Husband | Tsukishima Kei

Kanji 月島 蛍

Rōmaji Tsukishima Kei

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Also Known As: Tsukki (by Yamaguchi, Hinata, Bokuto, Kuroo, Koganegawa, Lev, Shimada and Takinoue) Glasses, Four Eyes (by Kuroo, Bokuto, Tendō and Oikawa) Skinny (by Kuroo and Bokuto) Stingyshima, Four-eyed Jerk Face, Suckyshima (by Hinata) Lil' Bro Shima (by Akaizawa) The Smirky Read Blocker (by Nishinoya) The Normal Guy, Mr. Vanilla (by Tendō) Tsukki-dude, Tsukki-poo (by Bokuto) (anime) Tiredshima, Wearyshima (By Kageyama) Pesky Firefly from Karasuno (by Shirabu, Haikyū-bu!! only) Glasses-kun (by Yonezawa) The Clever Blocker Weirdo Quick Killer (by Ukai)

Gender: Male

Date Of Birth: September 27, 1996

Pre-timeskip Post-timeskip

Age: 15 - 16 (High School 1st Year) - 2012

Height: 188.3 cm (6' 2.1") - Apr 2012 190.1 cm (6' 2.8") - Nov 2012

Weight: 68.4 kg (150.8 lbs.) - Apr 2012

Occupation High School Student (1st Year, Class 4) - 2012

Teams: Amemaru Middle School (Former) Karasuno High

Number: 11 (High School 1st year) 3 (High School 3rd year)

Position: Middle Blocker

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Family: Akiteru Tsukishima (Older Brother) Unnamed Mother

Goal: Nothing in particular

Likes: Volleyball Strawberry Shortcake Dinosaurs

Dislikes: Hot-Blooded people

Home Town: Miyagi Prefecture

Home Country: Japan

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Kei Tsukishima (Japanese: 月島つきしま 蛍けい, Tsukishima Kei) is a first-year at Karasuno High. He plays as one of the starting middle blockers on the boys' volleyball team.

He is currently a college student as well as a middle blocker for the Sendai Frogs, a Division 2 team in the V League, and will start work at the Sendai City Museum after graduating college.

He is the younger brother of Akiteru Tsukishima.

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APPEARANCE

Tsukishima is very tall and has an incredibly slim build for a volleyball player. Despite being a first-year, he is the tallest player on the volleyball team; standing at 190.1 cm. He has short blond hair, pale skin, thin eyebrows, and golden-brown eyes. He is often seen with a frown or a condescending smirk on his face.

After joining the Karasuno volleyball team, Tsukishima wears the standard Karasuno volleyball uniform (black, orange, and white uniform with the number 11 on the back) during matches. He also wears knee pads and white volleyball shoes with green details. He is also the only player on the Karasuno team who wears glasses. Since Chapter 109, Tsukishima began wearing prescription sports glasses that were given to him by his brother.

Outside of matches and practice, Tsukishima wears a black gakuran, the Karasuno male uniform. He is usually seen with white headphones around his neck. The brand of these headphones seems to be "Somy", which is a play on the real name brand "Sony". He has been seen wearing various shirts with crescent moons on them, which plays on his name "Tsukishima" with tsuki meaning "moon".

During a flashback Hinata has while in Brazil, Tsukishima is shown to have let his hair get slightly longer by his third year. When he is later shown during the match between the Adlers and Jackals, he is now wearing new glasses[1]

PERSONALITY

Tsukishima is very blunt and will sometimes rile his teammates up due to his antagonistic nature (most notably being Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Tanaka) and sometimes other teams because of his casual smug attitude, taking pride in and relishing when his opponents see him as a nuisance as seen with Tendō and Shirabu.

Whenever someone does or says something stupid or silly, he is usually seen snickering in the background. However, he does seem to be intimidated by his seniors, being nowhere in sight when Daichi reprimands Tanaka for antagonizing Aoba Johsai even though he did so as well or backing down whenever Ennoshita calls him out.

Despite coming across as arrogant, Tsukishima has low self-esteem and thinks of himself as inferior. This is first noted to be a surprise by Kuroo, who accidentally riles him up by suggesting he'll lose to Hinata, to which he says that he's already below him. After the Shiratorizawa match, despite being the MVP, he's seen calling himself lame for only being able to block Ushijima's spikes once, only adding to how little he believes in himself and his achievements.

Although Tsukishima maintains a persona of someone who shows little interest in anything and wouldn't do something he didn't like or enjoy, he does truly enjoy volleyball. He initially refrained from putting too much effort into volleyball and being too passionate about it out of fear of suffering from the same fate as his brother. However, after his confrontation with Yamaguchi and hearing Bokuto's inspirational words in the Tokyo training camp, he started to take the sport more seriously and finally found his passion and motivation for volleyball when he blocked Ushijima.

