"Being strong means... being free" (Haikyuu)
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the concept of freedom, focusing on how strength, discipline, and skill lead to true personal freedom. Using examples from the anime *Haikyuu!!*, the creator highlights characters like Hoshiumi and Nishinoya, who find freedom through embracing their unique strengths, rather than being weighed down by comparisons or limitations. The video emphasizes that 'being good means being free,' showcasing how overcoming fears, mastering skills, and finding confidence leads to a life of fulfillment, both in volleyball and beyond.
Takeaways
- 🏋️♂️ Freedom comes through strength, not just physical but mental and emotional strength.
- 🏐 In 'Haikyuu!!', the line 'Being good means being free' reflects the idea that improving yourself leads to greater freedom.
- 📈 Skill development, whether in sports or other areas, creates freedom by allowing you to overcome obstacles and limitations.
- ⛔ Hoshiumi accepts his limitations (height) but hones the skills he can control, showing the importance of focusing on strengths over weaknesses.
- 🌟 Confidence comes from mastery. The more you develop your abilities, the more freedom you gain to pursue your goals.
- 💪 The mental battle of accepting oneself and not comparing to others, as shown in Hinata's journey, is key to achieving personal freedom.
- 🌍 Nishinoya’s journey symbolizes freedom from expectations; his life on the open sea reflects the freedom to choose his path.
- 🚪 Overcoming fear is central to achieving freedom in both volleyball and life, as seen in Nishinoya’s evolution and decisions.
- 🤝 True freedom also involves relying on others when necessary, as Noya's story highlights the importance of support from friends.
- 🗝️ The routine of self-improvement may seem boring, but it’s actually the key to unlocking the freedom to live life on your own terms.
Q & A
What type of freedom is the speaker focusing on in the video?
-The speaker focuses on the freedom that comes from skill, mental strength, and physical strength, rather than just quitting a job or escaping responsibilities. This freedom is accessible through personal development, such as mastering certain skills and overcoming mental barriers.
How does the speaker define the relationship between strength and freedom?
-The speaker emphasizes that true freedom comes from strength—whether mental, physical, or skill-based. Strength allows people to overcome limitations, fears, and societal expectations, ultimately giving them more control and freedom over their lives.
How does the speaker connect the concept of freedom to Haikyuu’s characters?
-The speaker references various Haikyuu characters, like Hoshiumi and Hinata, to illustrate that freedom comes from their mental and physical resilience. Hoshiumi gains freedom through relentless practice despite his short stature, while Hinata embraces his unique role and abilities, freeing himself from comparisons to others.
What is the significance of the quote 'Being good means… being free' in the context of the video?
-The quote signifies that mastery of skills or self-acceptance brings freedom. When individuals are 'good' at something, they gain the freedom to pursue what they love without being held back by insecurities or limitations.
How does Hoshiumi's story demonstrate the idea of 'freedom through strength'?
-Hoshiumi’s story demonstrates that despite being the shortest in his family and often overshadowed by others, he gains freedom through relentless practice and self-improvement. By honing the skills he could control, rather than focusing on his disadvantages, Hoshiumi becomes one of the most well-rounded players in the series.
How does the speaker relate Nishinoya’s decision to quit volleyball to the theme of freedom?
-Nishinoya's decision to quit volleyball and pursue a life of adventure illustrates freedom from societal expectations. Even though he was one of the most talented players, he chose to follow his own path, which symbolizes breaking free from the pressure to conform to others' expectations.
What role does fear play in limiting freedom, according to the speaker?
-Fear limits freedom by causing people to focus on potential failure rather than success. The speaker suggests that great players, like Nishinoya, succeed because they are not bound by fear or expectations and are willing to take risks and explore new opportunities.
How does Hinata's journey in Haikyuu embody the concept of finding freedom?
-Hinata's journey reflects finding freedom by embracing his unique strengths rather than focusing on what he lacks. Initially, he struggles with being called 'The Greatest Decoy,' but he eventually finds freedom in accepting and excelling in his role, while also letting go of the desire to be like taller players.
What lesson does the speaker derive from Hoshiumi’s acceptance of his limitations?
-The lesson is that accepting limitations can be empowering. By focusing on what he could control, Hoshiumi turned his weaknesses into strengths and became a more versatile player, which granted him greater freedom on the court.
What does the speaker suggest about the relationship between discipline and freedom?
