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"The Lucky Ones: Part 2" (Japanese:
Overview[]
Despite being one of the top volleyball players, Ushijima is not content with relying on his old but effective weapons. He understands that to be truly strong he needs to continuously seek out new weapons as he perfects an even more dangerous arm swing to enhance his spike.
Plot[]
About five years prior, Tendō read a news article concerning Ushijima's lackluster performance in the World League. He phoned Ushijima and found out that his friend was having second thoughts about using an improved arm swing. When questioned further, Ushijima revealed that he was bothered after a young kid told him that volleyball games are boring to watch. Tendō, after a quick laugh at his friend's misery, told Ushijima to get stronger and become a star. Their conversation shifted to Ushijima visiting his dad, and Ushijima added that he met someone else too.
Three months earlier, Ushijima encountered Iwaizumi in Irvine, California. Iwaizumi, a college sophomore studying sports science, traveled overseas to meet a Japanese trainer that he hoped to intern with after college. The said trainer turned out to be Ushijima's dad, Takashi Utsui, whom Ushijima was visiting. Later, the two caught up over coffee. After a quick conversation about Oikawa in Argentina, Iwaizumi brought up Ushijima's average results on the world stage and offered him some suggestions to improve his form. Ushijima welcomed the advice and made a casual comment that he is very lucky. Before the two go their separate ways, Iwaizumi asked to take a photo with Ushijima so he can send it to Oikawa.
Back to the present, Sakusa cleanly receives Sokolov's spike. Atsumu sets a quick to Tomas, but Romero saves it. Hoshiumi sets for Ushijima, who utilizes his improved arm swing to launch a powerful hit. Despite being in the right position, Sakusa is unable to cancel out the ball's spin and power. The ball ricochets into the audience as Adlers catches up to the Jackals 23-24. Sugawara marvels over Ushijima's prowess while Asahi analyzes his new form. While Ushijima's previous arm swing is akin to the motion of shooting an arrow from a bow, his new one uses a circular arm swing that allows him to gather more momentum and power in his hit. The others soon realize that Ushijima willingly discarded his best weapon to seek out something new and formidable.
It's currently 2:20 AM in California (7:20 PM in Japan), but Utsui is still up as he proudly watches his son's match. During one of Ushijima's previous visits, the father-and-son duo went out to dine. Utsui was ecstatic over Ushijima's growth as a player and lavished high praises on his son; however, Ushijima humbly attributed his progress to being lucky and thanked his dad for protecting his gift, his left-handedness.
Appearances[]
- Aoba Johsai High (Former)
- Hajime Iwaizumi (Flashback)
- Karasuno High (Former)
- Shiratorizawa Academy (Former)
- Satori Tendō (Flashback)
- Takashi Utsui
- Tanji Washijō
Chapter notes[]
Character revelations[]
- Ushijima was part of the Japan National Volleyball team when he was 19.
- It is implied that Tendō has moved overseas since he appears to be in a different time zone from Japan when he called Ushijima.
- Iwaizumi went to college and was studying Sports Science. He idolizes Takashi Utsui as a trainer and hopes to study under him.
- Takashi Utsui has written books on volleyball physical training to help minimize player injury.
- Ushijima's old arm swing resembles the motion of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow. He would take off into the air first before pulling his arm back into the loading position and swinging his arm forward to spike. However, in his new circular arm swing, Ushijima is moving his arm even while jumping into the air. His arm follows his torso in a continuous motion until he makes contact with the ball. This allows him to convert more momentum from his run-up and jump into his spike and removes the pause in-between.