Tsukishima keeps his cool, for the most part, but he can be seen getting visibly annoyed when people underestimate him or tell him what he can or cannot do, and uses it as motivation to prove them wrong. He also says things like “It's not a competition” with Hinata but then immediately proceeds to do something to make him jealous, such as the time difference attack during the Shiratorizawa match.

According to Akiteru, “Kei is blunt and doesn't show his emotions often, but he is actually a very hardworking and kind boy.”

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BACKGROUND

Tsukishima was shown to be a lot more cheerful when he was younger and have a very close relationship with his older brother, Akiteru. He would attend several of Akiteru's middle school matches and seemed to enjoy the attention he received from locals who knew him as the younger brother of the team ace.

Sometime in elementary school, he sees Yamaguchi being bullied by several other boys. He doesn't do anything, except call them pathetic; although it is unknown if this was aimed at Yamaguchi and/or the bullies. Shortly after, Tsukishima runs into Yamaguchi again when he was observing a volleyball class. Although he didn't remember Yamaguchi right away, Tsukishima is soon flattered by him when Tsukishima claims that his older brother plays at Karasuno as the team ace, and the two quickly become close friends.

Although Akiteru would state to be working very hard during practice and playing as the team ace again, Tsukishima was kept from attending any Karasuno games because his brother claimed he would become too nervous if he was being watched. When Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and a classmate decided to attend one of Karasuno's games to settle a debate about Akiteru being a starting regular, Tsukishima discovers his brother is not on the team and is instead in the bleachers with the cheer section. Tsukishima's behavior toward his brother and volleyball changed from this point as he began to distance himself from Akiteru and also began to think that putting in so much hard work would only lead to disappointment in the future.

PLOT

Karasuno High Team Formation Arc 3-on-3 First Years Match

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi join Karasuno Boys' Volleyball Club a few days after it begins for the new school year[2]. That evening, they go to where Hinata and Kageyama are practicing. To mess with Hinata, Tsukishima goes behind him and grabs the ball before Hinata can catch it and asks if the two are the first years who caused problems. When Hinata tries to reach for his ball, Tsukishima adds that elementary school kids should be going home, annoying Hinata.

Kageyama cuts in and asks how tall Tsukishima is, though Yamaguchi answers for him. Tsukishima then points out Kageyama's junior high and wonders what an "elite" is doing at Karasuno. Hinata calls for Tsukishima's attention again and declares that they aren't going to lose the 3-on-3 and Tsukishima simply shrugs it off, surprising Hinata. Lightheartedly, Tsukishima explains that the match isn't important for him and Yamaguchi so they could just throw the game for them if they want.

Angered, Kageyama replies that no matter what Tsukishima does, he would still win. In return, Tsukishima laughs at his confidence and reminds him of his "King" nickname. As Kageyama tries to retort, Tsukishima continues bringing up his past and remarks that it's true Kageyama dislikes his nickname. Kageyama has had enough when Tsukishima brings up his performance during the prefecture semifinals last year and lunges forward, grabbing Tsukishima by the collar.

After a few seconds, Kageyama lets go and simply walks away, causing Tsukishima to mock him even more. Suddenly, Hinata jumps up behind him and grabs the ball out of his hand, shocking him. As he lands, Hinata exclaims that he will defeat Tsukishima. Losing his composure for a second, Tsukishima glares at him, but quickly recovers and frivolously states that they should just have fun since volleyball is just a club anyway. He then walks away, leaving a confused Hinata staring after him.

On the way home, Yamaguchi runs to Tsukishima and asks him what's wrong since he seems to be brooding. Coldly, Tsukishima replies that he hates uselessly hot-blooded people like Kageyama and Hinata.

On the day of the 3-on-3, as the players are warming up, Tsukishima loudly provokes Kageyama and Hinata to make them lose their composure, prompting Daichi to comment that Tsukishima has a bad personality.

At first, Tsukishima easily blocks Hinata's spikes due to his height advantage and makes a point of emphasizing that and Kageyama's past. While Kageyama does his best to ignore him, Hinata gets angry and confronts Tsukishima, who reveals that Kageyama is only called a King because of his horrible attitude towards his former teammates.

To his surprise, Kageyama responds that he is actually terrified of tossing the ball and not seeing anyone behind him like what had happened in junior high. Hinata quickly jumps in and adds that he doesn't care about Kageyama's past and will hit any ball Kageyama sends to him. Annoyed, Tsukishima replies that Hinata's genuine straightforwardness irritates him and reminds Hinata that he can't fill the gap in height with fighting spirit.

Throughout the game, Tsukishima continues with his taunts, reminding Hinata that he can't just accomplish anything he wants just by putting all his effort into it. Hinata acknowledges that, but responds that he still wants to win with his body. As Tsukishima adds that his height is still an obstacle, Kageyama cuts in and states that as a setter, he will clear the path for Hinata[3].

