If you don’t know what Haikyuu is, you’ve probably been living under a rock for quite some time now…
The insanely popular Japanese anime follows the story of the Karasuno high school volleyball team as they grow and develop as players in the sport of volleyball.
I may or may not have binge watched several episodes myself recently…
Today we’re going to look at each of the Karasuno players and see what volleyball shoes they wear.
I’m going to do my best to link the shoes worn in the show to the most accurate real-life version of the shoe – shoes that you could actually get ahold of if you wanted to.
Hopefully this helps a few of the cosplayers out there!
We’ll also have a look at each player’s position and dig a little deeper into whether the shoe they wear is a good fit for that player type.
Let’s go!
#10 Hinata Shōyō
Asics Gel-Rocket 10 White & Red
The closest equivalent to the shoes worn by everyone’s favorite undersized middle blocker, Hinata Shōyō, is the Asics Gel-Rocket 10 in the white and red style.
Is Hinata Wearing The Wrong Volleyball Shoes?
Hinata, the main character, is a player that I can related to greatly as an undersized middle blocker myself!
Hinata is super athletic, nimble, and short – which is about as atypical as you can get for a middle blocker.
Hinata’s Volleyball Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 10
The closest portrayal of the shoes he wears is the Asics Gel-Rocket 10 in the white and red style. This shoe is one of the most classic general purpose volleyball shoes (actually it’s technically a court shoe, worn also for badminton, handball, and squash) that has been on the market forever.
It’s known as being extremely durable making it my highest ranked outdoor volleyball shoe of 2024! This makes it suitable for playing on concrete surfaces which we’ve already seen Hinata do in the show.
Middle Blockers Need Shoes With Better Cushioning!
One problem I see here is how much jumping Hinata does as a middle blocker… This shoe simply isn’t configured to be jumped in a ton – the cushioning setup is quite rudimentary which means Hinata will be putting a lot of stress on his joints from the constant jumping.
Athletes like Hinata who spend a lot of time jumping each week need to prioritize shoes with exceptional impact protection, which is lacking in the Gel-Rockets.
Shoe Recommendations For Players Like Hinata
I’d like to see Hinata consider upgrading to either an Asics Sky Elite FF or even going with the Adidas Dame 7 if he didn’t want to spend quite so much cash!
He should also check out my full article on the best volleyball shoes for hitters so he can get a better idea of what sorts of things middle blockers should look for in a volleyball shoe!
#1 Daichi Sawamura
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Karasuno’s captain and opposite hitter, Daichi Sawamura, appears to also wear Gel-Rockets, this time it’s the slightly older Gel-Rocket 8 in the white and black colorway.
Does Daichi Need Some New Kicks?
Daichi is one of the most loved characters in the show. He is an incredible leader and extremely well respected by the Karasuno players.
So why exactly is he wearing a shoes that came out almost 5 years ago, of which there’s several more recent versions?
Daichi Sawamura’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 8
The closest portrayal of the shoes he wears is the Asics Gel-Rocket 8 in the white and black style. This is an old model of the Gel-Rockets and they actually don’t make this colorway in the more recent editions.
There’s a pretty close equivalent in the Gel-Rocket 10, but it’s a women’s shoe.
Opposite Hitters Need Shoes With More Bounce & Impact Protection!
So what do I think of Daichi wearing Gel-Rocket 8s?
I’m not a big fan.
He must really like those colorways or something!
Opposite hitters have a very simple role: jump, hit, and block.
Therefore they need shoes with a bit of extra spring as well as strong shock absorption, just like middle blockers.
Shoe Recommendations For Opposites Like Daichi
If he’s got the cash for it, I’d recommend Daichi thinking about going for a pair of Lebron 18s which is one of my favorite shoes for opposites who want something that feels incredible to jump in.
Alternatively he could consider going for some Mizuno Wave Momentums or Asics Sky Elite FFs.
Either way, he should check out my article on the best volleyball shoes of 2024 because he desperately needs an upgrade!
#9 Tobio Kageyama
Asics Gel-Rocket 10 Black & Gold
Karasuno’s star setter, Tobio Kageyama appears to wear the black and gold Asics Gel-rocket 10s – that’s the closest guess I could come up with after squinting at images and film for 20 minutes!
Superstar Setter Selects Solid Shoes
Behind every good hitter is usually a great setter.