-The speaker suggests that discipline leads to freedom. Practicing skills and persevering through difficult times grants the freedom to achieve one's goals and pursue passions, as it removes limitations and creates opportunities for success.
Outlines
🛠️ The Concept of Freedom Through Strength
This paragraph introduces the concept of freedom beyond just quitting jobs, focusing instead on the freedom gained through skill, physical, and mental strength. Drawing from the anime *Haikyuu!!*, it explains how true freedom stems from personal strength, with examples from Yamaguchi and Shimida's conversation about how to enjoy sports, reflecting a larger principle applicable to life. Taking care of one’s health, honing social skills, and cultivating discipline are highlighted as pathways to this broader freedom, which the anime's characters strive toward.
🏐 Hoshiumi’s Journey: Freedom Through Volleyball
The focus shifts to the character Hoshiumi from *Haikyuu!!*, detailing his childhood struggle as a short player in a family of tall athletes. Despite physical limitations and spending much of middle school on the bench, Hoshiumi chooses relentless practice to overcome these challenges. This paragraph emphasizes how his determination to improve, particularly in volleyball skills, enables him to stay competitive. His mental strength, coupled with his ability to embrace his shortcomings and focus on his strengths, illustrates the core theme of achieving freedom through skill.
🛡️ Embracing Limitations: Hoshiumi’s Mastery
This section delves deeper into Hoshiumi's volleyball prowess, where he turns his perceived weaknesses into strengths. By focusing on areas like spiking, receiving, serving, and especially setting, Hoshiumi refines his abilities to a high level. His practice goes beyond mere competence, turning these skills into powerful weapons. The paragraph also highlights the importance of accepting personal limitations, a key part of Hoshiumi’s mental fortitude and the freedom it affords him on the court.
🌱 Finding Confidence: Hinata’s Path to Freedom
Here, the spotlight shifts to Hinata and his internal battle with being labeled 'The Greatest Decoy.' Initially, Hinata struggles with this title, wanting to spike like taller players, but he eventually embraces his role. His journey reflects a broader theme of self-acceptance, where he discards what doesn’t matter and focuses on what truly resonates with him. Over time, Hinata develops confidence in his abilities, both literally in his jumping and metaphorically in his career, symbolizing the mental freedom that comes with self-belief.
🌊 Nishinoya’s Fearless Pursuit of Freedom
Nishinoya's story is introduced as a reflection of a life lived freely, both on and off the volleyball court. He embodies a fearless mindset, playing without hesitation and, after high school, choosing an unconventional path of adventure by moving to Italy to fish. This choice to live a life of freedom away from the pressures of professional volleyball reflects a core theme in *Haikyuu!!*: pursuing personal fulfillment over societal expectations.
🏐 Fear and Growth: Nishinoya’s Evolution
In this paragraph, Nishinoya’s fearlessness is further explored, especially through his confrontation with Atsumu’s challenging serves. Despite his initial struggles with overhand receives, Nishinoya overcomes his fear with the help of his teammates. This moment in the anime plants the seed for his eventual journey to Italy. It showcases how facing fears head-on, whether in sports or life, is key to achieving true freedom, a concept central to Nishinoya’s development as a character.
🎯 The Difference Between Good and Great Players
The paragraph elaborates on how fear distinguishes good players from great ones. Good players often focus on potential failures, while great players, like Nishinoya, don’t let fear hold them back. By focusing on success rather than the consequences of failure, they achieve more freedom, both on the volleyball court and in life. This mindset, centered on fearlessness, allows for personal growth and the pursuit of one’s desires, a recurring theme in *Haikyuu!!*.
🌍 Freedom Beyond Volleyball: Nishinoya’s Adventure
Nishinoya’s life choice to travel and live adventurously is highlighted as an example of true freedom, achieved through fearlessness and self-reliance. His decision to explore the world mirrors the lesson learned in volleyball: freedom comes from minimizing fear and focusing on personal fulfillment. Hinata, too, reflects this idea by traveling to Brazil to improve his skills. The overarching message here is that breaking free from expectations and fear allows individuals to chart their own paths in life, as both Hinata and Nishinoya do.
