders, surprising him.
Aobajōsai Practice Match
Kiyoko encourages Hinata right before the match, hoping to ease the first year's anxiety. However, this only makes things worse after Hinata short-circuits.[5]
Interhigh Arc
Tokyo Expedition Arc
Spring High Preliminary Arc
Statistics
| High School Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 1/5 | ||
| Jumping | 4/5 | ||
| Stamina | 4/5 | ||
| Game Sense | 3/5 | ||
| Technique | 2/5 | ||
| Speed | 5/5 | ||
Being a former track member, Kiyoko has impressive speed, jumping, and stamina. She has fast reflexes that enable her to stop stray volleyballs from hitting her or Yachi. Despite having no volleyball experience, Kiyoko has an accurate underhand serve.[6]
Relationships
Shōyō Hinata
Hinata finds Kiyoko attractive that he is often flustered around her. When Kiyoko was looking for a new manager, Hinata eagerly agreed to help her and Kiyoko seems to be fond of Hinata and his innocent nature, often reminding him to focus on his studies and volleyball practice.
Hitoka Yachi
Yachi admires Kiyoko for her dedication to the club and her beauty, though she's often scared that Kiyoko's fans would hurt her. When Yachi joins the team, she and Kiyoko quickly become friends and over time, Kiyoko has been noted to appear more open. The third year is very protective of Yachi because of her inexperience with volleyball and watches out for stray balls around her.
Karasuno High
The team respectfully acknowledges Kiyoko as part of the team. She often gets crowded by Yū Nishinoya and Ryūnosuke Tanaka, who both have a huge crush on her, on a daily basis. Kiyoko doesn't seem bothered by this (though she'll scold them when they get out of hand). It was Daichi who'd recruited Kiyoko as a manager and having known them since they were all first years, Kiyoko is very close with the third years.
Trivia
- The name Kiyoko means "virtue" (潔) (kiyo) and "child" (子) (ko).
- Kiyoko's surname Shimizu means "clear, pure, clean" (清) (shi) and "water" (水) (mizu).
- Favorite Food: Tenmusu
- Current Concern: Whether to have Jagarico or Jagabee for her snack.
- In middle school, she used to get cuts and bruises on her legs from running into hurdles. To hide them, she would wear black tights. Even after retiring from the sport, she continues to wear them out of habit.
- Her star sign is Capricorn.
- Oikawa’s current concern lists her as having ignored his advances before (but she must just have been shy, and it's not like he's all that bothered by it, not even a little bit, not at all, Oikawa said to himself).
- Furudate gave her this name because: “I like the way ‘Kiyoko’ sounds. I managed to name her without much trouble.”[7]
- In Haikyuu's first popularity poll, Shimizu placed 13th with 2,460 votes.[8] In the second, she dropped to 21st with 2,640 votes.[9]
Quotes
- "Do...Do your best." (To the Karasuno team, Season 1 Episode 14)
- "I think our team's [Karasuno] is among the best in the prefecture." (To Hitoka Yachi, Season 2 Episode 2)
- "This time, we're [Karasuno] going to stand on the national stage." (To Yachi, Season 2 Episode 2)
- "I don't think everyone has to like something before giving it a try. I don't think you need an unwavering will or lofty motive just to get started. Sometimes things that you start on a whim end up becoming very important to you, too. To get started, I think you just need a little bit of curiosity." (To Yachi, Season 2 Episode 3)
- "I may not stand on the court... I may not wear the uniform... But, right now, at this very moment... I stand with them on the front line of the battlefield." (To herself, Volume 26 Chapter 232)
- "A banana suits Tanaka." (Meaning that he behaves like a monkey; To herself, Volume 12 Chapter 101)
- "You train, keep training, then train some more. The countless hours you put in, the progress made... All of it can come to a screeching halt in the blink of an eye... So what if it does, though?" (To herself, Volume 26 Chapter 232)
- "I cannot say that we will be the ones defeated, nor can I say with any certainty that we will stand victorious. All we can do is simply rise to the challenge." (To herself, Volume 26 Chapter 232)