The Little Giant in Haikyū!!: Who Is He Really?

The popular volleybal manga Haikyū!! is known for being one of the most popular sports manga in history. And while the show has given us a lot of thrills in the sports sense of the word, it is not known for having many mysteries. Still, one mystery has been occupying the minds of fans around the world, related to the identity of the enigmatic character known as the Little Giant. We at Fiction Horizon, of course, know who the Little Giant is, and in this article, we are going to tell you who the character really is.

Tenma Udai, also known as the Small Giant, Little Giant or Tiny Giant, was the ace of Karasuno High’s Boys’ Volleyball Club. As of November 2018, he is currently working as a manga artist. His legacy in the sports world of Haikyū!! is enormous, which explains why he is such an important character and why his identity was so important to the fans.

The Little Giant is an enigmatic and relevant character from the Haikyū!! series, which is why he definitely deserves the attention. In this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Haikyū!!‘s enigmatic character, whose identity is important to the fans and for the development of the series’ plot.

Who is the Little Giant in Haikyū!!?

The identity of the Little Giant has been one of the most important questions in the Haikyū!! series. The series is not known for its many mysteries, but the identity of the Little Giant, one of the best volleyball aces in the franchise, was a big and important one. If you still don’t know who he is, we at Fiction Horizon have all the answers, but be careful – spoilers lie ahead!

The Little Giant is – Tenma Udai! Udai is introduced as a Little Giant when he attends the spring high school tournament as a spectator after hearing that Karasuno has reached the quarterfinals. He manages to spot Akiteru in the crowd and accompanies the rest of the Karasuno alumni into the arena. Saeko introduces him to Hinata, who eagerly greets him and inquires about his recent volleyball activities. However, Udai admits that he stopped playing volleyball after graduation due to other interests, nor was he invited to join a university team. He currently works as a manga artist.

Udai is a Karasuno graduate and a former volleyball ace. According to Keishin Ukai, Karasuno was at its peak when Udai played for the team. Since Shōyō Hinata was inspired to play volleyball after TV’s “Little Giants“, Udai is indirectly responsible for all events of the story. Initially, the Little Giant was blocked frequently, but by the middle of his sophomore year, his skills were beginning to develop and he was beginning to bat the ball between the blockers’ arms and off their fingertips. There was a time in the past when he didn’t do so well during a practice match.

In the middle of the game, he was seated on a bench and went outside into the hallway to calm down. Saeko Tanaka, who was watching the game, was standing near the lockers at the time. She watched as Udai kicked things around and banged his head against the lockers until he suddenly turned and made eye contact with her. Saeko was surprised by his intense expression and still remembers it vividly. She confessed that she almost fell in love with him.

During a match, Udai is immediately surprised by Hinata’s fast attack and how Karasuno’s synchronized attack looks. He then tries to cheer Saeko up when her brother misses his first serve. After seeing Hoshiumi play against Hakuba, Udai admits he considered himself a talented player throughout middle and high school.

Knowing that his height disadvantaged him, Udai honed his technical skills to compete with those taller than him. He knows Hoshiumi must understand that the world is fair and cruel. When Kamomedai wins the first set, Udai concludes that Akiteru’s earlier statement that Udai and Hoshiumi are similar is incorrect.

Udai then started referring to Asahi after being taken down by Kamomedai’s blockers, recalling the pressure of being the ace. Shortly after Sugawara was substituted out of the match, Saeko wonders why Karasuno’s team didn’t use the blocking method they used with Ushijima, where they had the ace in front of their highest wall.

Udai explains that for someone like Hoshiumi, the wall can just be a target or something he can use to his advantage by using a block. He would compliment her for knowing so much about volleyball, but Saeko would explain to him that she had gained so much knowledge from being with Akiteru, Shimada, and Takinoue.

After seeing Tsukishima dodge Hoshiumi’s spike, which would win the set for Karasuno, Udai is among those surprised by Tsukishima’s act and Tsukishima’s smiling expression on Hoshiumi’s face. When Karasuno finally lost the match, Udai was convinced that Hinata hadn’t given up on her desire to keep going forward.

He would, at that moment, be amused when Saeko mentions that everything leading up to this point was due to Hinata watching him play Nationals, and he playfully remarked on how he had created a monster. Since the final arc, Udai has become a manga creator and has been working on Zombie Knight Zom’bish.

He accompanies Akaashi to the match between the Schweiden Adlers and the MSBY Black Jackals as it seems that they are now colleagues. At the end of the game, Udai reveals that Zombie Knight Zom’bish is nearly done, but that he also has an idea for another new series he’d like to work on. He and Akaashi interview Bokuto after the match, but Udai is confused by the behavior between the two Fukurōdani graduates. In his last appearance, Udai appears to be working on a new volleyball-based manga series called Meteo Attack.

What is Tenma Udai like?

Saeko Tanaka described him as mischievous and one of the “bad kids” she got along with. However, in the anime, she also claimed that he didn’t stand out. On the volleyball court, he exuded an intense aura of confidence and pride. He was his team’s ace that his teammates could rely on in games. He currently seems more relaxed and easy-going, possibly due to his experience over the past few years.

He shows no strong attachment to his former title of “Little Giant” and freely admits that he wasn’t as strong as he used to believe and that players like Kōrai Hoshiumi are better than ever. While watching the game between Kamomedai and Karasuno, he mostly shows joy in the skills of both sides without worrying about the result of the game.