2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team

After a troubling incident drives him off his Tokyo volleyball team, gifted setter Kimichika Haijima returns to Fukui and reconnects with his childhood friend, Yuni Kuroba. Kuroba plays for Monshiro Middle School but doesn’t recognize the extent of his own potential, and Haijima becomes intent on building a team around him as the ace. When the prefectural tournament arrives, Kuroba buckles under the pressure, the loss splinters the team, and the fallout leaves a painful divide between the two—ending with Haijima walking away.

At Seiin High School, Haijima and Kuroba end up on the court together again, forced to confront what went wrong. Determined not to repeat the past, Haijima supports Kuroba as he works through performance anxiety, while captain Shinichirou Oda and vice-captain Misao Aoki help hold the team together. With the prefectural title and a spot at the Spring Tournament on the line, Seiin must challenge Fukuho Technical High School, Fukui’s reigning champions.