The Karasuno starting setter, Kageyama, is well known for his butter fingers.
Moreover, the sacred setter/middle partnership between Tobio and Hinata is one which has proven insurmountable for most of Karasuno’s opposition.
Tobio Kageyama‘s Volleyball Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 10
It looks like we’ve got another Asics fan in Tobio Kageyama. Spoiler, every player on Karasuno wears Asics shoes – which isn’t surprising as the Asics brand sponsors the Japanese national team…
At least Tobio is waring the lastest version of the Gel-Rockets and he’s picked a decent colorway. My best guess is it’s the black and gold style but it’s pretty hard to tell.
Setters Need A Highly Responsive Shoe
Setters do a ton of chasing after volleyballs as well as quick lateral movements and not so much in the way of jumping.
As such, they need a lightweight, low to the ground shoe with excellent traction. They can afford to forego advanced cushioning because of the limited jumping they do.
Shoe Recommendations For Setters Like Tobio
The Gel-Rocket 10s are a pretty solid pick for a setter and so far I think Tobio has the most appropriate footwear of all players on the team!
The Gel-Rockets have excellent traction and responsiveness and a very supportive, low to the ground design.
I think Kageyama should stick with his Gel-Rockets but as soon as he’s ready to go for an upgrade, he should read my roundup article of the best volleyball shoes for setters!
#3, Asahi Azumane
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Karasuno’s “ace” and outside hitter, Asahi, also appears to sport the white and black Gel-Rocket 8s. Just how good of a choice are these shoes for this type of player?
Karasuno’s Ace, Asahi Azumane, Wears Appropriate Shoes
Karasuno’s final third year player, Asahi is most well known for his powerful jump serve.
As the team’s starting outside hitter, he’s involved in all sorts of plays from serve receive, spiking, blocking, and digging.
Asahi’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 8
Once again, it’s pretty tough to tell exactly, but Asahi also appears to wear the white and black Gel-Rocket 8s, along with teammates Daichi, Chikara, Hisashi, Kazuhito, Kai, and Tadashi.
This is one of the most versatile volleyball shoes making it a pretty decent choice for a versatile player like Asahi.
Outside Hitters Need Well-Rounded Shoes
As an outside hitter, you’re doing all sorts of actions on the volleyball court: passing, hitting, blocking, and digging.
You need shoes with excellent traction and responsiveness for those quick lateral movements needed when passing and digging.
You also need a good amount of cushioning for impact protection from the huge amount of jumping you’re doing.
Shoe Recommendations For Outside Hitters Like Asahi
Honestly, the Gel-Rocket 8 isn’t a bad choice for an outside hitter. This one largely comes down to personal preference.
Very few shoes are going to be perfect in all aspects.
If you’re looking for great cushioning, the shoe is probably going to be too high off the ground for passing/digging…
If you need great responsiveness and traction for defense, it probably won’t have enough cushioning for jumping.
The Gel-Rocket 8 does a decent job across the board, which makes it a pretty reasonable shoe for an outside hitter like Asahi.
I’d love to see him upgrade to the Asics Sky Elite FF or even something like the Li-Ning All City 10 which both have improved cushioning while remaining extremely responsive.
#2 Kōshi Sugawara
Asics Upcourt 4 White & Blue
Believe it or not, the closest thing you can get to Kōshi Sugawara’s volleyball shoes is the Asics women’s Upcourt 4 shoes. It takes a good amount of confidence to rock the women’s shoes as well as Kōshi does!
Is Kōshi Sugawara Wearing Women’s Volleyball Shoes?
Not that there’s anything wrong with wearing women’s volleyball shoes! Maybe he’s just got really small feet!
What’s more likely is that I couldn’t find a pair of shoes which more closely resembles the exact ones he’s wearing in the series.
The men’s Asics shoes don’t come with any light blue/aqua marine colorways, so I think it’s more likely the writers/animators didn’t base the design on a real shoe at all!
Kōshi Sugawara’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Upcourt 4?
The Upcourt 4 shoes are a general purpose, budget court shoe designed primarily for beginners or casuals.
I think it’s pretty unlikely that the third year vice captain would actually choose to wear shoes like these, but who knows!
What Should A Setter & Serving Specialist Wear?
