Teppei Naruko (Japanese:
Appearance[]
He has a medium build with an above average height for a third-year high school student. His eyes are thin and long, and above them are eyebrows that ever-slightly curve. His has messy, dirty blond hair that forms two spikes above his ears.
Personality[]
He seems to not be a very talkative person as he says very little things during the Karasuno match. Like Shiroishi, he is usually seen with a frowned expression, but he is also seen smiling a few times.
Plot[]
Spring High Preliminary Arc[]
His first appearance in the anime is in the episode Up Above where he is walking with his team in Wakunan's gym. This differs from the manga where he does not show up until the Karasuno match.
Wakutani plays Karasuno in the Quarterfinals of the Spring Qualifiers. During the game against Karasuno's first set, Naruko is seen spiking after been set to Hanayama, Wakutani Minami's setter. Sometime later, however, he fails to block some of Karasuno's own shots. Shortly after, Naruko, along with Hanayama, are the receivers that fail to save Yamaguchi's let serve. After Nakashima's warning that their best has yet to come, Naruko yells "Yeah" with his team in unison. At the end of the second set, he manages to get a one-touch on Hinata's spike and is also shown blocking Tanaka along with Kawatabi.
At the beginning of the third set, Naruko is a blocker taking part in Wakutani Minami's triple block that is tasked to shun Hinata out. He is rotated in for the final part of the set after Matsushima fails his serve. At their jump, Hinata attempts to copy Nakashima's block-out technique but fails as he doesn't succeed to make Naruko's arm touch the ball. When Nakashima gets blocked, Naruko's and Akiu's reactions are the only ones who are not shown. He attempts to block Hinata at the end, but he spikes through a open gap and Kawatabi fails to receive the ball, which ends up landing out, winning the game for Karasuno. He is last seen thanking Wakunan's supporters.
Statistics[]
| High School Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 3/5 | ||
| Jumping | 3/5 | ||
| Stamina | 3/5 | ||
| Game Sense | 4/5 | ||
| Technique | 3/5 | ||
| Speed | 3/5 | ||
He has decent abilities. His strategic skills, however, are above average. He appears to be a good blocker, managing to get a one-touch on Hinata and Kageyama's quick.
Jumping Reach: 328 cm.
Relationships[]
Wakutani Minami High[]
- Wakutani Minami High: Teppei gets along well with his team.
Trivia[]
- It is confirmed that he shares the same class as Kazumasa Hanayama.
- Teppei shared his Japanese and English voice actors with other characters.
- He shared his Japanese voice actor with Isao Inagaki and Yūki Tazawa.
- He shared his English voice actor with Yoshitomo Atema, Masahiko Inuhata, Yūji Isehara of Ubugawa High, Ayumu Moritake, Wataru Onaga, and Tamahiko Teshiro (Land vs. Air OVA).
- Naruko is probably named after Naruko Onsen district, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture.
- Nomenclature:
- Teppei (哲平) – Philosophy, Plateau/Peace
- Naruko (鳴子) – Clapper (Noisemaker)