Tobio Kageyama

Tobio Kageyama is a first year at Karasuno High School; he is the regular setter of the Karasuno High Boys' Volleyball Club and plays a critical role as the deuteragonist of the Haikyū!! series. Initially, he was referred to as the "King of the Court," a derogatory nickname that insinuates his autocratic nature, given to him by his former teammates at Kitagawa Daiichi during his late junior high school days.

Kageyama is also widely regarded as a stunning prodigy and an absolute genius by many of the prefecture's players and coaches. After joining Karasuno, he manages to change his attitude for the better with the help of his new teammates and 'rediscover' what it means to be a part of a team. Currently, he has been chosen to train at the all Japan youth training camp and there's a strong possibility that he will become part of Japan's national volleyball team in the future. Kageyama's height and impressively sharp glare are said to be his most prominent physical characteristics. He often emits an intimidating aura, which is heightened by the almost permanent scowl on his face. His hair is black and cropped short, with a fringe that hangs just above his dark blue eyes. His typical attire consists of either his school uniform or practice clothes. Perpetually sullen and undeniably short-tempered, Kageyama originally came off as a typical overbearing perfectionist, caring only about winning and completely disregarding the opinions and well-being of his teammates. His habit of complaining about their performance and barking orders at them eventually led the other players in Kitagawa Daiichi to nickname him the "King of the Court"–a constant reminder of the oppressive, egocentric attitude he demonstrated during his volleyball career in junior high.

Unbeknownst to the majority of his schoolmates and acquaintances, however, he is actually much more sensitive and childish than he appears to be; he simply does not know how to control his frustration, and hence expresses his thoughts and emotions in an inappropriate way. After everyone in Kitagawa Daiichi became fed up with him and abandoned his side, Kageyama was filled with genuine regret and developed an intense fear of being despised and mistrusted, but refused to openly discuss his problem until Tsukishima confronted him about it. Despite his inability to properly socialize, he sincerely wishes to do his best and is extremely passionate and dedicated when it comes to volleyball, to the point where he gets overly excited about nearly every successful move he pulls off with Hinata. Since joining Karasuno, he has grown to be more respectful of his upperclassmen (Sugawara and Asahi in particular), as well as more accepting of people whose abilities and/or views differ from his own (like Tsukishima), and has come to once again understand the importance of teamwork and mutual trust in the sport he treasures so much. Additionally, this has also helped him regain his confidence as a setter. He has also realized that he doesn't call the shots, and gives up control to Hinata and other spikers. As a setter, Kageyama has the potential to unify the team with his overwhelming talent, but hasn't learned how to exploit that to everyone's full advantage yet. He has a remarkable grasp of both the basics and the complexities of volleyball and, in addition to his astounding accuracy and technical skills as a setter, is a skilled spiker, blocker, and receiver.