Kōshi is Karasuno’s second setter and so he needs a pair of shoes that are highly responsive, just like Tobio’s.
For the amount of players on the team wearing Gel-Rocket 10s, you’d have thought someone would have tipped him off about them being a decent shoe for setters!
Kōshi is also a serving specialist which means he comes in occasionally to serve the team out of troublesome spots, but this shouldn’t really have much of an impact on what shoe he wears.
I’d recommend Kōshi upgrade to a pair of Mizuno Momentum 2s which are one of my all-time favorite shoes for setters.
#6 Chikara Ennoshita
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Karasuno’s outside hitter, Chikara Ennoshita, also appears to wear something very similar to the white and black Gel-Rocket 8s.
Chikara Ennoshita’s Volleyball Shoes
Karasuno’s 2nd year outside hitter, Chikara, seems to mostly fly under the radar in the show and rarely plays important roles in any of the plot lines.
Chikara’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 8
Once again, the shoe closest to what Chikara wears is the white and black Gel-Rocket 8.
It makes me question whether the animators got half way through the team and decided to just copy paste the shoe design for half of the players!
Shoe Recommendations For Chikara
Chikara is really no one’s favorite character in the show because he simply blends into the background.
He needs to make a statement by picking a shoe that’ll make him really stand out!
I think the perfect option would be the Li-Ning All City 10s which are, in my opinion, the coolest looking shoe on the market right now.
They also happen to be one of the most effective shoes for the outside hitter position!
#5 Ryūnosuke Tanaka
Asics Netburner Ballistic FF
I’m pretty sure I nailed this one. The black on black Asics Netburner Ballistic FlightFoam is my best guess as to what shoe Tanaka wears.
Tanaka’s Shoes Match His Personality
Second year outside hitter, Ryūnosuke Tanaka, is a bit of a dark horse/oddball character.
I can never quite tell if he’s got anger management issues or is just super enthusiastic… He’s probably the only character screaming at the top of his lungs more often than Hinata!
Ryūnosuke Tanaka’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Netburner Ballistic FF
I’m thrilled with Tanka’s choice of shoe.
The Netburner Ballistic FF has incredible FlightFoam cushioning, making it one of the best shoes for jumpers with excellent impact protection.
It’s high on lateral stability and support because of the fairly wide outrigger which makes it ideal for outside hitters who need to be able to pass well.
It seems Tanaka is a fan of the black colorways and I actually think the black on black looks really good on court.
10/10, Tanaka. Great job!
#7 Hisashi Kinoshita
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Hisashi is yet another second year outside/opposite hitter who has gone for the Gel-Rocket 8s, so far as I can tell.
Hisashi Kinoshita Shoes
By all indications, it would appear as though second year outside/opposite hitter, Hisashi, is also on the Gel-Rocket 8 train.
It’s pretty tough to tell whether these are Gel-Rocket 8s in the white and black colorway or if they’re a dark navy blue style in some other model.
Are Karasuno sponsored by Asics? Did Asics have a bunch of old Gel-Rockets they couldn’t get rid of and decided to dump them on the Karasuno team?
#4 Yū Nishinoya
Asics Gel-Rocket 10 White & Red
Karasuno’s Libero, Yū Nishinoya, has one of the best choices of volleyball shoe on the entire team. The Asics Gel-Rocket 10 is a perfect choice for a libero.
Yū Nishinoya Picked The Perfect Shoes
As Karasuno’s libero, Yū Nishinoya, interestingly wears the same shoes as Hinata, a middle blocker…
It actually makes a lot of sense for Nishinoya to wear these shoes – who knows what Hinata was thinking…
Yū Nishinoya’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 10
The Asics Gel Rocket-10 is one of the best volleyball shoes a libero can wear because of their lightweight, low to the ground, highly responsive configuration.
They don’t have amazing cushioning, which is fine since Nishinoya isn’t doing a ton of jumping.
But they really excel when it comes to traction and support, which is why they’re perfect for all the lateral movements liberos perform.
Liberos Need To Be Connected To The Floor!
As defensive specialists, liberos need to be really good at passing and digging. This requires them to be as low to the court as possible, which requires a pretty thin midsole.
Spikers need very different shoes with thicker midsoles and more cushioning, which make them feel considerably more high off the ground.
Hats off to Yū Nishinoya who picked a great shoe for his role.
