Mika Yamaka (Japanese:
As of 2021, she is a nurse working in Tokyo.
Appearance[]
Mika is a petite girl often seen wearing girly and fashionable clothes. She has long brown hair and has blunt bangs parted to the left.
Personality[]
In contrast to her more manipulative and cunning boyfriend, Mika is very meek and well-behaved. She seems to very gentle and caring. Mika is shown to love shopping and is generally a happy person when on dates with her boyfriend. She is shown to be very patient with Suguru and does not mind when he 'geeks' over volleyball. Mika has grown to love volleyball ever since she watched games with Suguru, and even tried playing the game with him on one of their dates.
Background[]
Despite being the girlfriend of a volleyball player, Mika didn't have much interest or understanding of the sport. In fact, she broke up with Suguru just ahead of the Tokyo Spring High Representative Playoffs due to his sole focus on volleyball. However, it is later revealed that she did start to like him partly because of his passion for the sport. Unbeknownst to him, she'd attended his match against Nekoma and after seeing his determination, began to understand his interests better.
Plot[]
Spring High Preliminary Arc[]
Mika approaches Suguru after Nohebi lost to Nekoma for the last representative spot to the Nationals. She congratulates Suguru for playing a great game before apologizing for calling him boring for his dedication to the sport. When Suguru is disheartened after his recent loss, Mika comforts him by praising their incredible feat of being the fourth-best team in Tokyo. She then admits that she's starting to understand his passion and asks Suguru to teach her volleyball in the future.[1]
Tokyo Nationals Arc[]
Karasuno vs Inarizaki[]
After their reconciliation, Mika accompanied Suguru as spectators at the Spring Tournament. They first appear halfway into the first set of the Karasuno vs Inarizaki match. As Mika was still not too familiar with volleyball, she heavily relies on Suguru to explain things to her, such as when Hinata was allowed to make a receive with his foot[2] or when Kageyama ducked under the net to return the ball from Inarizaki's side of the court.[3] After Karasuno won the first set, Mika and Suguru left to watch Nekoma's match against Sarukawa Tech. Once Nekoma won their match, Mika and Suguru return to watch Karasuno and Inarizaki. When the third set was about to begin, Mika noticed that Suguru was able to tell something was different. He would point out that Karasuno had changed their rotation and after what he felt was babbling, Mika surprises him when she correctly figures out that Karasuno did this in order to have a different set of blockers at the net when Inarizaki has their best attackers in the front row.[4] Mika and Suguru would remain at the match until Karasuno was eventually able to win.
Nekoma vs Sarukawa Tech[]
After Karasuno won the first set, Mika and Suguru leave to watch Nekoma's match against Sarukawa Tech.[5] When Suguru was able to quickly figure out that Sarukawa Tech was targeting Kenma in order to break him down physically, Mika questions why Nohebi didn't try the same thing and listens carefully when he explained how it would have taken a lot of courage and persistence as well as a defense steady enough to be able to match Nekoma's to be able to last long enough to build such pressure onto one player.
Nekoma vs Karasuno[]
The next day, Mika and Suguru attend the match between Nekoma and Karasuno. When Nekoma was able to win the first set, Mika notices how Suguru becomes annoyed when speaking of Nekoma's astounding defense but finds it amusing.[6] After the match, Suguru would run into the Nekoma third-years while Mika stepped away but she returned in time to catch him mocking the three, causing Suguru to become flustered at her catching him in such a manner.[7]
Karasuno vs Kamomedai[]
Karasuno's match against Kamomedai barely starts when Mika and Suguru enter the gymnasium to come to watch the game. Suguru then tells Mika that a team that has really good blocking is going to be good since it is a technique that is both defensive and offensive at once. Not long after, Hinata can surpass an impressive triple block by Kamomedai but Mika is awed at how the blockers knew where Hinata was going to hit the ball despite his excellent speed. Suguru explains that it’s because of their speed and their bunch shift technique.