💪 Strength Brings Freedom: Conclusion
The final paragraph wraps up the video's themes, emphasizing how freedom comes from building personal strength—whether mental, emotional, or physical. By overcoming distractions, mastering skills, and conquering fears, one gains the confidence and freedom to pursue their goals. The example of Nishinoya traveling the world highlights how this freedom manifests in life, showing that getting stronger, in all senses, leads to greater personal freedom.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Freedom
💡Strength
💡Skill
💡Comparison
💡Mental resilience
💡Hoshiumi
💡Hinata
💡Discipline
💡Fear
💡Expectations
Highlights
The concept of freedom goes beyond just quitting your job and encompasses skill, physical, and mental strength.
Haikyuu's line 'Being good means... being free' applies not just to sports but to many aspects of life.
The idea that strength in health, social skills, and discipline gives you freedom to pursue goals and achieve success.
Hoshiumi's story illustrates finding freedom through relentless practice and honing skills, even in the face of disadvantages like his height.
Despite being shorter than other players, Hoshiumi discards what he can't control and focuses on perfecting what he can, achieving mastery.
Hoshiumi's training in all volleyball skills (spiking, receiving, serving, and setting) reflects his pursuit of freedom through strength.
Mental strength, as showcased in Hoshiumi’s acceptance of his physical limitations, plays a critical role in finding freedom.
Hinata's journey, paralleling Hoshiumi's, highlights the freedom that comes from embracing his unique role on the team, such as accepting the 'Greatest Decoy' title.
Overcoming the fear of failure and comparison to others is a key factor in achieving personal freedom and satisfaction.
Nishinoya embodies freedom both on and off the volleyball court by choosing a life of adventure over the expected path of a professional athlete.
Nishinoya’s journey to becoming fearless and accepting challenges is tied to his ability to push past the expectations of others.
The Haikyuu!! series emphasizes that true freedom comes from minimizing fear, relying on others for support, and choosing your own path.
Noya's choice to pursue a life at sea instead of professional volleyball reflects his personal freedom and refusal to be bound by expectations.
Freedom is about breaking the shackles of expectations and fear, making choices that align with personal desires rather than societal pressures.
Strength through discipline and resistance to distractions provides the freedom to enjoy life, progress, and self-confidence.
Transcripts
If I asked you if you wanted “Freedom” you’d probably say yes, however a lot of us,
myself included, struggle to envision what it actually looks like beyond quitting our jobs,
which sure would be nice, but I think there’s something more important. In this video I’m going
to focus on a side of freedom that is accessible to us all. The freedom that comes through skill as
well as physical and especially mental strength. The idea that “Being good means… being free.”
It’s a line that comes up repeatedly throughout Haikyuu across a number of characters,
with its first appearance, I believe, being from Yamaguchi and his discussion
with Shimida which gave us a very similar quote “To truly enjoy sports, you have to be strong”.
Obviously the example here is sports, but it applies to everything. Taking care of your
health gives you the freedom to actually do the things you want instead of being
held back because you don’t feel great, practising your social skills gives you
the freedom to speak to whoever you want, having the discipline to stick with things
when times get tough gives you the freedom to pursue and actually achieve whatever you want.
And that last one is the focus of Haikyuu. We see it in a lot of different characters,
but the one I want to focus on today is Hoshiumi. I’m going to run through some parts of his
backstory and you’ll see how this all ties into that line, in particular the mental side of it.
He’s been obsessed with volleyball from a young, young age. And yet sadly ended up being the only
short king in a family of giants. He’s had to watch everyone around him surpass him in
an instant. First with his older brother, who just walked into a training session and hit a
great spike on his first try, despite Hoshiumi having to practise and practise for it. And as
someone who’s been playing volleyball for maybe 3 months now and to be honest still
can’t do that consistently, to be able to do that on your very first try is very
impressive. And just seems to hammer home the point to Hoshiumi, that he’s born “without”.
Years on, this only becomes more extreme, as after playing for close to a decade,
he’s now got competition for his spot from someone who’s only been playing for a year.
From a player who embodies that unfairness of the world - Gao Hakuba. He stands at 6’8”,
which I believe makes him the tallest in the series, just ahead of Hyakuzawa. He’s seemingly
gifted with natural strength, and whilst he’s certainly not at Hoshiumi’s level yet
, there’s a pretty huge difference here in that Hoshiumi spent the entirety of middle school on
the bench, which forgive me if I’m wrong here it’s a bit different in the UK, but if he started in
second grade and didn’t play until high school, I think that’s eight years on the bench. Whereas
Gao seems to have become a starting player for a very strong school almost instantly.