#8 Kazuhito Narita
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Middle blocker, Kazuhito Narita, by all indications also wears the Gel-Rocket 8s, which I think is a really poor choice for players in his position!
Someone Needs To Buy Kazuhito Narita Some New Shoes!
As the second middle blocker on the Karasuno team, Narita is a fairly inconspicuous character in the series and very much lives in the shadow of the team’s superstar middle blocker, Hinata.
Middle Blockers Cannot Wear Shoes Like These!
We just talked about how middle blockers require tons of cushioning to protect their joints from all the landing forces incurred with frequent jumping.
And yet Narita’s got a very average shoe so far as cushioning goes.
This is a libero or setter’s shoe, not a middle blocker’s shoe.
Shoe Recommendations For Kazuhito
There’s so many awesome choices of volleyball shoe for big men like Narita.
Ideally he’ll get a shoe with a thick midsole with a good amount of bounce – something that’ll feel amazing to jump, as well as land in.
Maybe some mid top shoes for some additional lateral support which is really important for players who spend a ton of time around the net and are often landing on other players’ feet!
My recommendation for Kazuhito would be to go for a pair of Lebron 18s or if he wants to stick with the Asics brand, the Sky Elite FFs are going to be a far better choice.
#11 Kei Tsukishima
Asics Gel Sensei 4 Neon Green
“Too cool for school” first year middle blocker, Tsukishima, appears to be wearing a very old, rare type of Asics shoe that is virtually impossible to buy nowadays.
Is Kei Tsukishima Wearing Ultra Rare Shoes?
Tsukishima is a freshmen middle blocker who really doesn’t seem to take volleyball very seriously at all.
While most players on the team are incredibly enthusiastic about the sport, Kei seems far less committed!
Kei Tsukishima’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel Sensei 4
If you squint closely, you can see that Kei isn’t wearing the Gel-Rocket 8s and in fact the shoe which most closely resembles the character’s footwear is the Asics Gel Sensei 4.
This is an absolutely ancient shoe that we’ve not really seen the likes of in over half a decade.
It makes a lot of sense – Kei is seen by many as almost ‘too cool for school’ so it’s no wonder he’s wearing some pretty unique kicks.
With an asymmetrical lacing system this shoe is quite unique and performs extremely well.
It’s actually a badminton/squash shoe so it’s definitely not ideal for middle blockers, but would be a really nice choice for a setter or libero.
Since he’s a middle blocker, I’d prefer to see Kei wearing something like a Lebron 18, KD14, or Sky Elite FF, all of which have much more appropriate cushioning setups for the big man.
#12 Tadashi Yamaguchi
Asics Gel-Rocket 8 White & Black
Rounding out our list we’ve got yet another first year middle blocker in Tadashi Yamaguchi who is wearing, you guessed it, Gel-Rocket 8s.
Tadashi Yamaguchi Should Get Some New Shoes
Yamaguchi is one of the secondary middle blockers who seems to live somewhat in Hinata’s shadow.
I think it’s about time he showed Kei and Hinata that he actually knows what he’s doing as a MB by wearing some shoes that make sense for his position!
Tadashi Yamaguchi’s Shoe Of Choice: Asics Gel-Rocket 8
The closest portrayal of the shoes Yamaguchi wears is the Asics Gel-Rocket 8 in the white and black style, along with half the team. This is an old model of the Gel-Rockets and they no longer make this colorway in the more recent editions.
Shoe Recommendations For Yamaguchi
As we’ve already established, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for a middle blocker to be wearing shoes like these and I think a wiser choice would be anything with some decent cushioning.
Heck, he may as well really make a statement by going for some Nike Air Zoom G.T. Jumps!
What Volleyball Shoes Do They Wear In Haikyuu?
By all accounts, it appears as though every player on the Karasuno volleyball team wears Asics branded volleyball shoes.
While it’s unclear exactly which types of Asics shoes the players wear, the criss cross design patterns on the sides of the shoes are a dead giveaway that the team wears Asics.
It’s not surprising since the Japanese national team is sponsored by Asics and this is a Japanese anime.
They’re also simply a very iconic and recognizable volleyball shoe, so it makes sense that the animators would choose to base their shoes around the Asics design.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that the designs actually aren’t that similar to real Asics volleyball shoes, but that’s the closest thing to it!