Suguru further explains that bunch shifts are useful since it allows Kamomedai to always be able to respond to attacks from any direction with at least two blockers. However, he adds that blockers also sometimes get in the way of receivers and internally notes that his team knows that but they still have trouble dealing with the problem. When Mika notices Asahi getting picked on by the blockers, she says that she feels bad for him since it felt like everything was going wrong for him.[8] However, she was proven wrong in the next rally when Karasuno’s first years demonstrate great teamwork to win a point, which Suguru remarks to himself.
Suguru notices that Karasuno has been taking Hakuba very lightly for the entire game and he is impressed because even though they’d have watched his earlier matches, it isn’t like six and a half foot-high school volleyball players anywhere. After Asahi breaks through Kamomedai’s defenses for the third time, Suguru references back to when Mika said she felt bad for Asahi being pressured as the ace and tells her that she isn’t wrong and that aces do have a numerous amount of downsides but, to him, it’s more about the glory after surpassing all the obstacles. During another of Kamomedai's impressive performances. Suguru admits to himself that Nohebi wouldn’t have stood a chance against them.
Final Arc[]
At the end of the series, Mika is revealed to be working as a nurse in Tokyo.
Statistics[]
High School Statistics | |||
---|---|---|---|
Power | 3/5 | ||
Jumping | 2/5 | ||
Stamina | 2/5 | ||
Game Sense | 4/5 | ||
Technique | 1/5 | ||
Speed | 2/5 |
Relationships[]
Nohebi Academy[]
- Suguru Daishō: Some time prior to the Tokyo Spring High Representative Playoffs, Mika had ended her relationship with Suguru as she felt that he was too focused on his club activities. However, she eventually came to see how much he loved the sport and apologized to him after Nohebi lost to Nekoma. After the two reconciled, Mika begins to support Suguru's love for volleyball more and accompanied him to the Spring Tournament. She often relied on Suguru to explain certain things and was easily able to see how invested he was in the matches.
Nekoma High[]
- Tetsurō Kuroo: Not much is known about them, but it can be assumed that Kuroo knows her from the past as he calls her "Mika-chan"; although it is not clear if he does this because he knows her personally or is just teasing Suguru. It can also be assumed that they are on friendly terms as they possibly have each other's number[7].
Quotes[]
- (To Daishou) "I know I said you were boring because you spend all your time at practice and, um... I'm Sorry." [9]
- (To Daishou) "Wow, Suguru. You really know a lot! That's pretty amazing. I didn't understand half of what you just said though."[10]
- (About Karasuno) "They don't have the luxury of giving up!" [11]
- "Wow, Volleyball is so... I dunno... three dimensional!"[12]
Trivia[]
- Favorite Food: Pretz (Roast Flavor) (Japanese:
プリッツ Purittsu).
- Current Concern: She doesn't know what Instagram is anymore.
- Mika's name, Yamaka (Japanese: 山架 ), comes from the name of a snake known as yamakagashi (ヤマカガシ) or the tiger keelback.
- When asked about them by Suguru, it's revealed that Mika has a liking towards Karasuno and enjoys watching them play.
- Mika-chan is the name of a doll in Kiben Gakuha, Yotsuya Senpai no Kaidan, an old work of Furudate's.
- This was possibly referenced in Dateko Toy Story where a doll was created that is both named after and resembles Mika.
References[]
- ↑ Volume 23 Chapter 206
- ↑ Volume 29 Chapter 252
- ↑ Volume 29 Chapter 260
- ↑ Volume 31 Chapter 276
- ↑ Volume 30 Chapter 265
- ↑ Volume 35 Chapter 308
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Volume 37 Chapter 327
- ↑ Volume 40 Chapter 354
- ↑ Volume 23 Chapter 206
- ↑ Volume 29 Chapter 256
- ↑ Volume 29 Chapter 260
- ↑ Volume 30 Chapter 261