So what does any of this have to do with that line?
Well, let’s go back a bit to when he was younger.
Spending years on the bench the way he did, it would have been extremely
easy for him to have simply stopped playing volleyball. To have allowed his height to dictate
that he simply couldn’t do the thing he wanted. Instead he opted for a different path, to find
the freedom found through strength. Practising everything and anything he could relentlessly.
Which is something else I want to talk about, he knew, being short,
that there were some weapons simply inaccessible to him.
And so, he accepted his weaknesses. He ignored the weapons he couldn’t wield: and instead
focused on all the ones he could. Carefully, persistently honing them all to a wicked point.
(^chapter 362)
As one of, if not the, most well rounded player in the series, Hoshiumi practiced everything,
not just spiking, receiving, serving, and most notably setting. Now of course,
everyone practises everything but he took it to a whole level entirely. Rather than
simply being things he has to be able to do, he turned them into potent weapons.
For example he didn’t just get “good” at overhand passes,
he got amazing at them to the point where he can reliably set no matter
where he is on the court. In doing so, he gained the freedom to stay on the court.
However, as cringey and cheesy as it sounds, the greatest strength which offers the greatest
freedom, is linked to what we were just talking about, and it’s to be able to have
faith in your own wings, and not wish you had or the ones of other people.
This is something I’ve always struggled with. From my physique to my channel to
my job to my flat, I’ve always found myself constantly comparing myself
down to the tiniest detail and it really zaps all enjoyment of whatever it is you’re doing.
But if we’re talking about freedom here, having the strength to not compare yourself to others,
gives you the freedom to actually feel good about yourself. To be proud of your
progress and happy with how you’re doing. And for Hinata, this was something that had
bugged him since he first joined Karasuno and was labelled “The Greatest Decoy”.
It wasn’t what he wanted. He thought it was uncool and he wanted to be able to spike like
the tall players he saw but with time, he realised that “Hinata Shoyo” standing on the court is far
more important to him than whether he’s called “The Greatest Decoy” or “The Little Giant”.
In the same way Hoshiumi discarded the “weapons he couldn’t wield”, Hinata not only did the same,
but also discarded the things that didn’t matter to him as much. And broke
the shackles of “Being the greatest decoy isn’t cool” and “I wish I was like them”.
But there’s a reason this took so long, he had to give his brain some evidence that it
actually worked. It’s kinda hard to when you’ve got zero proof that it’s a good idea, not that
you can’t or shouldn’t, I’ve just personally always found it quite hard. But by this point
in the story, he’d already beaten some pretty huge names and played a major part himself in doing so.
He’d seen proof that he could reach the same heights as anyone else, literally in his jumping
and metaphorically in his future career. And in this match here, against the modern little giant,
who’d already reached Japan’s youth camps, Hinata, fully has faith in himself.
And Hoshiumi had done the same too, rather than letting his height get him down,
he simply accepted that there was nothing he could do about it, and we see how far that’s taken him.
But this idea goes way beyond volleyball, and there’s one player in particular that I
think really embodies this idea, Yu Nishinoya, however I’m going to pass things over to someone
a lot of you likely know for that, but be warned there will be manga spoilers beyond this point.
In the post time skip match between the Jackals and Adlers, Furudate puts a thematic stamp on this
idea through the reintroduction of Nishinoya. During this match we see many of our favorite
characters reunite, with one exception—Noya is nowhere to be seen. Near the end of the first set,
Asahi clues us in to what he has been up to, living off the coast of Italy fishing for
Merlins. After high school, Noya chose to pursue a life of adventure instead of one on the court.
Throughout the story, Noya had been the embodiment of playing freely. As libero of an
offensive-minded team, Noya allowed his teammates to play without the fear of getting blocked.
Outside of the Inarizaki match, Noya brought a fearless and free perspective to his team.
He extends his freedom to his choice of career, forgoing expectations of becoming a professional
athlete and making it to the open sea. Noya’s decision to quit volleyball and
the way he handled himself on the court shows how expectations and fear deeply
connect to a person’s ability to become “free.” If you are one of the most talented high school
volleyball players, like Noya, you are expected to become a professional athlete. Because athletes
are held in such high regard, it is seen as a waste of potential if you don’t go pro despite
being talented enough to do so. The same expectations for how you should live your
life applies to the style in which you are expected to play. Small players are liberos
and the tallest are middle blockers. Furudate plays with our expectations of
players all the time in Haikyuu!!. After Noya’s reintroduction, he highlights the uniqueness of
the Jackals’ play style. First with Bokuto's unorthodox but now signature chest receive,
followed by an Atsumu setter dump, with the chapter ending as Hinata fakes a spike into a set.