When Hinata and Kageyama pull off their first planned quick, Tsukishima's shocked to discover that Hinata had his eyes closed and asks Daichi to explain it. After the two fail their next tries, Tsukishima wonders how long they're going to keep trying until they give up. Daichi adds that it's hard to see someone trusting someone else so completely, especially a rival.

The next try, Tsukishima states to Kageyama that he should stop tossing to Hinata since it'll always fail. However, he's unnerved to see Hinata run up to Kageyama and quickly calls Yamaguchi over, leaving Daichi in the back. Hinata spikes successfully and scores. Throughout the game, Tsukishima continues with his taunts, reminding Hinata that he can't just accomplish anything he wants just by putting all his effort into it. Hinata acknowledges that, but responds that he still wants to win with his body. As Tsukishima adds that his height is still an obstacle, Kageyama cuts in and states that as a setter, he will clear the path for Hinata[3].

When Hinata and Kageyama pull off their first planned quick, Tsukishima's shocked to discover that Hinata had his eyes closed and asks Daichi to explain it. After the two fail their next tries, Tsukishima wonders how long they're going to keep trying until they give up. Daichi adds that it's hard to see someone trusting someone else so completely, especially a rival.

The next try, Tsukishima states to Kageyama that he should stop tossing to Hinata since it'll always fail. However, he's unnerved to see Hinata run up to Kageyama and quickly calls Yamaguchi over, leaving Daichi in the back. Hinata spikes successfully and scores.

In the end, Tsukishima's team loses. After the match, Hinata goes to Tsukishima and holds out his hand, seemingly asking to make up because the upperclassmen will kick out any members who don't get along with others. Tsukishima ignores the hand and retorts that he only got kicked out because he ignored the upperclassmen and caused chaos.

After Hinata leaves Tsukishima, Daichi approaches him and asks him what he thought of the match. Tsukishima replies that he didn't really care and knew he would lose since he was against Kageyama. Daichi grins and points out that Tsukishima still got pretty serious during the game.

At that moment, Kiyoko walks in with the team jackets. At first, Tsukishima doesn't want to put it on, but Tanaka and Sugawara goad him into wearing it. Lining up, the first years stand in front of the upperclassmen with their jackets on and officially get welcomed into Karasuno Boys' Volleyball Club.

TOKYO EXPIDITION ARC

Shortly after Karasuno was defeated by Aoba Johsai, Takeda announces that, thanks to Nekoma's coach, Nekomata, Karasuno has been invited to join the Fukurōdani Academy Group summer training camps which would give them the opportunity to practice against other teams. However, certain members of the team need to pass their final exams and avoid having to take supplementary classes if they want to join the training camps.

Having learned that Tsukishima belongs to one of the college prep classes, Hinata and Kageyama, who are bad at studying, ask Tsukishima to tutor them so they can pass upcoming exams so they wouldn't miss the training camp. Tsukishima initially refused to help, but eventually agreed after Kageyama eventually broke down and begged him to help them. However, Tsukishima only agreed to teach Kageyama and Hinata before and after practices and refused to help any other time they asked. He also eventually stops teaching the two because he claims they were both too stupid to understand the lessons and when the two showed to have better progress from being tutored by Yachi.

In Tokyo, while the rest of his teammates are trying to individually improve, Tsukishima is shown to have no interest in improving his blocking. One night, through some coaxing by Kuroo, Tsukishima joined (albeit reluctantly) the blocking/spiking practices between Kuroo and Fukurōdani's Kōtarō Bokuto and Keiji Akaashi. He quickly leaves, however, when Kuroo teases him about Hinata possibly surpassing him because he doesn't put in any extra effort. Kuroo observes that Tsukishima, despite being taller and smarter than Hinata, actually feels inferior to the latter.

Through a flashback, it is eventually revealed that the reason behind Tsukishima's dispassionate attitude towards club activities and inferiority complex towards Hinata is the experience of his older brother, Akiteru, as player for the Karasuno Volleyball Team. Akiteru is shown to have lied to Tsukishima about being the ace player of the volleyball team and tries to prevent Tsukishima from going to any games in hopes of him never finding out. Tsukishima eventually went to one of the games and discovered his brother's deceit which had a great impact on him. After a confrontation with Yamaguchi, however, Tsukishima turns to Kuroo and Bokuto about what motivates them to continue playing and begins to find a new sense of motivation for himself. He begins improving his blocking abilities thanks to Kuroo's guidance and starts to demonstrate his new abilities during the final match of the camp.

During the barbeque, Tsukishima is seen keeping apart from most of the group until Daichi, Kuroo, and Bokuto attempt to get him and Kenma to eat more food despite their polite refusals. After returning home, Tsukishima met with his brother who was visiting home. After talking things through about Akiteru's involvement with volleyball when he was in high school and why he continued to play after graduating, the brothers seem to finally start repairing their relationship.