The “freest” players on the court always play at the highest level because they are
not bound by the strategies of their opponents. You can’t back them into a corner because there
is always another direction to go. They are not limited by what you think they might do,
and always make the best choices for themselves. That is captured in the panel at the end of this
chapter, with Noya standing on the edge of the sea, paired with Hinata’s surprise set.
So much of Haikyuu!!’s story explores how volleyball reflects real life. The lessons
learned on the court give the players a foundation for making difficult choices. The freedom we see
Noya play with flows into his willingness to set aside the career path most would
have chosen and follow what his heart tells him to do. He is able to journey across the world,
literally, because he tackles fear head on. Noya is no stranger to fear, as clearly shown
in the match against Inarizaki. Atsumu puts our favorite libero's receiving skill to the test by
getting the better of Noya with his jump floats. So far in the story Noya had never shown fear,
taking on Date Tech and Shiratorizawa with confidence, empowering his teammates
to overcome their own trepidations. Atsumu has the skill to challenge the
weakest part of Noya’s game, overhand receives. And he targets Noya relentlessly hoping to break
Karasuno’s guardian. Furudate plants the seed for Nishinoya’s journey to Italy in
this match. Noya tells everyone about his childhood, how for the longest time he
was scared of everything but his grandfather made sure to put him out of his comfort zone,
assuring him that if something gets too scary, your friends will be able to help you through it.
Noya overcomes his fear of Atsumu through the help of Kinoshita and gets back to his free style of
play. Years later Noya’s decision to move across the world is rooted in his fearlessness. Through
the trial and errors of competition Noya built a foundation to accept fear and try new things.
The difference between good players and great ones is often fear. Good players have preconceived
ideas about the talent level of themselves and their opponents. They are expected to
play within a certain style, and if they fail to score or make a receive, then a substitute
will be on the way. Great players avoid that mindset, never focusing on the consequences
of failure but on the results if they succeed. That mindset doesn’t just apply to volleyball
but life. If you are too focused on what might happen if you fail
then how could you be expected to succeed. Noya’s example throughout Haikyuu!! shows
the importance of finding freedom within your life. It comes from minimizing fear,
relying on friends, and always trying out new things. Don’t allow your life to be dictated
by the expectations of what others want you to do and instead focus on yourself.
For Hinata, he embraced freedom by traveling to Brazil, building up his body and making sure he
could fill any role on the volleyball court. For Nishinoya, his freedom was found on the coast of
Italy. A life at sea where he literally has the freedom to go in any direction he
pleases. Getting good means breaking the shackles of expectations and fear, and
taking life in the direction you want it to go. “Being good means being free,” for Nishinoya that
takes him away from Japan and volleyball. He embraces the mindset of the greatest athletes
to pursue a life that he finds fulfilling. That is truly what it means to be good.
A huge thank you to Aniessays for his segment, to finish off the video, I just wanted to say
that once you’ve heard this line once you’ll start to notice it everywhere. I gave some
examples earlier but it really does apply to so much, the stronger your ability to resist
distractions the more time you have, the better you get at something the more you get to do it,
the more confidence you have in yourself, which is typically built up from all sorts of strength,
the more comfortable you’ll be overcoming the fear to do well,
anything. And when you put all that together, you get someone like Nishinoya,
free to travel and go wherever he wants in the world, picking up whatever job he needs to get by.
I think the assumption is that the routine of building yourself up in something is “boring”,
y’know we’ve all done this, I don’t want to do x because it’d be boring but anyone
doing those things knows it simply isn’t true. It’s actually really fun,
and the rewards of it are even more fun. By comparison, if you
don’t have the strength to drop the things harmful to you, you’re a prisoner to them.
If you’re looking for more freedom, the answer is likely, simply, getting stronger.
Thank you very much for watching, I’ve got plenty of other Haikyuu videos if you want to check them
out here. Thank you to NorthstarUK for joining as a channel member, and I’ll see you all again soon.
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